What do the parties in Lower Saxony say on climate and energy?

The AfD wants to immediately end state intervention in the energy mix, from the coal phase-out to subsidies for renewables. It sees decarbonization as a threat to Lower Saxony as an industrial location and to jobs in the auto industry.

The AfD wants to stop the energy transition. The state should no longer favor or disadvantage any type of energy. People should choose for themselves how they drive and heat. The AfD says this protects factories and jobs.

The AfD regards climate protection policy as a wrong path because, in its view, there is no proof that CO₂ has a significant effect on the climate. It calls for abolishing the CO₂ tax immediately, leaving the Paris Agreement and ending emissions trading. It rejects the Climate Action Plan 2050 and the EU's Green Deal.

The AfD does not believe that CO₂ changes the climate much. So it wants to end climate policy. The tax on CO₂ should go at once. Germany should leave the Paris climate agreement. The AfD rejects the EU's climate plan.

The AfD wants to abolish the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) because, in its view, the subsidies have failed and endanger supply security. Wind and solar plants should only be built without subsidies. It rejects subsidized plants on farmland and in nature reserves.

A law supports power from wind and sun today. The AfD wants to abolish this law. Wind turbines and solar plants should get no more state money. Fields should mainly be used to grow food. There should be no subsidized plants in nature reserves.

The AfD wants the three remaining nuclear power plants to run as long as is technically safe in order to avoid a supply gap. Research on new reactor types and nuclear fusion is to resume and get better funding. It considers a geological final repository unnecessary.

The AfD wants to keep using the last three nuclear plants. Otherwise, it says, there will not be enough power. Germany should research new reactors again. Used fuel rods should be used again. The AfD says a deep underground storage site is not needed.

The AfD considers coal and gas power plants indispensable because, in its view, renewables do not deliver plannable power. It rejects the coal phase-out as an ineffective German solo effort and demands reliable economic conditions for these plants.

The AfD wants to keep coal and gas power plants. It says wind and sun do not give secure power. The AfD rejects the exit from coal. Old plants should be replaced by new ones.

The AfD rejects a price on CO₂ on principle. As long as it exists, farmers and forest owners should be paid for the CO₂ they store. Diesel for farming should be exempt from tax.

The AfD is against a price on CO₂. CO₂ is a gas that comes from burning things. As long as the price exists, farmers and forest owners should get money. Their plants and trees take in CO₂. Diesel for farmers should be free of tax.

As a first step against rising costs, the AfD wants to abolish the EEG surcharge (the levy funding renewable power) and lower taxes on energy. It cites inflation and growing climate and environmental levies that weigh on incomes and pensions.

Energy has become expensive. So the AfD wants to end the EEG surcharge. This is an extra charge on power bills for green electricity. Taxes on energy should also go down. People should have more money left over.

The CDU wants to push through a special economic zone for hydrogen and renewable energy across the entire coastal region. There, the use of these energy sources would be free of taxes and levies for 20 years. This is meant to speed up building a hydrogen industry, which according to the program requires much lower energy prices.

The CDU wants to set up a special zone on the coast. Companies there should use hydrogen and renewable energy. They should pay no taxes or charges on it for 20 years. This should help build a hydrogen industry. New industrial companies should also come to the coast.

The CDU wants to continue converting the steel industry to climate-neutral production together with the companies. Green hydrogen is to replace carbon in steelmaking; the energy supply should be both ecologically and economically sustainable.

The CDU wants steel to be made without harming the climate. Green hydrogen should replace coal for this. Green hydrogen is made with power from wind and sun. The CDU wants to support steel companies in this change. Workers should get further training.

The CDU wants to pay farmers for storing CO2 in soils and forests and to strengthen their role as energy producers. Funding is to go to regional energy concepts, to linking biogas, wind and solar with green hydrogen, and to agrivoltaics. The platform says this will strengthen security of supply and decentralized energy.

Farmers should get money when they store CO2 in the soil. CO2 is a gas that harms the climate. Farmers should also produce power and heat. Fields should be usable for solar panels and farming at the same time.

