The traffic light parties have been discussing the building energy law for months, in particular the Greens and the FDP. Meanwhile, the plan for the Bundestag to approve the draft before the summer break has faltered.
After the SPD, the Greens and the FDP agreed on significant changes earlier in the week, the so-called heating law is now coming to the Bundestag. This Thursday, MPs will debate the draft at first reading. The opposition is likely to use this opportunity to verbally target the government. But the discrepancies of the past weeks could also come to light within the traffic light.
The debate on the building energy law is likely to heat up in the Bundestag.
(Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP)
The traffic light factions have come under pressure in terms of time: there are only three weeks of meetings left before the expected decision and the summer break, which starts on 7 July. Outside of these weeks, many MPs are not in Berlin, but have appointments in the constituency. Representatives from municipalities and the real estate sector have asked that the law not be approved before the autumn. “There are still so many individual issues that cannot be clarified quickly,” said director general of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg Image.
According to traffic light plans, landlords in most regions of Germany will now have more time to replace the heating system. According to the agreement of the federal government, the Building Energy Act and the Heat Planning Act are to be linked and both will come into effect on January 1, 2024. If you are connected to a district heating network, you no longer have to worry about installing a heat pump, for example. Mandatory municipal heating planning will be introduced by 2028. As long as there is no municipal heating plan, the installation of gas heaters should also be permitted during the exchange, if they can be converted to hydrogen.
