Berlin.
Another meeting of the traffic lights, again no solution: These are the points of contention between the Greens and the FDP in traffic and climate.
SPD, Greens and FDP are stuck: He sat for more than three hours coalition committee of the governing parties together on Thursday evening in order to finally get out of the ongoing dispute over traffic issues. But without success. Despite “constructive talks” they parted ways in the end without any result.
A central topic on Thursday were the coalition’s plans for a planning acceleration law. This is not the first time the traffic light parties have sat together. The conflict has been smoldering for months, which is why there have been several meetings in the Chancellery. Without a result. While the conflict over the supply of Leopard 2 tanks has been resolved, the coalition has become thoroughly at odds on this point.
“LNG speed” – but for which projects?
At least everyone agrees on the diagnosis: Planning procedures for infrastructure in Germany take too long, and that should change. The speed at which the country is building LNG infrastructure shown, should not remain an exception, the aim is to reduce the duration of planning processes by half. The classification of projects as projects in “overriding public interest”, as is already the case for the expansion of renewable energies or the liquid gas terminals, should help.
But the next step is for the FDP and the Greens to cross paths. Because while Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) wants to speed up all procedures, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) wants to prioritize. Faster processes for bridge renovation, rail projects, e-car charging stations and everything that serves the climate, yes – but faster new motorway construction is not.
Interactive: Climate outlook – how climate change is affecting your area
Greens put pressure on Transport Minister Wissing
Wissing and Lemke are currently crossed at several points. For both parties, this is also about fundamentals. The Greens had recently increased the pressure on Wissing. Because his area of responsibility is considered the big problem child when it comes to progress in climate protection, the goals of the Climate Protection Act are a long way off. Only this week did he Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) therefore filed a lawsuit against the federal government to force them to comply with their legal obligations.
In the summer, the expert council of the federal government had failed an immediate program for reducing emissions in traffic presented by Wissing. The minister has not yet presented a new one, instead the FDP is pushing for an amendment to the climate protection law. This, too, is met with great skepticism by the coalition partner from the Greens.
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