From drought and record-breaking heat to floods and storms, the consequences of climate change are becoming all too familiar. The German government has responded with a new climate protection program designed to help mitigate even more extreme impacts of human-caused emissions in the future.  

At an overall cost of €8 billion ($9.25 billion), it contains 67 measures that could save an additional 27.1 million tons of CO2 by 2030. They include: 

• Significantly accelerating the expansion of wind power 
• Promoting biofuels
• Promoting electric cars and local public transportation  
• Electrification within industry  

By 2030, Germany is legally bound to reduce CO2 emissions at least 65% compared to 1990 levels. But the country is currently falling far short of this target. 

Environment minister Carsten Schneider described the program as "a new boost for climate protection that will make us less dependent on expensive and unreliable oil and gas imports."

While he said it marked a significant step forward, he said he also knows that "further progress will be necessary," adding that "it will also be possible."

New climate plan, old problems for Germany

A major point of critique is that the new climate plan is based on outdated figures. 

On the basis of data from last year, Germany would have had to reduce CO2 emissions by an additional 25 million tons to meet its climate targets. Yet almost three months into this year, Schneider and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) published a new forecast of Germany's emissions trends.

According to those findings, the country would have to reduce its emissions by 30 million tons before the end of the decade if it is to hit its goals.  

"On paper, this program just about manages to meet the 2030 climate target — but only because the federal government is working with outdated figures," said Christoph Bals who heads the environmental and development organization Germanwatch.  

An independent scientific advisory panel, the Council of Experts on Climate Change, agrees that the new plans don't go far enough to meet legal requirements. The panel calls for the implementation of innovative, incentive-based measures and points out that no information has been provided regarding cost-effectiveness. It has also criticized the lack of relief for low-income households.

CO2 emissions falling in some industries, rising in others

Despite new measures and concessions, climate protection efforts in Germany continue to lose momentum. 

While emissions from some German industries have fallen sharply in recent years, the Federal Environment Agency largely attributes this to a weak economy. 

And though it is positive that forests in Germany are now storing more CO2, these gains are offset by rising emissions in the transportation and building sectors. 

Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge has described the new climate protection program as "a brazen deception." She has previously criticized the coalition government's decision to allow citizens to install new oil and gas heating, which she says would drive people into a cost trap.

Other countries view German climate policy with skepticism 

The fact that Germany and Europe are doing less and less to achieve their goals for a more sustainable economy is also causing concern among observers abroad. 

"In India, Germany is definitely viewed as one of the most ambitious actors in the green transition", says Pooja Ramamurthi of the Indian Center for Social and Economic Progress, adding there is a sense that climate and energy issues are now losing importance. 

Contributing factors include the fact that Germany is currently on track to miss its climate targets, the phase-out of coal is taking longer than planned, subsidies for electric cars are being scaled back, and the EU has decided against a ban on internal combustion engines starting in 2035. 

According to Ramamurthi, Indian companies are also concerned about the CO2 levies imposed on energy-intensive goods such as steel imported into the EU. 

She says a number of initiatives aimed at making industrial processes more sustainable are already being explored.

Ramamurthi believes that if Germany and Europe take a consistent lead in climate protection, it could "certainly incentivise India as well to become stronger on its commitments."

Germany ranks among the top 10 emitters of climate-damaging gases worldwide, and Europe has diluted or rolled back numerous measures it had laid out under its EU Green Deal.

Dependence on fossil fuels is 'dangerous' 

In the current oil and gas crisis, with prices rising sharply due to the war in Iran, Germany's and Europe's dependence on climate-damaging oil and gas has become particularly evident.

"The war in Iran reminds us once again how dangerous dependence on fossil fuels is," emphasizes Carolin Schenuit, executive director of the Berlin-based think tank Forum for Ecological and Social Market Economy. Observers say this new German climate protection law will do little or nothing to reduce this dependence. 

The new package of measures will be reviewed in detail by the independent Council of Experts on Climate Change. Should it fail to meet legal requirements, it could result in lawsuits against the federal government.

This article was originally published in German.