2.4 million Berliners were called upon to vote on the "Berlin 2030 climate-neutral" referendum. Even though there were more yes votes than no votes, the initiative failed.

Markus Voigt, President of the Berlin Merchants' and Industrialists' Association, commented on the result: "The referendum 'Climate-neutral Berlin from 2030' has failed and that is a good thing. Many Berliners voted with their feet and did not cast their vote at all, meaning that the necessary quorum was not reached. In addition, almost half of the electorate voted "no". This result is good news for our city. The existing target of 2045 is already ambitious and will demand a great deal of commitment and investment from society and the economy. Shortening the transition period to 2030 would have completely overwhelmed us as a society. Moreover, it would not do justice to the sustainability triad of environment, social and economy, but would lead to serious social and economic imbalances.

As a Berlin-based company, we are already making great efforts to make the local economy climate-friendly. We at VBKI are ready to contribute to achieving the climate targets as early as possible through further education, best practice and innovative approaches. A successful referendum, on the other hand, would have been a serious burden for our city, which would have caused incalculable upheaval for society as a whole. We are therefore relieved that this will now not happen!"