Status: 03/02/2023 3:11 p.m
The new rules for gas and oil heating are causing a dispute in the traffic light coalition. Federal Finance Minister Lindner calls for a fundamental revision of the draft. Economics Minister Habeck appeased with a hardship regulation.
After the announcement of a draft law for the gradual ban of conventional heating, criticism of the project within the traffic light coalition grew. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner called for a revision of the plans in the “Bild” newspaper. “The draft was well-intentioned in terms of climate policy, but the echo is devastating economically and socially. The plans must therefore be returned to the assembly hall and fundamentally revised,” said the FDP politician. A superficial repair will not suffice.
Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) said in the government survey on Wednesday that the last word had not yet been spoken on the matter. The joint draft with the Ministry of Economics still has to be coordinated in the government. “And of course I also assume that we will make further changes after the associations and countries have participated.”
Ban on oil and gas heating from 2024
According to a draft law that became known on Tuesday, heating systems with fossil fuels are to be gradually banned. From 2024, every newly installed heating system should be operated on the basis of 65 percent renewable energies or district heating. An operating ban for existing heating boilers with fossil fuels is to apply 30 years after installation. However, longer transition periods apply in some cases.
The traffic light coalition committee agreed on the target of a 65 percent share from 2024 at the end of March 2022 and thus brought forward an agreement from the coalition agreement by one year. From 2045, a general ban on installing new oil and gas heating systems will apply. According to the ministry, the draft is not yet final, and important details for the transition have not yet been determined. The FDP promptly criticized the plans as “unapprovable”.
Habeck appeases with hardship rule
After the draft became known, the SPD had called for hardship cases to be taken into account. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck is now addressing this: “If the old gas heating system is still working, it can stay in. If it’s broken, it can be repaired. If it can no longer be repaired, there are practicable interim solutions,” Habeck told the “Wirtschaftswoche”. . But if something new is needed, “then one should no longer invest in old fossil systems”.
The minister assured that the citizens would not be left alone with the desired changeover. “There must and will be support for low-income and middle-income households,” explained Habeck. Anything that has been shown to save carbon dioxide and protect the climate should “also be tax-deductible.”
Bottlenecks in heat pumps
After the change in the law, consumers would have to switch to district heating, biomass boilers or heat pumps. However, the latter are currently rare. “There is currently a bottleneck in heat pumps – this is primarily due to the rapid increase in demand due to the geopolitical situation,” the “Bild” newspaper quoted the Federal Association of Heat Pumps (BWP).
Therefore, the waiting times are currently six to 18 months. The association advised long-term planning for the heating replacement. Reasons for the strong demand for heat pumps are the high gas prices and climate protection. The federal government’s goal is to install at least 500,000 new heat pumps annually from 2024, and a total of six million devices should be installed by 2030.