Only in the past few days has the Federal Constitutional Court filed a constitutional complaint about a general speed limit on motorways rejected as inadmissible. The accusation against the legislator was that one violated climate protection law and freedom rights by not introducing a speed limit. The constitutional court sees a need for climate protection as “not sufficiently proven”. The constitutional judges ruled that it is not clear why further savings must be achieved through a speed limit. The traffic light coalition failed to sue for the speed limit. 
A few days later, a study by the Federal Environment Agency shows that a speed limit at least protects the climate more than previously thought. A speed limit on German autobahns would reduce carbon dioxide emissions more than the authorities had previously estimated. The savings at a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour are estimated at 6.7 million tons of CO2 per year. For comparison: Previously, with 2.6 million tons, far less than half of the CO2 savings in road traffic were assumed as a result of a speed limit. A study from 2020, also commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency, modeled these Co2 savings.
On behalf of the Federal Environment Agency, employees from the universities of Stuttgart and Graz, among others, carried out research on the subject of “Liquid traffic for climate protection and air pollution control”. The results are listed in detail in the final report in German and English on more than 360 pages. One reason for this is a change in methodology, because a speed limit would also affect the route taken by drivers. The researchers assume that due to the decreasing attractiveness of the motorway due to a speed limit compared to the country road, the country road is often used instead of taking the detour to the motorway. As part of the study, a decrease of 1.1 percent in the use of the motorway by cars is assumed, while they switch to other roads. This again has an impact on a sharper decrease in CO2 emissions. Others, on the other hand, could leave the car at home and use alternative means of transport due to the speed limit.
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