Berlin: The energy crisis makes many things possible: is there a speed limit?
The energy crisis is triggering debates in Berlin that actually seemed over long ago. Even a general speed limit seems within reach again.
The wording in the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP is unmistakable. “There will be no general speed limit,” it says. The debate about a speed limit could quickly end again – if it weren’t for the energy crisis.
The search for alternatives to fossil fuels is currently creating a discussion that is no less hot than the temperatures outside. The CDU politician Jens Spahn pushed them to the extreme with a demand. The famous union leader was open to a speed limit if, in return, the Greens voted to extend the life of the three nuclear power plants still connected to the grid beyond the end of the year.
The gas shortage is making it possible for what was once untouchable to be within reach again
nuclear power? speed limit? These are old buzzwords that have repeatedly caused political controversy in recent years. For example, the Greens in the Bundestag are calling for a general speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour in 2019. The SPD also had great sympathy for this before the federal elections. In addition to road safety, the Social Democrats brought the climate into play. Fuel consumption can be reduced, as can CO2 emissions. However, the SPD did not push through this against the Egyptian coalition partner CDU/CSU. Like the Greens, they advocated a maximum speed of 130 kilometers per hour in the subsequent election campaign. In the coalition negotiations, the speed limit quickly became a bargaining chip, the FDP was strictly against it and was able to assert itself.
At the time of the negotiations, however, hardly anyone would have bet that more coal-fired power plants would remain on the grid for a transitional period. The energy crisis and the gas shortage are apparently making it possible for what was once untouchable to be within reach again.
With regard to the extension of the term, the government refers to the objections raised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment in March. If you wanted to keep the nuclear reactors connected to the grid for longer, then you would have to refute these objections, explained government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit last week, quoting problem-free Olaf Scholz with the words: “No one would be against it or would refuse if something like this were to be extended. “For nuclear power fans, this nourishes the hope for longer service lives.
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The traffic light will probably not receive a deal “nuclear power against speed limit”.
Scholz became clearer about the speed limit. “This government has not agreed on that, and it does not apply either,” said the SPD politician. The FDP also rejects a speed limit. “In view of an impending gas shortage in winter, I strongly advise not to overload the discussion with ideological debates that can do nothing to solve the problem,” said the deputy parliamentary group leader and climate expert Lukas Köhler to our editorial team, adding: “So that in winter nobody has to freeze while at the same time jobs in industry are preserved, & we are now making sure that private households and industry have sufficient gas available in winter. A speed limit, on the other hand, could only help to save some oil.” However, there is no shortage of oil at all, said Köhler.
A deal “nuclear power against speed limit”, as Spahn in the ARD has suggested, the traffic light will probably not be received for reasons of saving face.
However, the power of facts could force the government to rethink. “Our goal is that we will be one of the first countries to be CO2-neutral and at the same time globally reliable and successful as an economic nation, as an industrial country,” said Scholz at the weekend, emphasizing the goal of reducing CO2 emissions despite the consequences of the Ukraine war to reduce. During the corona pandemic, pollutant emissions also fell measurably because fewer people were out and about as a result of working from home. Among other measures, a speed limit could apparently help to keep this promise.