(updated throughout with statements from the press conference)
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – According to the will of the black-red coalition, property owners should continue to be able to install oil and gas heating systems in their homes. The Union and the SPD agreed on this during their negotiations on reforming the heating law introduced by the traffic light government.
“The boiler room will once again become a private matter. Citizens will again have the freedom to decide for themselves how they heat,” said Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn (CDU) in Berlin.
SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch emphasized that the coalition “still has its sights firmly set on climate protection goals.” This is ensured with an organic quota, which will also apply to new oil and gas heating systems from 2029.
Criticism immediately came from the Green Party’s energy policy spokesman, Michael Kellner: “Black and red makes heating expensive. These key points are bad, especially for the tenants in the country,” he told the German Press Agency.
Funding should remain for now
Anyone who is still planning to replace their old heating system or wants to avoid fossil heating systems when building a new building can continue to count on government support according to the Union and SPD plans: Funding for the purchase of climate-friendly systems such as heat pumps should be guaranteed until at least 2029.
“We will remain stable in terms of funding,” announced Miersch. At the same time, however, he had to admit that the exact design would still be discussed between the coalition partners until the summer.
So far, the leadership of the CDU/CSU and SPD have only agreed on a five-page key points paper. This now needs to be spelled out in legal texts. The regulation hated by the Union is to be abolished, according to which every newly installed heating system should be powered by 65 percent renewable energy.
Growing share of climate-friendly fuels
Instead, it now says: “The new law will not contain any regulations that make the expansion or replacement of existing, functioning heating systems mandatory.” And further: “In the future, in addition to the heat pump, district heating, hybrid heating models and biomass heating, gas and oil heating systems can also be installed.”
However, gas and oil heating systems must be operated with a growing proportion of climate-friendly fuels, which should be 10 percent by 2029. These can be biomethane or synthetic fuels, which can be produced from different raw materials.
The proportion of these climate-friendly fuels should then not be subject to a CO2 price that is levied on fossil fuels. This should create an incentive to switch.
Will it be more expensive for tenants?
For tenants who have no influence on the heating of their apartment, there should be protection “against excessive additional costs due to the installation of new, uneconomical heating systems” – but there are no details about this in the paper. A dispute between the Union and the SPD is still to be expected here.
“Millions of tenants are tied to an expensive and leaking gas infrastructure, even though they cannot even decide for themselves about their heating,” criticized Deutsche Umwelthilfe. “They bear the rising gas prices and network fees while politicians fulfill populist election promises.”
Continuing to operate the gas networks would require investments worth billions and lead to increasing burdens on households. Greenpeace emphasized: “The supposedly “green” alternatives to fossil natural gas and oil are scarce and expensive, and gas network fees per household are likely to rise.”
Also specifications for heating oil and gas
Unlike the traffic light government, the Union and the SPD also want to start where old oil or gas heating continues to run – although not through specifications for the owners, but for the oil and gas suppliers.
“By introducing a green gas quota, we will reach everyone who heats with fossil fuels through the suppliers,” said Miersch. They should be obliged to use a proportion of climate-friendly gases and heating oil such as biomethane, hydrogen and its derivatives, synthetic methane and bio-oil. This quota should start at one percent in 2028.
Municipal heating planning, which is intended to show homeowners whether they can also join a heating network, will be simplified for small municipalities and they will have to collect less precise data.
Coalition emphasizes: climate protection goals remain
“The goals of the Climate Protection Act apply,” said the coalition. The transport and building sectors in particular have been lagging behind in terms of climate protection for years. If it becomes apparent in 2030 that the building sector continues to miss its target, readjustments should be made.
Green parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge, however, assesses the consequences for climate protection as devastating. “The CDU and SPD have clearly documented today: Climate protection is completely unimportant in this coalition. The federal government has given up on achieving the climate goals.”
Spahn and the head of the CSU MPs in the Bundestag, Alexander Hoffmann, both emphasized that the agreement meant a departure from the reform of the heating law, the driving force of which was the then Green Party Economics Minister Robert Habeck. The “Habeck Heating Act” will be abolished. The “spirit of green paternalism” will be “banished” from German boiler rooms, said Hoffmann.
How to proceed
The cabinet should pass a draft law by Easter, i.e. at the beginning of April. Then it is the Bundestag’s turn. The new law is scheduled to come into force on July 1st./hoe/DP/he