A new law in Germany will include tax breaks for train tickets and tax increases to be levied on the price of airline tickets — in an attempt to make it more attractive for people to choose trains, which emit lower levels of carbon dioxide, over higher-emitting planes.
Germany enshrined its fight against climate change into law on Friday in a bid to meet its targets under the Paris Agreement, approving a raft of measures including a $60 billion spending package, a fee system for carbon emissions and taxes to make flying more expensive.
The law, which passed the lower house of Parliament and is expected to pass the upper house later this year, has been sharply criticized by opposition lawmakers and climate scientists alike for its lack of ambition and scope.
They say it will not be enough to get the country to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 55 per cent of 1990s levels by 2030.