The CDU wants to develop a strategy for protecting peatlands together with those affected, conservation groups, and farmers. The program regards peatlands as important carbon stores that need to be rewetted to work. Rewetting is to happen only with compensation for disadvantages and after a participation process.

Peatlands store a lot of CO2. To do that, they have to be wet. The CDU wants to make a plan to protect peatlands. Farmers, residents, and environmental groups should have a say. People who are worse off should get compensation.

The CDU wants Lower Saxony to meet its entire demand for energy and hydrogen from renewable sources by 2040. In its view, climate protection should be carried out in an economically efficient way and remain open to all technologies. Businesses are to get room to act and support.

By 2040, Lower Saxony should use only clean energy. This also applies to hydrogen. The CDU does not want to prescribe one specific technology. Companies should get help with the switch.

The CDU wants to invest at least one billion euros in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and CO2 reduction and set up a climate fund at the state-owned NBank. Lower Saxony is to become a "solar state." Sustainability is to be considered in all government decisions.

The CDU wants to spend a lot of money on climate protection. It should be at least one billion euros. A new fund should support climate-friendly projects. There should be more solar panels in the state.

The CDU wants to make the state administration climate-neutral by 2040 and sees the public sector as a role model. To that end, state-owned buildings are to be renovated in a climate-friendly and cost-effective way. The state's vehicle fleet is also to become greenhouse-gas neutral.

The state's offices should be climate-neutral by 2040. That means they no longer harm the climate. To get there, the CDU wants to renovate the state's buildings. The state's cars should run clean too.

The CDU wants to scrap the obligation to carry out compensation and replacement measures when bike paths or renewable energy facilities are built. This covers generation facilities as well as transmission lines.

People who build often have to do something for nature elsewhere. This is called compensation. The CDU wants to drop this duty for bike paths. It should also end for clean energy facilities.

The CDU wants to bring companies, universities, research institutes, business associations and policymakers together in decarbonization clusters. Part of the revenue from CO2 certificate trading is to go to forest owners and farmers so they can invest in climate-friendly projects.

The CDU wants businesses to emit less CO2. Companies and researchers should work together more closely. Forest owners and farmers should get money from CO2 trading. They should use it for climate projects.

The CDU wants to provide more money for flood protection on the coast and inland and to speed up planning with a dedicated law. It cites climate change, rising sea levels and the fact that about 14 percent of the state's area is at risk from storm surges.

The CDU wants to protect the state better against floods. There should be more money for this. A new law should make planning faster. The dikes on the coast should become stronger.

The CDU wants to do without gas, oil and coal from Russia by the end of 2023. To that end, the ports of Wilhelmshaven and Stade are to be upgraded together with the federal government for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biogas, and LNG terminals are to be built as fast as possible.

The CDU wants to stop buying energy from Russia. This should happen by the end of 2023. Two ports are to be expanded for this. Ships should deliver liquid gas there. This liquid gas is called LNG.

The CDU wants to allow more conventional natural gas production in Lower Saxony and issue new permits. It argues that gas produced locally under German standards has a better carbon footprint than gas transported over long distances.

The CDU wants to produce more natural gas in Lower Saxony. There should be new permits for this. It stays banned in the Wadden Sea. It also stays banned in water protection areas.

The CDU wants to return existing gas storage facilities in Lower Saxony to public ownership if security of supply requires it. It intends to use every legal avenue to do so.

Gas storage sites hold gas for the winter. Many of them belong to companies. The CDU wants the state to take them back if needed. This should keep the gas supply safe.

The CDU wants to sharply increase production of green hydrogen and fund the implementation of the state's hydrogen strategy. It also plans a research cluster for storage technologies with neighboring countries and a focus on synthetic fuels.

The CDU wants to make much more green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is made with power from wind and sun. The state should pay for this. Researchers should develop new ways to store energy.

The CDU sees permit requirements and long planning procedures as the main obstacle to expanding renewable energy. It wants to create a central state office for permits, reduce requirements and digitalize procedures.

Wind and solar plants need a permit. The CDU says this takes too long. It wants fewer requirements. A new state office should help local agencies. The procedures should become digital.

