Thread by @giulio_mattioli

Another day, another instance of gaslighting in the German #Tempolimit debate.

Here is the leader of the pro-business FDP party claiming that motorway speed limits "do not necessarily reduce emissions", because... EVs 🤦‍♂️ zeit.de/2021/28/christ…

So let's go through this once again.

1. The German government's *own estimates* find a significant emission reduction from motorway speed limits

https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1410171897065660417

...which is why the International Energy Agency recommends the introduction of 100km/h motorway speed limits from now to 2030 - the decade where we expect EVs sales to boom

https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1412716490206420996

2. The share of fully electric vehicles in the German fleet is still 0.6%. It will be a *long* time before it gets to 100%.

https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1411951136152633348

3. Since the German electricity grid is far from zero-carbon, EVs still generate CO2 emissions, and more so at higher speed.

While the share of renewables on the grid is growing rapidly, that will still be the case even in 2030

https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1411952158057058304

So basically the *only scenario* in which a speed limit does *not* result in reduced emissions is when 100% of the fleet is fully electric, and 100% of the grid is zero-carbon. We're a *long* way from that. [ENDS]

PS: BTW - and *you couldn*t make this up* - Lindner himself says later on in the interview that "there will be internal combustion engines on Europe streets *for the next few decades* (when it comes to arguing against EV subsidies, and in favour of e-fuels).