Economy Veronika Grimm wants to use the CO₂ price as a control tool instead of a ban
Source: Michael Kappeler/dpa
Economics Veronika Grimm doesn’t think much of the Economics Ministry’s plans to ban the installation of new oil and gas heating systems from 2024. The government could harm itself with a ban, for example if companies could not use hydrogen later.
DEconomics Veronika Grimm has criticized the federal government’s plan to ban new gas and oil heating systems from 2024. “Generally banning gas heaters is wrong,” Grimm told the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday. “The government could shoot itself in the foot with such bans.” There is a risk of inefficiency if, for example, companies cannot use gas and later hydrogen for heating.
Possibly “the houses could not be renovated quickly enough, heat pumps manufactured and installed to replace the gas heating systems,” said the energy expert, who is a member of the Advisory Council.
The dispute over the extensive ban on oil and gas heating is also coming to a head in the “traffic light” coalition. The FDP has already announced resistance to the plans of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). Since the plans became known, she has accused the coalition partners of going far beyond the agreements made and wants to stop them.
Last week, a joint draft bill from the Greens-led Ministry of Economic Affairs and the SPD-led Ministry of Construction became known. Accordingly, the installation of new gas and oil heating systems should be banned from 2024.
In the coalition agreement, the 65 percent target for new heating systems is not fixed until the beginning of 2025. Because of the Ukraine war, however, the coalition decided a year ago that this requirement should apply “if possible” from the beginning of 2024. The plans are now being finalised, but there should be exceptions.
Ministry of Economics promotes installation of 200,000 heat pumps in 2022
The traffic light wants to use heat pumps as an alternative to oil and gas heating. As the “Spiegel” reported on Wednesday, the Federal Ministry of Economics approved 200,000 applications for funding for the installation of a heat pump during renovation last year. In the previous year there were still 53,000 applications.
Overall, spending on refurbishment through the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG) amounted to 18 billion euros last year. This is also a record. The ministry sees the figures as a “good development”.
“A total shifting of the energy transition to the individual citizen”
If Economics Minister Habeck has his way, the installation of new oil and gas heating systems should be banned from 2024. “The people who worked on the law are real believers,” says WELT energy expert Michael Fabricius. But they would forget one important point.
Economy Grimm proposes instead of a blanket ban on the installation of oil and gas heating systems, increasing the CO₂ price in the heating sector in order to make replacing old heating systems more attractive. According to the media report, she also called for renewable energies such as wind and sun to be expanded more quickly.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced on Monday after the federal cabinet meeting in Schloss Meseberg that by 2030 four to five new wind turbines would have to be set up every day and the equivalent of more than 40 football pitches full of solar systems every day.
Grimm said: “The government wants to be four times as fast as planned, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like it at all.” The government must speed up the planning and approval of plants.
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