The CDU commits to the climate targets and wants to double wind power capacity in Lower Saxony in the coming years, both offshore and onshore. Turbines are to be built in natural areas rather than close to housing; to allow this, it wants to relax species protection in federal law.

The CDU wants twice as much power from wind. Wind turbines should stand farther away from homes. They should also be allowed in forests. Protected areas stay free of them. Towns should get more money from wind power.

The CDU considers the potential of photovoltaics untapped so far and wants to increase its expansion significantly. Funding programs for rooftops of homes and commercial buildings are to become simpler and more worthwhile for builders.

The CDU wants more power from the sun. People who put solar panels on roofs should get funding more easily. Solar plants should also stand along highways and rail lines. Farmland should not get more expensive because of this.

The CDU regards biogas and hydropower as steady energy sources that complement wind and solar. It wants to use more agricultural residues for biogas, examine hydropower potential and fund geothermal exploration.

The CDU wants to use more biogas. Biogas is made from manure, for example. Hydropower should also deliver more electricity. Heat from the ground should be explored and funded.

The CDU wants to expand storage so that wind and solar power is available even when output is low. It also plans an efficiency strategy for all consumption sectors and more energy advice.

Wind and sun do not always deliver power. So the CDU wants more energy storage. Households should get money for their own storage units. Everyone should also use less energy. There should be more advice for this.

The CDU wants to expand local energy generation and support municipal utilities in doing so. Municipal heat planning is to be introduced, and heating networks with a high share of renewable energy are to be supported.

The CDU wants more energy to be produced locally. City utilities should get help with this. Towns should plan how homes will get heat in the future. Whole neighborhoods should be supplied together.

The Greens want to free Lower Saxony quickly from imported oil, gas and coal and switch the energy supply entirely to renewable sources by 2035. Electricity is to be generated almost entirely from renewables as early as 2030. The platform cites climate protection and security of supply.

The Greens want to stop relying on oil, gas and coal from abroad. By 2030, power should come almost fully from wind and sun. By 2035, all energy should be renewable. This should protect the climate and keep the supply secure.

The Greens want to align Lower Saxony's climate law with the 1.5-degree path and make the state climate neutral by 2035. Fixed interim targets, annual requirements for all sectors and a public climate report are to apply. In the party's view, acting early avoids follow-on costs and misguided investment.

The Greens want to make Lower Saxony's climate law stricter. The state should be climate neutral by 2035. That means it adds no more greenhouse gases overall. There should be a public report every year.

The Greens want the state's administration to operate climate neutrally by 2030 and thereby lead the way. To that end, state buildings are to be retrofitted for energy efficiency faster and procurement made climate friendly.

The state's offices should be climate neutral by 2030. The state should renovate its buildings faster. Then they need less energy. The state should also buy climate-friendly goods.

The Greens want to create a climate council that advises the state government and proposes further measures in yearly reports. What science says is needed to meet the interim targets is to guide government action.

The Greens want to found a climate council. This is a group of experts. It advises the government of Lower Saxony. Every year it suggests new steps for the climate.

The Greens want to strengthen climate action as a mandatory task for municipalities and install full-time climate officers everywhere. The platform argues that climate action is carried out locally and requires funding and expertise within local administrations.

The Greens want towns and cities to be required to protect the climate. Every municipality should get a full-time climate officer. This person works for the local climate goals. The state should help municipalities with money.

The Greens want to turn municipal energy reports into mandatory public climate reports published every year. They also want, where possible, a duty to assess the climate impact of municipal decisions. According to the platform, this is meant to create transparency.

Municipalities now write reports on their energy use. The Greens want to turn these into climate reports. The reports should come out every year. Everyone should be able to read them. Municipalities should also check how their decisions affect the climate.

The Greens want to make planning for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and grid expansion much faster. Agencies would be better staffed, procedures bundled at one authority, and citizens involved early. Species and habitat protection should not suffer as a result.

The Greens want faster planning and permits. This applies to wind turbines and power grids, for example. Agencies should get more staff. Citizens should have a say early on. Protection of animals and plants should stay in place.

