Energy prices continue to rise – the government wanted to introduce climate money to compensate. But this will probably only be possible well after the end of the traffic light coalition’s term in office. The left speaks of a “broken promise”.
According to the federal government, the payment of the climate money agreed in the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP should be technically feasible by 2027 – i.e. only well after the end of the current legislative period. The payment mechanism must be in place by 2027 at the latest because compensation for CO2 emissions trading at EU level will then be needed, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit today. We are working hard to create the technical requirements more quickly.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had previously made it clear that a decision on the disbursement of climate money would no longer be made before the 2025 federal election. Last weekend he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ) that a per capita payment could technically be made from 2025. “Whether we politically restructure the funding landscape in this direction will have to be decided after the next election,” said the Finance Minister.
“That’s unfair”
Left party leader Janine Wissler sharply criticized Lindner’s statements. “This is a broken promise,” she said in Berlin, referring to announcements in the traffic light coalition agreement. “This is how you lose all trust and how you undermine the population’s acceptance of climate protection.” Wissler called for the implementation of social climate money for citizens of 200 euros per month up to a gross income of 4,000 euros.
Diakonie President Rüdiger Schuch said that climate money was a question of justice. Those who use little energy should benefit financially. “That is the idea of climate money, and that is why the federal government must keep its word and, as agreed in the coalition agreement, introduce climate money as quickly as possible,” demanded Schuch. Wealthy people have a much larger carbon footprint than families who have to get by on little money. “At the same time, families with lower incomes have to spend a larger proportion of their income on energy costs. This means that they are disproportionately affected by rising energy prices due to the higher CO2 price. That is unfair,” criticized Schuch.
High income through CO2 pricing
The reason for planning until 2027 is European emissions trading, according to government spokesman Hebestreit. From 2027 onwards, the prices for CO2 emissions from buildings and traffic should be formed there. There should then be upper limits for the amount of available certificates that authorize CO2 emissions and that can be traded. As a result, a significant price increase is also expected in German emissions trading, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Economics. The climate money was intended as social compensation.
The CO2 price for all fossil energy sources such as heating oil, natural gas, gasoline and diesel has existed in Germany since 2021. The consumption of these raw materials is becoming more expensive, which is intended to contribute to climate protection. The price for emitting one ton of CO2 rose from 30 to 45 euros at the turn of the year. In 2025 the price should be 55 euros.
Last year, Germany again received a record sum from the sale of carbon dioxide pollution rights – around 18.4 billion euros. That was around 40 percent more than in 2022, as the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) announced. The money therefore flows entirely into the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), from which energy transition and climate protection measures are financed.
CO2 certificates used for other purposes
Lindner said the idea of climate money is to transfer the income from the per capita CO2 price back to people. “Currently, the income is used to promote heating, building renovations, green steel production, charging stations for electric cars and so on. In short, because one household receives funding for a heat pump, several hundred others cannot receive climate money that year. You can’t spend the money twice. So the climate money would replace the subsidies we have now,” he told the NOZ.
Both Hebestreit and the Ministry of Economics also pointed out that there had already been significant compensation for the sharp rise in energy prices in this legislative period. These included, for example, the abolition of the EEG surcharge on electricity as well as the gas and electricity price brakes.
Christopher Jähnert, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, January 15, 2024 4:47 p.m