Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party attacked a heating law passed in 2023, forcing a watering down of rules that would have banned most oil and gas heating installations. This internal political struggle highlights how the forces opposing meaningful climate action, often aligned with anti-migrant sentiment, obstruct even domestic efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. The party's co-leader, Alice Weidel, has openly described wind turbines as "windmills of shame."
Germany published a roadmap on Wednesday, committing to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045. This marks the first explicit promise of “transitioning away” from fossil fuels for the nation. The plan aims to raise the share of electricity from renewables from 55% to 80% by 2030, targeting an additional 12GW of onshore wind and 215GW of solar energy by that same year.
Fortress Europe's Green Facade
Despite these domestic targets, the plan's focus remains largely internal, failing to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on the Global South, which drives forced migration. The government reaffirmed its goal of winding down coal use in the next decade, with a view to an exit in 2038, and suggested an earlier target of 2035. Emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, are slated for a 30% cut by 2030, aligning with a global methane pledge signed in its fifth year.
Andreas Sieber, head of global political strategy at 350.org, called the plan a “notable shift” but warned that Germany’s ministry for economic affairs and energy was pushing intensely for greater gas use. He stated that the economic ministry "keeps sabotaging the transition away from fossil fuels." Sieber highlighted that this year has shown "in the starkest terms that fossil-fuel dependence is a risk for everyone," exposing households and businesses globally to price shocks and geopolitical insecurity.
Germany’s former climate envoy Jennifer Morgan emphasized the need for more effort in electrifying transport and heating. She noted that "accelerating the shift from coal, oil and gas to clean renewables will bolster energy independence and insulate consumers from price shocks." Morgan cautioned that "a roadmap is only the starting line," stressing the necessity for a faster, more deliberate rollout of green electrification.
The Cost of Inaction and Border Logic
The push for heat pumps to replace gas boilers faced significant opposition from the far-right wing of German politics. After the heating law passed in 2023, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) made the issue a key campaigning point. Their pressure forced a watering down of the rules earlier this year. Heat pumps now constitute about half of all new domestic heating systems. This resistance to climate action from the far-right mirrors their broader anti-migrant stance, revealing a consistent ideology that prioritizes nationalistic interests over global solidarity and human rights.
Germany is the third major developed economy to publish such a roadmap, following France and the Netherlands. This action comes after a major international conference in Colombia in April of the current year, where participants promised to set out plans for a full fossil fuel phaseout. Nations debated their "inadequate efforts" to tackle the climate crisis at the UN General Assembly in New York this year. António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has been a strong advocate for climate action for his 10 years in office. However, the end of his term this December has raised fears that his successor may be less firm in pushing for global climate justice.
The United Kingdom has not yet published its pledge to phase out fossil fuels. It will take up the presidency of the G20 group of developed and developing economies in December of the current year. Climate and the soaring costs of oil and gas are expected to be key issues during its presidency, yet the lack of a clear phaseout plan from a major European power signals a continued global failure to address the root causes of climate-driven displacement. The absence of a robust, internationally-focused climate strategy from European powers like Germany perpetuates the conditions that force people to move, only to be met by the violent deterrence of Fortress Europe.