If the cabinet has its way, new heating systems should be operated with at least 65 percent renewable energy from 2024. Some countries are now demanding improvements to the heating plans.
The federal government should improve its heating plans according to the will of some federal states. Various committees of the Federal Council have made this recommendation. However, the consultations are only just beginning.
The Federal Council’s environment committee, in which many green state environment ministers are represented, is calling for heating plans to be tightened.
According to the federal government’s draft law, there should be a general ban on operating boilers with fossil fuels after December 31, 2044. This goal is compatible with the goal of the federal government to achieve a climate-neutral building stock by 2045.
In some countries, however, climate neutrality is being sought even earlier. “In order to be able to achieve these goals, the countries must be given the opportunity to enact regulations banning the operation of heating boilers with fossil fuels at an earlier stage.”
Federal Council to vote on May 12th
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) said in the morning show shared by ARD and ZDF that funding had to be adjusted in particular. “The goal must be that people with a small budget in particular are not overwhelmed. That is taken into account in the concept that the federal government has presented. But in my view it is not yet sufficient.”
The Federal Council will vote on the recommendations on May 12. It is unclear whether these will be accepted. Weil pointed out that we are at the very beginning of the legislative process.
There are different recommendations in the committees of the Federal Council. The Federal Council will have to decide on this at the next meeting. The Bundestag is also at the beginning of parliamentary deliberations. The FDP has already called for significant improvements.
According to the draft law passed by the Federal Cabinet, from 2024 every newly installed heating system should be operated with at least 65 percent renewable energy. There is no immediate obligation to replace heating systems in existing buildings. If a device breaks down and can no longer be repaired, there are transitional periods.