Grüne: program for the 2022 Lower Saxony state election

The Greens want to link the energy and port industries and back a green harbor strategy as well as port cooperation among the northern German states. Offshore wind is to be expanded further, and importing green gases is meant to secure jobs and value creation in the region.

The Greens want to make ports greener. The northern states should work together on their ports. More wind turbines should stand at sea. Climate-friendly gas should come into the country through the ports. This should bring jobs.

The Greens want no new cars with fossil-fuel combustion engines to be registered from 2030 at the latest. The state is to use its stake in Volkswagen more actively to promote the shift to a mobility company. According to the program, Lower Saxony should become a pioneer of climate-friendly mobility.

The Greens want no new gasoline or diesel cars from 2030. The state owns part of VW. It should use this influence more. VW should build more electric cars.

The Greens want to steer structural change in the auto industry and its suppliers through government industrial and regional policy. Companies are to receive investment aid, loan guarantees and training programs. Workers are to be financially secure during further training, and more companies are to pay collectively agreed wages.

Electric cars mean some jobs will go away. The Greens want new jobs to come to the same places. Companies should get money and loan guarantees for this. Workers should be secure during further training.

The Greens want to launch a large training and retraining initiative together with the skilled trades. The platform argues that trade businesses are needed for building renovation, renewable energy, housing construction and digital networks, and that many apprenticeship positions remain unfilled.

The Greens want more skilled workers in the trades. They plan a big program for training and retraining. Apprenticeships should become more attractive. The platform says the trades are important for climate protection.

The Greens want to set up a capital fund for sustainable and innovative start-ups to close gaps in seed funding. In addition, private venture capital is to be mobilized, and the state is to be able to take temporary stakes in young companies.

New companies need money to get started. The Greens want to create a fund for this. A fund is a pot of money for a set purpose. Private investors should join in too. The state should be able to become a part owner for a while.

The Greens want to make tourism in Lower Saxony more sustainable and nature-oriented and to fund tourism regions on a lasting basis. The platform sees trends such as domestic vacations, sustainability and regional focus as opportunities for the sector.

Many people vacation in Lower Saxony. The Greens want this tourism to be gentle on nature. Tourist towns should get reliable money from the state. Getting there by bus and train should become more attractive.

The Greens want to strengthen value creation in the regions through pilot projects for regional economic cycles. This is meant to benefit rural areas, small and mid-sized businesses and sustainability. According to the platform, profits then stay local and regions become less dependent on global crises.

The Greens want to strengthen the economy in the regions. Goods should travel short distances. The money should stay in the region. The Greens will fund pilot projects for this. This should help rural areas and small companies most.

The Greens consider gross domestic product alone unsuitable for measuring economic success. They want to introduce pilot projects for common-good balance sheets that show how companies affect society and the environment. Private firms are to get funding for such a balance sheet where needed.

The Greens want to measure economic success differently. It should not only be about growth. Companies should also show what they do for the environment and society. This is called a common-good balance sheet. The Greens want to try this out in projects.

The Greens want to gear EU and state funding programs for urban and rural areas toward social and ecological transformation. Funding that runs against environmental and climate goals would be dropped. Applications would become simpler and more digital.

The state and the EU give money to regions. The Greens want to use this money for climate protection and social services. Things that harm the climate should get no more money. Applying should become easier.

The Greens want to counter the shortage of skilled workers with a drive for employment and training. They also want work in Lower Saxony to be paid fairly.

Lower Saxony does not have enough skilled workers. The Greens want to bring more people into work. They also want more training. And work should be paid fairly.

The Greens want more trade businesses to pay according to collective agreements so that trained workers stay in their profession. They also want to reform maternity protection for self-employed women in order to strengthen women in the trades.

Many tradespeople later move to other jobs. The platform says low pay is one reason. So the Greens want more collectively agreed wages in the trades. These are wages that unions and employers set together. Self-employed women should also get better maternity protection.

The Greens want to accompany the ecological and social restructuring of the economy so that it is socially fair. An impact assessment, ongoing monitoring and advice for employees and works councils are meant to serve this. The party also wants to end discrimination in the labor market and the evasion of social insurance obligations.

The economy is changing because of climate protection. Some jobs disappear and new ones appear. The Greens want to watch this change closely. They want to advise and protect workers. Nobody should be treated unfairly at work.

The Greens are aiming for a continuing education law. Employees are to be released from work for training, be paid appropriately during that time and be entitled to return to their job afterward. The platform justifies this with rapidly changing skill requirements during structural change.

The Greens want a law on job training. Workers should get time off for courses. They keep getting paid during this time. Afterward they may return to their job. This way everyone can keep learning at work.

The Greens want a more active state labor market policy. They plan a public employment sector, a state program against long-term unemployment and secure funding for independent advice for the unemployed. The platform points to more than 200,000 unemployed people alongside staff shortages in many fields.

More than 200,000 people in Lower Saxony have no job. The Greens want to help them more. The state should create jobs with fair conditions itself. People without work should get good advice. This advice should not come from the job center.

The Greens want to reduce poverty in the state together with unions, associations, civic initiatives and municipalities. They plan free counseling for tenants, people in debt and those in consumer insolvency, and easier participation for people with little money. The platform names a basic income as a long-term prospect and supports research on it.

The Greens want fewer people to be poor. People with debts or rent problems should get free advice. The Greens are also thinking about a basic income. That is money every person gets from the state. Researchers should check whether this works.

The Greens are aiming for a labor market in which people with and without disabilities work together. State agencies are to hire more severely disabled people, the compensatory levy is to rise and sheltered workshops are to become easier to leave. In the long run there is to be a right to a job in inclusive companies.

People with and without disabilities should work together. State offices should hire more people with disabilities. Companies that hire too few should pay more. Moving from a sheltered workshop to a regular company should get easier.

The Greens want more employees in Lower Saxony to be paid under collective agreements and the low-wage sector to shrink. Public contracts and business subsidies are to be tied by law to collectively agreed pay, a procurement minimum wage, and environmental and social standards. The platform justifies this with better wages and higher public revenue.

The Greens want more people to be paid under union wage agreements. Such an agreement sets pay and hours for many companies. The state should only give contracts to companies that pay these wages. The companies must also follow rules for the environment and for workers. Small companies should be able to bid more easily.

The Greens want stricter checks on standards for good work and penalties for violations. Trade inspection offices are to get more staff and clear responsibilities so they can inspect at least five percent of businesses a year by 2026. The platform points to an inspection rate of 0.6 percent in 2020.

Companies must follow rules that protect workers. So far the state rarely checks this. The Greens want many more inspections. The offices should get more staff for this. Inspections should also come without warning.

The Greens want to give unions and works councils stronger backing. Obstruction of workplace co-determination is to be prosecuted quickly and competently, with police and judicial authorities building up the necessary expertise.

The Greens want to support works councils. A works council speaks for the workers in a company. Some companies block works councils. Police and courts should deal with such cases faster. They should get more expert knowledge for this.

The Greens want to establish an entitlement to free debt counseling that is open to everyone. Debt and insolvency counseling centers in Lower Saxony are to receive reliable funding.

Some people have more debt than they can pay. The Greens want to help them. Everyone should have a right to free advice. The advice centers should get secure funding.

The Greens want to reduce homelessness significantly through a state program. It would fund Housing First projects, in which homeless people first get an apartment along with social support. Specialized offices are to prevent people from losing their homes in the first place.

The Greens want fewer people to live on the street. A state program should help. Homeless people should get a home first. After that they get help with other problems. Advice offices should help before someone loses their home.

The Greens want to tackle the shortage of daycare staff with better pay, a training wage that prevents poverty, and programs for career changers and returners. The party rejects lowering training standards.

Daycare centers lack trained staff. The Greens want to pay them better. Trainees should also earn enough to live on. People from other jobs should be able to switch to daycare more easily. But the training should not get worse.

The Greens advocate a Bundesteilhabegeld (federal participation allowance) to offset disadvantages caused by a disability. Until this is bindingly regulated, the party wants to keep and further develop the Landesblindengesetz (state law on benefits for blind people).

People with disabilities should get money from the federal government. It is called Bundesteilhabegeld. It should make up for disadvantages caused by the disability. Until then, the state law for blind people stays. The Greens want to improve this law.

The Greens want to improve working conditions at universities and create permanent positions for permanent tasks. University funding is to be restructured for this purpose, and the federal law on fixed-term academic contracts is to be reformed.

Many people at universities only have short-term contracts. The Greens want more permanent jobs. The state should fund universities differently for this. A federal law should change too.

The Greens want to overcome child poverty and secure participation for all children. At the state level they plan dedicated social reporting on children, more money for social facilities and more help for municipalities. They welcome the federal Kindergrundsicherung (basic child allowance).

Many children in Lower Saxony are poor. The Greens want to change that. They want to give more money to youth centers and social services. Towns and cities should get more help.

The Greens want to introduce a statewide Niedersachsenpass (Lower Saxony pass) for people who receive social benefits or have low incomes. It is meant to ease access to culture, sports and local transit and to bundle discounts.

The Greens want to introduce a Lower Saxony pass. People with little money get the pass. It makes it easier to visit museums or join a sports club. Buses and trains should also be cheaper for them.

The Greens want to improve conditions for migrant workers, for example in slaughterhouses, care, logistics, construction and agriculture. Minimum standards are to be defined, inspections expanded and advice centers permanently funded.

Many people from abroad work in slaughterhouses, in care or in construction. The Greens say their conditions are often bad. There should be fixed minimum rules and more inspections. Advice centers should help them in their own language.

The Greens want Lower Saxony to push at the federal level for a wealth tax and a reform of the inheritance tax. According to the program, people with very high incomes should contribute more to funding public tasks.

The Greens want a tax on large fortunes. Germany had this tax in the past. Lower Saxony should push for it in the Bundesrat. The tax on inheritances should also change. People who earn a great deal should pay more.

The Greens want to change the debt brake in the federal constitution and the state constitution so that more investment in climate protection and public services becomes possible. They consider a debt rule right in principle but regard the past focus on a balanced budget as a failure.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The Greens want to change this rule. The state should be able to spend more on climate protection. There should also be more money for schools and housing. The Greens will also look at emergency loans because of the climate crisis.

The Greens want to create a Niedersachsenfonds (Lower Saxony fund) that is to grow to ten billion euros with money from the capital market. It is to finance investment in climate-neutral public buildings, supply infrastructure and public services.

The Greens want a new fund for Lower Saxony. A fund is a large pot of money. The state puts in one billion euros. Borrowed money is added until it reaches ten billion euros. The money should make buildings climate-friendly.

The Greens want to introduce a state asset statement that shows the state's assets and its hidden obligations. Citizens should be able to see how finances, assets and future burdens develop.

