People in Berlin can decide today whether their city should be climate-neutral by 2030. Around 608,000 votes are needed for a “yes”. News ticker for the climate referendum.
- question of cost a “hollow debate”: Luisa Neubauer campaigns for a climate referendum
- referendum in Berlin: Around 2.4 million people vote on climate neutrality by 2030
- initiative “Berlin 2030 climate neutral”: The goal is controversial
- Climate referendum in Berlin: These are the rules for voting
Update from March 26, 12:46 p.m: The Berliner reports of “yawning emptiness”. daily mirror from a polling station in Prenzlauer Berg. Only 31 people voted in the first two hours. It looks similar in Kreuzberg. There is also criticism of the cost of the referendum. “The cost of the last election was 43 million euros. Today alone there are again 15 to 20 million. You could have saved all the money if you had combined both elections,” the newspaper quoted a Berliner and school janitor at one of the polling stations as saying.
Referendum Berlin: Luisa Neubauer campaigns for a climate decision
Update from March 26, 11:35 a.m: The climate activist Luisa Neubauer (“Fridays For Future”) emphasized the importance of the referendum: “This vote is unique, and Berlin could become the city where things really get going,” she told the dpa news agency on the sidelines of the “Berlin Climate Aid”.
“Here you can see what it looks like when people take matters into their own hands and break out of this dangerous spiral in which new excuses are found in every legislative period for why climate protection cannot be done now.”
Neubauer rejected objections that the measures should be too expensive. “The question of costs is a hollow debate if you don’t counter it with how expensive the climate crisis is and what the climate catastrophe costs.” That’s simply out of proportion. The organizers had expected up to 35,000 people for the rally at the Brandenburg Gate on Saturday (March 25).
Referendum Berlin: Capital votes on climate neutrality by 2030
First report from March 26th: Berlin – “Climate neutrality” means that no greenhouse gases are emitted that exceed those that are absorbed by nature, for example. To achieve this, emissions that are harmful to the climate, for example from combustion cars, airplanes, heating systems, power plants or industrial companies, would have to be reduced by around 95 percent compared to 1990.
In Berlin, on Sunday (March 26) from 8 a.m., a good 2.4 million people can vote on whether the capital should become climate-neutral by 2030. This is what the initiative “Berlin 2030 climate-neutral” wants with their referendum of the same name to reach. This is backed by an alliance of various organizations – in addition to Fridays for Future and the General German Bicycle Club, there is also the Jusos and the Green Youth. The polling stations are open until 6 p.m. Then it is counted.
Referendum Berlin: Goals of the climate alliance disputed
Whether Berlin can become climate-neutral by 2030 is controversial. Germany aims to be climate neutral by 2045 EU by 2050. The incumbent Berlin state government is aiming for climate neutrality by 2045. She does not consider the step to be feasible by 2030 and recommends not accepting the referendum.
Referendum Berlin: When is the vote considered accepted?
The referendum is considered accepted if a majority and at least 25 percent of those entitled to vote vote yes. If both come about, an amendment to the Berlin Climate Protection Act with the advanced climate target would come into force immediately. However, a majority in the House of Representatives could theoretically change the law again. And then there is the fear of a new election glitch. Shortly before the vote, complaints about the lack of postal voting documents increased. Otherwise, it could well be that people who would like to vote in the referendum will not be given the opportunity to do so. (AFP/dpa/frs)
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