A staggered approach is intended to defuse the dispute over the heating law

Weconomy minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is obviously keen to defuse the conflict over its heating law. The Greens politician is ready to give the owners of existing buildings more time to install climate-friendly heating if the old one cannot be repaired. Habeck wants to talk to the coalition factions about the planned building energy law next Tuesday. “We are all optimistic that this will lead to a good solution,” said Deputy Government Spokesman Wolfgang Büchner.

From 2024 onwards, according to Habeck’s template, only new heating systems that are operated with at least 65 percent renewable energies should actually be installed. The Greens had pushed for a first reading of the draft law this week, but the FDP prevented this. Habeck then accused his coalition partner of breaching his word. He took his revenge and called the intention irresponsible “to decide something ‘quick and dirty'”. The FDP parliamentary group submitted 77 questions about the law to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. A spokesman for the Ministry of Economics called these questions “very reasonable”. He saw them as evidence that the Bundestag was now dealing with the law in a constructive manner.

More time with existing buildings

In an interview, the minister spoke of taking the criticism and social concerns very seriously. “I want to make the law better,” Habeck told the newspapers of the Funke media group. He named starting points for improvements. “When it comes to the starting point, I think staggering is a possibility: We could start switching for new buildings from January 1, 2024. That then affects the new buildings, which will be approved from January.” For existing buildings, he wants to accommodate the desire for more time. It would also make sense to better synchronize the transition periods with the construction and expansion of a heating network.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction announced that the “climate-friendly new building” funding program will be increased by 888 million euros. Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) emphasized that the program was thus secured until the end of the year.