The Greens want a new set of accounts for the state. It shows what the state owns. It also shows hidden debts. These include future pensions for civil servants. Then everyone can see how the money stands.

The Greens want to check every budget item in advance for whether it fits the 1.5-degree target and to commit the state's financial investments to climate neutrality by law. In addition, gender budgeting is to shape the budget so that it advances equality between the sexes.

The Greens want to check the state budget for climate protection. The budget is the plan for income and spending. The state should stop investing money in oil, gas and coal companies. The money should benefit all genders equally. The state should also issue green bonds.

The Greens want to strengthen the tax administration with more staff and better technology and set up an anonymous online portal for reporting tax offenses. At the federal level, share deals used to get around the real estate transfer tax are to be stopped.

The Greens want to act more firmly against tax fraud. Tax offices should get more staff and better technology. There should be a website for tips. People can report violations there without giving their name. Companies should no longer use tax tricks when buying buildings.

The Greens want to allow public-private partnerships (PPPs) only if they are reliably cheaper for taxpayers in the long run or bring added value. In transportation they are to be ruled out by law, and all PPP contracts are to be published.

Sometimes the state builds things together with private companies. This is called a public-private partnership, or PPP. The Greens want to allow this only rarely. For roads and transportation it should be banned. All PPP contracts should be public.

The Greens want to make the state bank Nord/LB less risky and turn it into a bank that mainly finances the energy transition and the transformation of the economy. Risky legacy holdings are to be wound down completely.

Nord/LB is a bank that mostly belongs to the state. The bank had big losses. The Greens want it to take fewer risks. It should mainly finance projects for climate and energy.

The Greens want savings banks and public companies to disclose what their executive boards and supervisory bodies are paid, because they work with public money. The savings bank law is to define the public-interest mission more precisely and tie it to climate goals.

Savings banks and state-owned companies work with public money. The Greens want more openness there. Everyone should be able to see what the bosses earn. Savings banks should also pay more attention to climate protection.

The Greens want the state to give municipalities more money through the fiscal equalization system and to change how it is distributed. According to the platform, Lower Saxony is below the national average here, and structurally weak municipalities are at a disadvantage.

Cities and towns get money from the state. The Greens want them to get more. The way the money is shared should also change. Poor towns should do better than today.

The Greens want to create at least 100,000 new, permanently rent-restricted social housing units. A nonprofit state company for housing and climate is to build, buy, and renovate public housing. The party reserves the option of taking real estate held purely for speculation into public ownership.

The Greens want 100,000 new social housing units. These are low-cost homes for people with little money. The state should set up its own company for this. It should build, buy, and renovate homes. The state may take over buildings that are only used for speculation.

The Greens want to realign housing subsidies so that ecological, energy-efficient construction and social housing are rewarded more. A focus is on converting vacant buildings, especially in rural areas.

The state gives money for building homes. The Greens want to hand out this money differently. More money should go to climate-friendly building. Converting empty houses in the countryside should also get money.

The Greens want the Mietpreisbremse (rent cap on new leases) to be usable wherever it is needed in the state and want to strengthen municipal rights of first refusal. The law against misuse of housing is to be tightened. A statewide hotline would offer free advice on tenancy law.

The Greens want to protect renters better. The rent cap should apply wherever homes are scarce. It limits the rent in new leases. Fewer homes should turn into vacation rentals. Renters should get free advice by phone.

The Greens want construction to rely on pollutant-free, renewable, and recycled materials. Renovation and conversion are to take priority over demolition. A building resource certificate would show the total energy and material input of a building.

Building creates a lot of waste. The Greens want to reuse building materials. Old houses should be converted rather than torn down. A new certificate should show how many raw materials are in a house.

The Greens want to align the state building code with climate and sustainability goals and focus it more on renovating and using existing buildings. Minimum quotas would apply for recycled building materials. Attic conversions and mixed uses are to become easier.

The state's building rules should change. Converting buildings should become easier than today. Materials like wood and straw should be allowed more often. Part of the building materials must be recycled. Homes above a supermarket should be easier to build.

The Greens want the state to be able to sell its own land below market value when it is used for subsidized housing or social and cultural facilities. Municipalities would get stronger rights of first refusal on building land, and the state land company would support them in developing settlements.

The state owns land. The Greens want to allow selling it more cheaply. This should apply to subsidized housing and social uses. Towns and cities should find it easier to buy building land first.

The Greens want more funding for climate-neutral neighborhoods and climate adaptation in cities, for example through unsealing surfaces, urban greenery and green roofs. Incentives for mixed and temporary uses are meant to reduce vacant commercial space in city centers.

The Greens want to improve the climate in cities. There should be more green and less concrete. Roofs should become green too. Empty shops downtown should get new uses, for example for culture.

The Greens want to help municipalities set up their own land funds. The aim is to bring more plots into municipal ownership, or back into it, so that cities and towns can better steer their development.

Towns should own more land. For this they can set up a land fund. That is a pot of money for buying land. The Greens want to help with this.

The Greens want to gradually expand all-day care in daycare centers and, above all, raise its quality. The core is a better staff-to-child ratio, to be reached through a phased plan for a third staff member in each group.

The Greens want more all-day places in daycare. They also want better care. Each group should get a third trained worker. This should happen step by step. Staff should get more time to prepare.

The Greens want inclusion in nurseries and kindergartens to be regulated by law. Every group should have special-needs education expertise, and daycare centers across the state should become barrier-free.

Children with and without disabilities should go to daycare together. The Greens want a law for this. Each group should have someone trained in special-needs education. New daycare centers should be built without barriers. Language support should also grow.

The Greens want to strengthen democratic participation, media literacy and environmental education in daycare centers. Forest kindergartens are to receive more funding and be easier to set up.

Children should learn to have a say in daycare. They should also learn how to use media. The Greens support daycare centers that teach a lot about nature. Forest kindergartens should get more money. Setting them up should be easier.

The Greens want rainbow and blended families to be legally recognized, for example in the law on parentage and adoption. More than two people should be able to be legal parents. According to the platform, family is wherever people care for one another.

There are many kinds of families. The Greens want the law to recognize all of them. A child should be able to have more than two parents. People who are not married should also be able to take responsibility for each other.

The Greens want to give youth organizations and youth work providers more support and revise the state youth funding law to do so. Municipalities are also to get help preserving and creating areas for play and exercise.

The Greens want to give more money to youth work. They will change a law for this. There should be more places to play and meet. Young people do not have to buy anything there.

The Greens want to implement the recommendations of the state parliament's inquiry commission on child protection and secure them with a new state child protection law. According to the platform, children and young people have a right to grow up free from violence.

Children should grow up without violence. The Greens want to make a new law for this. Day care centers, schools and sports clubs should have protection plans. Help should come early when a child is in danger.

The Greens oppose cuts to youth welfare services and to child and youth work. They want above all to strengthen outreach support in families, secure the youth workshops, and prevent support from ending on a young person's 18th birthday.

The Greens do not want cuts to youth welfare. Youth welfare helps children, teens and families in hard situations. Help inside families should get stronger. Young people should still get help after they turn 18.

The Greens want to expand and strengthen integrated comprehensive schools so children learn together for longer. In the long run, the tracked school system is to be overcome, because in the party's view early sorting ties educational chances to family background.

Children should go to school together for longer. So the Greens want more comprehensive schools. Smaller comprehensive schools should also be allowed. This helps mostly in rural areas. Later, the split into three school types should end.

The Greens aim to make learning materials free in Lower Saxony, especially digital ones. Tablets and laptops are to count as learning materials because, in the party's view, education should be free from the start.

School materials should be free in Lower Saxony. This is most important for digital media. Tablets and laptops should count as learning materials. Money from school support clubs should only pay for extras.

The Greens want to do away with repeating a grade and with forced transfers to a lower school type, because in the party's view these experiences harm a child's further education. Gymnasien and Realschulen (academic and intermediate secondary schools) should keep their students through the end of lower secondary level.

Children should no longer have to repeat a grade. They should also not be forced to change schools. Gymnasien and Realschulen should support their students until they finish. Comprehensive schools should start with smaller classes. Fewer young people should leave school without a diploma.

The Greens want to give schools more educational freedom and change bureaucratic rules accordingly. Model schools are to decide more on their own, and in the longer term schools should be allowed to work without grades up to eighth grade.

Schools should decide more for themselves. The Greens want to set up model schools for this. Rules should help schools, not slow them down. Later, schools should be able to go without grades up to grade 8. Longer internships should also count.

The Greens want to further develop inclusive schools, which are to replace Förderschulen (special-needs schools) in the long run, and stand by the timetable for phasing those out. The guideline is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; truancy is also to drop markedly.

All children should go to school together. This includes children with disabilities. Special-needs schools should no longer exist later on. New schools must be built without barriers. Fewer children should skip school or drop out.

The Greens want to stop treating truancy by teenagers as an administrative offense. The aim, according to the platform, is to motivate young people to return to school rather than punish them.

Some teenagers do not go to school. Today they can be fined for this. The Greens want to end that. They would rather help teenagers want to go back to school.

The Greens want to support schools that practice inclusion with more staff, better equipment and clear legal rules. Basic special-education staffing would be introduced at secondary schools, and teams drawn from different professions would be expanded.

In inclusive schools, children with and without disabilities learn together. The Greens want to give these schools more staff. Special-education teachers should work there permanently. Therapists and social workers should help too.

The Greens want schools to promote and recognize students' first and family languages. An overall plan for multilingualism would be developed for all school types and put into practice step by step.

Many children speak a language other than German at home. The Greens want schools to support these languages. There should be a plan for all schools. Language support should also grow.

The Greens want to turn all schools into compulsory all-day schools, running four days a week from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The school day would combine learning, physical activity, creative phases and programs by outside partners rather than mere afternoon supervision.

The Greens want all schools to be all-day schools. Children would be there four days a week from 8 to 3. Learning, sports and creative time would take turns. Clubs and music schools would take part.

The Greens want to launch a state program for school meals that gives municipalities financial support. Every child at every school should be able to get a warm, healthy meal, especially children from low-income households.

The Greens want good food at all schools. Every child should be able to get a warm meal. This includes children from poor families. The state would give towns and cities money for this.

The Greens want to use a Niedersachsenfonds (Lower Saxony investment fund) to pay for energy retrofits and modernization of school buildings, easing the burden on municipalities. The platform describes many schools as run-down and not accessible, and says municipalities cannot cover the need alone.

Many school buildings are old and in bad shape. The Greens want to fix and modernize them. The buildings should also use less energy. The state would help towns and cities with money.

The Greens want money from the Digitalpakt (the federal-state school digitalization fund) to reach schools faster and want schools to get better support with digital tools. Digital tools should be embedded in teaching and serve as a means, not an end in themselves.

