Climate policies unveiled by Germany's new coalition government underscored the challenges ahead for the Greens, who won the most governing power ever with support from voters demanding more action to slow global warming.
After nearly two months of intense negotiations, Olaf Scholz, the incoming chancellor from the center-left Social Democrats, presented the agreement with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats on Wednesday.
The deal ramps up efforts -- already among the most ambitious in the world -- to slash greenhouse gas emissions with a faster coal exit, more renewables and a carbon price floor.
But it's not clear where the new coalition stands on phasing out combustion-engine cars. Leaders avoided setting a hard target for banning polluting vehicles, saying instead that they back the European Union's goal of only selling "carbon-neutral" vehicles in Europe by 2035.
The agreement also vowed to support cars that can run on e-fuels.
The Greens had previously called for banning production of fossil-fuel burning cars by 2030 and reserving use of e-fuels for industrial, transport, ships and planes.
However, neither the SPD nor the FDP was behind such a ban, with the FDP particularly supportive of maintaining investment in e-fuels for passenger vehicles.