Dispatch from Germany | October ‘26
*** Our weekly Dispatches provide an overview of the most relevant recent and upcoming developments for the shift to climate neutrality in selected European countries, from policy and diplomacy to society and industry. For a bird's-eye view of the country's climate-friendly transition, read the respective 'Guide to'. ***
09 Oct 2026, 08:00
Carolina Kyllmann, Benjamin Wehrmann, Julian Wettengel
Stories to watch in the weeks ahead
- Backup gas power plants – After years of delays, Germany is progressing with plans to ensure it can keep the lights on as it exits coal. The results for the first round of auctions for new gas-fired power plants, which do not depend on wind or sun to generate electricity, are due on 3 November. The first and second round (scheduled for 10 November) focus on “long-term capacity”: technology able to supply electricity on command continuously over an extended period. Later rounds will also support flexibility options such as large-scale batteries or demand management. Industry has said getting the plants online will take at least five years.
- Carbon Management Action Plan – To reach its climate targets, Germany uses both technology and nature as carbon sinks for CO2 in the atmosphere. At an event in Berlin, the economy ministry outlined plans to implement Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation (CCS/CCU) to prevent the greenhouse gas from even reaching the atmosphere. The technologies would be used especially for sectors where emissions are difficult to avoid, such as cement production and waste incineration. Rolling out CCS infrastructure, securing investments and implementing projects is the next challenge, one the government will address in its Carbon Management Action Plan, which the economy ministry is currently drafting. Efforts build on the previous government's draft Carbon Management Strategy, which was never finalised due to the breakup of the coalition in 2024.
- International climate finance – With the next UN climate conference on the horizon, Germany confirmed it missed its 2025 target of providing at least six billion euros in climate finance from its federal budget. A budget crisis and the priorities of the coalition government led to significant cuts, with Germany providing 4.7 billion euros last year. Oxfam’s Jan Kowalzig said this “casts a shadow” over the upcoming COP31 negotiations, taking place in Antalya, Turkey, from 9 to 20 November 2026, as international support is necessary, particularly for low-income countries, in the face of the worsening climate crisis. Germany’s long-standing top climate negotiator, Jochen Flasbarth, won’t be attending.
The latest from Germany – last month in recap
- Fossil fuel transition plan: Conversely, Germany sent a strong international signal ahead of COP31 by becoming the third nation after France and the Netherlands to publish a roadmap for moving away from using oil, coal and gas by 2045. The document only reaffirmed climate targets and policies Germany already had and focuses on moving away from fossil fuels as far as possible rather than spelling out a full exit. Civil society groups celebrated having an international climate champion while highlighting the dissonance between international ambition and contested national policy which could slow the energy transition.
- Merz’s CDU state elections blow: Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), suffered heavy losses in three state elections in September, where broad dissatisfaction amongst an electorate that sees the government as ineffective drove support for the far-right party AfD, which denies humanity’s role in climate change. The immediate effects on the energy transition of Germany as a whole are likely to remain very limited, yet the results might force a reckoning within the governing parties, which need to figure out how to distribute transition costs and bring down energy prices while implementing ambitious climate action.
- Lower taxes at the pump: In what observers described as a last-ditch attempt at wooing voters, the government decided to reintroduce a fuel tax cut until the end of the year to rein in record petrol and diesel prices – a move economists and environmental groups have criticised as short-sighted and poorly targeted.
- Gas storage woes: Germany has entered the heating season with significantly lower gas storage levels than average, as traders put off purchases, trying to avoid high prices due to ongoing geopolitical turmoil. The government finally ordered state-owned gas importer SEFE to speed up storage filling – a move it long refused to make to prevent market interventions. According to grid agency BNetzA, the risks of a tight gas supply “continue to be low”, yet energy companies worry about price hikes, and market experts about Europe’s security of supply.
Caro’s picks - highlights from upcoming events and top reads
I discovered Sammy Roth’s reporting ahead of my research trip to LA and have since enjoyed reading his newsletter Climate-Colored Goggles. His commentary on the intersection between culture and climate change is well worth a read.
Also worth a read is this fascinating, enlightening and simply wonderful read on Bloomberg about a small island and the world of concrete, a major CO2 emitter and a material central to our lives. Grab a cup of coffee and take your time: Curing Concrete.
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