Results of the coalition committee: Motorways, but please with sun!

The traffic light agrees on faster highway expansion including solar systems. More should be invested in the railways, above all through a higher truck toll.

Efforts to cooperate: FDP boss Lindner, Green co-boss Lang and SPD co-boss Klingbeil Photo: ap

BERLIN taz | The marathon coalition committee of the traffic light lasted around 48 hours. The leaders of the SPD, Greens and FDP started on Sunday evening, on Tuesday evening SPD co-chairman Lars Klingbeil, Green co-chairman Ricarda Lang and FDP chairman Christian Lindner finally presented results. And they initially sounded like a march through for the FDP: In addition to the accelerated expansion of railway tracks and roads, 144 motorway projects are also to be expanded in a turbocharged manner. There is an “overriding public interest” for their expansion. This means that the environmental impact assessment can be dispensed with.

It is not only on this point that the liberals are asserting themselves. The CO2 reduction targets that previously applied to every area – be it transport, industry or buildings – will also be softened. The 16-page result paper, on which the three coalition partners finally agreed, states that the sectors will be considered in aggregate in the future. This means that if fewer greenhouse gases are reduced than planned in one area, this can be offset by savings in another area. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) should be particularly happy about this, because the transport sector is lagging far behind the savings targets.

And a third point also goes to the FDP: Lindner announced that there would be no obligation to replace existing gas and oil heating systems. The Green Economics Minister Robert Habeck wanted to see fossil heating replaced by 2045. When his bill was leaked, the PICTURE mood against it. SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil assured that one sees the uncertainties and will ensure that nobody is left alone.

The traffic light wants to raise financial support for the installation of predominantly climate-neutral heating systems from the climate and transformation fund. He is already available with 60 billion euros in possible loans.

25 percent market share for rail freight transport

The Greens were able to ensure that in future significantly more money will be invested in rail than in roads. Ricarda Lang put the investment requirements for Deutsche Bahn up to 2027 at 45 billion euros. Part of the money should come in through a higher truck toll, the price per tonne of CO₂ should be 200 euros in the future. Smaller trucks should also have to pay the surcharge. In the result paper, the goal is formulated that rail freight traffic should achieve a market share of 25 percent by 2030.

In addition, the Greens pushed through that in future areas for photovoltaic systems should be created along every newly built motorway kilometer. “Road construction and climate protection should be thought of together,” is the goal in the paper. In particular, the FDP and the Greens had fought in the past few days and weeks and accused of putting one over the other.

After the nerve-wracking days and nights in the coalition committee, the three party leaders tried on Tuesday evening to bring harmony and unanimous cooperation to the fore again. One is satisfied here, said Klingbeil in the Bundestag. “You can also negotiate for two and a half days if you then have the guarantee that things will develop faster.”

Ricarda Lang left no doubt as to how difficult the path had been for the Greens. “These were by no means easy negotiations,” she said. Conflicts were also carried out on behalf of society.

Christian Lindner seemed really tidy. “It was a pleasure to exchange ideas intensively,” said the Minister of Finance. Real breakthroughs have been made. If something like this could be done after three days of talking, then such meetings could be convened every month in the future. Lang and Klingbeil left this uncommented.