At its party conference, the Berlin Greens encourage one car-free Sunday per month. A comment from BZ editor Katja Colmenares.
As soon as you say “car-free Sunday” everyone gets emotional. Some remember Willy Brandt, who declared four Sundays car-free during the oil crisis. The others feel up-to-date about it recycled proposal of the Berlin Greens patronized.
They cannot implement their proposal alone. The federal government has to decide that. Not just for Berlin, but for Germany. If there is an embargo, we will probably have to accept very different energy restrictions.
Even without a crisis, there are metropolises around the world that actually still exist today, after some decades of car-free Sundays. Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, in Italy alone 150 cities are car-free on four Sundays during the day.
So far, saving energy has not been the top priority. For most, these actions are a win. Hopefully we’ll find out in Berlin too.