German Greens want higher CO2 price and ramp-up of hydrogen production

The German Green Party wants to restructure the electricity market to significantly expand the share of renewable energies, according to a position paper that the party’s parliamentary group plans to present on Tuesday, Klaus Stratmann reports in Handelsblatt. In the paper, which is available to Handelsblatt, the party calls for an increase of the CO2 price in the heating and transport sectors to 60 euros by 2023, instead of the currently planned 35 euros per tonne of CO2. The Greens also plan a ramp-up of the country’s hydrogen production, calling for “at least ten gigawatts of electrolysers by 2030,” which is double the amount the German government currently aims for in its hydrogen strategy, Handelsblatt reports. To expand electricity production from renewable sources, the Greens also propose a contracts-for-difference system, which guarantees electricity producers a certain price in the long-term, as well as higher expansion targets for renewable energies. "If you want to fight the climate crisis, you have to make the energy transition a success. We want to strengthen the electricity market and thus further promote the expansion of renewable energies," Ingrid Nestle, spokesperson for energy economics of the Green parliamentary group, told Handelsblatt.

The paper is intended to act as a guideline in the case of the Greens’ government participation after the federal election in September, Handelsblatt writes. The Green Party is currently running a close second in the polls behind Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU block. Last week, the party named Annalena Baerbock as their candidate for chancellor.