View of a polling station at the Peter Edel Education and Cultural Center in Berlin-Weissensee.
© dpa
An alliance called "Klimaneustart" wanted the vote to change the state's energy transition law. Specifically, Berlin was to commit itself to becoming climate-neutral by 2030 and not by 2045 as previously envisaged.
According to election officials, a slim majority of about 442,000 voters voted in favor (50.9 percent). Some 423,000 voters voted against (48.7 percent). However, this met only one requirement for a successful referendum. The second requirement, an approval quorum of at least 25 percent of all eligible voters, was not met. That would have been around 608,000 yes votes. 35.8 percent of the approximately 2.4 million eligible voters took part in the referendum.
The "Klimaneustart" alliance had forced the vote by collecting signatures for four months in the previous year. If successful, the amended law would have been passed and entered into force. The fact that the number of yes and no votes was more or less equal in the end came as a surprise to many. Before the referendum, only supporters had mobilized strongly in the city and campaigned for their cause. There was no counter-campaign.