The Greens want schools to be more digital. Money for this should reach schools faster. Experts should look after the computers and networks. Children and teachers should learn to use media safely.

The Greens want to make education for sustainable development and global learning a fixed part of curricula in daycare centers and all types of schools. The platform treats both as cross-cutting topics in which future challenges are addressed and solutions worked out.

Children should learn about sustainability in daycare and school. Sustainability means living so the planet stays healthy later too. The Greens want this written firmly into the curricula. Animal welfare is part of it.

The Greens want teachers at primary, lower secondary and Oberschule schools to be paid, as a rule, at civil-service grade A13, and want to improve working conditions in schools. Schools would also be relieved of administrative work through additional staff.

Primary school teachers often earn less than other teachers. The Greens want them to earn the same. Work at schools should become easier. More staff should take over the office work.

The Greens want to recruit enough teachers for all schools and thereby improve classroom coverage. To do so, they would reassess demand, train more teachers and special-education teachers, and prepare career changers better.

Many schools do not have enough teachers. The Greens want to check exactly how many are missing. Then more people should be trained for the job. People from other jobs should also be better prepared to teach.

The Greens want to reform teacher training so that it is organized by grade levels rather than by school types. This is meant to prepare teachers better for the growing demands of the profession.

Today teachers train for one type of school, such as the Gymnasium. The Greens want to change that. Teachers would train for certain grade levels instead. This should prepare them better for the job.

The Greens want to make dual vocational training (combined company and school training) more attractive to secure skilled workers. They plan a skilled-labor initiative with the chambers of commerce and the skilled trades, plus better conditions for trainees in transport, housing and training quality.

The Greens want more young people to choose job training in a company. There are not enough skilled workers. Trainees should get a cheap ticket for buses and trains. There should be dorms for trainees. A new office should check whether training is good.

The Greens want master craftsman training in the skilled trades to be free of charge. They argue it is unequal that a master's degree at a university carries no fees while this training does.

The Greens want master craftsman training to be free. Today it costs a lot of money. A master's degree at a university has no fees. The Greens think this is unfair.

The Greens want to modernize vocational schools, equip them digitally and develop them into centers for training and continuing education. To address the teacher shortage, they rely on career changers, better pay for practical-skills teachers and more university places.

The Greens want to make vocational schools more modern. The schools should get better technology. They do not have enough teachers. So people from trades and industry should teach there too. Teachers for practical skills should get more pay.

The Greens want to write inclusion at vocational schools into the state school law. Joint classes are to be expanded across all types of vocational schools, with the staff and funding required.

The Greens want to put inclusion at vocational schools into law. Inclusion means: people with and without disabilities learn together. There should be more staff and money for this. Teachers should get extra training.

The Greens want to give universities reliable, needs-based core funding and reduce their dependence on third-party grants. This is meant to provide planning certainty; the platform rejects the cuts made by the outgoing state government.

The Greens want to give universities more steady money from the state. Universities should depend less on outside grants. Outside grants are funds for single projects, for example. This helps universities plan better.

The Greens want tuition-free study and therefore want to scrap the fees charged to long-term students. In their view, tuition fees are a social barrier; attending university should not depend on parents' income.

The Greens want university without fees. People who study for a very long time must pay fees today. The Greens want to end these fees. Studying should not depend on parents' money.

The Greens want to make it easier to move between vocational training and university and to expand dual study programs. Trainees should be able to earn a university degree alongside their vocational qualification.

The Greens want to connect job training and university better. Trainees should find it easier to study too. There should be more dual study programs. Dual means: you learn in a company and at a university. Universities of applied sciences should be made stronger.

The Greens want to push at the federal level for student financing that makes university possible regardless of income. In the platform's view, today's BAföG (federal student aid) does not deliver equal educational opportunity. Part-time students should also be able to receive it.

The Greens want to change BAföG. BAföG is money from the state for students. Part-time students should get it too. Everyone should be able to study, no matter how much money their family has.

The Greens want to strengthen research from basic science to applied projects, especially where it concerns the climate-friendly transformation. Additional professorships for climate protection are to be created. Results should reach practical use more quickly.

The Greens want to strengthen research. Research on the climate matters most to them. There should be new professors for climate protection. New ideas should reach everyday use faster.

The Greens want to give students and staff at universities more rights to take part in decisions. The platform argues that universities depend on a democratic culture and working academic self-governance.

The Greens want more say at universities. Students and staff should help decide more things. Doctoral students should have a say too. University committees should become stronger.

The Greens want the state's universities to be more closely connected across Europe and the world, and want to remove obstacles to study and research abroad. Legal rules are to be changed so that studying digitally at several locations becomes easier.

The Greens want universities to work more with other countries. Students should be able to go abroad more easily. People should also be able to study online at several places. The rules should be changed for that.

The Greens want to expand adult education and raise the budget for continuing education to one percent of the total education budget. They argue that changes in work and society make more funding necessary.

Adults should be able to keep learning too. The Greens want to spend more money on this. One percent of the education money should go to adult learning. There should also be more online courses.

The Greens want to expand programs for basic education, literacy and catching up on school diplomas, and make them free of charge in the future. In the platform's view, high participation fees deter people.

Some adults cannot read and write well. Others want to finish school later in life. The Greens want more courses for them. The courses should cost nothing.

The Greens want to recruit more teachers and early childhood educators with a migration background and expand native-language instruction. Colonial history and critical perspectives on racism are to become a fixed part of the curriculum. A state program is meant to promote a culture of diversity.

The Greens want more teachers and daycare staff with a migration background. There should be more classes in children's native languages. Schools should teach about colonial history and racism. A state program should support diversity.

The Greens want to introduce a required school subject called "Religions and Worldviews" that is tied to no denomination and grounded in religious studies. Denominational schools are to become, in dialogue with the religious communities, schools open to children of every faith.

The Greens want a new school subject for all children. It is called Religions and Worldviews. It does not belong to any one church. Schools tied to one faith should open up to all children.

The Greens want to give the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung (state agency for civic education) more money and expand it. The platform sees it as playing a key role because disinformation threatens public debate. Other civic education providers are also to receive better funding.

The state agency for civic education explains politics to people. The Greens want to give it more money. Schools should also teach more about democracy. Teachers should get extra training for this.

The Greens want older people to be able to live at home for as long as possible and to be protected from poverty. To that end they call for more low-barrier, affordable housing with neighborhood-based care and infrastructure that suits all generations.

Old people should be able to stay in their homes for a long time. The Greens want more homes without barriers. The homes should be affordable. Care should be available nearby. The Greens also want to do something about loneliness.

The Greens want to ensure a dignified end of life for everyone, especially for the most seriously ill. To that end, palliative care is to be expanded, particularly outpatient care and care for children and young people.

Many people want to die at home. The Greens want to make that possible. Palliative care eases pain for very sick people. This help should be available more often, also at home and for children.

The Greens want to strengthen the public health service structurally so it can fully deliver prevention and health education. A state prevention foundation is to pool funds, and local health counseling is to be supported.

Public health offices should get stronger. They should do more to keep people healthy. A new state foundation should collect the money for prevention. Towns should offer more health advice.

The Greens want to digitalize health care more extensively, arguing that Germany has fallen behind in this area. Patient data should be available securely and in line with privacy law, and medical confidentiality should apply to digital data as well.

The Greens want more digital tools in health care. Public health offices should work more digitally. Patient data should be safe. Doctors must keep digital data secret too.

The Greens want hospital planning to be guided by quality of treatment and to divide the state into at least eight care regions with tiered services. The aim is basic care across the state and specialized centers in large hospitals.

The Greens want to plan hospitals in a new way. The state should have at least eight regions. Each region has smaller and larger hospitals. The quality of treatment should matter in planning.

The Greens want on-call medical services, emergency rooms and ambulance services to work together more closely so that people with acute illness get the right help at any time. Integrated emergency centers are to be set up at hospitals.

The Greens want better help in emergencies. On-call doctors, emergency rooms and ambulances should work together better. Hospitals should get emergency centers. Ambulances should get equipment for remote treatment.

The Greens want to tackle the shortage of skilled workers in health care with more training, easier recognition of foreign qualifications and better working conditions. Among other things, at least 200 new places to study medicine are to be created and tuition fees dropped for several professions.

Health care lacks many skilled workers. The Greens want at least 200 new places to study medicine. Some training programs should no longer cost school fees. Skilled workers from abroad should find it easier to work and stay.

The Greens want nurses' responsibility to be reflected in pay and working conditions. They rely on wider collective bargaining coverage, less temp work, far more training places and more independent authority for qualified nurses.

The Greens want to improve nursing jobs. Nurses should get better pay. There should be more training places. Well-trained nurses should be allowed to decide more on their own.

The Greens want care around childbirth to be available close to home and more staff in maternity care. Maternity care is to count as basic care, so that the nearest service can be reached within 30 minutes at most.

The Greens want better help with childbirth. No woman should drive more than 30 minutes to a maternity ward. There should be more midwives. Midwives should get better pay.

The Greens want abortion to be part of standard medical care and available everywhere in the state. They also advocate that abortion should no longer be a criminal offense.

The Greens say the pregnant person alone decides about an abortion. Abortions should be available everywhere in the state. There should be enough doctors and hospitals for this. Abortion should no longer be a crime.

The Greens want to implement the recommendations of the Landespsychiatrieplan (state psychiatry plan) so that people in a mental health crisis get help faster. Outpatient crisis support is to grow, waiting times are to shrink and involuntary commitments are to become less frequent.

The Greens want to help people with mental illness better. There should be more fast help in a crisis. The wait for treatment should be shorter. Fewer people should be sent to a clinic against their will.

The Greens want everyone in Lower Saxony to receive medical care, including people without health insurance or residence papers. To that end, an anonymous health voucher is to be available across the state. The platform justifies this with avoidable severe illness and with lost revenue for practices and hospitals.

Some people have no health insurance. The Greens want them to be able to see a doctor too. They plan an anonymous health voucher. Anonymous means nobody learns the person's name. This way nobody has to fear being deported.

The Greens want to expand home-based and day-care nursing services near where people live and to ease the burden on family caregivers. The platform notes that the number of people needing care is expected to roughly double by 2050 while too few people enter nursing professions.

More and more people need care. The Greens want more care services close to home. There should be more places for day care and short-term care. This should ease the load on family members. Care workers should get better working conditions.

The Greens want to make it easier for civil servants to join statutory health insurance, following the so-called Hamburg model. The platform sees this as a step toward treating them the same as salaried public employees.

Civil servants usually have private health insurance. The Greens want to make public health insurance easier for them. Hamburg is the model. Civil servants and regular employees should be treated more alike.

