In a letter addressed to the primary legislators of Germany’s governing coalition, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing issued a warning that he could ban the country’s residents from driving on weekends unless adjustments are implemented to a contentious new climate legislation.

The Federal Environmental Agency of Germany views this potential measure as both “unnecessary” and “alarming,” and Wissing stressed that the possibility of implementing a significant “action plan” is very strong, should the 2019 Climate Protection Act remain unaltered pass July.

Wissing warned that such program might involve “extensive and permanent driving restrictions on Saturdays and Sundays.”

The Climate Protection Act, which was approved during the former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s term, requires a 65% decrease in CO2 emissions throughout the German economy by 2030, with the goal of achieving complete carbon neutrality by 2045. Additionally, the act establishes specific annual emission limits for various sectors, including transportation, and mandates that the government must initiate an “action program” in case any sector surpasses these limits.

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Numerous officials within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, like Wissing, are in favor of implementing a modification to the act that would establish a comprehensive emissions cap for the nation and grant the government the authority to determine which industries should be reduced in order to meet this target. Nevertheless, the Greens have thwarted all efforts to revise the legislation up to this point, as such action would essentially weaken the effectiveness of the legislation.

Some legislators from Scholz’s Social Democrats even charged Wissing with unnecessarily fueling fear.

The leader of the Greens’ parliamentary group also countered Wissing’s warning by claiming that implementing a speed limit on Germany’s iconic unrestricted Autobahn would render a proposed driving ban unnecessary.