FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2017 file photo the exhaust pipes of a VW Diesel car are photographed in Frankfurt, Germany.The UN Climate Change Conference 2017 will take place under Presidency of the Government of Fiji in Bonn, Germany and starts on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Probst,file)
November 07, 2017 - 1:05 AM
BERLIN - Leaders of Germany's Greens may drop demands for a 2030 deadline to phase out combustion engines and shut coal-fired power stations as Chancellor Angela Merkel's government-building efforts intensify.
Merkel's conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens want to determine by mid-November whether there's enough common ground for full coalition negotiations. They struggled to bridge differences during initial talks.
Greens co-leader Cem Ozdemir signalled in an interview with the daily Stuttgarter Zeitung published Tuesday that his party will soften its much-criticized demand to stop registering new cars with gas and diesel engines in 2030. He acknowledged the Greens alone can't push it through.
The party also wants to switch off coal-fired electricity plants by 2030, but chairwoman Simone Peter told the Rheinische Post daily it is "pragmatic" on that issue.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017