The Greens want to make SPRINT, a language and integration project for young refugees, a permanent part of vocational schools. In addition, trainees from foster families or children's homes would no longer have to hand over part of their income for their care.

The Greens want to help young refugees get into job training. The SPRINT project helps them learn German. It should become a fixed part of vocational schools. Trainees from foster families or homes should keep their pay.

The Greens want to make Lower Saxony a "safe harbor" for people fleeing hardship, violence and war. To do so, the state's former admission program is to be restarted. States should in future be able to adopt such programs without approval from the Federal Interior Ministry.

The Greens want to take in more people in need. Lower Saxony once had its own program for this. That program should start again. Cities and counties should be allowed to take in extra refugees. The state should help them.

The Greens want newly arrived refugees to be housed quickly in decentralized accommodation and offered counseling and language courses early on. They should stay in initial reception centers for no more than three months. Shelters are to meet high minimum standards that are checked independently.

Refugees should not live long in large reception centers. They should stay there three months at most. After that they should live in towns and cities. They should quickly get language courses and advice. Independent inspectors should check the shelters.

The Greens want to protect unaccompanied minor refugees through binding admission rules based on child welfare and youth welfare law. The party rejects deporting young people who fall under youth welfare law. Young refugees should find it easier to earn school diplomas.

Some children and teenagers flee without their parents. The Greens want to protect them better. The child's well-being should always come first. These young people should not be deported. They should attend regular schools and be able to catch up on diplomas.

The Greens want deportations to take place only as an exception and after a thorough review of each case. They call for a general halt to deportations to war and crisis zones and reject the concept of safe countries of origin. The party considers pre-deportation detention disproportionate as a rule.

The Greens want far fewer deportations. Each case should be checked carefully. Nobody should be deported to a country at war. The Greens reject the list of safe countries of origin. They think detention before deportation is usually wrong.

The Greens want to remove barriers to participation and a political voice for immigrants. A new law is to secure access to education, work and political involvement, and immigration offices are to become "welcome offices." Migrant counseling is to be funded permanently as a statutory state service.

The Greens see Lower Saxony as a state of immigration. Immigrants should find it easier to take part and have a say. A new law is planned for this. Immigration offices should become friendlier and more helpful. Advice services for immigrants should get lasting state money.

The Greens want a campaign to encourage more people to become citizens and will push at the federal level for further easing. In addition, everyone who has lived in Germany for at least three years should be able to vote in local elections, regardless of nationality.

The Greens want more people to get a German passport. They plan a campaign for this. The path to citizenship should become easier. People without a German passport should also vote in their town. They must have lived in Germany for three years.

The Greens want to end so-called Kettenduldungen in Lower Saxony, meaning repeatedly renewed tolerated stays without secure status. People who have lived this way, some for many years, are to get a path to a permanent right to stay.

Some people have lived in Germany for years with only a tolerated stay. That means they may stay for now, but without a secure right. The Greens want to end this. These people should be allowed to stay for good.

The Greens want a state program that lets threatened human rights activists and politically persecuted people stay in Lower Saxony for a limited time. Scholarships would fund this respite.

Some people fight for human rights in their country. They are threatened for it. The Greens want to give them shelter in Lower Saxony for a while. They would get a scholarship, which is money to live on.

The Greens want diversity and anti-discrimination to be part of school culture, school bodies, teaching and classroom materials. Curricula would be revised with a view to diversity and gender equity, and queer topics would become part of the curriculum.

The Greens want schools to embrace diversity. No one should be treated unfairly. Every school should have a contact person for this. Queer topics should also be taught in class.

The Greens want women in academia to have the same career opportunities as men. The platform notes that women make up half of students and doctoral candidates but hold far fewer professorships and leadership posts.

There are few female professors at universities. The Greens want to change that. Women should have the same chances as men. Secure jobs and child care should help.

The Greens are seeking a treaty with the Islamic religious communities to put matters such as religious education, imam training and pastoral care on a new footing. The umbrella organizations of Sinti and Roma are also to receive contractually guaranteed recognition and funding.

The Greens want a treaty with the Islamic communities. It would cover things like religion classes and training for imams. The Sinti and Roma associations should also get a treaty. The state should fund them for the long term.

The Greens want to create an anti-discrimination law for Lower Saxony modeled on Berlin's. It is meant to protect against discrimination by state and municipal agencies and institutions and, for the first time, give those affected a claim to compensation.

The Greens want a new law against unfair treatment. It should apply to offices of the state and the towns. People affected can then ask for money as compensation. There should be complaint offices everywhere.

The Greens want queer orientations and identities to be recognized as a natural part of society. To that end they plan counseling and support networks, especially in rural areas, more education in schools, and queer-sensitive practices and gender-inclusive language in state agencies.

Queer people should belong everywhere in Lower Saxony. Queer means lesbian, gay or trans, for example. The Greens want more counseling, especially in rural areas. Schools should talk openly about diversity. State offices should use gender-inclusive language.

The Greens want to fully implement the Istanbul Convention on protecting women from violence and launch a cross-ministry overall strategy for violence protection. This includes more places in women's shelters, reliable public funding for them and an expansion of counseling centers.

Many women experience violence. The Greens want to protect them better. There should be more places in women's shelters. The places should be free for the women. Counseling centers should also get more money.

The Greens are seeking an election law reform that provides for gender parity and holds up constitutionally. It is meant to raise the share of women in the state parliament and local councils, which stood at 27 percent in the state parliament after the last election.

There are far more men than women in the state parliament. Only about one in four members is a woman. The Greens want to change the election law. Then more women should sit in the parliament and in local councils.

The Greens want to tighten Lower Saxony's Equal Rights Act so that more women hold leadership roles in the public service. In companies in which the state holds a stake, at least half of executive and supervisory board seats are to go to women.

Few women are bosses in the public service. The Greens want to change that with a stricter law. There should be a minimum share of women bosses. In companies owned by the state, half of the leaders should be women.

The Greens want to free Lower Saxony quickly from imported oil, gas and coal and switch the energy supply entirely to renewable sources by 2035. Electricity is to be generated almost entirely from renewables as early as 2030. The platform cites climate protection and security of supply.

The Greens want to stop relying on oil, gas and coal from abroad. By 2030, power should come almost fully from wind and sun. By 2035, all energy should be renewable. This should protect the climate and keep the supply secure.

The Greens want to align Lower Saxony's climate law with the 1.5-degree path and make the state climate neutral by 2035. Fixed interim targets, annual requirements for all sectors and a public climate report are to apply. In the party's view, acting early avoids follow-on costs and misguided investment.

The Greens want to make Lower Saxony's climate law stricter. The state should be climate neutral by 2035. That means it adds no more greenhouse gases overall. There should be a public report every year.

The Greens want the state's administration to operate climate neutrally by 2030 and thereby lead the way. To that end, state buildings are to be retrofitted for energy efficiency faster and procurement made climate friendly.

The state's offices should be climate neutral by 2030. The state should renovate its buildings faster. Then they need less energy. The state should also buy climate-friendly goods.

The Greens want to create a climate council that advises the state government and proposes further measures in yearly reports. What science says is needed to meet the interim targets is to guide government action.

The Greens want to found a climate council. This is a group of experts. It advises the government of Lower Saxony. Every year it suggests new steps for the climate.

The Greens want to strengthen climate action as a mandatory task for municipalities and install full-time climate officers everywhere. The platform argues that climate action is carried out locally and requires funding and expertise within local administrations.

The Greens want towns and cities to be required to protect the climate. Every municipality should get a full-time climate officer. This person works for the local climate goals. The state should help municipalities with money.

The Greens want to turn municipal energy reports into mandatory public climate reports published every year. They also want, where possible, a duty to assess the climate impact of municipal decisions. According to the platform, this is meant to create transparency.

Municipalities now write reports on their energy use. The Greens want to turn these into climate reports. The reports should come out every year. Everyone should be able to read them. Municipalities should also check how their decisions affect the climate.

The Greens want to make planning for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and grid expansion much faster. Agencies would be better staffed, procedures bundled at one authority, and citizens involved early. Species and habitat protection should not suffer as a result.

The Greens want faster planning and permits. This applies to wind turbines and power grids, for example. Agencies should get more staff. Citizens should have a say early on. Protection of animals and plants should stay in place.

The Greens want to expand wind power quickly and substantially in order to become climate-neutral by 2035. Onshore, at least two gigawatts net would be added each year, and 2.5 percent of the state's area would be reserved for wind power. The expansion is meant to be compatible with species protection.

The Greens want to build many more wind turbines. Lower Saxony should be climate-neutral by 2035. That means the state no longer harms the climate. There should be more land for wind turbines. Permits should come faster. Birds and bats should stay protected.

With a solar offensive, the Greens want to use as many suitable roofs as possible for photovoltaics. A solar mandate would apply to new buildings and roof renovations, and new parking lots would gradually have to be covered with solar modules. The platform sees Lower Saxony as lagging behind on solar energy.

The Greens want many more solar panels. New buildings should have to put solar panels on the roof. The same applies when someone renews a roof. New parking lots should get a roof with solar panels. The state should use its own roofs by 2025.

The Greens want an energy transition that is as decentralized as possible and directly benefits local people. Wind farm operators would have to offer residents and municipalities a stake of up to 20 percent. A fund would help citizen energy projects get started.

The Greens want local people to earn money from wind turbines. Wind farm operators must offer them a share. The share can be up to 20 percent. A fund should give citizen projects money at the start. A fund is a pot of money.

The Greens want to produce more biogas from residues and by-products as well as from liquid manure and dry droppings. The land used for energy crops would shrink. Existing plants would run more flexibly to stabilize the power grid and supply.

The Greens want to make biogas mainly from leftovers and manure. Less farmland should be used for energy crops. Biogas plants should supply power when it is needed. The heat from the plants should also be used.

The Greens want to expand power grids, smart controls, and energy storage, giving priority to generation close to where power is used. Flexible tariffs and smart meters would match consumption to the supply of wind and solar power. The party wants gas storage facilities to come under public control.

The Greens want better power grids and more storage. People should use power when a lot of green power is available. Flexible prices and digital meters should make that possible. Gas storage sites should be under public control. This should make supply more secure.

The Greens want all buildings to be heated without oil and natural gas by 2035. A renewable heat law would require minimum shares of renewable heat when a heating system is replaced or a building renovated, and new buildings would have to be at least climate-neutral. Low-income households would get targeted relief.

The Greens want all buildings to heat without oil and gas. This should happen by 2035. Anyone who replaces a heating system must partly use renewable heat. New buildings should be climate-neutral. People with little money should get help.

The Greens want to require municipalities to draw up heat plans and to push for their rapid implementation. Heating networks would become climate-neutral and take in more waste heat. The platform considers this decisive for the heating transition to succeed locally.

