The ADAC has accepted higher fuel prices for climate protection, angering some of its 22 million members. Traffic president Gerhard Hillenbrand praised CO₂ pricing as the right tool to promote the switch to electric vehicles. This comes ahead of the CO₂ price increase starting in January.
The automobile club ADAC faces criticism after its traffic president Gerhard Hillenbrand described CO₂ pricing as a "correct instrument" in an interview with the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung." He argued that incentives are needed to switch from combustion engines and diesel to climate-friendly alternatives. The background is the rising CO₂ price from January 1: from 55 euros to up to 65 euros per tonne of CO₂. The ADAC expects gasoline and diesel to become about 3 cents more expensive per liter.
Introduced in 2021, the CO₂ price aims to make fossil fuels more expensive and environmentally friendly options more attractive. Hillenbrand is reiterating the widely accepted view that electric mobility is the future. Nevertheless, the statement triggered an online shitstorm: Members feel betrayed and see the ADAC in the "green camp."
Driving in Germany is getting more expensive: The average price for super gasoline in 2023 is 1.67 euros per liter, compared to 1.25 euros five years ago – an increase of more than 33 percent. Diesel now costs 1.59 euros, a rise of over 43 percent.
The shift to electric mobility is stalling: The goal of 15 million EVs by 2030 is illusory (currently 1.8 million), as is one million charging points (so far 180,000). 45 percent of municipalities have no public charging station. The federal government does not clearly commit to the drive switch and pushes against a combustion engine ban in the EU, fostering false hopes and intensifying reactions like this.
