AfD on climate and energy

The AfD wants to immediately stop large wind and solar installations in forests and on farmland. To do so, the Federal Building Code and the Regional Planning Act would be returned to their pre-2021 state. The party cites protection of the landscape and rural communities.

The AfD does not want big wind and solar parks in nature. Building laws should go back to how they were before 2021. The AfD says these plants ruin the landscape. Buses and trains in rural areas should get better.

The platform argues that large wind farms turn rural areas into industrial zones and ruin the landscape, while small homes outside built-up areas are denied permits. The eased federal and state building rules would therefore be dropped. Replacing old buildings with new ones outside built-up areas would be allowed. The AfD also calls for rural infrastructure and public transit to be expanded according to need.

The AfD wants energy policy based on market principles and openness to all technologies. Renewable energy installations would have to operate without subsidies and without priority access to the grid. The platform blames current climate policy for high electricity prices and companies leaving the country.

The AfD wants to change energy policy. Wind and solar plants would get no more state money. Their power would no longer go into the grid first. The AfD says climate policy makes power expensive.

The party names three guiding goals: secure supply, affordability and environmental protection. It sees the phase-out of nuclear and coal and the sanctions against Russia as reasons for an endangered and costly energy supply. In its view, renewables, heat pumps and electric vehicles survive only through subsidies, while conventional energy is made more expensive or banned. The party calls for an energy mix from varied sources and permanently secured pipelines and lines, and also lists Nord Stream 2 as part of that infrastructure.

The AfD wants to stop the coal phase-out, expand coal plants, and return to nuclear energy. It also wants the intact Nord Stream 2 pipeline put into operation. The platform argues this will ensure secure and affordable electricity.

The AfD wants to keep making power from coal. It also wants to use nuclear plants again. Gas should come through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The AfD says this keeps power safe and cheap.

Shut-down nuclear plants are to be restarted as quickly as possible, with the necessary expertise rebuilt in German companies, agencies, and universities. Until then, coal and gas are to carry the power supply because, according to the platform, large-scale storage does not exist or costs too much. The damaged Nord Stream lines are to be repaired and those responsible made to pay damages. Gas and heating oil are to remain available for heating; the AfD considers hydrogen uncompetitive. Energy generated for one's own use is to be free of taxes and levies, while promised subsidies for existing installations stay. The Bundesnetzagentur (federal network agency) is to be limited to market regulation and supply security.

The AfD wants to scrap all CO₂ levies with nothing put in their place. It argues that they raise production costs, put German industry at a competitive disadvantage, and burden rural regions and farmers.

The AfD wants to end all charges on CO₂. CO₂ is a gas that comes from burning oil, gas, and coal. The AfD says these charges make production more expensive. It says this hurts industry and farmers.

According to the platform, the levies make manufacturing more expensive and weaken industry against competitors. It says rural areas and farmers who depend on fossil energy are hit hardest. The AfD also objects that vehicles are taxed by their potential emissions rather than their actual emissions. In its view, electric cars get one-sided preference even though producing them harms the environment.

The AfD rejects climate protection policy and any taxes based on it and wants to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. It considers the human share in climate change scientifically unresolved and therefore sees no reason to restrict coal, natural gas and oil. It also rejects the EU's Green Deal.

The AfD wants no climate protection policy. It also wants no taxes for climate protection. Germany should leave the Paris climate agreement. The AfD says humans cannot protect the climate. Coal, gas and oil should stay allowed.

According to the platform, the climate has always changed, and the claimed scientific consensus on human causes is politically constructed. The AfD rejects bans such as the phase-out of combustion-engine cars. It blames current climate policy for energy-intensive industries moving away, problems in the auto industry and job losses. It attributes extreme-weather damage in many cases to missing protective structures and poor maintenance and wants money directed to infrastructure at home. It wants political and criminal investigation of losses in climate projects abroad, in CO₂ certificates and in "biodiesel" from China.

The AfD rejects any further expansion of wind energy and wants no new solar installations on farmland. It justifies this with dangers to animals, plants, the landscape and human health, and with the amount of land used.

The AfD wants no new wind turbines. It says wind turbines kill birds, bats and insects. It says they also harm people and the landscape. There should be no new solar panels on farm fields. The AfD says they take up too much land.

According to the platform, wind turbines endanger birds, bats and insects and can threaten protected species. The AfD calls for quick research into effects such as soil erosion and impacts on the water balance. As an example of damage to nature it cites wind turbines in the Reinhardswald forest in northern Hesse, which it calls the "Grimm fairy-tale forest." It rejects agrivoltaics because these installations take up farmland and, in its view, heat up the local microclimate.

The AfD wants to build new nuclear power plants and nuclear research centers in Germany. The aim is for Germany to regain a leading position in nuclear technology. The platform justifies this with energy security, prosperity and environmental protection.

The AfD wants to build new nuclear power plants. It also wants new centers for nuclear research. Germany should lead in this technology again. The party says this secures energy and prosperity.

The platform speaks of a sell-off of German expertise in nuclear technology. It therefore considers targeted investment necessary. This investment is meant to develop new technologies and train skilled workers. Germany shut down its last nuclear power plants in 2023.