Baden-Württemberg misses climate targets: environmental aid complains!

Baden-Württemberg misses climate targets: environmental aid complains!

On July 1, 2025, Baden-Württemberg will find itself in a precarious situation with regard to its climate goals. Loud star The country is unlikely to achieve its climate goals, which was already predicted by experts last summer. Although Environment Minister Thekla Walker and Transport Minister Winfried Hermann, both from the Greens, have presented measures, there is no formal decision for additional climate protection measures.

Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann emphasizes that the basic requirements of the measures have been met, while there is a dispute within the green-black state government about the severity of the failure to meet the climate targets. It is currently clear that Baden-Württemberg can only expect a reduction in CO2 emissions of 53 percent by 2030, which is significantly below the legally required 65 percent.

Dispute over climate protection measures

The transport sector in particular shows significant deficits in achieving goals, but the energy, agriculture and industrial sectors also contribute to this failure. The state government missed the legally set climate target for 2030 by six million tonnes of CO2. Another report from the German environmental aid (DUH) clarifies that Baden-Württemberg is expected to emit 42 million tons of CO2, which is 17 percent above the permitted limit of 36 million tons for 2030.

The DUH has already filed a lawsuit with the Baden-Württemberg Administrative Court because Prime Minister Kretschmann has not presented an immediate climate protection program by the deadline of June 8, 2025. This lawsuit aims to force the state government to comply with its legal obligations after an amendment to the Climate Protection Act in February 2023 allowed the government to evade a previous ruling that required it to submit an energy and climate protection concept.

Necessary measures for climate protection

As part of its lawsuit, the DUH is demanding a number of measures in order to actually achieve the climate goals. These include:

• Beschleunigte energetische Sanierung von Schulen und Kindergärten
• Einführung einer Lkw-Maut auf Landstraßen
• Einführung eines spezifischen Tempolimits auf Autobahnen
• Dauerhafter Erhalt des Stuttgarter Kopfbahnhofs und Anbindung über die Gäubahn

However, the measures implemented so far are not sufficient to meet the climate neutrality requirement for 2040, which is missed by more than 21 million tonnes of CO2. Five out of seven sectors are currently below target, highlighting the urgency of additional measures.

The development in Baden-Württemberg highlights the challenges of climate protection in the Federal Republic, where not only is there a lack of political unity, but also the implementation of political decisions often falls short of expectations.