Grüne on climate and energy

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.

According to the platform, the path runs through renewable energy, energy saving and greater efficiency. The party backs the federal government's position of ending dependence on Russian imports as fast as possible. By 2035, heating, mobility and industry are to be transformed far enough that all energy is renewable. For industry, the party wants to set ambitious decarbonization targets, which in its view strengthens competitiveness as CO2 prices rise. As a windy coastal state, Lower Saxony is to gain value creation and jobs from the energy transition.

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.

Greenhouse gas emissions are to fall by at least 45 percent from 1990 levels by 2026, by at least 80 percent by 2030, and to net zero by 2035. Verifiable annual interim targets and measures are planned for the energy sector, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and forestry, and waste management. Targets and interim steps are tied to the remaining CO2 budget, which the party wants to calculate using the figures of the German Advisory Council on the Environment. The Greens acknowledge that the goal cannot be reached without accompanying steps at federal and EU level and want to push for them there.

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 administration is meant to lead the rest of the state on climate action. As a means, the platform names faster energy retrofits of state-owned buildings. In addition, public procurement is to be switched to climate-friendly products and services.

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.

People with hands-on experience from the skilled trades are also to take part in the climate council. A state climate and energy transition report sets out concrete government projects for each sector. The steps toward the interim targets that are required from a scientific standpoint are to become the basis of the government's work.

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.

Climate officers would have the right to propose, to file motions, and to object on all municipal plans relevant to the climate. The party wants to examine new local instruments such as a climate levy or climate contribution, as well as a climate review when municipal budgets are approved. Municipalities in debt-relief programs should also keep room for climate measures. A Niedersachsenfonds (Lower Saxony fund) and a new state company for housing and climate would provide money, for example for building renovation. The party also wants to support regional energy and climate plans and help bring medium-voltage grids back into municipal hands.

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 reports would be published annually instead of every three years. Besides the municipality's own energy use, they would cover local greenhouse gas emissions and planned and completed climate measures, with calculated savings and a timeline. The platform names transport planning, renovation of public buildings, and neighborhood development as areas of application. The municipal climate check would mirror the one at state level, and the state would provide sample calculations, among other support.

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.

Procedures would be shortened and run in parallel rather than one after another wherever possible. One responsible authority would coordinate procedures, serve as the contact point for applicants and interest groups, and actively ensure participation. Citizens and associations would be involved at the start of planning. The platform also names better data, for example from species monitoring, and well-staffed, well-qualified planning, building, and permitting authorities as prerequisites.

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.

Offshore, the party backs the federal targets of at least 30 gigawatts by 2030, 40 by 2035, and 70 by 2045. The area target and statewide priority zones would be written into the state spatial planning program. Clearer rules in the wind energy decree and the species protection guidelines, plus a service office for legal and species-protection questions, are meant to shorten procedures. Replacing old turbines with new ones (repowering) would become easier, including at sites outside priority zones, as would building small wind turbines. For species protection, the party plans conservation programs, better monitoring, research on birds and bats, and a renewables-and-conservation center to resolve conflicts early.

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.

Leasing and contracting models are meant to make the mandate workable for all homeowners, and the installations would be subsidized. A duty to tolerate installations would open up unused roofs of existing buildings for solar use. Suitable state-owned roofs would be fully used by 2025 if possible, or leased to energy cooperatives and companies. The party also wants to expand ground-mounted and agri-photovoltaics in a nature-friendly way, with priority for landfills, areas along roads and railways, noise barriers, and land next to commercial zones. Solar factories and makers of inverters and storage systems would be attracted to Lower Saxony to reduce dependence on imports.

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.

According to the platform, the participation requirement is meant to increase acceptance of wind power. The citizens' energy transition fund would secure start-up financing and help overcome hurdles in project planning. Regular exchange formats would spread projects such as those run by energy cooperatives and mobilize private capital. Early information and participation as well as mediation services are also planned. The party wants to make full use of what EU law allows, for example by strengthening renewable energy communities including tenant electricity and neighborhood projects, and by exempting small projects from tendering.

