Hamburg votes: Climate target 2040 and basic income in the referendum!

Hamburg votes: Climate target 2040 and basic income in the referendum!

A groundbreaking day began today in Hamburg, with two referendums calling on the city's citizens to cast their votes. The voting stations have been open since 8 a.m. and the approximately 1.3 million eligible voters can express their opinions on the future issues of climate neutrality and unconditional basic income until 6 p.m. n-tv reports about this exciting day, which could be groundbreaking for Hamburg's political landscape.

The first referendum, supported by the popular initiative “Hamburger Zukunftsenscheid”, pursues the goal of making the city climate-neutral by 2040, in contrast to the majority political goal of 2045. The initiative refers here to the faster progress that neighboring countries such as Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen have already achieved. The targeted measures include binding annual caps on carbon dioxide emissions and a significant reduction in car traffic. The proposal is supported by environmental and social associations, scientists, trade unions as well as churches and culture. The industrial association, the Chamber of Crafts and all civic groups except the Left took a position against this.

The unconditional basic income

The second referendum is being held under the title “Hamburg tests basic income”. This is a model experiment in which 2,000 representatively selected Hamburg residents will receive a basic monthly income of 1,346 euros plus health insurance over three years. The initiators hope that the scientific evaluation of the project will provide important insights into the effects of such financial support on the interactions and educational opportunities of the participants. The city is expected to raise around 50 million euros for the experiment, which is scheduled to start in 2027.

However, before the final results are known, the votes must be counted. The vote is considered won if at least 20% of those eligible to vote agree and more yes than no votes are cast. By Friday, 442,517 citizens, which corresponds to around 33.6% of those eligible to vote, had already voted by mail. The votes will be counted this evening and will be published live on the Northern Statistics Office results portal.

The role of climate policy

The importance of these referendums increases again against the background of general climate policy in Germany and the associated challenges. Climate change is a cross-sectional task that cannot be tackled by just one actor. A look at the governance of climate policy shows that in Germany various actors and processes must be linked to one another, like the Federal Agency for Civic Education explained. Decisions at the local level are therefore crucial for achieving overarching climate and environmental goals.

Today's vote in Hamburg could not only initiate local change, but also provide impetus for a broader discussion about climate goals and social security in Germany. The people of Hamburg show that they are ready to actively shape their future - be it by improving climate protection or through innovative approaches such as an unconditional basic income.