Greens Agree to Coalition Talks, Energy Changes

New government could be 'a big win' for party
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 17, 2021 10:10 AM CDT
Greens Agree to Coalition Talks, Energy Changes
Annalena Baerbock, center, and Robert Habeck vote Sunday in a Green party congress in Berlin.   (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

Germany's Green party gave its blessing Sunday to opening formal coalition talks on a new government that would speed up the country's exit from coal-fueled power and the expansion of renewable energy. A congress of the environmentalist party signed off on negotiators' recommendation to open full-fledged talks on a government led by center-left Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, the AP reports. The pro-business Free Democrats, who usually ally with the center-right, would be the coalition's third partner. Their leadership is expected to give its approval on Monday.

The proposed coalition could be "a big win for the Greens, for Germany," co-leader Robert Habeck told delegates. He added that "in the coming government, the Greens can take on more responsibility for our country than ever—we will be drivers of major transformations." A preliminary agreement calls for Germany to accelerate its exit from coal-fueled power, currently due by 2038, so it could happen by 2030, which the Greens insist on. It also pledges to dramatically speed up Germany's expansion of renewable energy generation, but says there will be no overall speed limit on highways. The Free Democrats opposed a speed limit.

There has been criticism from climate activists that the plans so far don't go far enough, but little of that was heard at Sunday's meeting. The prospective partners say they won't raise taxes, something the Social Democrats and Greens had wanted for top earners and the Free Democrats opposed, but will facilitate investment in combating climate change and promoting digitization. Scholz hopes that his new government, which would send outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc into opposition, will be in place by the end of the year. Scholz's Social Democrats narrowly topped the Union in the Sept. 26 election, with the Greens third and the Free Democrats fourth.

(More Germany stories.)

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