Vote21 - German elections set the scene for key decade of energy transition
- Contents
- German conservatives pick leader set to shape handling of Merkel's climate legacy
- Germany faces packed election year as voters weigh climate against pandemic recovery
- Facts & dates for Germany's packed election year
- Tracking climate and energy in Germany's election
- German Greens vow to speed up low-carbon transition
- German Greens call on climate activists for unity in election goals
German conservatives pick leader set to shape handling of Merkel's climate legacy
Three men compete to take the lead of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Germany's largest party, and to possibly follow in the footsteps of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who leaves office after 16 years in September amid a global health and an intensifying climate crisis. The CDU's vote on 15-16 January kicks off a busy election year at a time when the country has to reconcile its short-term economic needs caused by the pandemic with long-term strategic planning in order to put Germany and Europe on a more sustainable path. Whoever wins the conservatives' leadership contest is unlikely to fundamentally alter Germany's climate and energy policy approach, but the new leadership’s style, tone and coalition options will likely be put to the test during the pre-election contest. And a fourth conservative contender for the Chancellery could also still arise from the CDU's Bavarian sister party CSU. Read the article here.
Germany faces packed election year as voters weigh climate against pandemic recovery
The era of Chancellor Angela Merkel will come to an end when Germans head to the polls next autumn after what looks set to become an unusually dramatic run-up to the federal elections. With no clear front-runner for her succession in sight and the coronavirus pandemic adding huge uncertainties, the elections may result in unprecedented government coalitions that might eventually determine the climate ambitions of Europe's largest economy. The coronavirus pandemic is likely to loom large in the election year and could still grow in weight as the economic fallout makes itself felt. However, it seems unlikely to override citizens' increasing commitment to environmentally friendly policies. Read the article here.
Facts & dates for Germany's packed election year
Germany will head to the polls in autumn 2021 to elect a new federal parliament and government. More than 60 million people are invited to decide who will follow on the outgoing Angela Merkel as next chancellor and oversee the climate and energy policy of Europe's largest economy for the next four years. Clean Energy Wire has compiled contacts, links and other information to help journalists report on Germany's 2021 federal elections. Find the factsheet here.
Tracking climate and energy in Germany's election
Germany is set to vote for a new government in autumn 2021. After 16 years at the helm of Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel will make room for a successor who is going to shape the country's energy and climate policy in the first half of a decade viewed as crucial for international emissions reduction efforts. With the COVID-19 pandemic still looming large and Germany and the EU poised to take momentous decisions for the goal of 2050 climate neutrality, Clean Energy Wire traces the steps leading up to the election and will highlight developments in climate and energy policy by all major parties in this regularly updated news overview.
German Greens vow to speed up low-carbon transition
Germany's Greens have backed a more ambitious climate target in a bid to defuse growing tensions with more radical activists. At a virtual convention designed to showcase the party's ability to govern Europe's largest economy less than a year before general elections, delegates agreed to the target of getting "on the path" to limiting the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees. But in an effort not to alienate more mainstream voters, the party refused to include an autobahn speed limit and many other more radical proposals in its new manifesto. Read the article here.
German Greens call on climate activists for unity in election goals
Leading members of Germany's Green Party have called on climate activists to cooperate in the country's general elections next year. They warn that more radical climate platforms competing in elections could harm the fight against climate change, as they could drain votes from the party that stands a good chance to become part of the next German federal government. Read the article here.
