Should reduce energy consumption: In Cologne, a house is insulated.
Image: dpa
In just seven years, residential buildings should emit 40 percent less carbon dioxide. The goal is ambitious. In order for it to be achieved, politicians should consider nine suggestions. A guest post.
Bis 2030, in just seven years, around 40 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the building sector. That is as much as in 30 years before. Around 75 percent of households are heated with fossil fuels. The Building Energy Act (GEG) is intended to usher in the heating transition from 2024. The core of the law is the switch to renewable heat supply. The goal is necessary and clear; however, the pace is extremely ambitious. In order for this to succeed, politicians should heed these nine suggestions.
1. Heat and not just electricity
The energy transition is electricity-focused. The government is pursuing the strategy of mainly electrifying the heat supply in buildings using heat pumps. Alternatives are now allowed, but sometimes made more difficult. The shortcomings are obvious: today almost half of the electricity is renewable, but only 17 percent of heat and only 7 percent of transport. The energy transition needs to be diversified: renewable heat must be added to wind and PV power, via geothermal energy, bioenergy and solar thermal energy. Storage capacities and base load sources are essential for security of supply. Everything else is price-driving scarcity.
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