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.

According to the platform, biogas can contribute to grid stability and security of supply through flexible generation. Existing plants would be consistently converted for this purpose and receive incentives for efficient heat use. Bioenergy would also be used where processes cannot be electrified, for example in parts of the basic materials industry.

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 scale of grid expansion would be reviewed regularly. In suitable places, modern underground cables would replace overhead lines, and the party wants to support pilot projects for this. Smart grids would cushion load peaks and make conventional power plants easier to replace, and feeding power into the grid would become simpler for consumers. Energy-policy and tax obstacles to storage would be removed. The party supports a national gas reserve and binding fill-level requirements for storage operators at the federal level.

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 renovation rate for existing buildings would rise substantially. New public buildings would be supplied entirely with renewable heat, and for major renovations the state would set high efficiency standards and require rooftop solar; these principles would also apply to all funding programs. Subsidies for renovation and heating conversion would be geared toward carbon neutrality and tied to a program for low-income households. A skilled-labor initiative with the trades, universities, and vocational schools is planned. Pilot projects for deep geothermal energy would also use old oil and gas wells, with the industry held liable for legacy damage.

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 planning would also cover cooling in summer. Operators of heating networks would get support in switching to climate-neutral local and district heating. Industrial waste heat would be used inside and outside companies, for example by feeding it into heating networks. Limits on the temperature of exhaust air and wastewater are meant to drive heat recovery.

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 Niedersachsen-Fonds (a state investment fund) and a state company for housing and climate would mainly create incentives to save energy. State funding programs would give special weight to efficiency and avoiding energy use. The program points to so-called embodied energy, which goes into manufacturing and construction and often makes up half of a new building's energy use over its lifetime. Because concrete is considered climate-intensive, the Greens plan a recycling drive and a priority for renovation.

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.

A phase-out law would replace the Bundesberggesetz (federal mining act). As a first step, the program would legally rule out gas and oil projects in protected areas. Ongoing extraction would face strict safety requirements and checks, and fees and levies for producers would rise. The Greens push for a permanent nationwide ban on fracking and for mandatory independent monitoring of gas pipelines for methane leaks. As reasons, the program cites the climate effect of methane, benzene emissions, a leak in Emlichheim and earthquakes in extraction regions.

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.

For the Greens, the priorities are exiting fossil fuels, the shift to clean heating and more energy saving. Gas still needed for a while should come mainly through European neighbors with their own production or LNG capacity. Floating terminals would get a time-limited operating permit tied to the climate targets. The fixed infrastructure linked to them must be ready for green gases. Environmental and nature protection rules and the involvement of environmental groups are to be upheld.

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.

Decarbonization of the metal and chemical industries is to be advanced, with Lower Saxony taking a pioneering role. Energy-efficient processes and clean energy, for example in the steel industry, are to receive further support. For the necessary imports of green hydrogen, the program sees good conditions at the Jade-Weser-Port. Wilhelmshaven is to take on this role for Germany and Western Europe.

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.

According to the platform, more than 50,000 people in Lower Saxony already work directly in renewable energy. The party expects new jobs in planning, installation, sales, research, maintenance and operation of the plants. The platform also names energy efficiency, heat pumps and building renovation, as well as the shift in construction, heating and transport, as sources of new work.

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.

According to the platform, about 11 percent of Lower Saxony's greenhouse gas emissions come from drained peat soils. The state's peatland action program would get concrete targets and timelines for rewetting. Industry would have to restore former extraction sites so that peat can form again. Farmers would get support for peat-preserving uses such as paludiculture, solar arrays on rewetted land, or low-intensity grazing. The state would go peat-free on its own land, and a "Gardening without Peat" program and a "Peat-free from Lower Saxony" label would support the shift in horticulture. At federal and EU level, the Greens want a peat levy that also covers imports and agreements with other peat-rich EU countries.

