Grüne on climate and energy

The Greens want to push at the federal level for a fast rollout of the Klimageld (climate dividend). Revenue from the carbon charge would flow back as a payment to all residents. Climate policy should not put an outsized burden on low and middle incomes.

The Greens want a climate payment. The state collects money from the carbon charge. It should pay this money out to everyone. This helps people with little money the most.

The platform links social and climate policy. The Klimageld would be funded by the carbon charge and paid to everyone. At the EU level, the Greens back similar instruments such as the Social Climate Fund. According to the platform, people with low and middle incomes benefit most.

The Greens want to develop a "social check" in Hamburg and write it into the state climate protection law. Climate measures would be reviewed during lawmaking for who bears how much of the burden. No one should be overwhelmed by climate policy.

The Greens want a social check for climate laws. The check asks: Who has to pay how much? Costs should be shared fairly. People with little money should get extra help.

The social check is meant to show the distributional effects of climate measures during the legislative process. It would be anchored in Hamburg's climate protection law. Where sensible and possible, households with low and middle incomes would be specifically considered, for example in advice and funding programs.

The Greens want to continue shifting Hamburg's energy supply away from fossil fuels. The coal phase-out is to be completed ahead of the federal target of 2030. Wood from forests should not be burned in large power plants.

Hamburg should soon stop burning coal. This should happen before 2030. The Greens also do not want to burn forest wood in power plants. Instead they want waste heat, large heat pumps and hydrogen.

The coal phase-out is to be achieved by shutting down the Wedel heating plant and converting the Tiefstack plant. As long-term alternatives, the platform names industrial waste heat, large heat pumps and hydrogen. It sees public utilities such as Hamburger Energiewerke as the drivers of this shift because they serve the common good. The Greens also justify the course with dependence on imported fossil fuels.

The Greens want to keep expanding wind power in Hamburg and meet the federal land-area target as early as possible. By 2028, 0.5 percent of the state's area is to be designated for wind energy. Residents should be able to share in the profits.

The Greens want more wind turbines in Hamburg. By 2028 there should be enough land for them. Turbines should also stand in the port. People living nearby should share in the profits.

Beyond the 0.5 percent, the Greens support further areas after a site-by-site review. The port, among other places, is to be used more for wind power. Old turbines are to be replaced with more powerful ones (repowering). Sufficient distances from nature reserves are to apply when choosing sites. A citizen energy law initiated in the current term is meant to let nearby residents take part in wind farms.

The Greens want to speed up the rollout of solar installations and implement a comprehensive photovoltaics strategy. Installed capacity is to grow to 800 megawatts peak by 2030 and 1.5 gigawatts peak by 2035. The city is to lead the way on its own buildings.

The Greens want many more solar panels in Hamburg. They should not only be on roofs. Balconies, building walls and parking lots are possible too. The city should start on its own buildings.

Besides roofs, balconies, facades, parking lots, noise barriers and traffic areas are to be used. Agri-photovoltaics, meaning solar power and farming on the same land, and biodiversity solar parks are also options in principle, according to the platform. The Greens say the 2030 target could supply up to 200,000 households. The solar roof requirement for new buildings and renovations that is already under way forms the basis. City-owned companies are to act as role models and also use outside financing for this.

The Greens want to upgrade Hamburg's power grid so that it can run entirely on renewable electricity. Large-scale and local storage facilities are to be built for this. Distribution grids are to be modernized, digitized and made more flexible.

Solar panels and wind turbines need good power grids. The Greens want to renew these grids. Large and small power storage units should be added. Then power is always there.

Storage is meant to ensure that electricity is available at all times and the grid is used evenly. Modernizing, digitizing and making local distribution grids more flexible has high priority, according to the platform. The Greens see the city's buyback of the energy grids as an important precondition.

The Greens want to cut energy demand significantly in buildings, industry and transportation. They plan a socially balanced renovation drive for residential buildings. High energy-efficiency requirements are to remain in place for new construction.

