Climate policy beyond the European emissions trading system: Spotlight on the transport sector in Germany

The targets set to protect our climate at the COP21 and by the German government are highly ambitious. To reach these targets different political measures are already implemented. The interaction of these targets, their contribution to an overall greenhouse gas mitigation strategy as well as their impacts on the emission trading systems are addressed within this analysis. This is done for Germany in terms of a case study. For this analysis we apply a German energy system model and calculate three scenarios with different combinations of overall and transport specific targets. One of the key results is that especially for goods transport on roads the evolution of conventional drivetrains will not be sufficient to reach ambitious decarbonization targets. A portfolio of electrified drivetrains with batteries and hydrogen as well as power to liquid fuels with low carbon footprints or trolley trucks at main highway routes will be mandatory.