Grüne on climate and energy

The Greens want to stick with the expansion of renewable energy while keeping energy costs for businesses and households as low as possible. The platform argues that climate protection can only succeed with a strong economy.

The Greens want to keep building solar and wind power. At the same time, energy should cost as little as possible. This applies to companies, tradespeople and citizens. The party says climate protection needs a strong economy.

According to the platform, half of the electricity generated in the state already comes from solar, wind and biomass. This course is to continue without wavering. The plans include investment in power lines, storage and smart grid control, with energy produced as close to consumers as possible. The platform calls climate protection a matter of economic common sense, because in the party's view climate change destroys prosperity on a large scale.

The Greens want to make electricity cheaper and call for lowering the electricity tax for all consumers to the minimum rate permitted in the EU. This is meant to relieve both businesses and private households.

The Greens want electricity to be cheaper. The tax on electricity should go down for everyone. It should be as low as the EU allows. This helps businesses and households.

The cut would apply to everyone, not just certain groups. The party also calls on the federal government to create new models for financing grid expansion, for example along the lines of the amortization account used for the core hydrogen network. According to the platform, low prices should come mainly from a high share of renewable energy. The party opposes developing new gas and oil deposits and criticizes the federal government for relying on gas power plants that cannot run on hydrogen.

The Greens want to keep the phase-out of nuclear power, which they classify as a high-risk technology. They reject restarting plants that have been shut down.

The Greens do not want nuclear power anymore. They think nuclear power is very dangerous. Plants that were shut down should stay off. Power should come from wind and sun.

The party calls debates about reactivating the decommissioned nuclear plants backward-looking. In its view, they offer no answer for the future energy supply. The platform relies on expanding renewable energy instead.

The Greens want to keep expanding wind power and ground-mounted solar and earmark three percent of the state's land area for this. The state is to be climate-neutral by 2040 and end its dependence on fossil fuels.

The Greens want to build more wind turbines and solar plants. Three percent of the state's land should be kept for this. Baden-Württemberg should be climate-neutral by 2040. Climate-neutral means the state no longer harms the climate.

Land-use monitoring would ensure that priority areas are actually used for renewable energy. For wind power, the party wants to keep the reference yield model, which adjusts payments to local wind conditions and keeps turbines in the south economically viable. Solar panels on noise barriers, as hail protection in orchards, on quarry lakes and above farmland (agri-PV) are to become widespread, while land important for food supply is preserved. Incentives for municipal land pooling and the "Forum Energiedialog" are meant to build acceptance. An innovation campus for "Energy & Climate Protection" would link research and policy for a system based on 100 percent renewables.

The Greens want to expand distribution grids and use digital technology to make the power system more flexible. According to the platform, a flexible system is to be the backbone of future supply and help lower electricity prices.

The Greens want to expand the power grids. New plants should be able to feed in power quickly. Digital power meters should be easy to get. Then the price of power can change with the time of day.

Electricity, heat and hydrogen networks are to be planned together. The party wants to spread smart meters through financial incentives and work with grid operators on flexible tariffs. A storage strategy drawn up by the state, grid operators and utilities would show how much storage is needed and where. Wallboxes, heat pumps and bidirectional charging are to become widespread. The party calls for real-time measurement at every grid node as the basis for local, dynamic pricing. The grid expansion summit process would continue.

The Greens want to put the existing municipal heat plans into practice quickly and expand heating networks. Municipalities would get more financial leeway for this, and district heating prices would be regulated in a consumer-friendly way.

Many towns have plans for climate-friendly heating. The Greens want to carry out these plans quickly. Towns should get loans more easily for this. Prices for district heating should be fair and clear.

Planned measures include support for nonprofit heat cooperatives, municipal heat advisory boards and "renovation sprints" for fast, low-cost energy retrofits. The municipal code would be amended so that local governments can borrow more for energy and heat supply, including on reduced terms. Waste heat from industry and data centers is to be used far more; the party wants to remove legal obstacles to this. Large heat pumps, solar thermal and neighborhood storage would be included in heat planning. Permits for heating networks would be sped up in a way similar to wind power.

The Greens want to advance more geothermal projects by 2030 to heat buildings in a climate-neutral way. To raise local support, residents would be better protected; at the same time, lithium extraction in the state would be made possible.

The Greens want to use more heat from the ground. It should heat buildings without harming the climate. Residents should be covered if damage occurs. Companies should also be allowed to extract lithium in the state.

