SPD on climate and energy

The SPD wants to provide enough land for renewable energy and actually use two percent of the state's area for wind power. Hesse is to be among the fastest states in approving such plants. The program justifies this with independence from fossil fuels and affordable energy costs.

The SPD wants more wind turbines in Hesse. Wind power should be produced on 2 percent of the state's land. Permits should come faster. Old turbines should be easier to replace with new ones. The SPD says this keeps energy affordable.

According to the program, the two-percent target dates back to the 2011 Hessian energy summit and has not yet been met. The SPD wants to remove obstacles to repowering, meaning the replacement of old turbines with modern ones. Laws are to be implemented with little red tape and good coordination so that wind, solar and hydro plants are approved quickly. Small-scale hydropower is also named as a contribution to the energy transition.

The SPD wants a major expansion of solar energy, giving priority to already sealed surfaces such as roofs, facades and parking lots. State-owned buildings are to get photovoltaics by 2030. Open land is to be opened up in addition, because the program holds that the expansion targets cannot otherwise be met.

The SPD wants many more solar panels. Roofs, walls and parking lots should be used first. State buildings should have solar panels by 2030. Open land should also be used. For example, land next to rail lines or on farm fields.

Photovoltaics and solar thermal energy are to be enabled and supported wherever technically possible and economically reasonable. The SPD wants to write the rules for solar panels on listed heritage buildings into the Hessian heritage protection law to provide planning certainty. A state ordinance is to open disadvantaged areas generally to ground-mounted systems. For open land, the focus is on rail corridors and agri-PV, meaning dual use of farmland.

The SPD wants to double the share of renewable energy in Hesse's heat supply by 2030. Municipal heat plans are to be a key tool for this. The goal is a fully renewable supply by 2045 at the latest.

Heating should become more climate-friendly. By 2030, twice as much heat should come from renewable energy. Towns and cities should make heat plans for this. The SPD counts on heat pumps, district heating and hydrogen. Energy should stay affordable for businesses.

The program names heat pumps, district heating and hydrogen for process heat as approaches, including for existing buildings. It says the existing natural gas grid can be converted to carry hydrogen. State advice and funding for greater energy efficiency in households and businesses are to continue. For energy-intensive industry, the SPD wants to ensure affordable and secure energy in order to keep jobs in Hesse.

The SPD wants to give municipal utilities more scope to expand renewable energy, since they secure expertise, value creation and jobs locally. Energy cooperatives are also to be strengthened. Collective bargaining coverage and co-determination are to apply in the energy transition industries.

Municipal utilities should be able to do more for renewable energy. The SPD wants to help them. Groups of citizens who produce energy together should also get support. Union wage agreements should apply in the new energy industries. Workers there should have a say.

Energy cooperatives and energy communities are to be supported, where appropriate together with municipal utilities. Regional studies are to determine demand for renewable energy and green hydrogen so that infrastructure can be built to match. Training and continuing education are to be adapted to the changing requirements. The SPD advocates collective bargaining coverage and co-determination in renewable energy, electric mobility, hydrogen and energy efficiency. It also supports using organic residues in combined heat and power plants to cover residual load.

The SPD wants to make climate protection a central yardstick of state policy. Laws, larger budget items, ordinances and the state development plan are to be checked in advance for their climate impact. Hesse is to become one of the first German states to reach climate neutrality.

The SPD wants to check every new law for its effect on the climate. Large state spending items should be checked too. Harm to the climate gets a price in this check. Plans that harm the climate need a special reason. Hesse should become climate-neutral early.

Climate impacts are to be valued with a CO2 shadow price equal to the damage costs. Proposals that cannot be carried out in a climate-neutral way require special justification. Existing rules and subsidies are to be reviewed by 2025 and changed where needed. To this end the SPD wants to revise the Hessian climate protection law. The state is to make its contribution to the 1.5-degree goal.

The SPD wants to make the state administration climate-neutral by 2030 and allow offsets only in unavoidable exceptional cases. The state is to lead by example in expanding renewable energy and in energy efficiency.