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.

Grants would be set so that savings on oil and gas exceed the extra investment costs, especially in older buildings and when replacing oil and gas heating. Existing subsidy tools would be reviewed and advice services expanded. Serial retrofitting is meant to raise the renovation rate. For insulation, the party favors renewable materials and rejects petroleum-based insulation for state-owned buildings. A skilled-worker initiative is to secure enough staff for climate-friendly construction.

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 state, together with the new state company for climate and housing, is to lead by example. Climate-friendly standards would apply to state-owned buildings, with renovation generally using recyclable materials and as much renewable energy as possible. Basic ecological requirements would be set for building materials. Procurement offices would get more training and advice so they can use leeway in procurement law for sustainable construction.

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 state development plan is meant to be the basis for regional strategies and for planning and funding tools. The state spatial planning program would become an instrument of ecological transformation. To implement the EU Habitats Directive and Water Framework Directive, the state itself would take over designating and maintaining protected areas. Spatial planning and plan approval procedures would be linked more closely so that they no longer have to run one after the other. The party also wants to strengthen ties between cities and their surroundings and regional cycles.

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.

Existing funding programs for green roofs, facades and public spaces are to be developed further as needed. Conifer plantations are to become near-natural deciduous forests so that more groundwater forms. The party calls for freely accessible drinking water points in city centers, especially for people without a fixed home. Municipalities are to get help drawing up heavy-rain preparedness plans, and the state water law is to include a funding basis for this, modeled on North Rhine-Westphalia. On flood protection, the party wants to carry out overall plans with other states, for example for the Elbe, and to rewet peatlands.

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 affected sub-areas in Lower Saxony would be networked and get better expert advice; a research drive is meant to secure critical expertise. At Gorleben the mine would be backfilled and the pilot conditioning plant removed quickly, and a regional dialogue on future use is supported. Because, according to the platform, interim storage permits expire before a repository opens, there should be a debate on longer storage periods and safety. The party would press the federal government for an interim storage commission that involves civil society.

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 platform points to costs, risks, nuclear waste and the dangers it says became visible at plants in Ukraine; wind and solar are described as sufficient technologies. Dismantling of the shut-down plants is to meet the highest safety level. The party would lobby the federal government for closing the Lingen factory and for the export ban. It also demands stricter criteria for disposing of cleared low-activity waste in landfills and incinerators.

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 party wants to examine whether a logistics center or interim store like the one planned in Würgassen is needed or whether waste can go straight to a repository, and asks the federal government to restart that process. A safety concept for interim stores is to be drawn up in an open process; at the Leese site, conditions no longer meet requirements and the lease ends in 2030. The platform considers the Braunschweig site of the company Eckert & Ziegler unsuitable because it is close to homes and favors relocating it.

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 accompanying process is to be restarted so that residents and scientists are heard, including through the Asse II support group and the AGO working group. Citizens' initiatives would get support to bring their expertise into decommissioning and dismantling. Because an independent panel reportedly found the interim storage site selection flawed, the review of alternatives should include sites far from the Asse and proceed swiftly alongside retrieval preparations. Health and environmental monitoring with annual reports is planned.

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.

According to the platform, universities should become "real-world laboratories of change," places where climate protection is tested in practice. This includes more sustainability content in courses, climate professorships, Green Offices and university construction. The investments are to be paid for through the Niedersachsenfonds (a state investment fund) and state-owned companies. The new university hospitals in Hannover and Göttingen should also meet the best possible climate standard and use sustainable building materials.

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.

As "Green Hospitals," clinics are to handle energy, water and waste in an environmentally sound way. To that end, the Greens want to push energy retrofits and install renewable energy systems. Food for patients and staff is to become healthier. The KLIK project, which provides for climate managers in hospitals, is to be implemented in Lower Saxony.