SPD on climate and energy

The SPD wants to quickly build facilities for importing liquefied natural gas to get away from Russian gas. They are later to handle climate-neutral gas. The party rejects fracking.

The SPD wants to build plants for liquid gas quickly. Then Lower Saxony will no longer need gas from Russia. Later, climate-friendly gas should arrive there. The SPD does not want fracking. Fracking is a way to get gas out of deep rock.

Terminals are planned in Stade and Wilhelmshaven; according to the program, their designs already provide for a later switch to green gas. In the short term, strategic coal and gas reserves must also be sufficient. The SPD considers the federal rules on filling gas storage facilities to be right. By 2040 it wants to phase out the extraction of fossil fuels step by step. Energy-intensive companies are to remain able to operate and keep jobs.

The SPD wants to speed up the expansion of solar and wind power sharply so that Lower Saxony covers its energy demand entirely from renewables, on balance, by 2040. To do so, it plans to make land available, speed up permits and expand the grids.

The SPD wants much more power from sun and wind. By 2040, all energy in Lower Saxony should come from these sources. There should be more land for the plants. Permits should come faster.

For solar power, the program names at least 65 gigawatts, with 50 on rooftops and 15 on open land. Onshore wind is to grow to at least 30 gigawatts, offshore wind to 20 gigawatts by 2030 and 40 gigawatts by 2040. For onshore wind, 2.1 percent of the state's area is to be designated, including forest sites; for ground-mounted solar, 0.5 percent. Permit procedures are to be leaner, with guidelines drawn up in dialogue with business, conservation groups, farmers and municipalities. The program also plans solar module production in the state, smart power and gas grids, better conditions for storage and a species protection program.

The SPD wants municipalities and residents to benefit financially from the expansion of renewable energy. According to the program, this creates local acceptance and local economic value.

Towns and local people should earn money from wind and solar plants. The SPD says this makes more people support them. Power shared between neighbors should also get cheaper.

At the federal level, the SPD wants to push for better conditions for citizen energy projects and energy cooperatives. The options for municipalities to take a financial share under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) are to be widened. The gap between the feed-in payment and the market price is also to be closed. Grid transmission fees are to be lowered and dropped entirely for power shared among neighbors.

The SPD regards the exit from nuclear power as irreversible. It wants to accompany the search for a final repository transparently, have the nuclear waste retrieved from the Asse mine and dismantle the Gorleben mine.

The SPD wants no more nuclear power. The search for a nuclear waste site should be open. The nuclear waste in the Asse mine should be taken out again. The Gorleben mine should be taken down.

Citizens are to receive information on the repository search, and municipalities keep getting money for expert support. The forum that accompanies the search is to be reviewed regularly. The Asse II mine is to be secured quickly. The Konrad mine is to be reassessed in light of the Asse experience. The program treats the ability to retrieve stored material as a minimum requirement and considers Gorleben unsuitable.

The SPD wants to make Lower Saxony a pioneer in green hydrogen and switch the steel industry to climate-neutral production. Infrastructure, research and key projects are to receive state support.

Lower Saxony should make and use a lot of green hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that stores energy. Steel plants should use it to work in a climate-friendly way. The state should help with money.

Existing natural gas pipelines, cavern storage and ports are to be adapted and repurposed for hydrogen; import projects in Wilhelmshaven get support. Electrolysis plants are to be built mainly on the coast, where offshore wind power comes ashore. Research is backed through innovation funding and regional hydrogen clusters. Together with the federal government, the state funds key projects through the European IPCEI program. For green steel, the program calls for state investment aid, sales markets and a label that applies at least across Europe.

The SPD wants Lower Saxony to be climate neutral by 2040 if possible and sets fixed interim targets. Bogs and forests are to be restored so that they bind more greenhouse gases.

Lower Saxony should be climate neutral by 2040. That means the state no longer harms the climate. The SPD names goals for the years before. Bogs and forests should take up more harmful gases.

Compared with 1990, emissions are to fall by at least 50 percent by 2025, at least 75 percent by 2030 and at least 90 percent by 2035. By 2040, demand for energy and hydrogen is to be met from renewable sources. The climate law is to contain binding land targets: 2.1 percent for onshore wind and 0.5 percent for ground-mounted solar. Natural carbon stores are to be preserved and enlarged.

The SPD wants the state administration to lead by example and be fully climate neutral by 2040. This includes solar panels on state buildings, an emission-free vehicle fleet and climate criteria in purchasing and funding.

The state's offices should set an example on climate. By 2040 they should work in a climate-neutral way. All state buildings should get solar panels. The state's cars should give off no more exhaust.

By 2030 the administration is to be 80 percent climate neutral. The state's vehicle fleet is to be emission-free by 2030. A legal duty for climate protection and adaptation is to apply on state-owned land. The state is to build more with climate-friendly, recycled and renewable materials so that its buildings store more CO2 than their construction causes. Public purchasing gets a CO2 shadow price, meaning a notional price on emissions, and all state funding programs are checked for climate harm.

The SPD wants to create a climate fund that finances climate measures permanently and over several years. For towns and cities, climate protection is to become a mandatory task.

The SPD wants to start a climate fund. This is a pot of money for climate action over many years. Towns and cities will then have to take care of climate protection. The districts should get advice offices for this.

The fund is to support public and private investments as well as innovative projects that cut CO2. Municipalities are to draw up registers showing where sealed ground can be opened up again. Regional climate agencies are planned at district level. The state's climate and energy agency and the center for sustainable building in Verden are to advise municipalities, private individuals and companies on sustainable construction and renovation. Implementation is to be socially balanced and involve the public.

The SPD wants to support homeowners financially with renovation, energy efficiency and heat pumps so that energy and heating stay affordable. All new buildings are to be required to have solar panels.

People who own a house should get money for climate-friendly heating. For example for a heat pump or better insulation. Every new building must have solar panels. Heating should stay affordable.

The program notes that buildings cause just under one-fifth of the state's CO2 emissions. The support is to be provided together with the federal government. For heat supply, the SPD relies mainly on heating networks. Heat plans are to be drawn up with municipalities to renovate whole neighborhoods in a more targeted way. Climate-neutral district heating and geothermal energy are also to be used more.