German Greens enter election campaign with climate investment plan – media reports

The German Greens propose a large public investment programme to support the transition to a climate-friendly economy and a phase-out of combustion engine car sales by 2030 in their draft election manifesto, reports Silke Kersting in business daily Handelsblatt. Kersting has seen parts of the draft. Germany should invest an additional 50 billion euros per year, for example in "climate-neutral infrastructures, charging stations, railway expansion, emission-free buses and modern urban development," as well as fast internet connections, biotech and quantum computing, the draft says. "This is how the socio-ecological transformation succeeds, how we create sustainable prosperity and secure the competitiveness of our country."

The party also wants to support energy-intensive industry's efforts to decarbonise with public investment support and new depreciation rules, according to the report. In addition, they call for climate contracts with companies investing in climate protection that would guarantee a fixed CO2 price to provide investment security and competitiveness. The party wants to turn industries, such as steel, cement and chemicals, into "technology pioneers in the development of climate-neutral processes." The Greens also want to end the sale of new combustion engine cars within a decade. From 2030, they only want to allow new registrations of emission-free vehicles.

The party’s leadership plans to present the manifesto on Friday. The programme is set to be agreed at a party convention in June. It remains unclear which of the party's two co-leaders – Annalena Baerbock or Robert Habeck – will be the Greens' candidate for chancellor. If the party is to stand a chance against Angela Merkel's conservatives, it will have to persuade sceptical voters that it will manage the economy well, according to surveys.