Energy industry urges consensus ahead of German coalition meeting on heating transition

Germany’s government needs to agree on how to provide industry with a reliable framework for the transition to clean heating, energy industry association BDEW has said. "We expect a consensus from the coalition," said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae. The call comes ahead of a cabinet meeting of the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) scheduled for 27 November.

Party representatives aim to resolve points of contention around the law stipulating the phase out of oil and gas boilers, which the coalition government pledged to abolish. “We urgently need a clear roadmap for climate-friendly heat supply and no further uncertainty,” Andreae said. “Unnecessary delays and radical changes of direction increase costs.”

The economy ministry plans to present a paper on key measures for Germany’s so-called heating law before the end of the year, energy policy newsletter Tagesspiegel Background reported. It could include decisions on future financing for efficient building renovations, municipal heat planning, and the implementation of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

The cabinet normally negotiates contentious issues in broad terms, Tagesspiegel Background wrote. This includes a section of the law which says that new heating systems should operate using more than 65 percent renewable energy. The junior coalition partner SPD is in favour of maintaining this requirement, while representatives from the CDU have spoken in favour of abolishing it.              

While heat pumps and district heating account for over 70 percent of heating systems in new homes in Germany, fossil fuels continue to dominate the heating market for existing buildings. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the heating sector is one of the biggest hurdles on Germany’s path to climate neutrality, which the government aims to achieve by 2045.