Did he betray the Greens’ goals in the coalition agreement? This question sparked a rather interesting torrent of speech with Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) during his first press conference on Tuesday. It was very nice to see how someone uses a template when it comes up. “What does the betrayal refer to?”, Habeck asked back, in order to then explain in a kind of jerk speech how “mega-ambitious” and at the same time quite realistic and achievable his program is. “We can do this. We are determined to do everything we can and to use the planning-political means in such a way that it can be achieved, ”said Habeck.
Habeck had already shown for an hour at this point what that means. In summary, one can say so much: In the context of climate protection, some will have to adapt – also in the federal states. Because Germany will probably not achieve its climate protection targets this year with the measures taken so far. It will also be difficult in the coming year, says Habeck. While the average annual emission reduction was 15 million tonnes in the past decade, it will have to be over 40 million tonnes per year in the second half of this decade.
However, according to Habeck, federalism is not “everyone does his own thing”. Protecting the climate is the great task of this political generation. “We have to rethink the country,” said Habeck, everyone has to approach each other anew, help each other and develop a political culture at the various levels and responsibilities that does not pretend to have slowed the other down as much as possible. “Climate protection can only work as a joint effort,” said Habeck.
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Robert Habeck in an interview after the press conference on climate protection
So that this succeeds, this work is now being put on the track by Habeck’s ministry with some powerful regulations and laws. “A first climate protection package will come by the end of April, a second in summer,” said Habeck. Habeck wants to triple the German climate protection efforts for the first time.
In essence, it is about expanding wind power and solar energy at breakneck speed. A number of immediate measures are specifically planned. The Renewable Energy Sources Act is being amended and subsidies harmful to the climate are to be phased out. In order to advance solar energy, there should be improvements in tenant electricity – buildings are rated according to energy class and the CO2 tax is shared between tenants and landlords. There should be more open space systems. Solar energy is mandatory for new commercial buildings, the rule for private ones.
There will probably be a dispute over wind power. In order to be able to expand wind energy quickly, a wind-on-land law is planned. Two percent of the country’s area is to be reserved for wind energy. Habeck announces consultations with the federal states. And many country leaders are likely to be in a bad mood beforehand. Because so far, according to Habeck, only Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein are where they should be. In Bavaria, for example, special distance rules for residential buildings block many areas that would be suitable for the expansion of wind energy. “Wherever distance rules exist as a prevention policy, they cannot stay,” says Robert Habeck.
The rain of money, which Habeck is also able to trigger, could be perceived more positively. Electricity should become cheaper for consumers. In future, the EEG surcharge will be financed from the federal budget. Habeck wants to promote the restructuring of industry with climate protection agreements, and federal funding is also being used to decarbonise the heating sector. There are also funding programs to double the production quantities of green hydrogen.
Habeck’s message is then also an evocation of team spirit: “Renewables are part of the solution to make the climate crisis manageable and to preserve our freedom,” he says. Often individual concern prevents what makes sense. Habeck hopes that most Germans are ready to step beyond their own shadow.
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