The Greens want every municipality to make a heat plan. The plan shows how buildings will be heated in the future. Heating networks should become climate-neutral. Factories should pass on their leftover heat. That way, less energy is lost.

The Greens want saving energy and efficiency to come before replacing energy sources, and want funding programs geared to that. In construction, renovation should take priority over new buildings, and more recycled and renewable building materials should be used.

The Greens want everyone to use less energy. State money should mainly go to efficient devices, cars and buildings. Old buildings should be renovated instead of building new ones. Building materials should be reused more often.

The Greens want to end natural gas and oil extraction in Lower Saxony through a phase-out plan and to stop issuing new permits. They cite climate protection and risks to the environment and local residents.

Companies in Lower Saxony take gas and oil out of the ground. The Greens want to end this. There should be no new permits. The Greens say this protects the climate and people living nearby.

The Greens reject new permanent fossil fuel infrastructure and consider floating LNG terminals sufficient. These are meant to replace Russian pipeline gas in the short term and operate only for a limited period.

Germany wants to stop using gas from Russia. Liquid gas should come by ship instead. The Greens want to allow only floating terminals for this. They should run only for a limited time. The Greens reject new permanent gas facilities.

The Greens want to support the construction of plants to produce and transport green hydrogen so that the energy-intensive metal and chemical industries can become climate neutral. Wilhelmshaven is to become a hub for renewable energy. A large share of the hydrogen is to be imported.

Steel and chemical plants need a lot of energy. They should use green hydrogen. That is a gas made with renewable power. The state should fund plants and pipelines for it. Wilhelmshaven should become a key port for clean energy.

The Greens want to speed up the expansion of renewable energy and thereby create new business models and jobs in Lower Saxony. Workers are to get support when they need new qualifications for this.

The Greens want more power from wind and sun. This should bring many new jobs. People who need to learn new skills for these jobs should get help.

The Greens want to rewet drained peatlands so they store carbon dioxide again. A state-owned company for peatland protection is to speed this up. No new permits for peat extraction would be issued, and peat is to be replaced by other materials.

Peatlands store greenhouse gases when they are wet. The Greens want to make dry peatlands wet again. A new state company should organize this. No one should get a new permit to dig up peat. Gardeners should use soil without peat.

The Greens want to speed up energy retrofits of buildings and match subsidy volumes to demand. A heating-transition grant program would target low-income households so that total rents do not rise.

Buildings should use less energy. The state should give more money for this. People with little money should benefit most. Their rent including heating should not go up. Anyone who wants to retrofit should get advice.

The Greens want to make public buildings climate-neutral by 2035, starting with the old buildings that harm the climate most. In public construction contracts, quality and ecological requirements are to carry more weight relative to price.

State buildings should be climate-neutral by 2035. That means they no longer harm the climate. The worst old buildings come first. In building contracts, price should not be the only thing that counts.

The Greens want a state development plan that brings together the state's sector strategies, and they want all planning aligned with environmental and climate goals. 2.5 percent of the state's land would be designated as priority areas for wind power, and 15 percent would become part of a habitat network.

The Greens want one plan for the whole state. All planning should fit climate protection. Wind turbines should get priority on 2.5 percent of the land. 15 percent of the land should form a network for animals and plants.

The Greens want to turn towns and cities into so-called sponge municipalities that store rainwater and let it seep into the ground. According to the platform, this helps against drought, heat, heavy rain and flooding alike. Rivers and floodplains are to get more room.

The climate crisis brings more droughts and more heavy rain. So the Greens want more green space in towns and villages. The ground should soak up water like a sponge. Rivers should get more room. This also protects against floods.

The Greens want the search for a final repository for high-level nuclear waste to continue with high safety standards, transparency and a say for affected regions. The nuclear facilities at Gorleben are to be dismantled. They call for new safety concepts for extended interim storage.

Germany is looking for a safe place for highly radioactive waste. The Greens want the search to go on openly and carefully. Safety matters more than speed. People in the regions should have a say. The nuclear sites in Gorleben should be removed.

The Greens continue to reject nuclear power, calling it expensive, risky and no answer to the climate crisis. After the Emsland plant shuts down at the end of 2022, the fuel element factory in Lingen should also close. They want exports of fuel elements to high-risk reactors abroad banned.

The Greens are against nuclear power. They say it is costly and dangerous. The last nuclear plant in Lower Saxony goes offline at the end of 2022. The fuel rod factory in Lingen should close too. Germany should not send fuel rods to unsafe plants abroad.

The Greens also call for a transparent repository search for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, with uniform, up-to-date safety requirements. They back the application to revoke the permit for Schacht Konrad because its safety criteria date from the 1980s.

Some nuclear waste is less radioactive. The Greens want an open search for a storage site for this waste too. The safety rules should be modern. They think the planned Schacht Konrad site is out of date.

The Greens want nuclear waste removed from the Asse mine as quickly as possible. The process is to be transparent and involve citizens. The search for an interim storage site should be reexamined with an open outcome.

There is nuclear waste in the Asse mine. The Greens want to get it out fast. Local people should have a say. The place for an interim store should be checked again. Each year there should be a report on health and the environment.

The Greens want climate-friendly renovation of university buildings and sustainable energy concepts at every campus. The platform cites a large investment backlog and the high share of university buildings in the state administration's greenhouse gas emissions.

Many university buildings are old. They use a lot of energy. The Greens want to renovate them. This should help the climate. The money should come from a state fund.

The Greens want hospitals to help cut CO2, since the platform says the health sector causes 4.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Hospitals are to get energy retrofits and generate renewable energy themselves.

The Greens want hospitals to be better for the climate. The buildings should use less energy. They should make their own green power. They should also save water and waste.

The Greens oppose dumping sludge from dredging in rivers and ports into the North Sea or inland waters. Instead, uncontaminated dredged material is to be used for coastal protection. Coastal protection plans are to be revised in light of the effects of climate change.

Dredgers take mud out of rivers and ports. The Greens do not want this mud dumped in the sea. Clean mud should help protect the coast. Coastal protection plans should fit climate change.

The Greens want to create a fund to tackle marine litter and keep plastic waste out of rivers, lakes, ports and the North Sea. Old munitions lying in the sea are to be recovered. The program justifies this with the Wadden Sea's importance for biodiversity and climate protection.

The Greens want to protect the sea better. A new fund should help fight trash in the sea. Old munitions should be taken out of the sea. There should be more floodplains along rivers.

The Greens want to write into the state water law that public drinking water supply takes priority over other uses. This is meant to let municipal water utilities keep providing good, affordable drinking water. Because of the climate crisis, new water extraction areas are also to be approved faster.

Drinking water for people should come first. The Greens want to put this into the water law. Other users of water come after that. Water utilities should be allowed to use new areas for drinking water faster.

The Greens want to avoid waste and reuse raw materials as fully as possible, naming zero waste as the goal. Repair, durable products and reusable packaging systems are to be supported. According to the platform, this protects the climate and environment and reduces dependence on raw material imports.

The Greens want much less trash. Products should last long and be easy to repair. Raw materials should be used again and again. There should be more reusable packaging and repair cafés. Then the state needs fewer raw materials from abroad.

The Greens want to refuse all emergency approvals for neonicotinoids because, according to the platform, these insecticides endanger bees, bumblebees and other insects. They also want to support beekeeping in the state.

Some pest poisons also harm bees. The Greens want no exceptions for these poisons. They want to help beekeepers. Beekeepers are people who keep bees.

The Greens want livestock farming to be geared to the animals' needs. Straw bedding and outdoor access are to become standard, and tethering and procedures without anesthesia are to end.

The Greens want farm animals to have better lives. Pigs and cattle should get straw and time outside. Cattle should no longer be tied up. Procedures without anesthesia should be banned. Farmers should get money to rebuild their barns.

The Greens want to push at the federal level for a general eight-hour limit on animal transports and a ban on longer transports to countries outside Europe. Slaughter close to the farm is to be supported and CO2 stunning ended.

Many animals travel in trucks for a very long time. The Greens want to allow eight hours at most. Trips to slaughterhouses in Germany should take four hours at most. More animals should be slaughtered nearby. The state should check big slaughterhouses itself.

The Greens want to do without animal testing as far as possible and give more funding to alternative methods. For university teaching, a complete phase-out is to be examined.

The Greens want far fewer tests on animals. They want to give more money for other methods. University classes may stop using animal tests completely. Animal welfare advocates should have a say in approvals.

The Greens want tighter rules for keeping pets and wild animals privately. Plans include a statewide neutering ordinance for cats, a certificate of competence for keepers of exotic animals and a positive list of suitable species.

The Greens want new rules for pets. Cats should be neutered. People who keep exotic animals should prove their knowledge. A list should say which species people may keep at home. Sending animals by mail should be banned.

The Greens oppose keeping wild animals in circuses and back the federal government's planned positive list. Zoos are to keep wild animals in the most animal-appropriate way possible. A central register is to record exotic wild animals.

The Greens do not want wild animals in circuses. Zoos should keep wild animals in better ways. The state should keep a list of exotic animals. Then officials can check where such animals live.

The Greens want the state and municipalities to guarantee funding for animal shelters. A grant program is to pay for renovating the buildings and making them more energy-efficient. Volunteers and animal welfare groups are also to be strengthened.

Animal shelters should get enough money. The state and the towns should make sure of that. There should be money to repair the buildings. Volunteers should get more recognition.

The Greens want binding limits on land consumption: below three hectares a day by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Settlements should grow upward rather than outward and vacant lots should be built on, if necessary through an obligation to build.

Every day new land is built on. The Greens want to cut this sharply. From 2050, no new land should be used up on balance. Buildings should grow taller instead. Empty lots in towns should be built on.

The Greens want to amend Lower Saxony's water act and regulate water withdrawals more strictly. Permits would be granted only once efficient technology and alternatives have been exhausted. Exemptions from the water withdrawal fee for extractive industries would end.

The Greens want to protect groundwater better. Anyone who wants to take water must first save water. Companies for oil, gas, sand and gravel should pay a fee for water. So far they have exemptions.

The Greens want to reduce nitrate, germs, drug residues and microplastics entering water bodies, starting with those who cause the pollution. A polluter fund would make drug manufacturers share the costs of water treatment. Salt discharges by the company K+S would end by 2027 at the latest.

There are pollutants in rivers and lakes. The Greens want to reduce them. Whoever pollutes the water should pay for it. Drug makers should pay into a fund. The company K+S should stop discharging salt by 2027.

The Greens hold the potash industry responsible for cleaning up its legacy waste. Residues from potash mining should primarily be put back into the mines or else processed. Flooding mines with fresh water should end.

