<p>This Act seeks to promote the transformation to a GHG neutral power supply based on renewable energies by accelerating the expansion of onshore wind energy. It sets binding area targets requiring each German federal state to designate a fixed percentage of its territory for onshore wind energy, ranging roughly from 0.25% to 1.8% by 2027 and 0.5% to 2.2% by 2032. Article 6 brings procedural acceleration provisions by § 6 introduced permitting simplifications for projects within designated wind energy areas, § 6a deems certain pre-existing wind areas as "acceleration areas" (Beschleunigungsgebiete) by law, and § 6b, which was added by the last amendment from 12.08.2025 RED III implementation act, exempts projects in acceleration areas from environmental impact, FFH, species-protection, and water-management assessments in favor of a streamlined 45-day review with a compensation-payment fallback, reinforcing the Act's overall purpose of accelerating onshore wind expansion.</p>

Wind Energy Area Requirements Act (WindBG), last amended by the Law implementing the requirements of Directive (EU) 2023/2413

<p>          The summary of this document was written by researchers at the <a href="http://lse.ac.uk/grantham" target="_blank"> Grantham Research Institute </a> .           If you want to use this summary, please check <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/cclw-terms-and-conditions" target="_blank"> terms of use </a> for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Amendment of March 2023

Amended/Updated

Germany

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Compulsory, required payments to the government that are levied more-or-less in proportion to the services provided. Fees and charges range from entrance fees to national parks, charges on land-based sewage discharge.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Kinetic energy of airflow transformed into useful energy, mostly electrical energy.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Activities involving the management, development, and sale of property assets.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

the fair distribution of risks and opportunities of climate change and the transition to a regenerative economy, cognisant in particular of disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and the working class

Procedural justice means ensuring that decision making is safe, transparent and inclusive, emphasizing the agency and influence of vulnerable groups and those most impacted.

Amendment of March 2023

Policy instrument

Just transition

Climate justice

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance