Coalition negotiations between Social Democrats (SPD), Liberals (FDP) and Greens in Germany have concluded. The last and biggest hurdle – climate policy – has been overcome, German media report.
The leaders of the three parties will present the coalition agreement to the German government this afternoon. They agreed last night on climate protection. The main negotiating group is meeting this morning. After that, the coalition agreement can be completed and presented. That agreement should make it clear that climate protection will be the overarching theme in all areas. From traffic, industry, construction and housing to agriculture, DPA news agency reports based on sources within the Greens.
After years of standstill, a new dynamic is emerging to put Germany on the path of the 1.5 degree warming envisaged in the Paris Climate Agreement. A ‘massive expansion’ of renewable energy from solar and wind should enable a faster coal exit by 2030. That is eight years earlier than the so far planned cessation of coal-fired electricity generation in Germany. The accelerated exit is accompanied by billions in aid to the coal regions.
The expansion of solar and wind energy should increase the share of renewable energy in electricity consumption to 80 percent by 2030, according to the Greens. This should be achieved with faster planning and approval procedures, a mandatory installation of solar panels on new buildings, making two percent of the land area available for the expansion of wind energy and increasing the capacity for offshore wind energy to at least 30 gigawatts by 2030. Every year, 50 percent of the heat must be generated in a climate-neutral way.
The future traffic light coalition – named after the party colors red (SPD), yellow (FDP) and green – also wants to bring at least 15 million electric cars on German roads by 2030. In about ten years, vehicles with fossil combustion engines would no longer be allowed in Germany.
Green power
Until now, the goal of German politics was to increase the share of green electricity in electricity consumption to 65 percent by 2030. That share was about 45 percent last year. Until now, offshore wind energy was assumed to have a capacity of 20 gigawatts in 2030.
Coalition negotiations began on October 27 after the winners of the Bundestag elections reached an exploratory agreement. The coalition agreement still has to be approved by the parties themselves. At the FDP this happens on a special party day, at the Greens in the form of a digital member survey and the SPD is considering convening an additional party congress. That could take place just before the planned election of Olaf Scholz as chancellor in the week of December 6.
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