Ministries disagree on extra measures to cut emissions from buildings

German ministries are still at odds over additional measures to lower buildings sector emissions after they exceeded the Climate Action Law threshold in 2020, Tagesspiegel Background reports. Following the rules of the Climate Action Law, the energy ministry and the ministry for the interior have presented an “immediate action programme” detailing how the 2 million tonnes CO2 emitted by the buildings sector on top of its 2020 budget of 118 million tonnes CO2 equivalent can be reduced within the next years. The two ministries propose additional support for energy-saving home refurbishments totalling 5.8 billion euros by the end of the year. But the environment ministry, in charge of overseeing compliance with the law, has argued that this doesn’t ensure the sector will stay within its annual emission budgets for the coming years. The dispute must now be resolved by an evaluation by the Council of Experts on Climate Change, due to be published on 15 August, followed by a decision by the cabinet. 

German homes are a big hurdle on the path to greenhouse gas neutrality as they are responsible for around one-third of the country’s emissions. Nearly two-thirds are still heated with fossil fuels and most of them also need to be modernised to lower energy demand. The government aims to have a 'nearly' climate-neutral building stock by 2050 after emissions in the sector have stagnated for nearly a decade.