Buildings should use less energy. So the Greens want to renovate many homes. This should be done fairly. New buildings should still meet strict energy-saving rules.

The platform calls better energy efficiency an important precondition for the energy transition. Electricity and heat from renewable sources are also to be used sparingly. The renovation drive targets residential buildings and is to be designed in a socially fair way.

The Greens want to switch district heating to climate-neutral sources and extend the city-owned network. More households should be able to heat in a climate-friendly way while heating costs stay affordable. City-owned companies are to provide legally secure pricing.

District heating comes to homes through pipes. The Greens want to make this heat without coal. More buildings should get a connection. Prices should be clear and secure for customers.

Plans include heat pumps that use river water and wastewater, as well as plants that turn electricity into heat. For peak demand and as backup, gas plants that can be converted to hydrogen are to be built. Unavoidable waste heat from industry and waste incineration is to be used more. The Wedel plant will be replaced and Tiefstack converted. Private district heating providers are also to have good conditions.

The Greens want every building to take part in the heating transition. Where a district heating connection is not possible, neighborhood-level solutions and local heating networks are to help. Municipal heat planning is to set the framework and give residents guidance.

Not every building can get district heating. Small heating networks in the neighborhood should help there. Neighbors then share clean energy. The city makes a heat plan for this. The plan shows which heating fits where.

Neighborhood approaches are meant to improve energy efficiency and renewable use in districts and residential areas whose buildings cannot be connected to district heating for technical or economic reasons. Local heating networks are to allow shared supply on the outskirts as well and lower costs. Heat planning is to determine demand precisely, tap renewable potential and make supply efficient and inexpensive. It is also to form the basis for the necessary infrastructure.

The Greens want to secure subsidies for buying heat pumps. Federal funding is to stay in place and be sensibly supplemented by Hamburg. The platform points to high upfront costs that only pay off after years of operation.

Heat pumps are still expensive to buy. Later they save money. So the state helps pay for them. The Greens want to keep this help. Hamburg should add its own help too.

For buildings without a connection to a heating network, the platform sees the heat pump as an alternative to gas heating. Purchases are subsidized at up to 70 percent of costs and with low-interest loans. The Greens want to push for federal funds to continue and to add to them at the state level.

The Greens want to give high priority to green hydrogen in order to make industry climate-neutral. The Port of Hamburg is to become northern Germany's center for hydrogen technology. Electrolyzers and an industrial hydrogen network are to be built in Moorburg.

Green hydrogen is made with power from wind and sun. It causes no emissions. The Greens want to produce it in the port. Factories, ships and planes should use it. This should start in 2027.

Electrolyzers are to be built at the site of the former Moorburg coal plant, with market launch planned for 2027. A hydrogen network is to link producers and buyers with regional and national markets. The Tiefstack energy park and the airport are to be connected. The Greens also support an import terminal for green ammonia and imports of green methanol, for example for ocean-going ships. The goal is a decarbonized economy and jobs with a future.

The Greens want to further develop Hamburg's climate protection law and climate plan over the next five years. The goal is to cut CO2 emissions by 70 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. The resulting burdens are to stay small and be shared in a socially fair way.

Hamburg has a climate protection law. The Greens want to improve it. By 2030 Hamburg should emit much less CO2. The law should contain enough measures for that. Costs should be shared fairly.

Sufficient measures for the 2030 target are to be written into the law as far as the state has authority. Where the federal government and the EU must act, the Greens want to press for this together with other states and cities. The climate plan sets targets for industry, commerce, transportation and private households. The work is to be done in close coordination with science, business and civil society.

The Greens want to set annual emission amounts for individual sectors that fall year by year. If an amount is exceeded, an emergency program is to make up the shortfall. The measures in the climate plan are to be adequately funded.

Each sector may only emit a set amount of CO2 per year. This amount gets smaller every year. If emissions are too high, the city must act fast. It then presents an emergency program.