Potash mining leaves salty waste behind. The Greens want the companies to clean it up themselves. The waste should go back into the mines. Nobody should fill mines with fresh water anymore.

The Greens oppose further deepening of the Elbe, Weser and Ems rivers and advocate a joint port strategy for northern Germany. Contaminated dredged material from the seaports should be separated and recycled in a facility on land rather than dumped at sea.

The Greens do not want to dig the Elbe, Weser and Ems rivers deeper. The ports in the north should work together better. Sludge from the ports often contains pollutants. It should be treated on land and not go into the sea.

With a water development plan called "200 wild streams," the Greens want to return streams, rivers and lakes to a more natural state. According to the platform, only four percent of Lower Saxony's waters are in good ecological condition, although the EU requires this for all of them by 2027.

Only a few waters in Lower Saxony are in good condition. So the Greens want to make streams, rivers and lakes more natural again. There is a plan covering 200 streams. The state should provide enough money for it.

The Greens want to reduce the loss of soil through sealing, overuse and erosion, and to cut plastic use in farming and construction. On air, the platform demands that health-protection limits be met everywhere.

Good soil is being lost, for example under concrete and asphalt. The Greens want to slow this down. Farmers should get help to treat the soil gently. Less plastic should end up in the ground. The air should be clean enough everywhere too.

The Greens want to carry out the agreements reached under the "Niedersächsischer Weg" (Lower Saxony Way) after the biodiversity referendum initiative. Beyond that, the EU goal of protecting 30 percent of land area is to be met step by step.

Many animal and plant species are dying out. After a citizens' petition, Lower Saxony made agreements on this. The Greens want to carry out these agreements. Also, 30 percent of the land should be protected. In protected areas, nature should come first.

The Greens want to quickly designate all parts of the European Natura 2000 network that are not yet formally protected as nature reserves or landscape protection areas. Within protected areas, other uses are to take a back seat to conservation. In the party's view, Lower Saxony ranks last in Germany on this.

The EU requires special protected areas for nature and birds. In Lower Saxony, not all of them are properly secured yet. The Greens want to fix that quickly. In these areas, nature should come first. The state should check more closely.

The Greens want to leave two percent of the state's land entirely to nature, with no use or intervention. The Wadden Sea and Harz national parks and the Elbe floodplain biosphere reserve are to stay protected, and new cross-state biosphere reserves are to be created in the Drömling and the southern Harz.

The Greens want more wilderness in Lower Saxony. On two percent of the land, people should not interfere at all. There should be new large protected areas, for example in the southern Harz. No more land there should be opened up for gypsum mining.

The Greens want to create a network of connected habitats covering at least 15 percent of the state's land. Protected areas form the core and are to be linked by waterways, hedges, field margins, tree-lined roads and wildlife bridges.

Animals and plants need habitats that are connected. The Greens want such a network across Lower Saxony. It should cover at least 15 percent of the land. Hedges, streams, tree-lined roads and wildlife bridges link the areas.

The Greens want to counter species decline with insect-friendly management of state-owned land, support programs for endangered species and statewide insect monitoring. Ecological land consolidation is to be reintroduced.

There are fewer and fewer insects and other animals. The Greens want to manage state land so that insects can live there. The state should regularly count how many insects there are. Endangered animals like the European hamster should get their own support programs.

The Greens want to turn the measures promised after the referendum initiative for meadow birds such as the curlew, black-tailed godwit and snipe into concrete programs. Farmers would be compensated for lost yields and get extra incentives for bird-friendly land management.

Birds like the curlew nest in meadows. There are far fewer of them than before. The Greens want firm programs to protect them. Farmers should get money if they manage their meadows in a bird-friendly way.

The Greens want to manage wolves through herd protection and support for livestock farmers. They reject a cap on the wolf population and general hunting. Individual wolves should be killed only in exceptional cases.

The Greens want to protect sheep and other grazing animals from wolves. They want more money for fences and guard dogs. They are against hunting wolves in general. Only single dangerous wolves may be killed.

The Greens want to convert Lower Saxony's forests into more resilient deciduous and mixed woodland with native tree species. Ecological services are to be funded across all types of ownership because, according to the platform, drought and the climate crisis have badly damaged the forests.

Many forests in Lower Saxony are in bad shape. The Greens want more leafy and mixed forests. Native trees should grow there. Such forests cope better with heat and dry weather. Forest owners should get money for this.

In state-owned forest, climate and species protection are to take priority over commercial use. The Greens want to certify it under FSC or Naturland standards, bring more forest into public ownership and turn five percent of all forest into unused natural woodland.

The state owns one third of the forest in Lower Saxony. There, protecting climate and species should matter more than cutting wood. The forest should get an eco label. Part of the forest should not be used at all. The state should own more forest.

The Greens want domestic wood to be used as efficiently as possible, mainly for durable products such as furniture and buildings. Use for paper and fuel is to fall substantially, and industrial-scale wood burning for electricity is to end.

Wood is a valuable material, but the supply is limited. The Greens want wood used mostly for houses and furniture. Less wood should go into paper and heating. Big power plants should stop burning wood.

The Greens want to better equip environmental and nature conservation agencies at state, city and county level. According to the platform, staff shortages mean too few inspections. Environmental offenses are to be prosecuted more vigorously and complaint offices set up.

The offices for protecting the environment have too few staff. So there are too few checks. The Greens want to strengthen these offices. People who harm the environment should be punished more often. There should be places where people can report harm to the environment.

The Greens want to revise Lower Saxony's hunting law and shorten the list of species that may be hunted. Certain methods such as kill traps and den hunting are to be banned. Active hunters would have to prove their shooting skills.

The Greens want new rules for hunting. Fewer kinds of animals may be hunted. Traps that kill animals should be banned. Hunters should not shoot pets. Hunters must show regularly that they can shoot well.

The Greens want farm subsidies to be paid for environmental and animal welfare services rather than as flat per-hectare payments. In the long run they aim for a common-good premium and a reorientation of EU agricultural policy.

Today farmers get money mostly based on how much land they have. The Greens want to change that. Money should go to protecting nature and animals. The state should use its own support programs for this. Hedges and strips along field edges should also be protected.

The Greens want to secure food supplies globally by strengthening regional agricultural markets in every part of the world. To that end, meat exports should fall, food speculation should be curbed, and the EU's biofuel blending mandate should be dropped.

Poor countries face hunger. The Greens want to support farmers there. Germany should sell less meat to these countries. Grain should no longer end up in fuel tanks. So the rule to mix biofuel into gasoline and diesel should end.

The Greens want to substantially reduce nitrous oxide and methane emissions from farming. This is to be achieved by using less nitrogen fertilizer, ending factory farming, stopping the plowing of peatland soils, and promoting humus build-up and organic farming.

Farming releases a lot of greenhouse gases. The Greens want to cut them sharply. Farmers should use less fertilizer. Factory farming should end. Peatland should no longer be plowed for crops. Organic farms should get more support.

The Greens want to help farms adjust to the consequences of climate change. The focus is on adapted water management, erosion protection and drought-tolerant crops.

Climate change brings drought and heavy rain. This hits farmers. The Greens want to help them. Water should stay on the fields. Farmers should irrigate in a water-saving way. Crops should cope better with dry weather.

The Greens want to link the number of animals kept to the available land and to lower it, especially in western Lower Saxony. Farms are to get help reducing herds, converting barns for better animal welfare, and voluntarily leaving livestock farming.

Some areas have very many farm animals. This creates too much manure for the fields. The Greens want fewer animals per area of land. Farmers get help if they keep fewer animals. They also get help for better barns. Big livestock farms should pay more into the animal disease fund.

The Greens want to greatly reduce the use of pesticides in Lower Saxony and to draw up the reduction strategy agreed in the Niedersächsischer Weg (a state agreement on nature conservation). At the federal level they push for a pesticide levy, and in the EU for stricter approvals.

Farmers use pesticides. These are chemicals against pests and weeds. Traces of them turn up in drinking water. The Greens want far fewer pesticides. They will make a plan for Lower Saxony. People who use pesticides should pay a fee.

The Greens want to move enforcement of environmental rules such as fertilizer and pesticide law from the Chamber of Agriculture to another state authority. Fees for food and feed inspections are to be revised to ease the burden on small craft businesses.

Today the Chamber of Agriculture checks whether farmers follow environmental rules. But the chamber also speaks for farmers. The Greens want to separate this. Another authority should do the checks. Small businesses should pay lower fees for inspections.

The Greens want to preserve grassland in Lower Saxony and introduce a grazing premium for that purpose. The platform argues that grassland stores carbon, protects water from phosphate and matters for biodiversity.

The Greens want to keep meadows and pastures. Farmers should get money when their animals graze outside. Meadows are good for the climate and for many animals.

The Greens want an agricultural structure law that gives local farms a strong right of first refusal on farmland over non-farming investors, along with a price brake. In the platform's view, active farmers are currently losing out to financial investors on the land market.

Farmland keeps getting more expensive. Investors buy land too. The Greens want a new law. Local farmers should get to buy land first. Prices should stop rising so fast.

The Greens want to raise the share of organic farming from 5.2 percent today to at least ten percent by 2025 and at least 15 percent by 2030. The platform treats organic farming as its model because it is said to protect soil, groundwater, species and the climate and to create rural jobs.

The Greens want more organic farming. Today it is about 5 percent. By 2030 it should be at least 15 percent. Organic farmers use no artificial fertilizers or pesticides. The state should serve organic food in its cafeterias.

The Greens want Lower Saxony to remain a region where no genetically modified crops are grown. They reject public funding for commercial research on agricultural genetic engineering.

The Greens want no genetically modified crops on the fields. That should stay as it is today. The state should not pay for such research by companies. Farmers should grow more protein-rich feed at home.

The Greens want to keep supporting fish farming in aquaculture but make it more ecological. EU fisheries funds are to go specifically to sustainable and innovative facilities.

Many fish come from fish farms. The Greens want these farms to be better for nature. The water should stay clean. The fish should have more room. EU money should help with that.

The Greens want to strengthen coastal fishing with a political strategy and keep tying fisheries funding to high environmental standards. Fish stocks are to be secured and rebuilt, and the party wants to push for effective marine protection at the federal level.

The Greens want to help fishers on the coast. They should fish in a gentle way. Shrimp should be peeled locally and not in Morocco. Small harbors should stay reachable. The sea should be better protected.

The Greens want to lower antibiotic use in livestock farming and move oversight back to the state level. Reserve antibiotics are to be banned in fattening because the platform sees resistant germs as a danger to human health.

Fattened animals get a lot of antibiotics. These are drugs against bacteria. That makes them work less well for people. The Greens want less of them in barns. The state should check this itself. Especially important antibiotics should be banned for fattening.

