威力彩玩法

Hessian party positions on climate & energy

: The CDU calls the energy transition 鈥渁 generational challenge鈥� that requires 鈥渟mart decisions free from ideology.鈥� The conservative party that has been in the state鈥檚 government since 1998 says Hesse鈥檚 energy supply has to be 鈥渟ecure and clean 鈥� but most importantly, it has to be affordable.鈥�

: The Social Democrats say Hesse should become 鈥渁 role model鈥� in energy transition policies. To speed up renewables expansion and boost employment in the sector, the party wants to 鈥渞emove administrative barriers and provide building areas.鈥�

: The Greens call climate change a 鈥渄ecisive challenge of our time鈥� and Hesse should 鈥渕ake a substantial contribution鈥� to limiting it. The environmentalist party wants to set up a detailed expansion plan for renewable power sources and reduces emissions ambitiously by boosting action in the power, heating and transport sector.

: The Left Party emphasises the role of citizens in the energy transition, pledging to 鈥渟trengthen energy cooperatives to make profits available to citizens.鈥� The party rejects auctions for renewables as they are 鈥渢oo risky鈥� for small investors.

: The pro-business FDP calls for 鈥渃orrecting the course鈥� of the state鈥檚 energy policy. It argues more and more people are against an 鈥渦nchecked鈥� expansion of wind power and says 鈥渢he climate cannot be saved by destroying nature reserves鈥� to build wind turbines. It criticises that a lot of money has been spent on renewables but 鈥渆missions are not really going down.鈥�

: The right-wing nationalist party does not believe that man-made climate change is a problem at all. It calls for ending Germany鈥檚 renewable power support altogether and emphasises 鈥渄omestic鈥� power sources like coal.

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Hesse's energy policy

The central German state of Hesse has been one of the late-starters in Germany鈥檚 energy transition, the Energiewende. Ten years ago, in 2008, the state that is neither blessed with a lot of sun nor wind and which does not have large capacities for hydro power still sourced less than 6 percent of its power consumption from renewables 鈥� three times less than the national average at the time. By the first half of 2018, the share had climbed to more than 22 percent, still less than the national average of 36 percent but this time with a much steep growth trajectory. The incumbent CDU-Green government has promised to bring the share to 25 percent by 2019.

The share of renewables in primary energy consumption stood at nearly 9.5 percent in 2016 and the state plans to achieve 100 percent renewable energy supply by 2050. With its , Hesse has 鈥渕oved from the end of the ranking to the top group鈥� of German states in terms of energy transition progress, economy and energy minister Tarek al-Wazir said. 听

Popular support & emissions

According to the , with 28 percent of all households active in applying energy transition technologies, Hesse is among the most committed federal states in Germany. Just like for other states in Germany鈥檚 southern half, greater sunshine intensity and household incomes above the national average facilitate to acquire and use green tech like solar power storage systems or e-cars in private.

[See the 威力彩玩法 article How a Hessian county outpaces Germany's energy transition for more information]

In a commissioned by the state government, 89 percent of Hesse鈥檚 citizens said the energy transition is 鈥渋mportant鈥� or 鈥渧ery important鈥� for Germany. Over 70 percent said they would 鈥渢olerate鈥� a wind turbine built close to their home while 26 percent said they would not.

Greenhouse gas emissions in Hesse are dominated by the transport sector. It contributes 49 percent to the state鈥檚 carbon footprint, compared to just 30 percent on the national average. This is mainly due to the Hesse鈥檚 central location in Germany and Europe, which makes the state a transport hub and important intersection of major trans-European roads, and due to the Frankfurt Airport, the biggest in Germany and one of the largest on the continent. Airplane fuel that is being filled at the airport is counted in the state鈥檚 emissions鈥� record but effectively consumed elsewhere, the state government says in .

[See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet on Air cargo emissions in Germany for background]