Berliners voted in a referendum on a proposal to make the German capital climate neutral 15 years earlier than planned.The outcome of a referendum in Berlin on whether to make the German capital carbon neutral by 2030 was too close to call, early results on Sunday showed.

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After counting around two-thirds of the ballot boxes and postal polling stations, there are around 219,000 yes votes and around 204,000 no votes.

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If approved the proposal would set the city's government a legally binding target to achieve climate neutrality in seven years.

In order to adopt the stricter climate targets, at least 25% of eligible vote yes, working out to around 608,000 yes votes that are needed.

Berlin, like Germany as a whole, currently aims for a 95% reduction in net carbon dioxide emissions by 2045, compared with 1990 levels.

Climate activists from the group called Klimaneustart Berlin (Climate Reset Berlin), who prompted the vote, said the target is too far in the future to prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius.

At least 80% of Berlin's energy, however, comes from fossil fuel sources.

Few lawmakers in Berlin's state parliament, the Senate, believed seven years is enough to make the transition to renewable energy and were concerned about the short-term costs the legally binding deadline would have incurred.

This is a developing news story, more to follow...

lo/kb (AP, dpa, Reuters)

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2023 11:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).