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Germany considers Autobahn speed limit to fight climate change

The Local Germany
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Germany considers Autobahn speed limit to fight climate change
Road worked attach a 130 speed limit sign along a stretch of the Autobahn in Baden-Württemberg in March 2018. Photo: DPA

Proposed speed limit enforcements on the Autobahn are “against all common sense,” Minister of Transportation Andrews Scheuer said in Munich Saturday.

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Scheuer was responding to a draft proposal that Germany is considering enforcing speed limits on its world famous Autobahn to combat climate and carbon emissions concerns, according to DPA.

A draft proposal from the National Platform on the Future of Mobility recommends, according to various media outlets who obtained a copy, a speed limit of 130km/h to more effectively reduce transportation-related environmental damage.

Enforcing speed limits is said to help curb fuel consumption and emissions, according to the European Environment Agency

The government-tasked committee reportedly also proposed a fuel tax hike, electric and hybrid vehicle quotas, and the abolition of tax breaks for diesel cars to better meet European Union emissions standards.

If Germany does not meet EU emissions standards, the government could be faced with steep fines. Germany has not reduced transport emissions since 1990, even though overall emissions have been reduced by around 28 percent as of 2017, putting the country under a lot of pressure.

The committee on the future of transportation reportedly acknowledges its suggestions are controversial, yet there some who are in favor of them.

Jürgen Resch, CEO of German Environmental Aid, told the Rheinische Post he and his group welcome the speed limit proposal.

“The derogatory remarks made by Andreas Scheuer on the ideas of the commission clearly show that the Transport Minister has neither the traffic safety nor the climate protection in mind," Resch also told the RP.

The various reactions to the leaked proposals further indicate that Germany is caught between its automobile industry and larger climate concerns.

A final report is not expected until March.

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Anonymous 2019/01/21 21:19
How fucking stupid! When did Germany become California?

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