The annual amounts are to fall faster at first and more slowly later because savings become harder over time. A budget approach is to show how much CO2 has already been emitted and how much remains. Projection reports and estimated balances are to deliver the city's CO2 balance faster and more completely. An emergency program is only due if the city, rather than the federal government or the EU, is responsible for the overshoot.

The Greens want Hamburg to be CO2-neutral as early as 2040, five years ahead of the national target year. To that end they support the citizens' initiative "Hamburger Zukunftsentscheid." After 2030, too, Hamburg is to pursue more ambitious targets than the federal government.

Hamburg should be climate-neutral from 2040. That means the city then emits no CO2 on balance. Germany plans this only for 2045. The Greens support a citizens' initiative for this.

According to the platform, the initiative calls for more transparency, binding force and ambition in Hamburg's climate policy; the Greens pledge support for these goals. The platform notes that the Chamber of Commerce also backs the 2040 target year. The Greens see themselves as part of the climate movement and commit to solidarity with the world regions hit hardest.

The Greens want the city to factor adaptation to climate change into every decision and planning process. Hamburg's climate adaptation strategy is to be developed further and made binding. The platform justifies this with Hamburg's position as a large city near the coast.

The climate is changing. Hamburg should get ready for this. The Greens want the city to think about the effects in every plan. This should become a fixed rule. It will cost a lot of money.

The platform compares climate adaptation to fire safety, where Hamburg has made no compromises since the great fire of 1842. The Greens acknowledge that this requires substantial funding but argue that the cost of doing nothing would be far higher. The party also counts better protection of ecosystems as part of adaptation, since it sees their services for biodiversity and air and water quality as threatened by climate change. The strategy's building blocks include flood protection, rainwater management, blue-green infrastructure, heat protection, unsealing of surfaces, and a water strategy.

The Greens want to strengthen and raise the dikes along the Elbe. Protection against rising sea levels is to take priority over other uses and claims on land. The platform points to the storm surge of 1962.

The sea level is rising. The Greens want to make the dikes on the Elbe higher and stronger. Flood protection should come before other plans for the land. Other dikes in Hamburg should also be kept in good shape.

According to the platform, the current dike-raising program relies on so-called climate dikes like those on the North Sea coast; it is meant to secure Hamburg until 2050 and prepare for 2100. The second line of dikes along other waterways is to be maintained, upgraded and, where needed, replanned, with Cranz given as an example. These dikes should also protect against changed rainfall patterns. In addition, infrastructure at and behind the dikes is to be upgraded so that drainage works even when tidal barriers are closed.

The Greens want to prepare Hamburg better for heavy rainfall. More areas where water can seep away or collect are to be created, and more roofs are to be greened. Additional rainwater treatment plants are meant to relieve lakes and rivers.

Sometimes it rains very hard. The Greens want more areas where the water has room. Green roofs should also catch rain. People should get tips on how to protect themselves.

Urban planning is to set aside areas for infiltration and flooding as a matter of course. The existing heavy-rain map, which shows where risks lie, is to be turned into practical guidance for residents as a next step. To keep lakes and rivers from being overloaded during heavy rain, the Greens want to build more decentralized rainwater treatment plants.

The Greens want to preserve Hamburg's remaining peat soils and restore their function by raising water levels. This is meant to let them serve again as natural carbon stores. To this end, the city should be able to buy plots on peatland.

Peatlands are wet soils. They store a lot of CO2. The Greens want to keep the peatlands in Hamburg. For this, the water level there should rise again. The city should be able to buy peatland.

The party wants to push for sufficient funds to buy plots on peatland. Agriculture is to get targets that strengthen peatland protection. The dialogue among farming associations, conservation groups and the environmental authority is to continue. In addition, the projects of the action program "Natürlicher Klimaschutz" (natural climate protection) are to be carried out.

The Greens want to make the building sector climate-neutral in a technology-neutral way, looking at emissions across a building's whole life cycle. The city and its companies are to lead with climate-friendly materials and the Effizienzhaus 40 standard.

