SPD on climate and energy

The SPD's long-term aim is a nearly emission-free port. Shore power for cruise and container ships is to be expanded, and by 2030 there should also be enough for inland vessels.

Ships in port often make power with diesel. The SPD wants them to get power from land. This is called shore power. The port should then produce almost no exhaust.

Most ship calls should in the future manage without diesel-generated onboard power. By 2030 there should also be sufficient shore power for inland shipping. The program relies on alternative energy and emission-reducing technology. The SPD calls maritime logistics a future industry for global climate protection.

The SPD wants to designate a dedicated area in the port for terminals and facilities for renewable energy, the “Sustainable Energy Hub.” Imports of green hydrogen and ammonia are meant to supply industry with renewable energy.

The SPD wants a place in the port for new energy. Green hydrogen should arrive there. Hydrogen is a gas that provides energy. Industry should use this energy.

Green hydrogen and ammonia are to reach Hamburg by ship and pipeline. The port should also be able to import and handle future shipping fuels. The program points to the planned 100-megawatt electrolyzer in Moorburg. The SPD wants to keep supporting hydrogen-sector companies settling in the city so that Hamburg becomes northern Europe's hydrogen capital.

The SPD considers low energy prices the key condition for competitive industry. It wants to push at the federal level for an industrial electricity price that supports companies financially until green power becomes cheaper.

Industry needs a lot of electricity. Electricity is expensive. The SPD wants a lower power price for industry. The state should help until green power gets cheaper.

The demand is addressed to the federal level. The industrial electricity price is meant as bridging support and should apply until power from renewable sources has become cheaper. The SPD justifies this with the competitiveness of Hamburg's industry.

The SPD rejects tighter energy-efficiency requirements for buildings in Hamburg, at the federal level and in the EU. Instead, it wants a fast, broad switch to renewable heating, which in the party's view saves more CO2 per euro spent and keeps rents down.

The SPD does not want stricter rules for insulating buildings. It wants to change heating systems instead. Buildings should use renewable heat. The SPD says this saves more CO2 and costs less. Rents should then rise less.

The EH 40 efficiency standard is to become neither mandatory for renovations nor a condition for subsidies. Current legal requirements for building renovation are not to be tightened. The focus is on heat pumps, district heating, local heat networks and solutions covering whole neighborhoods or building portfolios. The platform argues that very demanding requirements for the building envelope can cause more CO2 than they save.

The SPD wants to use the campaign "Jedes Haus kann Klimaschutz" (Every house can do climate protection) to inform private owners about suitable renovation paths and support. It also plans funding and advice for neighborhood heat networks and will push for reliable federal subsidies for rental housing.

Many homeowners are unsure about heating. The SPD wants to inform them better. Each owner should get a plan for their own house. Neighbors should get help for shared heat networks. The federal government should help pay for renovating rental homes.

The platform considers new-generation heat pumps worthwhile even in unrenovated or partly renovated buildings. Working components should not be replaced early; instead, owners should have an individual renovation plan ready for when replacement is due. Dedicated offers are planned for neighborhood networks, for example in row-house developments. Federal funding is meant to keep modernization costs bearable for tenants.

The SPD wants Hamburg to be climate neutral by 2045 at the latest and to cut CO2 emissions by 70 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. It considers an earlier 2040 target feasible only under reliable conditions, and it rejects driving bans and industry moving abroad.

Hamburg should be climate neutral by 2045 at the latest. That means the city no longer harms the climate. By 2030 there should be much less CO2. The SPD does not want driving bans. Industry should stay in Hamburg.

Hamburg's climate plan is to be updated from 2025. The platform ties moving the target to 2040 to the necessary measures being workable for residents and businesses. The SPD stresses that climate policy must be socially balanced and supported by the population. It notes that emissions have already fallen by about 40 percent from 1990 and that the energy grids are back in city ownership.

The SPD wants to spend a combined three billion euros on climate protection in 2025 and 2026. The money is to go to the energy and transport transition, district heating, building renovation, charging infrastructure, and hydrogen, wind and solar power.

Hamburg should spend three billion euros on the climate in two years. This makes district heating cleaner. Buildings should need less energy. There should be more charging stations for electric cars. Wind, solar and hydrogen technology get support too.

District heating is to be expanded and decarbonized, and the capture and storage of CO2 advanced. Building renovation focuses on affordable renewable supply, for example heat pumps. Electric mobility and charging infrastructure are promoted, and batteries of connected vehicles are to serve as temporary storage. For the energy transition, the platform names hydrogen technology, an electrolyzer and more wind and solar installations, so that 80 percent of electricity nationwide is renewable by 2030.

The SPD wants to designate enough land for wind turbines by 2027 at the latest. Local residents are to share in the profits, for example through a citizens' energy law.

The SPD wants more wind turbines in Hamburg. By 2027 there should be enough land for them. People living nearby should get a share of the profit. A new law could make this happen.

The program plans to designate sufficient land for wind turbines by 2027 at the latest. Companies are to get support when they build their own turbines for their electricity needs, especially in the port. In the SPD's view, turbines should only be built if people in the affected areas benefit noticeably. A citizens' energy law (Bürgerenergiegesetz) is named as one possible tool.

The SPD plans a rooftop solar drive and a tenant electricity model meant to benefit all residents financially. It also wants a rollout campaign for smart meters.

The SPD wants more solar panels on roofs. Renters should also benefit from this power. More homes should get modern electricity meters. These meters help people use power better.

Solar panels are to be possible on every suitable roof in Hamburg, with owners and tenants both benefiting from lower electricity bills. On the roofs of public buildings and city-owned companies, the SPD wants to support large installations that also supply neighboring buildings. Together with the city's major energy companies, a smart meter campaign is to be launched. The SPD wants to obtain changes to federal law for this. The program regards smart meters as the key prerequisite for using renewable power efficiently.

The SPD wants to connect at least one third of households to district heating by 2030 and replace the Wedel and Tiefstack power plants so that heating no longer relies on coal. Municipal heat planning is to provide clarity by 2026, and the heating transition is to be cushioned socially.

The SPD wants to connect more homes to district heating. By 2030 this should cover one third of households. The heat should be made without coal. By 2026 a plan should show which heating fits where. People with little money should get help.

The federal Building Energy Act is to be implemented in Hamburg with hardship rules, exemptions and dedicated funding programs. For private district heating networks, the SPD wants strict price checks so that being tied to one provider does not lead to excessive prices. Where district heating is not possible, the program relies mainly on heat pumps. A waste heat atlas and a cooling atlas are to reveal unused potential, especially in commercial areas on the outskirts. The free advice service "Hamburger Energielotsen" is to continue.

The SPD wants to respond to the effects of global warming with a climate adaptation strategy. Plans include a heat action plan, a shift to a "sponge city" and stronger flood protection.

The climate is getting warmer. There is more heat and more heavy rain. The SPD wants to prepare Hamburg for this. It plans a heat plan and stronger dikes. Rainwater should be able to soak into the ground better.

Rainwater infrastructure is to be adapted so that water can seep away, evaporate, be stored and be used; allotment gardens are seen as an integral part of this. Dikes are to be reinforced citywide, and ditch and drainage maintenance is to get priority. To protect against inland flooding, the SPD plans new pumping stations and upgrades to locks and dike sluices. The drinking water supply is to be secure at all times. For storms and other extreme weather, the program provides for measures on energy security, protection of critical infrastructure and public information.