The Greens want to expand wind power quickly and substantially in order to become climate-neutral by 2035. Onshore, at least two gigawatts net would be added each year, and 2.5 percent of the state's area would be reserved for wind power. The expansion is meant to be compatible with species protection.

The Greens want to build many more wind turbines. Lower Saxony should be climate-neutral by 2035. That means the state no longer harms the climate. There should be more land for wind turbines. Permits should come faster. Birds and bats should stay protected.

With a solar offensive, the Greens want to use as many suitable roofs as possible for photovoltaics. A solar mandate would apply to new buildings and roof renovations, and new parking lots would gradually have to be covered with solar modules. The platform sees Lower Saxony as lagging behind on solar energy.

The Greens want many more solar panels. New buildings should have to put solar panels on the roof. The same applies when someone renews a roof. New parking lots should get a roof with solar panels. The state should use its own roofs by 2025.

The Greens want an energy transition that is as decentralized as possible and directly benefits local people. Wind farm operators would have to offer residents and municipalities a stake of up to 20 percent. A fund would help citizen energy projects get started.

The Greens want local people to earn money from wind turbines. Wind farm operators must offer them a share. The share can be up to 20 percent. A fund should give citizen projects money at the start. A fund is a pot of money.

The Greens want to produce more biogas from residues and by-products as well as from liquid manure and dry droppings. The land used for energy crops would shrink. Existing plants would run more flexibly to stabilize the power grid and supply.

The Greens want to make biogas mainly from leftovers and manure. Less farmland should be used for energy crops. Biogas plants should supply power when it is needed. The heat from the plants should also be used.

The Greens want to expand power grids, smart controls, and energy storage, giving priority to generation close to where power is used. Flexible tariffs and smart meters would match consumption to the supply of wind and solar power. The party wants gas storage facilities to come under public control.

The Greens want better power grids and more storage. People should use power when a lot of green power is available. Flexible prices and digital meters should make that possible. Gas storage sites should be under public control. This should make supply more secure.

The Greens want all buildings to be heated without oil and natural gas by 2035. A renewable heat law would require minimum shares of renewable heat when a heating system is replaced or a building renovated, and new buildings would have to be at least climate-neutral. Low-income households would get targeted relief.

The Greens want all buildings to heat without oil and gas. This should happen by 2035. Anyone who replaces a heating system must partly use renewable heat. New buildings should be climate-neutral. People with little money should get help.

The Greens want to require municipalities to draw up heat plans and to push for their rapid implementation. Heating networks would become climate-neutral and take in more waste heat. The platform considers this decisive for the heating transition to succeed locally.

The Greens want every municipality to make a heat plan. The plan shows how buildings will be heated in the future. Heating networks should become climate-neutral. Factories should pass on their leftover heat. That way, less energy is lost.

The Greens want saving energy and efficiency to come before replacing energy sources, and want funding programs geared to that. In construction, renovation should take priority over new buildings, and more recycled and renewable building materials should be used.

The Greens want everyone to use less energy. State money should mainly go to efficient devices, cars and buildings. Old buildings should be renovated instead of building new ones. Building materials should be reused more often.

The Greens want to end natural gas and oil extraction in Lower Saxony through a phase-out plan and to stop issuing new permits. They cite climate protection and risks to the environment and local residents.

Companies in Lower Saxony take gas and oil out of the ground. The Greens want to end this. There should be no new permits. The Greens say this protects the climate and people living nearby.

The Greens reject new permanent fossil fuel infrastructure and consider floating LNG terminals sufficient. These are meant to replace Russian pipeline gas in the short term and operate only for a limited period.

Germany wants to stop using gas from Russia. Liquid gas should come by ship instead. The Greens want to allow only floating terminals for this. They should run only for a limited time. The Greens reject new permanent gas facilities.

The Greens want to support the construction of plants to produce and transport green hydrogen so that the energy-intensive metal and chemical industries can become climate neutral. Wilhelmshaven is to become a hub for renewable energy. A large share of the hydrogen is to be imported.

Steel and chemical plants need a lot of energy. They should use green hydrogen. That is a gas made with renewable power. The state should fund plants and pipelines for it. Wilhelmshaven should become a key port for clean energy.

