25.03.2026 - "Ambition and reality are increasingly diverging when it comes to climate targets. The latest emissions data from the Federal Environment Agency has once again emphasized that the current energy policy is widening the gap to achieve the 2030 climate target, despite three years of economic downturn. 

The Climate Protection Programme relies on a strict timeline with annual and sector-specific requirements. However, this primarily leads to bureaucracy and unnecessary costs for businesses, as companies are forced to use technologies that are often still underdeveloped and thus expensive. The conversion or new construction of infrastructures also becomes more costly when carried out under time pressure. 

Instead of focusing on detailed annual targets and measures, the long-term goal of climate neutrality should take center stage. Genuine progress requires a change of course: more market and international coordination, less state micromanagement. Only by making the energy transition more technology-open, cost-efficient, and straightforward can climate neutrality be achieved."