Overview

• The Handwerkskammer Hamburg adopted a resolution against the 'Zukunftsentscheid', with president Hjalmar Stemmann saying he will vote no, citing higher costs, more bureaucracy and lost planning security for trades.
• Voters on 12 October will decide whether to move Hamburg’s climate‑neutrality target from 2045 to 2040, mandate linear year‑by‑year CO₂ cuts and authorize a Sofortprogramm if targets are missed without prior parliamentary approval.
• The Senate’s study describes required steps for 2040 including replacement of all gas and oil boilers, shutdown of the gas network, citywide Tempo 30, strong cuts in private car traffic, industry fuel switches to hydrogen and e‑fuels, and much faster building retrofits and heat‑pump rollouts.
• The analysis warns of 'spürbare Mehrbelastungen' for households, businesses and the city budget, and notes dependencies such as faster expansion of wind and solar as well as national grid improvements.
• The initiative’s backers, including Fridays for Future, NABU, Verdi and the Mieterverein Hamburg, argue the study shows the goal is achievable and insist measures would be implemented with social safeguards.