The first referendum in a federal state for stricter climate protection goals has failed. In the vote, with which the state of Berlin was to be legally obliged to be climate neutral by 2030, the necessary quorum was clearly missed.
Overall, 51 percent of voters on Sunday were in favor of the change in the law proposed by the Climate New Start initiative, while 49 percent voted no. According to the preliminary final result, the approval rate among all eligible voters was 18 percent. Absolutely 442,210 voted yes, it would have required 607,518 for the 25 percent quorum.
“Berlin says yes to climate protection – but no to false promises,” he said Berlin CDU General Secretary Stefan Evers. “Berliners know that the climate would not be helped with unrealistic goals or unaffordable laws. Decisive action is important in order to achieve our most ambitious nationwide climate goals as quickly as possible.”
The CDU and SPD are currently negotiating in Berlin about the formation of a new governing coalition. A few weeks ago they announced a special fund of up to ten billion euros for climate protection.
The failure of the referendum does not change the fact that climate protection remains one of the most important issues for state politics, said Evers. “A CDU-led state government will significantly increase the pace of climate protection and significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in our city with massive investments in energy-related renovations and modern infrastructure.”
Giffey: “We know the urgency”
The still incumbent Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) said that the failure of the referendum shows that the majority of Berliners “see that the demands of the referendum could not have been implemented – not even if they were cast in law”.
At the same time, the initiators and supporters of the referendum agreed that “the fight against climate change is one of our central political tasks,” said Giffey. “We are aware of the urgency, even if the referendum has not received the necessary approval.”
Both critics and several experts had pointed out in advance that the goal of making Berlin climate-neutral by 2030 could not be achieved. All parties in the Berlin House of Representatives also rejected the law in parliament. In the past few weeks, however, the Greens and the Left have spoken out in favor of agreeing to the change in the law.
Greens country leader Philmon Ghirmai told the Tagesspiegel that the referendum had been made more difficult by the interior administration because they had blocked the way for the vote parallel to the repeat election in February. “Even if the majority spoke out in favor of more climate protection today, the result also shows that the necessary change is polarizing and triggering fears,” said Ghirmai.
Despite the quorum failure, the initiators rated the referendum as a success. “We won a majority for ambitious climate protection,” said initiative spokesman Stefan Zimmer. “In any case, we will continue and promote the necessary transformation to a climate-neutral city”. The socio-ecological conversion of the city needs more acceptance among the population, said Zimmer.
Due to the rejection of the referendum, the existing climate and energy transition law in Berlin remains in force. This stipulates that Berlin should be climate-neutral by 2045. It is an optional target.
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