CDU/CSU on climate and energy

The CDU and the CSU want to use all climate-friendly forms of generation and keep expanding renewable energy. A technology-neutral capacity market is to secure supply. Grids, storage and generation are to be planned together.

The CDU and the CSU want more power from wind, sun, water and wood. Power plants should stand ready as a reserve. The power grids should grow faster. For this, more lines should be built above ground.

The program lists onshore and offshore wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, bioenergy, wood, and combined heat and power. A power plant strategy is to create a capacity market in which secured capacity is provided through competition. A new electricity market design is to safeguard investment, and improved futures markets are to make prices more stable. For grid expansion, the parties want to attract more private capital and use more overhead lines, which they say is faster and cheaper. At the European level they aim for an internal energy market.

The CDU and the CSU stand by the agreed coal phase-out. However, further coal plants are to go offline permanently only once new gas plants and combined heat and power plants are in place as replacements.

Germany wants to stop using coal. The CDU and the CSU stick to this. But coal plants should close only when there is a replacement. The replacement is new gas power plants. The coal regions should get the money they were promised.

The parties commit to the coal compromise and the agreed phase-out. Until replacement capacity has been built, no further coal plant is to be shut down for good. They intend to honor the commitments under the Strukturstärkungsgesetz (structural support act) and the arrangements between the federal government and the coal states.

The CDU and the CSU see an important role for nuclear power in meeting climate targets and securing supply. They want research into new reactor types and fusion, and a review of whether the most recently shut down nuclear plants can be restarted.

The CDU and the CSU do not want to rule out nuclear power. They want research on new kinds of nuclear plants. Experts should check something. They should say if old nuclear plants can run again. This must not be too costly or too hard.

Research is to cover fourth- and fifth-generation reactors, small modular reactors and fusion power plants. An expert assessment is to clarify as quickly as possible whether the state of dismantling allows a restart at a reasonable technical and financial cost. Energy research overall is to be technology-neutral and also include fuel cells, climate-neutral gases, geothermal energy, and transport and storage. The parties want to speed up the search for a final nuclear waste repository and rule out unsuitable regions earlier.

The CDU and the CSU want to make electricity cheaper for everyone by cutting the electricity tax and reducing grid fees. Germany is to remain a single electricity price zone.

Electricity should get cheaper. The CDU and the CSU want to cut the tax on electricity. The fees for the power grid should also go down. The power price should be set the same way all over Germany.

Grid fees are to be reformed, which the parties say will lower the burden and increase acceptance. They reject splitting Germany into several electricity price zones and rely on grid expansion instead. Large industrial consumers that cannot adjust production flexibly are not to pay additional grid fees. Smart meters and digitalization are to let consumers respond to price changes.

The CDU and the CSU want to repeal the heating law passed by the "Ampel" coalition. Owners are to decide for themselves which heating system fits their home and budget. Buildings are to become more climate-friendly through carbon pricing, subsidies and technology-neutral solutions.

The CDU and the CSU want to end the heating law. People should choose their own heating. Heating with wood should stay possible. Climate-friendly heating should get support money.

The parties justify this with freedom of choice: people know best which heating suits them. Low-emission heating solutions are to be supported without committing to one technology, explicitly including wood heating. For buildings they rely on a carbon price with social compensation and reliable subsidies. Quotas for green gas, green heating oil or climate-neutral steel are to create so-called pioneer markets, where competition rather than state subsidies selects the suppliers.

The CDU and the CSU want to advance the hydrogen economy with planning certainty and the necessary infrastructure. The core hydrogen network is to reach all economic regions.

Hydrogen is a gas that can supply energy. The CDU and the CSU want to build a network for hydrogen. All regions with a lot of industry should be connected. No region should be worse off.

The parties call for pragmatism on domestic production and on international hydrogen partnerships. In their view, the ramp-up can only succeed in a European framework. Infrastructure for electricity, heat, gas, hydrogen and CO2 is to be standardized and expanded jointly.

The CDU and the CSU commit to the Paris climate goals and to climate neutrality by 2045. They tie this goal to a competitive economy and social affordability. The country is also to adapt more to climate change.

Germany should be climate neutral by 2045. That means: on balance, no more harmful gases are produced. The CDU and the CSU want to keep the economy strong while doing this. Climate protection should be affordable for people. Cities should prepare for more heat and floods.

In the parties' view, climate protection needs a strong economy and can only be achieved globally and with public support. They want to help other countries by sharing technology and knowledge. They see climate adaptation as a cross-cutting task, for example in urban planning, health care and flood protection, preferably using nature-based solutions. Cooperation among the federal government, states and municipalities is to be strengthened and long-term funding settled.

The CDU and the CSU want to make emissions trading the main instrument of climate policy. The revenue is to flow back to consumers and businesses, first through a lower electricity tax and grid fees and through a climate bonus.

Those who emit harmful CO2 should pay for it. This should become the main tool for climate protection. People and companies should get the money back. For this, electricity should get cheaper. There should also be a climate bonus.

The market is to determine where and how emissions are cut. In the EU, emissions trading is to gradually cover all sectors with energy-related emissions. Internationally, the parties rely on climate and energy partnerships, protection against emissions shifting abroad, and carbon markets. They want to enable the capture, use and storage of CO2 (CCU, CCS, DACCS) along with transport infrastructure. Investments in climate technology and energy efficiency are to be tax-deductible more quickly. If carbon charges rise, relief is to rise as well.