The traffic light has been arguing for weeks about the building energy law planned by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens). © Kay Nietfeld/ dpa
Can Robert Habeck take the wind out of the sails of the heating critics? There is encouragement from the business community - but also criticism.
Berlin/Munich - Ahead of new talks in the traffic light coalition on the planned law on the installation of climate-friendly heating systems, business associations have also expressed their approval of the changes announced by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). These were also viewed positively by the FDP, but there were also proposals for bringing forward emissions trading for the building sector with a market-dependent CO2 price as early as 2024.
"We welcome the fact that Economics Minister Habeck has announced that he will give in to the GEG and make the law more pragmatic and social," said the President of the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies, Axel Gedaschko, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. He praised, for example, the proposal to allow the new requirements for existing buildings to apply at a later date. "We consider this to be positive in view of the serious shortage of craftsmen".
Habeck's heating law: Haus und Grund sees "good sign"
"It's a good sign that the minister sees that the law can't work like this," Haus-und-Grund President Kai Warnecke told the Funke newspapers. However, it should "not remain with a few cosmetic changes". The bill must be fundamentally changed. The Central Association of Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning welcomed this in principle. However, it must be clear that it is actually too late for the law to be introduced from 2024, said association head Helmut Bramann there.
According to the draft, the Building Energy Act (GEG) stipulates that from 2024 onwards, as a rule, only new heating systems that run on at least 65 percent renewable energies should be installed. The draft has been disputed in the traffic light coalition for months.
Habeck's new heating plans: economic methods remain critical
Monika Schnitzer was critical of a postponement of the start date for existing buildings. "A heating system runs for 30 or 40 years. It doesn't make sense to invest in old technologies now," she told Funke Mediengruppe.
Instead, Schnitzer pleaded for generous exceptions and hardship regulations. "If the installation of a climate-friendly heating system were only possible with enormous investments, because the house is old and poorly insulated and a lot of things around it would still have to be done, it should not be forced." In addition, the state should also "help poor families with substantial subsidies" when it comes to insulating houses.
Resistance to the draft by Habeck and Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) comes mainly from the FDP, which has so far blocked parliamentary deliberations on it. Habeck then proposed on Friday (26 May), among other things, a later start date for the rules for existing buildings and changes to heating with wood pellets. On Tuesday, he wants to talk about it with representatives of the traffic light parliamentary groups.
FDP now more satisfied with Habeck heating? Cities and municipalities remind us of wood
However, several FDP politicians also viewed Habeck's proposed amendments positively. However, the deputy FDP parliamentary group deputy Lukas Köhler also brought a faster introduction of national emissions trading for the building and transport sectors into play. Then "in principle, prohibitions and regulations could be dispensed with in the Heating Act," he told the Rheinische Post.
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A fixed CO2 price already applies to the building and transport sectors, which is gradually increasing. However, trading in a limited contingent of certificates is not yet planned until 2026 and even then only within a price corridor of 55 to 65 euros per tonne of CO2. Köhler spoke out in favour of starting trading in the certificates as early as 2024. "This will then mean additional incentives for citizens and companies to purchase climate-friendly heating systems and cars," said the FDP politician.
The Association of Towns and Municipalities once again spoke out in favour of continuing to allow the installation of new wood-fired heating systems. Wood energy is "climate-friendly and sustainable," Chief Executive Gerd Landsberg told the Funke newspapers. (AFP/fn
)