New buildings are to harm the climate less. The city itself is to build very energy-saving buildings. It is to build more often with wood and other climate-friendly materials. This also keeps heating costs low.

The basis is to be life cycle analysis, covering construction, operation and demolition. Research into and use of low-carbon materials are to be supported, especially as a replacement for conventional concrete; modular and timber construction and cradle-to-cradle materials are to grow markedly, and support for recycled concrete will be examined. In public tenders, proven climate-friendly materials are to be required more often, with the U5 subway line as the pilot project. The platform keeps high efficiency standards for new buildings so that heating costs stay affordable. Protection against summer heat is also to be ensured.

The Greens want more buildings to get energy retrofits without the costs falling one-sidedly on tenants. To that end, the federal modernization surcharge is to be lowered and support for landlords increased.

Old buildings are to be better insulated. Tenants should not pay more because of this. Landlords are to be allowed to add less of the cost to the rent. In return, landlords get more public funding.

The surcharge is to be roughly equal to the heating costs saved. Better funding programs are to make retrofits pay off for landlords and encourage deep renovations. The aim is a renovation rate of about two percent a year and, on average, the KfW Effizienzhaus 70 standard; higher standards are supported but not made the rule. Serial retrofitting based on the Dutch Energiesprong approach is to move ahead faster with SAGA and Fördern & Wohnen.

The Greens want climate adaptation to be a fixed part of urban development. More green space, unsealed surfaces, and water features are meant to prepare Hamburg for flooding, heavy rain, and heat.

The weather is getting more extreme. There is more heat and more heavy rain. The Greens want to get the city ready for this. They want more green space and more water in the neighborhoods.

For new buildings and when public squares and paths are redesigned, planners should always check how heat and rain protection can be included. Places most at risk of flooding are to be redesigned first. The pilot project "BlueGreen Street" on Königstraße is to be extended to other suitable locations such as main roads. Heavily used urban heat islands are to get water features, shade, and light-colored surfaces. The use and storage of rainwater for public greenery and the rain infrastructure adaptation program (RISA) are also to be advanced.

The Greens want major sporting events in Hamburg to be climate-neutral. Their carbon footprint is to be assessed in a uniform way, and public funding is to depend on it. Clubs are also to receive state money for energy-efficiency renovation of their facilities.

Big sports events should not harm the climate. Experts should check how much greenhouse gas an event causes. Only then should the city give money. Clubs get help to make their facilities use less energy.

The platform notes that in 2024 Hamburg hosted, among others, the European Handball Championship, the Ironman, and matches of the European Football Championship, and that demands on climate protection, security, and infrastructure are growing as a result. The carbon footprint of such events is to be assessed using a standardized procedure. Public funding is to be tied to the result. For new construction and renovation of sports facilities, clubs are to keep receiving state money for energy-efficiency upgrades.

The Greens want Hamburg, as a state, to sign climate protection contracts with energy-intensive industrial companies. The city would thereby offset the extra cost of climate-friendly production compared with conventional processes. This is meant to save large amounts of CO2 and kick-start industrial change.

Climate-friendly production often costs factories more. The Greens want Hamburg to pay the difference. The city signs contracts with the companies for this. That way less CO2 should be produced.

The platform takes up the idea of carbon contracts for difference, meaning contracts that cover the cost gap of low-carbon production. The target group is companies in energy-intensive industry. In addition, new technologies are to receive targeted support if they greatly benefit climate protection but cannot yet be run economically.

The Greens want to expand Hamburg's industry and support it in the shift to an economy without fossil fuels. The petroleum sector is to switch to fossil-free fuels, and small and mid-sized firms are to get advice. The platform names supplying industry with affordable fossil-free energy as the core task.

Hamburg's factories should be able to work without oil, gas and coal. The Greens want to help them do that. Small companies should get advice. Oil companies should make new, clean fuels.