According to the platform, no damage is to be expected from hydrothermal drilling. Even so, the party wants to introduce a damage settlement procedure and negotiate additional safeguards for residents. The risks of exploratory drilling would be cushioned. Lithium extraction is meant to gradually reduce dependence on critical raw materials.

The Greens want to make green hydrogen available for industries that are hard to electrify, such as cement and chemicals. New backup power plants would run on hydrogen rather than natural gas and serve as anchor customers for the hydrogen network.

The Greens want to use more green hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that stores energy. Industry should use it to work without coal and natural gas. New backup power plants should run on hydrogen.

According to the platform, hydrogen is to stabilize the energy supply as a backup and support the move away from fossil fuels. The state funds regional hydrogen hubs, joint and pilot projects, and electrolyzers for production. The party supports European hydrogen networks and international partnerships to secure long-term supply. Companies would be supported in switching energy sources and given a reliable framework.

The Greens want network operators to plan the exit from fossil natural gas and inform customers early. Their reasoning is that grid fees rise as customer numbers fall, hitting lower-income households and small businesses especially hard.

The Greens want to move away from natural gas. Operators of gas networks should plan the exit. They should tell their customers early. Otherwise gas gets very expensive for the last customers.

Operators would be required to submit such plans in good time. The party wants natural gas to become unnecessary for end consumers. Distribution networks that supply industry today could be converted to green hydrogen if there is no more efficient option; otherwise they would be phased out. Gas transmission networks, too, would either carry green hydrogen in the future or be shut down.

The Greens stand by the goal of making Baden-Württemberg climate neutral by 2040 and reject any weakening of climate and sector targets. The party commits to the 1.5-degree goal and relies mainly on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Baden-Württemberg should be climate neutral by 2040. That means the state no longer harms the climate. The Greens do not want to loosen climate targets. Bogs and forests should be protected.

The basis remains the state climate protection and adaptation law along with sector targets for 2035 and 2040, which oblige every ministry to set measures. The climate proviso for state programs is to be applied consistently to investments. Climate protection is to be written into the state development plan as a cross-cutting issue. Natural carbon sinks such as bogs, floodplains, forests and grassland are to be preserved and expanded.

The Greens want to oblige the state government by law to present its own measures when a climate target is at risk of being missed by more than ten percent. This would force the government to respond to the findings of the climate expert council.

A council of experts checks the state's climate targets. Sometimes a target is at risk of failing. Then the government would have to present new measures. This is to be written into law.

The independent climate expert council advises the state government and issues recommendations on how to meet the targets. The platform considers this independent monitoring the right approach. The new duty would apply as soon as the shortfall threatens to exceed ten percent.

The Greens want to allow the capture, use and storage of CO2 only where emissions cannot technically be avoided. According to the platform, savings, energy efficiency and decarbonizing industry take priority.

CO2 can be captured and stored. The Greens want to use this only as a last resort. It should apply only to emissions that cannot be avoided. Saving energy matters more.

The platform names the cement industry and industrial waste incineration as examples of unavoidable emissions. Carbon capture and utilization and carbon capture and storage are to be used exclusively in such cases. Otherwise the party wants to push ahead with the energy and heating transition.

The Greens want to spend twice as much as before on energy-efficiency renovations of state-owned buildings. This is meant to serve the goal of a climate-neutral state administration by 2030.

The state owns many buildings. The Greens want to rebuild them so they use less energy. There should be twice as much money for this. More solar panels should go on the roofs.

The basis is the energy and climate concept for state properties 2030, whose implementation is to be accelerated. State buildings such as police stations, local courts and schools are to be renovated, converted and used more efficiently. The rollout of photovoltaics on state-owned buildings is to be pushed forward.

The Greens want to introduce a so-called Klimamilliarde (climate billion), from which cities and counties receive earmarked funds every year for ten years. In addition, climate protection is to become a mandatory task for municipalities.

The Greens want to give cities and counties money for climate protection. The money comes every year for ten years. Climate protection should become a duty for local governments. The state will settle the scope with them.

The money comes from the state budget and may be spent only on climate protection and adaptation to climate impacts. The party intends to define the scope of the mandatory task together with the municipal associations. In the medium term, the platform sees climate protection as a joint federal-state task to be written into the Basic Law. The climate billion is also meant to ensure that adaptation measures do not fail for lack of money.

The Greens want to amend the municipal code so that local governments can borrow more for investments in energy and heat supply. Municipally owned utilities are to be strengthened as part of public services.

Cities and towns should be allowed to borrow more. The money is meant for clean energy and heating. The loans should be cheap. Local public utilities should become stronger.

