Germany’s climate plan: More bike lanes, no car speed limit

Advertisement

Advertise with us

BERLIN (AP) — The German government unveiled a new package of climate measures Wednesday to close the emissions gap in the transport and housing sectors as part of the country's plan to become carbon neutral by 2045.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2022 (1543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BERLIN (AP) — The German government unveiled a new package of climate measures Wednesday to close the emissions gap in the transport and housing sectors as part of the country’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2045.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing said his department planned to boost the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, expand public transport and build more bicycle lanes in the hopes that people will leave their gasoline-powered cars at home.

But Wissing, a member of the pro-business Free Democratic Party, said Germany would not be introducing a general highway speed limit that environmental activists have said would immediately cut emissions and lower the sky-high cost of fuel by reducing demand.

Climate activists with masks of German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, left, and Transportation Minister Volker Wissing, right, protest against the climate policy of the German government in front of the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Poster in background reads: 'reactivate railway network expand'.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Climate activists with masks of German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, left, and Transportation Minister Volker Wissing, right, protest against the climate policy of the German government in front of the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Poster in background reads: 'reactivate railway network expand'.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

“As transport minister I need to weigh up the goal of protecting the climate as quickly as possible on the one hand, and other other hand keep in mind the mobility needs and acceptance (of measures) in society,” said Wissing.

Together with existing measures, the goal of limiting transport sector emissions to 85 million metric tons of CO2 — from 148 million tons last year — could be achieved, he said.

Greenpeace called the plans “nebulous” and said a general speed limit would achieve concrete emissions cuts. It also criticized that new gas furnaces can continue to be installed until 2024, arguing that the measure should be in effect immediately so that homeowners switch to less polluting heat pumps.

Currently, many stretches of the Autobahn have no speed limit and it is not uncommon for drivers to push their cars to go faster than 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph), greatly increasing fuel use.

Limiting speeds on German highways to 100 kph (62 mph), 80 kph (50 mph) on country roads and 30 kph (19 mph) in town would save up to 9.2 million tons of CO2 a year, the environmental group DUH said.

___

Follow all AP stories on climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

May be whiff of truth to ex’s odour ardour

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I ran into an old boyfriend I used to curl on a team with, and we went for drinks. We’ve been almost eight years apart, and I couldn’t remember why we broke up, as we always had such a great time together.

It wasn’t until the second date — this time on a weekend — that it came back to me, with a jolt. Pee-yew! I remembered he doesn’t use deodorant on weekends. Why? He enjoys his own body odour. I recalled that a bit too late, and it was just as awful as ever! I went home early.

Tonight, he called and I refused him another date. I said, “Think back. You remember why we broke up?” Then he said, “Oh yeah, you hated my no-deodorant weekend policy. Well, guess what? Some women don’t mind!” I said I really doubted that, and that ended the conversation. Miss L., wouldn’t any women find stinky underarms offensive?

— Sensitive Nose, Fort Richmond

Free Press staff 2 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Advance voting for civic and school board elections begins next week.

Voters can cast early ballots for the Oct. 28 election in certain locations from Monday through Oct. 23.

Eligible voters can use their address to search for a convenient location.

Early votes can be cast at the council building at city hall (510 Main St.) every day, except weekends and Thanksgiving, from Monday to Oct. 23.

Musk’s gambit unlikely to end well

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Preview

Musk’s gambit unlikely to end well

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 4, 2022

Elon Musk is that rarest of things, a benign sociopath, and therefore a person of considerable value to the world. He has just made a mistake that could ruin his long-term plan, for his purchase of Twitter is almost bound to end in tears. The sharks are always circling the very rich and highly geared, and I find myself worrying about him.

Read
Friday, Nov. 4, 2022

Revisiting the Beatles’ famed White Album

Maeve McDermott 7 minute read Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018

Released on Nov. 22, 1968, the Beatles’ self-titled ninth album — famously known as the White Album for its blank album cover — has endured as the group’s sprawling, experimental masterpiece.

White Album fans will be able to celebrate the release’s anniversary with a new box set featuring previously unreleased sessions from its recording process, including 27 acoustic demos and 50 session takes alongside remastered versions of the album’s 30 tracks.

With its 30 songs, the White Album track list spans the highs and lows of the band’s catalogue, from the album’s throwaway tracks — Piggies, anyone? — to several of the Beatles’ very best.

Below, revisit all 30 of the White Album songs, ranked from worst to best.

What’s luck got to do with it?

Tim Kist 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

We all seek certainty in our daily lives. We expect if we make a decision, the outcome will be just as we planned: a direct correlation between the decision and result.

You, as a business leader, seek the same certainty from the decisions you make. And sometimes, the result is what was expected. Sometimes, it isn’t.

The big question is: why is it so difficult to achieve the business results you expect when you carefully craft your plans and seemingly make good decisions?

The truth is we cannot predict the future. This means we almost never know precisely how customers will respond to a sales quote, what competitors are planning, and a myriad of other external variables at play.

Tibial tray connected to aerospace sector …

Aaron Epp 6 minute read Preview

Tibial tray connected to aerospace sector …

Aaron Epp 6 minute read Monday, May. 4, 2026

There are thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of people in the United States who are walking around with Manitoba-made metal parts in their bodies.

After Winnipeg-based manufacturing solutions provider Precision ADM Inc. got started in 2015, one of its first jobs was fabricating U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved tibial trays — a critical component for knee replacement surgery that transmits loads from the femur to the tibia, ensuring stability, alignment and durability over millions of cycles of use.

Manufacturing the tibial trays for a client in the U.S. stands out as a vivid memory for Martin Petrak, the company’s co-founder and president.

“We made something that could go into a human, that should be there for the rest of their life,” he says. “We thought, we’ve finally done something significant here as an organization, as a company, with staff that believed that we could do this.”

Read
Monday, May. 4, 2026