Berlin Discontent is growing in the economy given the ongoing drag on the Building Energy Act (GEG) by the Traffic Light Coalition. “Politicians are facing difficult decisions, but they must be made now,” Sabine Nallinger, head of the Climate Economy Foundation, told Handelsblatt. Companies from many sectors of the German economy want to lead in climate protection and have joined forces at the foundation.
For weeks, the Traffic Light Coalition has been struggling with progress on the GEG issue. It is unclear whether the Bundestag will have until the summer to decide on the heating transition plan, despite various differences of opinion, notably between the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.
The persistent uncertainty has long caused problems not only for directly affected industries such as heating system manufacturers, but also for construction finance institutions, among others. Reinhard Klein, CEO of the architectural association Schwäbisch Hall, is pushing for a political decision. His firm needs clear and reliable political regulations, against which clients can receive serious advice.
Klein told Handelsblatt that currently conflicting signals from Berlin are causing customers to be reluctant. The building industry “ultimately has no choice” to switch to decarbonized heating in order to achieve CO2 neutrality, and it makes sense given the prospect of higher CO2 prices and preservation of property values. “Socially acceptable designs can certainly be found in the further legislative process,” Klein said.
Meanwhile, time is running out for the coalition government. The draft GEG was approved by the Federal Cabinet in April. However, the draft law has not yet been submitted to the Bundestag. This will have to happen next week if a special session of the Bundestag is to be avoided before the July 7 summer holiday.
Industry representatives call for decision before summer break
In league circles, talks are said to take place this weekend with the aim of finalizing a compromise that the traffic light group can then agree to on Tuesday.
The draft GEG stipulates that from 2024 new heating systems must be operated with at least 65 percent renewable energy. In fact, it goes hand in hand with banning new oil and gas heating systems. The Liberals, in particular, think the bill is too rigid. They want to be more open to technology. There are also disputes over transition periods, exceptions and funding amounts.
According to the Minister of Economy, Germany will sell 500,000 heat pumps every year in the future.
(Photo: dpa)
From the standpoint of the industries affected, the back and forth is no longer acceptable. “We need to complete the GEG amendments before the summer holidays to ensure planning and investment security,” said Philipp de Grave, boss of Daikin at Handelsblatt. Daikin is the world’s leading manufacturer of air conditioners and heat pumps. “The industry is ready for the GEG amendment. The industry is not overwhelmed, but is able to provide the factory capacity it needs,” de Graeve said. One depends on political decisions that lead the way.
Even before the debate on the GEG, Federal Economics Minister Robert Harbeck (Green Party) encouraged heat pump manufacturers to expand their production capacity on a large scale. Habeck is preparing the company for the installation of 500,000 heat pumps per year in Germany from 2024 onwards.
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The construction industry also needs clear conditions. “Traffic lights must not speed up the pace of the heat transition. We must now rely on all available technologies to decarbonise heating,” said Jan-Hendrik Goldbeck, managing partner at commercial building specialist Goldbeck. “For this, we need standardized and typicalized procedures,” he explains. Goldbeck set the standard by installing photovoltaic systems on the roofs of commercial buildings more than two decades ago.
Uncertainty is spreading among the population
The long-running debate over the traffic light alliance has also created uncertainty among the populace. This is shown in an unpublished survey commissioned by Insa for the Climate, Energy, Transport and Buildings Forum (KEMB). As a result, citizens rated the climate policy debate in May lower than the previous month.
The survey was conducted from May 26 to 30. It also proves that the long-established political goal of eliminating the use of natural gas, oil or coal for heating by 2045 is hardly accepted. The largest group of respondents (44%) said they thought goals were “bad” or “pretty bad.”
Negative attitudes were particularly pronounced among AfD voters, at 72%. Only 33% of respondents rated the goals as “good” or “fairly good.” KEMB is still a young platform looking to establish itself as a driving force and think tank in the energy and climate policy debate.
Some 13,000 people demonstrated against a planned heating law in Erding, near Munich, on Saturday. Bavarian State Chancellor Markus Söder (CSU) and his deputy, Economy Minister Hubert Aivanger from the Free Electorate, used their speeches to attack the Berlin government. Soder mainly attacked the Green Party. Climate protection is important, but must be driven with citizens, he said.
Aivanger said now is the moment when the silent majority in this country must take back democracy. He demanded that the “Berlin chaos” step down.
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