Linke on climate and energy

The Left calls for financial aid for energy-intensive companies so that industry becomes carbon neutral as quickly as possible and in a socially acceptable way. This is to be accompanied by green electricity, hydrogen infrastructure and state-backed markets for climate-neutral basic materials.

Factories emit a lot of CO2. The Left wants them to become climate neutral quickly. Companies that use a lot of energy should get state money for this. This should keep jobs safe.

The annual aid would equal the gap between the cost of avoiding CO2 and the price of CO2 certificates, provided that energy savings have taken effect in the company. The same would apply to small and medium-sized businesses. The Left wants to fund research on new products and processes and protect domestic industry from price dumping in foreign trade. Green lead markets, for example for steel and concrete, are meant to provide planning certainty for long-term investments.

The Left wants to create the conditions for Saxony to phase out coal well before 2038 and cites the climate crisis as the reason. The costs of restoring the open-pit mines would be disclosed and borne by the operators alone.

Germany plans to stop burning coal by 2038. The Left wants to do this much earlier in Saxony. It wants to do it together with local people. The coal companies should pay for the damage to the landscape themselves.

The program stresses that the phaseout should succeed together with the people in the coal regions and points to the experience of mass unemployment and out-migration in the 1990s. It lists a disrupted water balance, discoloration of the Spree river and ground subsidence as consequences of open-pit mining; restoring the landscape could take until after 2100. Liability would rest with the EPH Group and its subsidiaries such as LEAG and MIBRAG.

The Left wants Saxony's energy needs to be met as fully as possible from renewable sources and wants wind and solar installations built faster. State planning would steer the expansion, and a participation law would let municipalities and residents benefit financially.

The Left wants more electricity from wind and sun. The plants should be built faster. The state should plan where they go. Wind turbines in forests should be rare. Towns and residents should get money when plants are built near them.

First, an energy-saving strategy for all sectors is to reduce consumption. Wind power and rooftop solar, combined with storage, would form the basis of a decentralized supply. The Left wants to fund research and investment in smart grids, relying on open-source solutions rather than manufacturers' proprietary standards. The state development plan would be revised quickly and planning rules updated more often. A renewable energy participation law would regulate the financial share for local communities.

The Left wants to require rooftop solar installations on all new buildings in Saxony. Existing buildings would gradually be required to have solar installations or green roofs, while ground-mounted installations would face stricter nature protection rules.

The Left wants a rule that new buildings must have solar panels. Older buildings should follow step by step. They can also get a green roof with plants. There should be no solar plants in forests. On farmland they should be limited in size.

Public buildings are to lead the way. For open land, the Left wants mainly to promote agrivoltaics, meaning installations that combine farming and power generation on the same land, and to permit only installations compatible with nature. Solar installations in forests and legally protected biotopes would be ruled out. The size of installations on farmland would be capped so that neither agricultural land nor biodiversity is lost.

The Left wants to switch heating to renewable energy and develop solutions that reach beyond individual neighborhoods and municipalities. Municipalities would receive money for the switch so that heating stays affordable.

Heating should work without oil, gas and coal in the future. The Left wants shared heating networks for whole towns. Towns should get money for the changeover. Heating should stay affordable for everyone. Every town should have an advice office.

Large heat pumps, solar thermal plants and waste heat from industry and commerce are to play an important role. Decentralized systems in residential buildings would be integrated into the network, and surplus solar power could be stored in heating networks. The Left wants contact points for businesses and homeowners in every municipality. Energy-efficiency renovations should not burden people financially, which is why the Left is aiming for socially fair funding programs.

The Left wants to abolish electricity and gas shutoffs and set up a hardship fund for energy debts. The state would also control electricity prices again, and suppliers would have to offer green social tariffs. The aim is lower electricity prices.

Some people cannot pay their power or gas bill. The Left wants this: Nobody may have their power or gas cut off for that reason. A fund should help with energy debts. The state should control power prices again. Power should get cheaper.

The hardship fund would cover debts that arose during the recent energy crisis. Nobody should have their power cut or be threatened with losing their home because of energy debts. State control of electricity prices would return, and energy suppliers would be required to offer green social tariffs. To bring prices down, the party wants to press the federal government and the EU for changes to levies and surcharges and for a new electricity market design that passes the price advantages of renewables on to consumers.

