Climate “perhaps the most important point” in Germany’s planned coalition treaty – SPD

Climate action will become “perhaps the most important point” in the planned coalition treaty of the next German government, the Social Democrats‘ (SPD) secretary general Lars Klingbeil has told public broadcaster DLF. “Everyone knows that something substantial has to happen in this area” in the coming legislative period, in particular with respect to renewables expansion, Klingbeil said, adding that a coalition treaty with the Green Party and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) could be finalised by the end of the month as planned. The secretary general, who on the day before had been nominated to become the next co-leader of the largest party in Germany’s parliament, the SPD, said the parties had agreed to not talk publicly about possible disputes before an internal agreement has been found but reassured that the negotiations are making good progress despite some conflicts along the way. Some 300 negotiators are meeting in 22 working groups on specific policy areas, such as climate, mobility, and labour laws. “Overall, I’m very satisfied” with the talks, said Klingbeil.

The working groups are supposed to conclude their negotiations by 10 November. The three parties have said they hope to agree on a coalition treaty by late November and aspire to vote in SPD candidate Olaf Scholz as new chancellor of a so-called “traffic light coalition” in the week starting on 6 December. In a statement at the beginning of their formal coalition negotiations, the parties had stressed their commitment to bringing Germany on a path compatible with meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.