BERLIN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A climate action program proposed by the German government will not be enough to meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to an expert report published on Tuesday.
The Expert Council on Climate Change (ERK) said that although the action plan announced in June could enable a significant reduction of emissions, a "large gap" would remain in terms of the goals set in the Federal Climate Change Act (KSG). ERK stressed that the government had not explained how the remaining difference with the KSG targets will be closed.
Germany aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and to be climate neutral by 2045, five years earlier than the European Union. In order to achieve these ambitious targets, all sectors must reach reduction targets individually for better accountability.
"For several measures, we are skeptical regarding the probability of implementation, and the deviation between reality and the assumptions of the federal government in the documents," said ERK Chairman Hans-Martin Henning. "The expected overall reduction is likely to be overestimated."
ERK said that the data it had received from the German government was comprehensive, "but inadequate." As a result, the reduction effect of the government's climate policies could not be confirmed.
Germany's transport and building sectors are considered particularly challenging with regard to greenhouse gas reductions. The government's plan for these two sectors "would not be sufficient to compensate for the sectoral target shortfalls," the report said.
The German government would "intensively examine" the findings of the reports, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said in a statement. ■