Berlin Voters Balk at Fast-Tracking Climate Neutrality by 2030
- Referendum sought binding goal to beat Germany’s 2045 target
- Proposal fails to win enough votes in capital-area ballot
Newly installed solar panels sit on the roof of an apartment block in the Pankow district of Berlin, Germany.
Photographer: Rolf Schulten/BloombergBerlin voters balked at a plan to make the German capital climate-neutral by law by 2030, which would have put it 15 years ahead of Germany’s national target.
The referendum, which would have obligated the city-state’s government to enshrine the climate goal in law, failed after fewer than the required 607,000 voters voted in favor, according to the state election commissioner’s tally. About 2.4 million people were eligible.