Municipalities are to get reduced-rate loans and be reliably permitted to guarantee the debts of their own companies. The CO2 shadow price, a notional price on emissions in construction and procurement, is to be made binding for municipalities as well. The climate change competence center at the state environment agency is to be strengthened to give municipalities better data and advice.

The Greens want to set new climate-adaptation standards for construction and urban development and to fund greening and the unsealing of paved surfaces. Particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the sick and children are to be protected from heat.

There is more heat and heavy rain. The Greens want to prepare cities for this. There should be more trees and less pavement. Old and sick people should get special protection.

The standards range from shading to rainwater retention. An unsealing bonus would reward removing paved surfaces. Municipalities are to be supported with heat action plans and receive grants for concrete measures. People's own precautions are to be strengthened through advice and funding, and disaster preparedness is to be designed so that warnings and shelters reach everyone.

The Greens want to introduce a citizen energy law under which wind farm operators conclude agreements with neighboring municipalities. Citizens are to benefit more financially from renewable expansion, including tenants through plug-in solar units.

The Greens want citizens to earn from clean energy. Wind farm operators should make agreements with nearby towns. A fund helps with citizens' energy projects. Social housing should get small solar units.

A state citizen energy fund is to ease preliminary planning and feasibility studies for such projects. Social housing is to be fitted with plug-in solar units where technically sensible, and solutions for entire buildings are to be developed with the housing industry. Pilot projects for bidirectional charging are to let electric cars feed power back into the grid. The platform justifies decentralized plants with regional value creation and independence from fossil fuel supplies.

The Greens call on the federal government to get the Klimageld (a per-person climate payment) ready and pay it out for the first time in 2027. They also want better protection for people hit hardest by heat and high costs.

The Greens want climate money. This is money the state gives back to people. The federal government should pay it for the first time in 2027. Cities should also protect people better from heat.

The demand is addressed to the federal government, which is supposed to make the payment system operational. The platform justifies this with fairness in climate policy. It also mentions heat protection such as green facades and drinking fountains, meant to benefit families and people with little money in particular. Tenants with high utility costs are to see noticeable relief.

The Greens want to expand solar installations along roads and at tunnels. The solar requirement for new parking lots is to be reviewed and possibly extended to smaller lots.

The Greens want more solar panels along roads and tunnels. New large parking lots already must have solar panels today. The Greens want to check this rule. It may soon apply to smaller parking lots too.

Since 2022, newly built parking lots with more than 35 spaces have had to be fitted with photovoltaics. This requirement and the funding for smaller lots are to be evaluated. Depending on the result, the threshold is to be lowered. In the party's view, transport infrastructure should also serve climate protection.

The Greens want existing buildings to be made energy-efficient faster. To do so, they want to remove obstacles, give owners reliable support and strengthen local trades. Alongside individual renovations, serial renovation is to be specifically promoted.

The Greens want to renovate old buildings faster. The buildings should then use less energy. Owners should get help with this. Many buildings are built alike. So they should be renovated using the same method.

The program relies on both individual renovation and serial renovation, in which similar buildings are upgraded using a standardized process. It argues that many apartment buildings resemble one another, often down to the year of construction. Targeted support for serial methods is meant to make renovation more practical, cheaper and more effective. The Greens expect benefits for residents, tradespeople and the climate.

The Greens want the nuclear power plants close to the border to go offline in the longer term to eliminate the risk of accidents. The German side is to be closely involved in the planned Swiss nuclear waste repository and in reactor safety questions.

There are nuclear power plants near the border. The Greens see them as a danger. The plants should be shut down later. Switzerland is planning a storage site for nuclear waste. Germany should have a say in that.

The basis is the state government's Switzerland strategy, which was updated in 2024. In planning the Swiss repository for radioactive waste, the platform demands close involvement of the German side. The same applies to technical safety debates about reactors near the border.

The Greens want to help make Europe the first climate-neutral continent and to stand up for the Green Deal in Brussels. Hydrogen networks, energy partnerships and alliances with regions active on climate policy are to be expanded.

Europe should become climate-neutral. That means it no longer harms the climate. The Greens want the EU to stick to its climate plan. The state should spend money on hydrogen pipelines. It should work with other regions on climate protection.

The Green Deal is to be upheld and implemented with little red tape. The state wants to invest in European hydrogen networks and conclude energy partnerships with neighbors and regions worldwide. Partnerships with regions such as California are to grow; the platform cites the Under2Coalition and cooperation with Catalonia, Andalusia and Scotland. One reason given is that, in the platform's view, the US government is working against climate protection.