Berlin.
The federal cabinet wants to pass the controversial heating law shortly. But there are ambiguities, especially when it comes to funding.
The Federal Cabinet is about to decide on the new plans for climate-friendly heaters. The new version of the Building Energy Act stipulates that from 2024 every newly installed heating system should be operated with 65 percent renewable energy. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, a decision could probably be made on Wednesday. It is also to be determined how the funding guidelines necessary for the changeover are to be designed – however, the details of this are still open.
At the beginning of the month, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had already introduced a subsidy that should be based on the condition of the device to be replaced. “The graduation could be based on how old and dirty the heating is that is to be renewed,” said the FDP chairman of the “Bild am Sonntag”. This is also associated with a social component, since people with less income also tend to have older heaters, says Lindner.
At the same time, however, the minister warned that the State funding opportunities be limited. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), on the other hand, has repeatedly emphasized that the support must create a social balance – for example, by setting the amount according to income.
SPD calls for social components in funding for heating replacement
There are also demands from other quarters for one social orientation of the promotion. Katja Mast, the parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, explained that a “clever mix of guidelines and funding” is needed. “Especially families with lower and middle incomes as well as pensioners will have to be able to afford heating in the future,” says Mast. Without balanced funding, the SPD parliamentary group would not agree to the law, she emphasized.
On the other hand, the deputy leader of the Greens, Julia Verlinden, was confident that a good solution would be worked out “to help people heating exchange and to continue to support the increase in energy efficiency in the future”. Last year, the state was able to raise 200 billion euros to cap energy prices. “Then we should really manage to provide sufficient and targeted support for forward-looking investments that make us independent of high fossil fuel prices,” says Verlinden.
Before the possible decision by the cabinet, the opposition demanded reliable support for the heating changeover. “The heat transition can only succeed with social sensitivity, with a crowbar it hits the wall,” said the spokesman for the Union faction for climate protection and energy, Andreas Jung. So far, the traffic light coalition has only stated obligations, said Jung. A climate-friendly heating system is usually significantly more expensive to install than a conventional heating system, and nobody should be overwhelmed by new specifications.
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