Grüne on the economy

The Greens want to set up a climate and transformation fund of at least €6 billion in the next legislative term. It is to pool and develop existing state programs. Support is to go mainly to small and mid-sized businesses and to municipalities for climate action.

The Greens want a big pot of money for climate action. It should hold at least 6 billion euros. The money helps small companies and towns protect the climate. This should keep jobs in Hesse.

The fund builds on existing budget programs for climate action and transformation, which currently average €900 million a year. Special attention goes to the chemical industry and the auto sector with its suppliers, so their jobs stay in Hesse. The Servicestelle Wirtschaftswandel Hessen (service office for economic change) is to become a point of contact for everyone involved. A regular dialogue with associations and unions is to advise on how to target the money. Social and environmental criteria are to be central to funding decisions.

The Greens want to secure Hesse as an industrial location and help companies move to climate-neutral business. Small and medium-sized companies are a particular focus.

The Greens want to keep industry in Hesse. Companies should get help to work in a climate-friendly way. Small and medium-sized companies should get special advice. Government offices should become digital and simpler.

Industry is to receive targeted support for transformation technologies. Digital administration is meant to simplify bureaucratic processes. The state hydrogen strategy will be updated so that energy-intensive processes can run on green hydrogen. The Digi-Check program is to be expanded and, using the climate and transformation fund, supplemented with energy advice, help with conversion and workshops. Business successions are to become more attractive, and firms are to get help with EU programs such as Horizon Europe and the Green Deal.

The Greens want to make the Meisterbrief (master craftsman certificate) free of charge to lower financial barriers and counter the skills shortage. Bonuses are to support start-ups and business takeovers in the skilled trades.

The Greens want to strengthen the skilled trades. The master craftsman certificate should cost nothing. People who start or take over a business should get money. There should be a short training course for solar installers.

Start-up bonuses for master craftspeople are to support the first founding of a trade business, and further bonuses are to support succession in existing ones. Women founders and successors are a particular focus. Public bodies are to give more weight to climate protection when awarding contracts so that climate-friendly businesses benefit. A short training course, for example for solar installers, and retraining and qualification programs are planned. The reasons given are long waiting times and the need for workers for renewable energy.

The Greens want to support start-ups that build on the region's strengths and on sustainability. Start-ups with measurable social or environmental impact are to get higher funding rates, and women are to gain easier access to start-up finance.

The Greens want to support new companies. Companies that help people or the environment should get more money. Women should find it easier to start a company. Hesse should be a good place for founders.

The platform names fintechs for the Frankfurt financial center and start-ups in energy, life sciences and digital health, artificial intelligence and mobility. The statewide innovation cluster is to be expanded with business, universities and start-up centers. Financing for founding and scaling is to increase overall. The Fundraising Readiness Program is to become an Investment Readiness Program for start-ups and smaller companies. Sector-specific formats for women founders are planned, for example in fintech.

The Greens want to strengthen businesses committed to the common good, such as cooperatives and social enterprises. An impact strategy is to show how social innovation can advance in Hesse.

Some companies mainly want to help society. The Greens want to support such companies. They also want to support companies that avoid waste. Companies should get advice on new reporting duties.

Advice for social entrepreneurs is to become part of regular start-up advice in the future. Concepts for a circular economy and waste avoidance get special support. The platform names common-good and environmental balance sheets as tools for examining effects on the environment and the public interest. Companies newly covered by the EU sustainability reporting duty (CSRD) are to receive subsidized advice.

The Greens want to help municipalities strengthen town centers and reduce vacancies through the "Lebendige Zentren" (lively centers) funding program. In rural areas, local supply is to be secured and regional value creation supported.

The Greens want lively town centers. Towns should get money for this. Empty shops should be used again. In the countryside, shops should be close to home.

Town centers are to combine housing, culture, social services, small owner-run shops and investors. The WIBank investment loan for municipalities is to cover interim purchases of property for urban planning projects as well. In rural areas, everyday needs should be met close to home. Projects with short distances between production, processing and sale will continue to receive funding.

The Greens want to strengthen tourism again after the slump caused by COVID-19 and raise the profile of the regions. Funding is to focus especially on compatibility with nature.

The Greens want more visitors to come to Hesse. Tourism should protect nature. There should be more advertising for Hesse. Trails for hiking and cycling should get better.

Hesse's tourism regions are to become more visible and gain a clearer profile. The state government's activities are to be pooled in a new framework. More marketing is planned for themed tourism. Infrastructure for hiking, cycling and wellness vacations is to be expanded.

The Greens want to support businesses in the digital transition with funding programs and training. Existing programs for skilled trades and small and midsize firms are to be developed further, and a new one for IT security launched. Funding for the games industry is also to grow.

Companies should become more digital. The Greens want the state to give money for this. Small firms and craft businesses should get help. There should be a new program for safe computers. Companies that make video games should also get more support.

The DIGI-Zuschuss (digital grant) is to be continued in a tailored way, and the Distr@l program evaluated and adjusted. An additional funding program is to improve IT security in small and midsize companies, skilled trades and municipalities. Young, digital and environmentally sustainable business ideas are to get help with presentation and marketing. The federally funded data institute is, if possible, to be located in Hesse. To secure skilled workers, the party relies on digital training for learners and further training for employees and job seekers.