SPD on climate and energy

The SPD wants to turn Saarland into Germany's leading hydrogen location by 2030. The state is to produce hydrogen itself, be connected to the European long-distance pipeline network, and get a regional distribution grid. The program treats hydrogen as a key energy carrier for climate-neutral production.

The SPD is betting on hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that provides energy. Saarland should make it itself. There should be pipelines and filling stations for it. By 2030, Saarland should be a leader here.

The Fenne power plant site is to be developed for hydrogen production. A hydrogen campus could combine research with training for workers. Because imports are also needed, the SPD plans a link to the emerging European pipeline network and a regional distribution grid. For buses, trains, and heavy trucks, Saarland is to become part of a European filling-station network. According to the program, the federal and state governments are investing up to 400 million euros.

The SPD rejects the EU's plan to classify nuclear power as climate-friendly and demands the shutdown of the French nuclear plant at Cattenom. It supports building gas-fired power plants as a bridge technology. Supply for industry and the public is to remain secure.

The SPD is against nuclear power. It sees nuclear power as unsafe and too costly. The Cattenom nuclear plant should be shut down. Gas power plants should be used for a transition time. Power should always be available.

The program considers nuclear power unsafe and sees its long-term costs and waste-storage risks as unacceptable. The SPD therefore opposes the EU's planned classification of nuclear energy as climate-friendly. The Cattenom plant near the border is to go offline. Gas plants are to be built as a transitional solution so that companies and households have a reliable supply.

The SPD wants to pass a climate protection law with binding targets for Saarland and write sustainability into the state constitution. It also plans to set up a citizens' council on climate.

The SPD wants a climate law for Saarland. The law will have fixed targets. Sustainability will be written into the state constitution. Citizens will have a say in a climate council.

The platform describes fighting climate change as a goal of the state and derives three plans from it: a constitutional amendment, a state law with binding climate targets and a citizens' climate council. The constitutional principle is also meant to ensure that the state government considers sustainability in its own measures. The SPD also wants to advance the transformation of the economy, sustainable construction and the shift in transportation. In its view, climate protection should be consistent, smart and socially fair.

The SPD wants to at least double the share of renewables in electricity consumption by 2030 and cut greenhouse gas emissions in half. To get there, it plans a solar requirement for public buildings, subsidy programs and a share of wind power revenue for residents.

The SPD wants much more power from wind and sun. By 2030 there should be twice as much. Harmful gas emissions should fall by half. Public buildings will get solar panels on their roofs. Citizens will earn money from wind turbines.

Solar panels are to become mandatory whenever buildings in public use are newly built or thoroughly renovated; the SPD backs the planned federal requirement for new commercial buildings, combined with an insulation requirement. For private buildings it relies on incentives, such as a subsidy program for battery storage. On farmland, upright solar installations are to be supported so that little land is used. Residents and municipalities are to share in wind turbine revenue, and existing sites are to produce more through repowering. To keep electricity affordable, the SPD supports ending the EEG surcharge. It also plans a central coordination office, interest-free loans for energy cooperatives and easier climate investment by municipalities.

The SPD wants to support municipalities with advice and money in protecting against floods and heavy rain. It also calls for mandatory insurance against natural hazard damage and warning systems that cover the whole state.

The SPD wants to protect towns better against floods. The state will provide money for this. Everyone should have insurance against damage from natural events. Warning systems should work everywhere.

The state is to keep advising cities and towns and push ahead with tailored prevention plans. Financial help is planned for the investments that follow from them. In light of the extreme weather of recent years, the SPD also sees a need for better handling of damage claims. It therefore calls for compulsory insurance against natural hazard damage. Warning systems are to be available everywhere and accessible to all people.