The Greens want to advise cafeterias on using more organic products and launch a state program for school meals. Schools and daycare centers would offer more plant-based food. A state nutrition strategy is to be put into practice.

Many people eat in a cafeteria every day. The Greens want more organic food there. Cafeterias should get advice for this. The state should support good food in schools. Schools and daycare centers should offer more plant-based food.

The Greens want less food to be thrown away, from harvest to store. They support federal and EU initiatives to decriminalize dumpster diving and to revise the best-before date.

A lot of food ends up in the trash. The Greens want to change that. Crooked vegetables should be sold too. Dumpster diving means taking food from store trash bins. This should no longer be a crime.

The Greens want a verifiable CO2 budget and binding reduction targets for transportation in Lower Saxony. Car traffic should fall substantially, while buses, rail, cycling and walking should grow strongly.

Cars and trucks emit a lot of CO2. The Greens want fixed targets for less CO2 from traffic. There should be less car traffic. More people should use buses, trains and bikes. More goods should travel by train and ship.

The Greens want to introduce a mobility guarantee: every locality in Lower Saxony should be served by public transit at least once an hour from early morning until night. Getting around should no longer depend on owning a car.

Many places have only a few buses. The Greens want to change this. Every place should have a bus or train at least once an hour. This should apply from early morning until night. Where regular lines make no sense, on-call buses should run.

The Greens want to revise the state's public transit law, provide more money and distribute it by transparent criteria. Three quarters of transport funding for municipalities should go to buses, rail, cycling and walking.

The Greens want to give more money to buses and trains. To do this, they want to change two laws. Three quarters of transport funding should go to buses, trains, bike paths and footpaths. New buses should run without diesel.

The Greens want much more capacity, more frequent service and more punctual trains in regional rail. To pay for it, higher federal funds would be used and state investment increased.

Many regional trains are late. The Greens want more trains to run. Trains should run more often and be on time. The state should spend more money on this. More lines should get electric power.

The Greens want to bring disused rail lines back into passenger service, mainly to connect rural areas better. Lines would be registered for federal funding, and a state plan would be drawn up together with the regions.

Lower Saxony used to have more rail lines. Many of them are closed today. The Greens want to reopen such lines. This should mainly help people in rural areas. The money should come from the federal government.

The Greens want to align regional rail with the planned nationwide Deutschlandtakt (integrated timetable) through a Lower Saxony timetable, so that connections become faster. Reliability and quality are to be decisive when rail contracts are awarded, and locally rooted rail companies are to be strengthened.

The Greens want a fixed timetable rhythm for Lower Saxony. Regional trains should match long-distance trains well. Then people wait less when they change trains. Rail companies from the region should get more support.

The Greens want to abolish first class on local and regional trains to free up space for all passengers. Trains are also to be better equipped, and a training drive is meant to tackle the shortage of train drivers.

The Greens want to end first class on local trains. That gives more room for everyone. Trains should have Wi-Fi, power outlets and tables. The state should train more people as train drivers.

The Greens want a statewide social ticket for 365 euros a year for apprentices, school students, people on low incomes and volunteers in service programs. Everyone else is to be offered an affordable statewide climate ticket, and the fare structure is to be unified across the state.

The Greens want a ticket for 365 euros a year. It works in all of Lower Saxony. First, students, apprentices and people with little money get it. Everyone else should be able to buy a cheap climate ticket. One ticket should be enough for one trip.

The Greens want to make buses and trains accessible across the whole state. To do so, the state is to provide earmarked funds and write this into the local transport law.

Buses and trains should be accessible everywhere. That means people with disabilities can use them well. The state should give its own money for this. This should be written into the law.

The Greens pursue the goal that no one dies in road traffic (Vision Zero). To that end, they advocate at the federal level for a 130 km/h limit on autobahns and want states to be allowed to introduce 80 km/h on rural roads and 30 km/h in built-up areas.

The Greens want no one to die in road traffic. For this, autobahns should have a limit of 130 km/h. States should be allowed to set 80 km/h on rural roads. In towns, 30 km/h should be possible.

The Greens want to build a statewide cycling network and initiate 1,000 kilometers of bike paths along rural roads. Funding for municipal road building is to go increasingly into bike paths so that more people switch from cars to bikes.

The Greens want to build many more bike paths. Along rural roads, 1,000 kilometers of new bike paths should be created. More road-building money should go to bike paths. This way more people should ride bikes.

The Greens want to give walking more weight in transport and urban planning and to reallocate traffic space overall. Municipalities are to be able to use street space differently, temporarily or permanently, and the number of cars is to drop significantly.

The Greens want better paths for pedestrians and wheelchair users. Space on the streets should be shared out anew. Towns should be allowed to use streets differently, for example for festivals or play streets. There should be fewer cars.

The Greens reject construction of the A20/A26, A33 Nord, A39 and E 233 as well as the Elbe bridge near Neu Darchau. Roads are to be repaired rather than newly built because, in the program's view, new roads increase car dependence and worsen the ecological crisis.

The Greens do not want to build new autobahns. For example, they are against the A20 and the A39. The money should go to fixing old roads. The Greens think new roads bring more car traffic.

The Greens want to create 100,000 public charging points in Lower Saxony by 2030 and have the auto industry share responsibility. The state's vehicle fleet is to run fully electric as a rule within five years, and parking lots are to be covered with solar panels.

The Greens want many more charging stations for electric cars. By 2030 there should be 100,000 public charging points. The state government's cars should run on electricity. Solar panels should stand above parking lots.

The Greens want to move as much freight as possible onto rail quickly. To this end, the federal government is to expand rail infrastructure swiftly, above all the overloaded Hamburg–Hanover north-south axis, and industrial parks are to get rail sidings.

The Greens want more goods to travel by train. Today most goods go by truck. The federal government should expand the rail lines faster. Large business parks should get a rail link again.

The Greens want to significantly reduce the climate impact of aviation and consider fewer takeoffs and landings necessary in the medium term. Longer night-time quiet hours are meant to protect residents from aircraft noise.

Planes harm the climate. So the Greens want fewer takeoffs and landings. Airports should be quiet for longer at night. That way people living nearby have less noise.

The Greens want to improve rail connections to the port of Wilhelmshaven and develop inland ports into transfer hubs for ship, rail and truck. The aim is to shift more freight onto ships and rail, which the platform regards as environmentally and climate friendly.

The Greens want more goods to travel by train and ship. The port of Wilhelmshaven should get better rail lines. Ports on rivers and canals should grow. Small harbors for fishing boats should stay too.

The Greens want to use digitalization as a tool for climate protection while cutting its own emissions. A green IT strategy would make all of the state's digital projects climate-neutral. This comes with open public-sector data and carbon-neutral data centers.

The Greens want digital technology to help the climate. The state's computers and data centers should not harm the climate. Data centers are large halls full of computers. They should run on green power. Government data should be open to everyone.

The Greens want closer links between science, business and public administration so that more mid-sized companies and agencies can use new digital technology. Prevention and help in IT security incidents are to be expanded. According to the program, digitalization should serve people and not be an end in itself.

The Greens want more companies and agencies to use new digital technology. Researchers, companies and agencies should work together more closely. Computers and data should be safer. There should be more help after an attack.

The Greens want to set up a state-owned network company that helps municipalities with the rollout where the market alone does not deliver enough. The goal is a fiber connection for every building, and broadband is to count as an essential public service. The program justifies this with the disadvantages for businesses and people in rural areas.

The Greens want fast internet everywhere in the state. Every home should get a fiber connection. The state should set up its own network company for this. It helps towns where private companies do not build. Schools should get fiber too.

The Greens want to help municipalities offer administrative services online, as required by the federal Onlinezugangsgesetz (Online Access Act). The platform argues that smaller cities and towns in particular cannot manage this on their own.

Many things at public offices should work online. One example is applying for an ID card. Small towns cannot do this alone. The Greens want to help them.

The Greens want to speed up digitalization of the state administration with an overarching digital strategy and give the ministries the staff and organization to carry it out. At the same time, workflows are to become more flexible without putting more strain on employees.

The state's offices should work digitally. The Greens want one shared plan for this. The ministries get more staff for it. Work should become more modern, but not more stressful.

The Greens want the state administration to use more free software and to make public data accessible as a rule. They argue this offers advantages in security, independence and efficiency compared with proprietary programs.

The state should use more free software. Anyone can check and improve free software. State data should also be open to everyone. The Greens say this is safer and makes the state more independent.

The Greens want to give disaster response services and the Havariekommando (Germany's maritime emergency command) more staff and funding. Ship cargo is to be made safer and checked more often while still in port. Cooperation among North Sea countries and maritime research are also to be expanded.

The Greens want better protection when accidents happen at sea. The Havariekommando helps when ships have accidents. It should get more money and more staff. Ship cargo should be checked more often in port.

The Greens want to amend Lower Saxony's law on the Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence service) so that 14-year-olds are not handled by that agency. For young offenders they favor non-custodial youth welfare measures over prison.

The Verfassungsschutz is the state's domestic intelligence service. The Greens say it should not deal with 14-year-olds. Youth welfare should be in charge instead. Young people who commit crimes should get help, not prison.

The Greens want to revise Lower Saxony's police law, review expanded police powers for effectiveness and proportionality, and scale them back. A structural commission is to draw up recommendations on police equipment and training.

The Greens want to change the police law in Lower Saxony. The police should have fewer powers to interfere with people's rights. A commission should suggest better equipment and training. The police should be well prepared for digital crime.

The Greens want to create an independent police commissioner appointed by parliament whom both officers and citizens can contact. An organizationally separate internal review unit would investigate suspected crimes by police officers.

The Greens want a new office: a police commissioner. Police officers and citizens can go there with problems. A separate unit should also investigate police officers suspected of crimes. Today, colleagues from other stations do this.

The Greens want to improve legal protection at demonstrations and introduce anonymized identification for officers in closed police units. Violating the ban on face coverings would no longer be a criminal offense, and mounted and canine units would be banned at assemblies.

The Greens want to protect people at protests better. Police officers in group operations should wear a number. That way they can be identified later without their name. Covering your face at a protest should no longer be a crime. Police horses and police dogs should be banned there.

The Greens want transparent rules for video surveillance in public spaces, including a public register of cameras. They reject mass video surveillance without specific cause because, in their view, it does little to avert danger.

The Greens want clear rules for cameras in streets and squares. A public list should show where cameras are. Agencies should only get the footage under fixed conditions. The Greens reject watching everyone without a reason.

The Greens want a ticket system that documents every police stop in writing so that those affected can prove excessive checks. Police work is also to be monitored by researchers, and training is to focus more on civic education and diversity skills.

