Rhineland-Palatinate is in danger of missing its electric car target – who is to blame?

Rhineland-Palatinate is in danger of missing its electric car target – who is to blame?

Yesterday a new step towards climate protection was taken in Rhineland-Palatinate. The state government has passed a climate protection law that sets the path to climate neutrality by 2040, but does not explicitly mention the transport transition. How SWR reports, the country risks significantly missing its goal of at least 375,000 electric vehicles by 2030 if current trends continue. Forecasts suggest that less than half of this target could actually be achieved.

The independent cities of Landau, Neustadt an der Weinstraße and Kaiserslautern currently lead the list of e-car shares, while the districts of Birkenfeld and Kusel and the independent city of Frankenthal can be found at the lower end of the scale. Professor Henrik te Heesen explains that the differences are mainly due to better charging infrastructure in urban areas. In contrast, cities like Worms and Frankenthal also have relatively low proportions of electric cars.

Hurdles in e-mobility

As the data analysis shows, the transport sector in Rhineland-Palatinate has made little progress despite repeated attempts by the state government to improve transport through various climate protection laws. When it comes to promoting fully electric cars, there are not only problems with the infrastructure, but also with the financial incentives. The Ministry of Transport under Carsten Zillmann emphasizes that the transport transition is a national task that cannot be sufficiently implemented without federal support.

There are currently no financial incentives from the country for switching to electric cars. The end of the environmental bonus has proven to be a brake and new registrations have only increased slowly in recent years. Despite a sufficient supply of charging stations, many struggle with high costs and a lack of clarity.

The state government's plans

In order to achieve the climate goals, the Ministry of Transport is planning two crucial steps: expanding the charging infrastructure and promoting the purchase of electric cars. However, it remains questionable whether these measures are sufficient to achieve the intended progress. Professor Martin Doppelbauer suggests expanding the charging infrastructure more quickly and implementing effective support measures for electric cars. In addition, the former Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing warned of possible negative effects from EU punitive tariffs on electric cars from China, as this could significantly burden competition.

At the same time, the state government has also set itself ambitious goals. The new Climate Protection Act sets binding reduction paths for greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to supply Rhineland-Palatinate with 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. A comprehensive climate forest offensive is also planned, which will invest 50 million euros over five years in the reforestation of damaged forests. The emphasis is on a clear distribution of responsibilities in order to advance implementation.

Critical raw materials and environmental protection

Another aspect that cannot be ignored when it comes to e-mobility are the critical raw materials that are required for the production of batteries. The dependence on imports of these raw materials is high and entails risks, be it due to economic bottlenecks or the often problematic mining and processing conditions, especially in countries such as the DR Congo for cobalt. However, in the future, alternative materials and recycling could play a role in reducing dependency. As the Energy Agency RLP explains, today several raw materials are necessary to meet the increasing demand, while the Greens in Rhineland-Palatinate emphasize that the new approach to climate neutrality should also take a critical look at these factors.

What happens next remains to be seen. The state government has at least set a path for itself through the new Climate Protection Act and with the monitoring, progress reviews will take place regularly in order to be able to react flexibly to developments.