Baerbock: First, the difference between 2023 and 2026 is that the government currently being formed is finally going to act. Second, similar to the way in which the 12-euro minimum wage still needs to be passed into law, the same is true of the phasing out of coal. And of course, by that point we will need around-the-clock renewable electricity. That will also be a huge undertaking. For this we are launching an immediate program.
DER SPIEGEL: You wanted to mandate the installation of solar panels on all new roofs to rapidly expand renewable energy. That’s not in there now.
Baerbock: Of course, it is.
DER SPIEGEL: The obligation only applies to commercial roofs, not private ones. It says that “it should become the rule” for the latter. That sounds pretty vague.
Baerbock: No, it’s very far-reaching. On new roofs, whether private or commercial, solar panels will become standard. That will give us a big boost for renewable energy. The distinction between a mandate and a rule is something for legal nitpickers.
DER SPIEGEL: And this is not your interpretation, but the joint understanding of the three parties?
Baerbock: Yes.
DER SPIEGEL: You want to accelerate the expansion of wind power. That, though, is only possible if the German states don’t keep passing strict laws on how far away they have to be from residential areas. Will this power therefore be taken from the states?
Baerbock: The proposal is for there to be a legal obligation of using 2 percent of a state’s land for wind power. The states themselves can freely decide where, including the distances from residential areas, but sufficient area must be set aside.
DER SPIEGEL: There is one further cryptic passage in the paper, referring to a cross-sector, multi-year review of climate targets. Are you intending to discard the annual climate targets for transportation, agricultural and energy so you will not be confronted with unpleasant numbers in the coming years?
Baerbock: Not at all. All sectors need to continue making their contribution to climate protection. Along with the annual monitoring report, we want to strengthen two things. First of all: How do we take into account the measures that don’t have an immediate effect, but a medium-term one? The exit from coal, for example, will give a giant boost to the climate, but only in a few years – so something like that should be listed separately. Secondly, we finally need to truly interlink different sectors: Each sector must make its contribution, but we need to couple those sectors much more closely. Electric cars, after all, won’t just use green electricity in the future, but they will also store it. Something like that needs to be carefully tracked across the sectors.