New German state governments agree to focus on climate - media reports
Frankfurter Allgemeine / SWR / ARD
The new coalition governments in the German states of聽Rhineland-Palatinate聽and Baden-W眉rttemberg are set to commit to ambitious climate protection plans following the elections in March, according to media reports.聽Rhineland-Palatinate聽has set the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2040,聽Julian Staib聽writes in聽. The newly formed government will continue the so-called 鈥渢raffic light coalition鈥� of聽the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and聽the Greens led by聽Premier聽Malu Dreyer聽(SPD). Their new coalition agreement aims to make the state climate-neutral between 2035 and 2040. To that end, the government intends to double the state鈥檚 wind power capacity and triple that of solar. Furthermore, solar arrays will be mandatory for commercial buildings and parking lots with more than 50 parking spaces.聽By 2030, electricity in the country is to be produced entirely聽from renewable energy sources.
The new government also plans to introduce a 365-euro annual ticket for public transport. According to broadcaster聽, the state's environment ministry, led by the Greens, will be known as the climate protection ministry. The coalition agreement is expected to be approved this week.
In Baden-W眉rttemberg, the Greens remain the larger partner in a coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that is likewise focusing on climate protection and local transport, public broadcaster聽. The Greens,聽in particular, are calling for major investments in climate protection measures, including mandatory solar for new buildings and facilitated regulatory approval for wind farms,聽. Climate policy played a聽decisive role聽in the states鈥� elections on 14 March and the issue looks set to聽define this year鈥檚 federal election.