The Left wants hydrogen used only where it makes economic and environmental sense, which it says is usually not the case for cars and heating. The related infrastructure should be publicly owned. In the long term, only green hydrogen should be used.

Hydrogen is a gas that can supply energy. The Left wants to use it only where it makes sense. For cars and heating, that is mostly not the case. The pipes and plants should belong to the public. The hydrogen should come from wind and solar power.

The hydrogen that industry needs should be produced in Saxony itself where possible, to reduce dependence on imports. The environmental effects of producing it should be taken into account, especially in regions at risk of water shortages. New or expanded natural gas infrastructure would be allowed only if it is shown in concrete terms how the facilities can soon be converted to hydrogen.

The Left wants to found a Saxon energy company and socialize corporations such as MIBRAG, LEAG and RWE by law. Energy should be generated mainly in a decentralized, renewable way within Saxony, with the infrastructure kept in public hands. This is meant to let society control prices and sustainability.

The Left wants to found an energy company for Saxony. Big energy corporations should belong to the public. A law should arrange that. Saxony should make its own energy, mostly from wind and sun. The grids should stay public.

The platform justifies the plan with the dependence on foreign countries and private corporations that it says the recent energy crisis revealed. A democratically run energy sector is meant to put prices and sustainable production under public control. The party links this to jobs in Saxony. Regional public energy agencies would get support when they are set up.

The Left wants a climate protection law for Saxony that sets binding CO2 reduction targets for all sectors and socially fair measures. If targets are missed, immediate action programs would be mandatory. The party stands by the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree goal.

The Left wants a climate protection law for Saxony. It sets fixed goals for less CO2. The goals apply to all areas, such as transport and industry. If an area misses its goal, it must act right away. Climate protection should be socially fair.

The targets would apply to energy, transport, buildings, industry and agriculture and be reviewed regularly. A climate council of scientists, NGOs and other groups in society would do the reviewing and recommend immediate action programs. The platform stresses that climate policy must not lecture people or burden them one-sidedly and should improve quality of life for the majority. It notes that the richest ten percent emit as much CO2 as the poorer half of the population, and wants generational and gender issues taken into account.

The Left wants a Saxon climate adaptation law that requires adaptation strategies for all sectors and cushions social effects. Its guiding idea is a "Vision Zero": nobody should die anymore from climate effects such as heat or cold. Municipalities would receive money and climate managers for this.

The climate is changing. There is more heat, drought and heavy rain. The Left wants a law that prepares Saxony for this. No one should die from heat or cold. Cities should get more trees and green spaces. Towns should get money for this.

Regular risk analyses are meant to show which groups and regions are hit hardest, and action plans would follow from them. Prevention and early warning systems for extreme weather would be expanded, and at EU level the party wants more funding for adaptation. For heat protection in cities it relies on green facades, more trees and water retention. Climate managers would work in every municipality if possible, and at least in every county, and the public administration is to lead by example.

The Left wants every municipality in Saxony to be climate-neutral by 2030. To get there, it plans mandatory energy-saving concepts, environmentally oriented budgeting and climate councils for citizen participation.

All towns and villages in Saxony should be climate-neutral by 2030. That means they no longer harm the climate. They must make plans to save energy. People should have a say in climate councils.

The party wants municipalities to be role models in sustainability and climate protection. It plans mandatory concepts for lower energy use and green budgeting, meaning budget planning based on environmental criteria. Climate councils should involve the public openly, because in the Left's view climate protection only works together with people. In addition, the state should set up a state center for environmental education modeled on Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Left wants Europe to move away from fossil fuels and rely on renewable energy in order to confront the climate crisis. Saxony is to lead by example and push harder for this in the Bundesrat and in the EU.

The Left wants a Europe that runs on renewable energy. Europe should do without coal, oil and gas. Saxony should set an example. The EU should buy energy together.

The EU is to use its bargaining power and import energy jointly. In doing so, it should not support states that disregard democracy and human rights. Saxony is to argue for this more forcefully in the Bundesrat and at EU level.