State offices should work in a climate-neutral way by 2030. That means they no longer harm the climate. All state vehicles should then run climate-neutral. State buildings should use less energy. The state should set an example.

The requirement is also to apply to public bodies and companies under state supervision. All state-owned vehicles are to have climate-neutral drive systems by 2030 at the latest. The state's IT is to run as climate-neutrally as possible. State properties are to be renovated for energy efficiency and fitted with photovoltaics.

The SPD wants an integrated climate protection plan for Hesse with reduction targets for individual sectors in order to reach climate neutrality faster. Social and economic effects are to be monitored and cushioned, including through a transformation fund.

Hesse should get a climate plan. It sets goals for areas such as transport, heating and farming. Every 2 years the government reports whether the goals were met. The state makes agreements with companies and helps them switch. Jobs and incomes should stay secure.

The plan is to bring together targets and measures for all major fields of action and make use of sector coupling. Every two years the state government is to account for progress in a climate report and adjust course where things go wrong. Effects on employment and income are to be analyzed regularly by region and industry. The state wants to conclude climate agreements with companies and fund conversions, including temporary payments to offset disadvantages of climate-neutral production. The transformation fund proposed by the SPD is to finance this and support workers in gaining new qualifications.

The SPD wants to make climate protection a mandatory task for municipalities, with the state providing the necessary funds. Every municipality is to draw up binding energy plans and receive additional powers. Municipalities are also to limit the effects of climate change.

Towns and cities should be required to protect the climate. The state gives them money for this. Every town makes a plan for its energy. Towns may then require renewable energy. They should also provide more green space and shade.

Every municipality is to produce an energy report and, based on it, binding energy plans with timelines for climate-neutral supply, renovation and energy management. An integrated grid plan for electricity, heating, cooling and water is envisaged. Municipalities are to be allowed to mandate renewable energy generation and connection to heating networks by local bylaw, and to levy charges for expanding public transit. To adapt to climate change, they are to unseal soil, green surfaces and buildings and provide shade.

The SPD wants to require heat suppliers to submit plans for gradually cutting their CO2 emissions. Data centers are to be required to draw up plans for using their waste heat. At the same time, the state wants to fund advice and energy-saving concepts.

Companies that supply heat should present a plan. The plan shows how they cut CO2 step by step. Data centers should use their waste heat. Waste heat is heat that arises during operation. The state funds advice on energy and climate.

The heat suppliers' decarbonization plan is to aim in the long term at avoiding greenhouse gases entirely. For data centers, the state funds concepts that reduce consumption. In parallel, the creation of advice centers for energy and climate protection is to be supported. The program also announces measures to adapt to foreseeable climate impacts on health, agriculture and forestry, nature, water and infrastructure.

The SPD wants to create a climate advisory council to advise the state government. Municipalities would receive funding for programs that lower local temperatures. Startup centers for sustainable business models are also planned.

The SPD wants to set up a climate council. This is a group of experts. It advises the government on climate protection. Cities and towns would get money for climate measures. New companies with climate ideas would get support.

The council would include representatives of science, municipalities, business owners, trade unions and environmental organizations. The state would fund municipalities that draw up programs to reduce local temperatures. Municipalities that want to reach the goals of the climate protection plan ahead of schedule would get extra support. Across Hesse, centers for founders with sustainable business models would be supported. The program argues that good jobs can only be secured in an economy with social and ecological rules.

The SPD wants agreements with all universities committing them to climate neutrality by 2030. Universities are to lead on sustainability, from construction and renovation to teaching and research. At the same time, science is to be communicated more widely to society.

Universities should be climate-neutral by 2030. This means they no longer harm the climate. The SPD wants an agreement on this with every university. There should be a new research program on sustainability. People should learn more about science and take part in research.

A research program on the transformation toward a sustainable society is planned. Buildings are to be built and renovated in a climate-neutral way, and education for sustainable development is to be anchored in teaching and research. Under the heading "Third Mission," the SPD wants to fund citizen science projects and easy-access science communication to counter conspiracy myths. Research across disciplines is to address social divisions. These tasks are to get separate funding so they do not burden research and teaching.