(Bloomberg) — After an all-night negotiating marathon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition is edging closer to securing a multi-billion-euro package to get the country’s climate policies back on track.
After more than 12 hours of negotiations that began Thursday evening in Berlin, cabinet-level officials from Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc and the Social Democrats are closing in on an agreement to lower carbon-dioxide emissions.
“There’s goodwill that the talks succeed,” Lars Klingbeil, general secretary of the SPD, said on Deutschlandfunk radio on Friday. “We can take a big step today.”
Germany’s leaders are under pressure to seal a deal with the country falling far short of its climate goals. Thousands of demonstrators are expected in central Berlin and other locations across Germany later as part of the Fridays for Future movement.
The government’s plan aims to slash Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions in areas from air travel to heating and will also likely add measures targeting the country’s critical auto industry that could raise the cost of driving.
Merkel has faced a series of protests this year demanding action to stem emissions, and the Green party has surged in the polls as the impact of global warming becomes increasingly tangible, with forests fires more frequent and droughts causing the Rhine river to recede.
A press conference to present the results of the talks is scheduled for Friday afternoon. Germany is expected to put a price on carbon-dioxide emissions as well as offer incentives for electric cars and energy-efficient buildings. The SPD has indicated it would leave Merkel’s coalition if the climate talks fail.
Klingbeil said he expects the agreement to contain concrete figures, but left open the possibility that financing may not yet be settled. With Germany committed to phase out coal power, the negotiations include plans to expand renewable energy, he said.
Proposals involve moves to ramp up onshore wind and solar power, according to a draft proposal from her coalition. The parties aim to boost the current capacity of onshore wind to about 80 gigawatts by 2030 from slightly over 50 gigawatts now, according to an earlier proposal seen by Bloomberg. Solar power will increase by 77% to to 85 gigawatts.
The government is also considering a measure that would require oil companies to buy allowances costing 30 euros to 50 euros ($33 to $55) for each ton of carbon dioxide their fuels emit, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
(Adds comments from SPD official beginning in third paragraph.)
–With assistance from Patrick Donahue.
To contact the reporters on this story: Arne Delfs in Berlin at [email protected];Brian Parkin in Berlin at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at [email protected], Chris Reiter, Andrew Blackman
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