The Greens want to speed up the expansion of renewable energy and thereby create new business models and jobs in Lower Saxony. Workers are to get support when they need new qualifications for this.

The Greens want more power from wind and sun. This should bring many new jobs. People who need to learn new skills for these jobs should get help.

The Greens want to rewet drained peatlands so they store carbon dioxide again. A state-owned company for peatland protection is to speed this up. No new permits for peat extraction would be issued, and peat is to be replaced by other materials.

Peatlands store greenhouse gases when they are wet. The Greens want to make dry peatlands wet again. A new state company should organize this. No one should get a new permit to dig up peat. Gardeners should use soil without peat.

The Greens want to speed up energy retrofits of buildings and match subsidy volumes to demand. A heating-transition grant program would target low-income households so that total rents do not rise.

Buildings should use less energy. The state should give more money for this. People with little money should benefit most. Their rent including heating should not go up. Anyone who wants to retrofit should get advice.

The Greens want to make public buildings climate-neutral by 2035, starting with the old buildings that harm the climate most. In public construction contracts, quality and ecological requirements are to carry more weight relative to price.

State buildings should be climate-neutral by 2035. That means they no longer harm the climate. The worst old buildings come first. In building contracts, price should not be the only thing that counts.

The Greens want a state development plan that brings together the state's sector strategies, and they want all planning aligned with environmental and climate goals. 2.5 percent of the state's land would be designated as priority areas for wind power, and 15 percent would become part of a habitat network.

The Greens want one plan for the whole state. All planning should fit climate protection. Wind turbines should get priority on 2.5 percent of the land. 15 percent of the land should form a network for animals and plants.

The Greens want to turn towns and cities into so-called sponge municipalities that store rainwater and let it seep into the ground. According to the platform, this helps against drought, heat, heavy rain and flooding alike. Rivers and floodplains are to get more room.

The climate crisis brings more droughts and more heavy rain. So the Greens want more green space in towns and villages. The ground should soak up water like a sponge. Rivers should get more room. This also protects against floods.

The Greens want the search for a final repository for high-level nuclear waste to continue with high safety standards, transparency and a say for affected regions. The nuclear facilities at Gorleben are to be dismantled. They call for new safety concepts for extended interim storage.

Germany is looking for a safe place for highly radioactive waste. The Greens want the search to go on openly and carefully. Safety matters more than speed. People in the regions should have a say. The nuclear sites in Gorleben should be removed.

The Greens continue to reject nuclear power, calling it expensive, risky and no answer to the climate crisis. After the Emsland plant shuts down at the end of 2022, the fuel element factory in Lingen should also close. They want exports of fuel elements to high-risk reactors abroad banned.

The Greens are against nuclear power. They say it is costly and dangerous. The last nuclear plant in Lower Saxony goes offline at the end of 2022. The fuel rod factory in Lingen should close too. Germany should not send fuel rods to unsafe plants abroad.

The Greens also call for a transparent repository search for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, with uniform, up-to-date safety requirements. They back the application to revoke the permit for Schacht Konrad because its safety criteria date from the 1980s.

Some nuclear waste is less radioactive. The Greens want an open search for a storage site for this waste too. The safety rules should be modern. They think the planned Schacht Konrad site is out of date.

The Greens want nuclear waste removed from the Asse mine as quickly as possible. The process is to be transparent and involve citizens. The search for an interim storage site should be reexamined with an open outcome.

There is nuclear waste in the Asse mine. The Greens want to get it out fast. Local people should have a say. The place for an interim store should be checked again. Each year there should be a report on health and the environment.

The Greens want climate-friendly renovation of university buildings and sustainable energy concepts at every campus. The platform cites a large investment backlog and the high share of university buildings in the state administration's greenhouse gas emissions.

Many university buildings are old. They use a lot of energy. The Greens want to renovate them. This should help the climate. The money should come from a state fund.

The Greens want hospitals to help cut CO2, since the platform says the health sector causes 4.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Hospitals are to get energy retrofits and generate renewable energy themselves.

The Greens want hospitals to be better for the climate. The buildings should use less energy. They should make their own green power. They should also save water and waste.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.