Bavaria’s cities and municipalities are demanding additional money from the state government for municipal climate protection measures. “When it came into force on January 1, 2023, the Bavarian state government officially declared ‘Climate-neutral Bavaria 2040’ as a national goal. This is associated with an unprecedented transformation process, which must be implemented and managed primarily on site in the municipalities,” says one of several letters from the city council chairman Markus Pannermayr to Prime Minister Markus Söder (both CSU).
In the letters, all of which are available to the German Press Agency, Pannermayr has so far unsuccessfully asked for a conversation “at the highest political level”. The municipal umbrella organization immediately gets backing from the Greens in the state parliament. In addition, Pannermayr refers to a resolution of the city council from the summer of 2022. It says: “A consistent national concept is necessary to achieve the climate targets by 2045 (federal government) or 2040 (Free State of Bavaria), from which the framework conditions for the municipalities and their financing become clear, e.g. availability of hydrogen, expansion paths for renewable energies, conversion of the gas networks, ban on heating systems based on fossil fuels and alignment of the legal and funding framework accordingly.”
The letter goes on to say: “In order to master this gigantic task, constructive and trusting interaction between the state and municipal levels is required.” This is the only way to develop the necessary strength and speed to achieve the desired climate neutrality in the short remaining time. “The municipalities, which are often referred to by the state as the driving force behind the achievement of climate protection goals and for the implementation of climate adaptation measures, need two essential prerequisites: freedom of design and action and financing security. And both points are still fundamental significant room for improvement.”
Herrmann did not respond to the request for a top-level interview
In his answer, Head of State Florian Herrmann (CSU) does not respond to the demands, but refers to the municipal financial equalization: “The state government is aware that appropriate financial policy leeway is essential for the offensive exploitation of climate protection potential. That is why the Free State is also there will remain firmly at the side of the municipalities and will support them again in 2023 with a record sum of more than 11 billion euros.” Herrmann did not address the requested conversation at all in his letter.
With a view to the demand for “adequate and long-term financing of the measures”, Herrmann emphasized that the federal government has an obligation here and that a participation in the CO₂ tax “would only be logical in the sense of a cooperative working relationship”. The Free State itself will “continue to support the municipalities to the best of its ability”. The letter left open what Herrmann meant by that.
This was obviously not enough for Pannermayr. The reference to municipal financial equalization “unfortunately falls short, since, as is well known, this money is not specifically made available for additional climate protection measures, but is necessary for the general municipal financial endowment,” he complained in another letter to Herrmann. For example, a large part of this year’s growth in municipal financial equalization is tied to urgent investments in schools and day-care centers.
The Greens in the state parliament supported the demands. “Our Bavarian municipalities want to take part in climate protection – the Söder government must now provide them with enough money for this,” said Martin Stümpfig, spokesman for energy and climate protection. For this reason, his parliamentary group submitted a corresponding application to the state parliament on Wednesday – without success.
“It is significant that the CSU government is setting ambitious climate targets, but has no interest in municipal climate protection when it comes to the purse.” Without the municipalities, the goal of a climate-neutral Free State by 2040 cannot be achieved. FDP parliamentary group leader Martin Hagen immediately demanded more money from the state government, the municipalities should not be alone in the “immense effort”. “Not only has the Bavarian state government obstructed everything in recent years that would have helped the municipalities on this path – such as the expansion of wind energy or the important power lines. Now they are also refusing the cities and municipalities financial resources,” said Hagen . It is arrogant that the request for talks was ignored.