Aspiring German government opts for energy transition continuity

Germany’s prospective government has agreed in its coalition treaty to continue the country’s landmark energy transition without major adjustments and stick to existing climate targets. Faced with economic stagnation and the geopolitical shake-up after the US election, the coalition parties – the conservative CDU/CSU alliance under chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz and the Social Democratic Party – have put more emphasis on economic competitiveness than climate action. The energy industry praised the continuation of existing policy, while environmental NGOs showed relief over the treaty’s climate commitments, both on a domestic and the EU level.