The heating law is essentially in place and is to be passed in the Bundestag before the summer break. Robert Habeck still quarrels, the CDU criticizes a “weekend law”
Berlin – It took a long time, now there is at least some essential points of clarity. The traffic light coalition wants to provide more financial support for switching to climate-friendly heating systems than previously planned. In certain cases, the state covers up to 70 percent of the investment costs “in order to take special needs and hardship into account,” explained SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch. In particular, those who now convert very quickly should also benefit from the funding.
According to their own statements, the traffic light factions had agreed on the last open details on Tuesday night. A few “guard rails” of the Building Energy Act, as the amendment is officially called, had already become known beforehand. The aim is to pass the new law in the Bundestag next week. An overview of the points that are now planned.
Funding and “climate speed bonus”: This is what the heating law should look like
For the government funding A phased model should apply, as reported by the parliamentary groups. Everyone should get a “basic subsidy” of 30 percent for the heating conversion – regardless of income. For people with a taxable income of less than 40,000 euros a year, a further 30 percent should be added as a “social component”.
A new element is the “Climate Speed Bonus”: The state will cover a further 20 percent of the costs if the conversion is completed by 2028. Thereafter, this bonus is reduced by three percentage points annually. The bonus should not be tied to an income limit. The cap for the maximum total funding with all components should be 70 percent.
The coalition factions also submitted the new modernization charge firmly. According to this, landlords can pass on up to ten percent of the costs for replacing the heating system to the tenants per year – but the state subsidy must be deducted from the amount that can be passed on. The levy is therefore higher than the existing modernization levy of eight percent.
Habeck complains about the “culture war” over the heating law
The Greens parliamentary group deputies Julia Verlinden and Andreas Audretsch spoke of a “big step for climate protection”. Your former party leader, Robert Habeck, was less satisfied. “Of course, the debates about the heating law came to a head that it became a question of culture wars,” said Habeck on Tuesday at an event of the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich.
However, he did not want to attribute the heating dispute to the current high of the AfD. “But you have to be very careful not to believe that there is a single cause for the rise of right-wing populism in Germany.” Even a widely accepted building energy law would not have prevented the AfD from growing stronger, said Habeck.
The FDP parliamentary group, which had slowed down work on the planned law with its criticism of the original plans of the Green-led Federal Ministry of Economics, was happy with the compromise.
Union criticizes “weekend law”
Union parliamentary group leader Andreas Jung (CDU) sharply criticized the coalition’s actions. “A weekend should be enough for the members of the Bundestag to prepare for the hearing on Monday,” he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. This would damage “the self-respect of Parliament”. “With a ‘weekend law’ like this, the traffic light starts flying blind. If she doesn’t heave to in time and provide serious advice, it will lead to a crash landing,” Jung warned. (as/AFP)
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