AfD on climate and energy

The AfD sees a secure energy supply at internationally competitive prices as the state government's most important task. Phase-outs of energy sources should happen only once replacements are guaranteed, and existing decisions should be reversed. The party rejects state intervention to push the energy transition.

The AfD wants safe and cheap energy. Germany should only shut down power plants when there is a replacement. Earlier decisions to shut plants down should be taken back. The AfD thinks the energy transition is not needed and costs too much.

The platform calls the energy transition unnecessary and harmful because, in its view, it wipes out the value of existing plants and requires costly replacements. The AfD wants to refrain on principle from market interventions meant to push the transition. Hesse should use its influence, especially at the federal level, to have phase-out decisions reversed. Within the state, the party wants to keep existing and new power plants and connect them to the grid, naming the Biblis gas plant. As possible replacements for lost imports, the platform mentions domestic fracked gas and continued operation of nuclear plants.

The AfD rejects climate protection and wants to end such measures. Instead, those affected should get help adapting to climate change. The platform doubts that human CO2 emissions cause climate change.

The AfD wants to stop climate protection. It does not believe that humans change the climate much. The money should help people who suffer from climate change. They should be able to adapt to the new climate.

According to the platform, the climate has always changed, and human influence is not scientifically proven. The AfD regards CO2 not as a pollutant but as a gas essential to life. It supports measures for adaptation and resilience to climate impacts. It also calls for what it sees as more science and less ideology in the climate debate.

The AfD wants to reverse the coal phase-out and stop shutting down baseload power plants for political reasons. It considers the Energiewende (energy transition) a failure and expects much lower electricity prices from coal and nuclear plants.

The AfD wants to keep making power from coal. Safe power plants should stay on the grid. Plants that were shut down should be allowed to run again. The AfD says this makes power cheaper.

The platform demands that safe power plants not be closed for political motives. Restarting and building plants should depend only on safety and environmental reviews. In the AfD's view, replacing coal with natural gas does not cut global CO2 but costs billions. It argues that high gas prices set the electricity price and hurt industry's competitiveness.

The AfD wants no further wind turbines or solar installations to be built. Existing plants should feed in power only in ways that serve the grid. The platform cites fluctuating output and risks to supply security.

The AfD wants no new wind turbines or solar plants. The AfD says wind and sun deliver power too unevenly. That puts the power grid at risk. Existing plants should follow the needs of the grid.

According to the AfD, fluctuating feed-in requires more than 10,000 grid interventions a year. Renewables would keep feed-in priority only if their output is predictable and they stick to schedules. Uncontrolled maximum feed-in should no longer pay off. The platform also calls for more precise monitoring of grid stability, because the SAIDI index only counts outages longer than three minutes.

The AfD wants Germany's nuclear power plants to keep operating and new ones to be built. Research and development in nuclear technology should resume. The platform points to high energy density and low impact on nature.

The AfD wants to keep using nuclear power plants. It also wants to build new ones. Germany should do research on this technology again. The AfD says nuclear power is safe, cheap, and easy on nature.

The plan includes new plants of generations 3 and 4. A legal framework would be created for small modular reactors, thorium and dual-fluid reactors, and nuclear fusion. By returning to research, the AfD wants to train skilled staff and keep them in the country. In its view, modern technology solves questions of reactor safety and nuclear waste.

The AfD wants to follow hydrogen and storage projects with an open mind but rejects a commitment to green hydrogen alone. Synthetic fuels should be developed further so that combustion engines can stay in use permanently.

The AfD wants more research on hydrogen. But it does not want only hydrogen made from green power. Synthetic fuels should also be developed further. Then cars with combustion engines can keep driving.

The platform sees potential in hydrogen as an energy carrier and raw material but speaks of an irrational hype. The AfD does not regard it as a solution for power storage or as a reason to expand renewables. On e-fuels, the platform concedes high conversion losses. It stresses, however, that existing engines, heating systems, and infrastructure could continue to be used.