The German government wants to redesign the economy and private households to be climate-friendly.
But how do people take it with them?
Markus Lanz and his guests are looking for answers.
Hamburg - "If we can set a goal that we can solve relatively quickly, then that's energy," says entrepreneur Philipp Schröder in the ZDF talk with Markus Lanz.
Everyone can already "decide for themselves: Do I want to live 1.5 degrees compliant or not." We are currently "shooting" 600,000 Hiroshima bombs of heat into the atmosphere, Schröder said visibly offended.
The goal of reorganization due to the global climate crisis into a climate-friendly, climate-neutral economy has been set in Germany.
However, it is still unclear how this is to be done and how the private households, which are essential, can be taken along.
The reaction to Robert Habeck's proposal from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to ban new gas and oil heating systems from 2024 shows how much social explosiveness the conversion entails. Or currently the dispute with the coalition partner FDP about the end of combustion engines.
"Markus Lanz" - these guests discussed with:
Mojib Latif
- President of the "Club of Rome"
Philipp Schröder
- co-founder of the start-up "1KOMMA5°" for climate-friendly building renovation
Torsten Becker
- Managing Director at "carbonauten", which binds CO2 to concrete and plastic
Julia Löhr
- business correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Markus Lanz emotionally portrays people's outrage and fears in his moderation of his current political talk on ZDF: "It's about a huge project.
Gradually, the government wants to ban all gas and oil heating from the country's houses and apartments."
The alternatives should be heat pumps and switching to district heating, and the homeowners should bear the costs.
Lanz: "Who can afford that?"
The journalist Julia Löhr from the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
is initially surprised at the sudden excitement about the heating renewal, referring to the coalition agreement, where this goal has already been anchored.
But she, too, warns of the “social question” that Habeck's “planned economy” carries with it, provocatively, according to Löhr.
Germany has set itself an ambitious goal: the country should be climate-neutral by 2045
The journalist does the calculation example: While the acquisition costs of a gas or oil heating system are currently between 10,000 and a maximum of 15,000 euros, the price of a heat pump is three times as high.
But it is also certain that there will be subsidies for new systems.
The move is related to the "ambitious goal" that Germany has set itself in terms of climate neutrality: by 2045 they want to be climate neutral, the USA has proclaimed 2050, China 2060. From 2030, however, 80 percent should come from renewable energies.
Entrepreneur Philipp Schröder is nevertheless confident.
He opposes “turbo-capitalist structures” as a solution model to the program of “planned economy” and “eco-populism”.
Instead of doing without, you should invest in green technology.
Schröder sets up a counter calculation: Even if the acquisition costs are currently high, it would pay off in the long term because the running energy costs would be reduced: "Every national economy has a primary advantage" if it is based on forms of energy that "they use directly and free of charge". can and "does not have to" transport.
Lanz adds: As a result of the conversion, at some point energy will “no longer cost anything”.
It will become "a service of the state", like "street lighting" today.
"Club of Rome" President Latif warns of apocalypse: taxes continue in the wrong direction
One of the early warnings is climate researcher Prof. Mojib Latif.
The President of the "Club of Rome" actually sees a glimmer of hope in the innovation, but is skeptical as to whether the solutions could be implemented on the market quickly enough.
Prof. Latif warns Lanz emphatically: "Unfortunately, I have to say that we are still going in the wrong direction." Instead of a decline, CO₂ emissions continue to rise.
The meteorologist: "If it continues to rise, we will all be affected.
This is the apocalypse!”
When asked about a solution, the professor replies: "Take away the subsidies for fossil fuels for the time being" and consistently focus on renewable energies.
The climate activist is certain: "Then things will happen so quickly, which we might not have expected at all." It would not go on that more and more would be "taken from the planet" than it "can regenerate".
According to Latif, there is no energy problem, the only problem is the people who use far too many resources uninhibitedly.
“Germany currently produces around nine tons of CO₂ per capita per year”, in India it is only two.
Start-up managing director Torsten Becker agrees with the warnings: "As an adult, you have to be ashamed of what we have made of the planet!" The damage is sometimes lengthy.
The father of five points out: "If we switch off all emissions tomorrow", it will still take decades before the effects are visible.
In addition, we should organize energy “decentrally” on site.
Entrepreneurs can present their products at Lanz: they make concrete and plastic out of CO₂
But Becker also knows how to turn the crisis into an opportunity, heads a company that develops alternatives to CO₂, plastic and concrete by binding.
The building material, which is made from special sand molds, has become one of the biggest climate killers due to global demand, adds Lanz.
The entrepreneur has developed an alternative: his start-up developed the substances required for industry from waste wood and biomass in a test process, and other products that can be used in pharmacy and agriculture are also created.
In addition, energy would also be generated during production, which could be used for further processing.
His start-up colleague Philipp Schröder also thought in the same parameters and, according to Lanz, has already organized 200 million euros to develop his climate-neutral tool, which should make it possible for private users to feed in unused energy and to compensate themselves financially permit.
The high electricity costs in Germany are not due to renewable energies, but that we don't organize energy effectively enough.
Lanz concludes: "So there is not one big thing" and Prof. Latif adds that everyone has to work together.
Conclusion of the "Markus Lanz" talk
The show gives a good overview.
She addresses the problem of the gap between the political leaders who want the right thing and the financial hardships of ordinary people.
The threat of climate change is discussed several times in the show, but entrepreneurs also show how technology can be used to find solutions.
The presentation of the products is interesting, but at times reminds of a "pitching" from the Vox start-up show "Die Höhle der Löwen".
(Verena Schulemann)