The petroleum industry is to produce hydrogen, ammonia, ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel in the future. A funded advisory office for small and mid-sized companies is to be set up at the Competence Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at HAW Hamburg. A battery forum that also covers recycling is to be established in the renewable energy industry network. In the Billbrook industrial area, the revitalization plan is to be advanced and Industry 4.0 companies attracted.

The Greens want to press the federal government for a reform of grid fees and for several electricity price zones in Germany. In the platform's view, northern Germany is doubly disadvantaged: it pays higher grid fees and, because of the single price zone, does not benefit directly from its own new power generation. The party also calls for faster grid expansion.

A lot of electricity is produced in the north. Still, electricity is not cheaper there. The Greens want to change that. Germany should get different price zones for electricity. The costs for the power grid should be newly arranged.

The demands are addressed to the federal government. Germany currently has a single electricity price zone, which is to be split up. Grid expansion is to aim at a European supergrid, meaning an especially powerful network for transmitting large amounts of electricity over long distances.

The Greens want to use the planned Sustainable Energy Hub to turn the port into a European hub for hydrogen and fossil-free fuels. Suitable companies are to settle at the site of the former Moorburg coal plant and on former tank farm land.

The Greens want to build a big hydrogen site in the port. Hydrogen is an energy source without coal, oil or gas. A plant for this is being built at the old Moorburg coal power station. New companies should settle there.

The Sustainable Energy Hub is planned along the Süderelbe and Rethe waterways. The platform names the 2021 shutdown of the Moorburg coal plant as the first step. According to the platform, private investors, the federal government and the city are investing more than one billion euros there in hydrogen production and supply. Companies working with fossil-free energy are to be located around the electrolyzer and on vacated tank farm sites.

The Greens want Hamburg to lead on climate-neutral shipping. This includes shore power, facilities for bunkering alternative fuels, lower port fees for low-emission ships and a city-owned fleet that sets an example.

Ships should do less harm to the climate. In the port, they should get electricity from land. They should also be able to fill up with new fuels there. Clean ships should pay lower port fees. The city's own ships should set an example.

The platform points to the EU decision to make shipping climate-neutral by 2050 and to its gradual inclusion in emissions trading since 2024. Shipping companies should be able to rely on bunkering methanol and ammonia and charging batteries in Hamburg; bunkering and fueling facilities are to be planned and built quickly for this. The party also sees this as a competitive advantage for the location. The roughly 50 city-owned vessels of the "Flotte Hamburg" are to show how inland vessels, launches and ferries can operate in a climate-friendly way.

The Greens want to create the conditions by 2030 for emission-free tourist shipping on the Elbe. They want to use regulation to push cruise companies to use shore power and introduce cleaner fuels.

Tour boats on the Elbe should no longer give off exhaust. By 2030, the Greens want to create the rules and facilities for that. Cruise ships should use electricity from land while in port. They should also use cleaner fuels.

The model is the Alster lake, where the platform says this has already been achieved. A funding program within the fund for ecological tourism can be set up for converting and buying launches and similar boats. The platform regards cruises as an economic mainstay; departures from Hamburg spare travelers a flight to the starting port. Further aims are climate-neutral building materials such as CO2-free steel, circular processes in ship refurbishment, and environmental and labor standards beyond global and European rules.

The Greens want to set investment priorities: climate neutrality of the administration and city-owned companies, the mobility transition, the business location and social cohesion. An additional one billion euros over ten years is to go into energy retrofits of public buildings.

The Greens want to invest the city's money in a targeted way. Climate protection in city buildings and companies comes first. There is one billion euros extra over ten years for this. The city should not sell its buildings. Renovating matters more than new big projects.

Further priorities are expanding subway, commuter rail, long-distance rail, on-demand services and cycling, as well as schools, youth centers and neighborhood cultural centers. The party rejects selling off public real estate. To cut costs, proven building designs are to be repeated instead of planning each building individually, for example for youth centers, sports facilities and offices. Agencies are to get their own rent budget and decide on office space themselves. Planned large projects will be reviewed for feasibility, and parliament should be able to cancel projects at any stage.