The German parliament approved the government's special climate and transition fund plan. The plan will invest 177.5 billion euros over the next four years to help accelerate the transition to an economy that is cleaner and less dependent on Russia's energy supply. In 2023, the first year of the plan, 35.4 billion euros will be spent, of which about two-thirds, or nearly 17 billion euros, will be spent on improving the energy efficiency of older buildings. The funding will come from carbon pricing and the fund's own revenue and will not impact the federal budget.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Russia's military action has made renewable energy, reducing harmful industrial emissions, developing the hydrogen sector and promoting electric vehicles more topical and urgent. Subsidies for energy-efficient buildings will be used to retrofit existing energy consumption structures. This special Climate and Transition Fund is one of the most important financing instruments for climate protection and economic modernization in Germany.

Recently, due to Russia's continuous reduction in the delivery of natural gas to Germany and other European countries, Germany has made frequent moves in energy supply in order to have sufficient energy supply. German Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Habeck announced a new energy security package. He said that Germany will further tighten its previous natural gas reserve plan, with a new goal of completing 95% of its natural gas reserves by November 1.

Under the plan, Germany's natural gas storage facilities must be 75% full by Sept. 1 and 95% by Nov. 1. Previously, the original plan only required 80% by October 1 and 90% by November 1. Lignite power will also be restarted from October 1 to replace natural gas currently used for power generation, while rail transport will also prioritise the transport of coal and oil, according to Habeck. He also highlighted protections for private homes, saying landlords were contractually obligated to keep rooms at minimum temperatures. In addition, Harbeck once again called on the public and enterprises to save energy, and suggested that home office should be increased as much as possible with the consensus of employers and employees. "The situation is still tense, and we still need to continue to work on further reducing gas consumption and filling the storage tanks, and we need to work together on that," he said.

In addition, the coalition government led by German Chancellor Scholz is supported by the Green Party, which insists on environmental protection. One of the important propositions of the government is to oppose nuclear power. The current Green Party view is that in an energy crunch, all options should be on the table. One option could be to extend the life of Bavaria's Isar 2 nuclear power plant beyond its original closing date of December 31. The delay will only last a few months, and any decision will depend on the results of ongoing stress tests to determine whether Germany's electricity supply can continue to operate in a deteriorating situation.

The results of the above-mentioned stress tests may show that in the winter of 2022, Bavaria will be particularly affected by the lack of electricity supply. The state is an important industrial center and relies heavily on natural gas and nuclear power generation, with relatively little wind and solar.

A spokesman for Scholz said the chancellor was also awaiting the outcome of the investigation before deciding what action to take. The spokesman added that the government would make decisions in a "completely ideological and open-minded manner". European gas prices surged to their highest in five months amid renewed tightening in Russia. The Scholz-led coalition has previously said it hopes to phase out coal-fired power plants ideally by the end of the century.Editor/XingWentao