Linke on climate and energy

The Left aims for electricity in Saxony-Anhalt to come solely from renewable sources and for a climate-neutral heat supply. Energy is to be treated as an essential public service and placed more in citizens' hands. The platform rejects a return to nuclear power, arguing that such debates raise false expectations.

The Left wants power only from wind, sun and similar sources. Heating should no longer harm the climate either. The party rejects nuclear power. Citizens should have more say in energy.

Renewable energy is to be expanded consistently and in a way compatible with nature. The platform names missing grid capacity and storage as an obstacle to the energy transition. In the heating sector, waste heat, large heat pumps and local heating networks are to be used more. Regional value creation, rural areas and municipalities are to benefit from the energy build-out. The Left wants to consider supply security, climate protection and social justice together.

The Left wants a mandatory low-cost base tariff for electricity and heat as well as a legal ban on power and gas shutoffs. Government oversight of electricity prices is to return. The platform argues that high energy prices hit people with low incomes hardest and that energy is an essential public service.

The Left wants a fixed low price for basic power and heat needs. No one should have their power or gas cut off. The state should check power prices again. People with energy debts should get help.

The base tariff is meant to make basic electricity and heat needs affordable for everyone. Power and gas shutoffs are to be banned because the Left regards electricity and a warm home as a basic right. A hardship fund is planned for energy debts, along with stronger energy and debt counseling. By amending the state's participation law, locally produced renewable electricity is meant to lower prices.

The Left wants to cut grid fees substantially, lower the electricity tax to 0.1 cents per kilowatt-hour and transfer energy grids to public ownership. The platform argues that people in Saxony-Anhalt pay more for power than those in other German states.

The Left wants cheaper electricity. Fees for the power grid should go down. The tax on electricity should drop a lot. The grids should belong to the public.

Grid fees are to fall markedly in order to reduce regional differences in power costs. The party wants to examine electricity price zones that would benefit states with a lot of renewable power. The electricity tax is to drop to 0.1 cents per kilowatt-hour. Energy grids are to become public property so that, in the party's view, secure supply rather than profit comes first.

The Left wants to keep expanding wind and solar power while safeguarding nature protection, transparency and local participation. Its plans include a solar requirement for new buildings and a larger financial share for municipalities and residents.

The Left wants more power from wind and sun. New buildings should have to get solar panels. Public buildings should get them too. Towns and neighbors should benefit. Nature should stay protected.

The 2.2 percent land target for wind energy is to be met and planning bodies strengthened. Replacing old turbines with new ones should also be possible outside priority areas, and the state's environmental impact assessment is to be improved. Municipalities and residents are to benefit through local power rates, bonus payments or heat offers. Solar panels should go on roofs first, with a requirement for new buildings and for suitable public buildings; large solar parks should first be built on former military or industrial sites and commercial land. Agri-photovoltaics, balcony solar units and small storage units for tenants are to be supported.

The Left wants to place energy supply more firmly in public and cooperative hands. The state energy agency is to become a state energy company, and municipal utilities, rural utilities and energy cooperatives are to receive support.

The Left wants energy to belong more to local people. The state should get its own energy company. City utilities and co-ops should get help. Digital power meters should cost tenants nothing.

The planned state company is to bring together power generation, grids and storage. Municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) and rural utilities (Landwerke) are to be supported so that rural areas also have a secure supply. Legal hurdles for energy cooperatives in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) are to be removed, and local participation models are to grow. The smart meter rollout is to be simplified and free of charge for tenants. Energy flows are to become digitally traceable.

The Left wants to extend the energy transition to heating, storage and industry. Plans include more heat networks and large heat pumps, passive-house standards for new buildings, support for green hydrogen and strict conditions for gas power plants.

The Left wants clean energy for heating too. There should be more heat networks. New buildings should need very little energy. Gas power plants should run only for a transition period. The chemical industry should get green hydrogen.

Waste heat from industry and data centers is to be used, and local and district heating should reach small towns and villages as well. An energy efficiency fund is to support projects by municipalities, associations, businesses and households, and a state program is to fund the renovation of public buildings. New buildings are to meet the passive-house standard; low-income households are to get help replacing old appliances. Gas power plants would be allowed only as a bridge, hydrogen-ready and limited to 1,000 full-load hours. In addition, large storage facilities are to be sited in a planned way, electrolysis and hydrogen networks expanded, biogas plants shifted to residual materials, and research and the manufacturing of energy-transition equipment in the state strengthened.

The Left wants to set a binding carbon budget for the state that leads to climate neutrality by 2035. Every political decision is to be checked in advance for its climate impact; the party frames climate protection as a matter of justice.

The state should be climate neutral by 2035. That means it emits no more harmful gases than are absorbed. There should be a fixed limit for CO₂. New laws should be checked for their effect on the climate first.

A binding carbon budget is to define the path to climate neutrality by 2035. A mandatory climate impact assessment is planned for all political decisions. A sustainability council is to examine proposals for their climate and social effects. Green hydrogen is to be used only where no more climate-friendly option exists, such as in chemicals, aviation and shipping, or backup power plants. The platform notes that the very rich cause far more emissions per person than the poorer half of the population.

The Left wants to oblige cities and towns to pursue climate protection and to fund this permanently through the state's fiscal equalization system. Social hardship from renovations and heating replacements is to be cushioned, and the state is to lead with its own buildings.

Cities and villages should be required to protect the climate. The state should give them lasting money for this. People with little money should get help with heating and renovation. State buildings should get solar panels.

Municipal climate offices are to coordinate renovation advice, grant management and citizen participation. Hardship funds and low basic tariffs are meant to ensure nobody is left in a cold home. Plans include reliable rural public transit, safe cycling and walking routes, and charging stations even where private operators expect no profit. State-owned buildings are to get solar panels where feasible and be run climate neutrally by 2035. Public procurement is to apply binding environmental, social and recycling criteria and a shadow carbon price.

The Left wants to redesign cities along the sponge city principle, so rainwater is stored, seeps away or evaporates. Sealed surfaces are to be opened up and infrastructure planned with water and green elements. A state subsidy program is to support municipalities.

Cities should cope better with heat and heavy rain. They should store rainwater instead of draining it away. Paved areas should be opened up again. There should be more green in cities. The state should give towns money for this.

According to the program, cities are not yet prepared enough for heavy rain, heat and drought because sealed ground absorbs no water. The sponge city principle is to apply to new construction and renovations, and rainwater retention is to be expanded systematically. The heritage protection law is to get a climate clause: climate adaptation and energy retrofits would then have the same legal standing as preserving a building's historic appearance.