The police may not stop people because of how they look. So the Greens want a receipt after every police stop. It shows the place, time and reason. Researchers should study how the police work. Officers should learn more about diversity and democracy.

The Greens reject the powers added to Lower Saxony's Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence service) in 2021 and want to continue reforming it. Its powers are to be limited, information requests made easier and parliamentary oversight strengthened.

The Verfassungsschutz is a domestic intelligence service. It got more powers in 2021. The Greens reject that. Citizens should find out more easily what the service knows about them. Parliament should check the service more closely.

The Greens consider much higher investment in civil protection and disaster response necessary, citing the effects of climate change and the war against Ukraine. Plans include better equipment, preventive strategies and a task force for peatland and forest fires.

The Greens want to spend much more on disaster response. Climate change brings more floods and fires. There should be better warning systems and emergency supplies. A new task force should deal with forest and peatland fires. Fire departments should attract more people.

The Greens want petty offenses such as cannabis use for personal consumption, fare evasion and dumpster diving to no longer be handled through criminal law. Jail time served in place of unpaid fines should be avoided wherever possible, because the platform regards it as costly, counterproductive and socially unfair.

The Greens do not want to punish small offenses as crimes. One example is cannabis for personal use. Another is riding without a ticket. People who cannot pay a fine should not go to jail if possible.

The Greens want to consistently confiscate assets gained through crime and seize real estate bought with laundered money. Public prosecutors' offices are to get more staff for this.

Some people make money from crime. The Greens want to take this money away. The state should also seize houses bought with dirty money. Prosecutors should get more staff for this.

The Greens put the reintegration of prisoners at the center of the prison system and want to expand open prisons for suitable inmates. In the platform's view, successful rehabilitation is the best protection for victims.

Prisoners should live without new crimes after their release. The Greens want more help in prison for this. There should be therapy, schooling and job training. More suitable prisoners should move to open prisons. There they may leave the prison during the day.

The Greens want to put more focus on preventing crime and to draw up a prevention strategy for all of Lower Saxony. Victims are to get more attention in criminal proceedings, including through faster proceedings for violent crimes and counseling close to home.

The Greens want to stop crimes before they happen. There should be a plan for all of Lower Saxony. Victims of crime should get more help. Court cases about violence should go faster. Counseling should be available close to home.

The Greens want to prosecute hate speech and hate crime more strongly, including online, and to give police and the justice system more resources for it. This comes with more civic education, support for those affected, an action plan against racism and revoking gun permits held by opponents of the constitution.

Some people attack others out of hate. This often happens online. The Greens want to pursue these crimes more strongly. Police and courts should get more resources for this. People who are attacked should get more help. Enemies of the constitution should not have guns.

The Greens want to keep soccer matches safe while lowering the cost of police deployments. To that end, authorities, clubs and fans are to draw up security concepts together. The party also wants to take action against violence and bigotry in sports.

Soccer matches should stay safe. But police operations should cost less. Authorities, clubs and fans should make plans together. The Greens will look into a fee for organizers of very risky matches. Violence and hate in sports should be fought.

The Greens want core public services, including hospitals, to be run by municipalities. A remunicipalization fund is meant to help financially weak municipalities in particular bring such services back under public ownership. The platform justifies this with democratic oversight and service quality.

Towns and cities should run important services themselves. These include power supply and hospitals. The Greens want to set up a fund for this. Poor towns can apply for money from it. Then they can buy services back from private companies.

The Greens want to create at least one more non-religious public holiday in Lower Saxony, since the state has fewer holidays than many other German states. The platform names March 8, May 8 and May 9 as possible dates.

Lower Saxony has fewer public holidays than many other states. The Greens want at least one new holiday. It should not be a church holiday. Options are Women's Day, the day World War II ended, or Europe Day.

The Greens want to lower the voting age to 14 and write children's rights into the state constitution. According to the platform, too many decisions are made without children and at their expense.

The Greens want young people to vote from age 14. Children's rights should be written in the state constitution. Children should also have more say in their town. New laws should be checked for what they mean for children.

The Greens want to simplify access to justice, keep all court locations and digitize the judiciary. Online hearings and digital procedures for small claims are to become possible.

The Greens want people to get justice more easily. All courts in the state should stay open. The courts should work digitally. Hearings should also be possible online. People should be able to sue for small sums easily online.

Following Berlin's example, the Greens want to create an on-call judge service that can be reached at any time, for instance for deportations and house searches. In addition, courts are to cooperate more closely, and the specialized prosecutors' offices are to be reviewed and reorganized.

The Greens want judges to be reachable day and night. This matters for deportations or searches of homes. Courts should work together better. The state should check where special prosecutors' offices make sense.

The Greens want to recruit more and more diverse new staff for the justice system, including more lawyers with a migration background. Access to judgeships should not depend on exam grades alone, and conditions for staff in the courts and prisons are to improve.

Many people in the justice system will retire soon. The Greens want to win new staff. More people with immigrant roots should become judges. Not only the exam grade should count. Prison staff should get better pay.

The Greens aim to separate church and state financially and institutionally and to end the state's regular payments to the churches through a final settlement. The ban on dancing on certain Christian holidays and the rule that urns must be buried in cemeteries are to go, while treaties with Islamic religious communities are to be concluded.

The Greens want to separate church and state more. The state should end its regular payments to the churches. The ban on dancing on some holidays should go. Urns would no longer have to go to a cemetery. There should be agreements with Islamic communities.

The Greens want a state law on promoting democracy that gives civil society initiatives lasting support. The platform argues that a democracy can only withstand right-wing extremism and conspiracy narratives through ongoing education and awareness work.

The Greens want a new law for Lower Saxony. It should help groups that work for democracy. These groups should get money for the long term. The domestic intelligence agency should not check them without a reason.

The Greens want a transparency law that gives everyone access to official information held by public bodies. The platform sees this as a precondition for the public to be able to scrutinize government action.

Public offices hold a lot of information. The Greens want a transparency law. Then everyone can get this information. Public offices should also share more information on their own.

The Greens want to improve conditions for volunteer work through a volunteering strategy. Initiatives and associations are to get support structures and reliably funded paid staff. The platform argues that a democratic society depends on volunteers.

Many people in Lower Saxony volunteer. The Greens want to make their work easier. Clubs and groups should get paid staff to help them. There should be more places in volunteer service programs. Volunteers should get benefits, such as cheaper public transit.

The Greens want cities, towns and counties to receive enough money for their tasks and want the state to represent their interests at the federal level. State agencies are to advise municipalities in a more targeted way on the path to climate neutrality.

Cities and towns have many tasks. The Greens want them to get enough money for this. The state should speak up for them with the federal government. State experts should advise towns on climate protection.

The Greens want to hand additional powers to municipalities and expand direct democracy at the local level. According to the platform, this strengthens people's right to decide for themselves where they live.

Towns should decide more things themselves. One example is speed limits on their streets. Citizens should also vote directly more often. This should include building plans.

The Greens want to reverse the rule adopted by the SPD and CDU for filling committees in local councils. The D'Hondt method would be replaced by one that takes smaller groups into account more fairly.

Local councils have committees. Seats there are shared out by a counting rule. Today's rule helps large groups. The Greens want a rule that is fairer to small groups too.

The Greens want considerably more people from disadvantaged groups to sit on local councils. At the same time, local politicians should be better protected against threats, and holding a seat should be easier to combine with family life.

Local councils should include more different kinds of people. One example is people with a migration background. The Greens want to protect local politicians better from threats. Someone who is sick or has a baby should be able to have a stand-in.

The Greens want to support cities and towns that work together more closely, including across state and national borders. According to the platform, this relieves local administrations and makes better use of regional opportunities.

Towns should work together more. This also applies across borders. The Greens want to support this with money and help. Then local offices have less work.

The Greens want to attract more staff to the administration through better pay, flexible working models and easier lateral entry. The platform cites the shortage of skilled workers and the retirement of the baby-boom generation as the reason.

The state lacks skilled workers in its offices. The Greens want to make these jobs more attractive. This includes good pay and working from home. People from other jobs should also find it easier to join.

The Greens call for trade agreements with high social and environmental standards and for a permanent international trade court. The European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are to guide all state policy. The party wants to press for this in Brussels and Berlin.

The Greens want fair trade around the world. Trade deals should protect workers and the environment. An international court should settle trade disputes. Not only companies should be able to sue there. The Green Deal is the EU's climate plan. The Greens want to meet it at the very least.

The Greens want Lower Saxony to enter new partnerships, including with a region in Ukraine and with countries in Latin America and Africa. The state's development policy is to be revised and fair trade promoted.

The Greens want more partnerships with other countries. Lower Saxony should get a partner region in Ukraine. The state should help rebuild there. It should also work with countries in Africa and Latin America. Fair trade should become better known.

The Greens want to revise Lower Saxony's heritage protection law. Climate protection, resource conservation and accessibility would have to be weighed against heritage concerns as a matter of law. Solar panels on protected roofs would become easier to install.

Many old buildings are protected by law. The Greens want to change this law. Climate protection and access for disabled people should count more. Solar panels on old roofs should be easier to allow.

The Greens want minimum fees for artists and cultural workers and predictable funding for cultural institutions. The platform argues that the Covid pandemic showed how precarious the conditions are under which art and culture are often created.

Many artists earn little money. The Greens want minimum fees for them. Theaters and other cultural venues should be able to plan safely. Applying for funding should become easier.

The Greens want to gear the state's media funding toward training young journalists and toward regional and local reporting. This is meant to secure local diversity and counter media concentration. Community media, film and games are also to receive more funding.

The Greens want many different media in Lower Saxony. Media companies should get money if they train young journalists. Reporting on local topics should also be rewarded. Community radio and local TV should get more money. Old films and newspapers should be saved in digital form.

The Greens want to strengthen rural areas with meeting places, village shops, village offices and co-working spaces. The party rejects large retail developments outside town centers and outlet centers along highways, arguing that they drain purchasing power and generate traffic.

The Greens want to strengthen life in villages. They want to fund village shops and shared offices. There should be meeting places with culture and health services. The Greens do not want big shopping centers outside of towns.

The Greens want to expand Lower Saxony's consumer advice center with more digital and more in-person advice. It should also be put in a position to bring collective actions and model declaratory lawsuits on behalf of consumers.

The consumer advice center helps people with shopping and contracts. The Greens want more advice online and in person. The center should also be able to go to court for many people at once.

The Greens want to fund sports across the state and give everyone access. Municipalities are to get more help maintaining sports facilities and pools and making them accessible, and clubs are to receive paid staff support. Elite sports and newer forms such as esports are also to be strengthened.

Everyone should be able to do sports. Every child should be able to learn to swim. Towns and cities should get help for sports fields and pools. Sports clubs should get paid helpers. Top athletes should get more support too.