The official cars used by Germany’s top political echelon release significantly more climate-damaging carbon dioxide emissions than the average vehicle driven by citizens, a new analysis suggests.

Only 87 of the country’s top 238 politicians drive an electric vehicle, according to a ranking by the Environmental Action Germany (DUH) group released on Tuesday.

“In spite of the advancing climate crisis, there are no signs of a consistent switch to fuel-efficient official cars in the cabinet even after the change of government,” the organisation said.

However, the analysis found that the use of fully electric cars at the federal level has risen slightly from 50 per cent to 57 per cent compared to the previous year.

The DUH figures came with some caveat, however.

For example, the ranking assumed that plug-in hybrids were only used in combustion mode.

While studies suggested that this was often the case, the authors did not examine the specific driving behaviour of top politicians and their drivers.

In addition, only one vehicle was listed for each politician, but many have several cars at their disposal.

Four out of Germany’s 11 federal ministers drove a fully electric car while seven others use a plug-in hybrid.

The official car used by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and some other top Cabinet members has been excluded from the analysis as they are armoured, making them significantly heavier.

Among the premiers of Germany’s 16 states, only Winfried Kretschmann, a green politician who governs the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, drives a fully electric car.

(dpa/NAN)