(de-news.net) – With parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch underscoring that legislative reform must not impose disproportionate modernization costs on renters, the SPD has defined tenant protection as a fundamental condition for supporting the black-red coalition’s planned overhaul of the national heating code. Miersch emphasized that existing social balancing mechanisms embedded in the carbon pricing framework already limit landlords’ ability to transfer rising costs directly to tenants, thereby reinforcing distributive safeguards within the regulatory system. In addition, he noted that current legal provisions obligate property owners to access available public subsidies before allocating modernization expenses to renters, thereby ensuring that public funding instruments function as a buffer against excessive financial pass-through. These established regulatory and financial principles, he explained, would serve as the central reference points guiding parliamentary deliberations on the forthcoming building modernization framework.
Miersch further highlighted the importance of maintaining reliable and predictable subsidy structures for climate-friendly heating technologies, arguing that policy continuity was essential both to shield tenants from disproportionate cost exposure and to sustain investment incentives necessary for the long-term transformation of the building sector. He also characterized the coalition’s negotiated agreement with the CDU and CSU as a corrective response to earlier legislative shortcomings that had weakened public trust and created uncertainty among stakeholders. In his assessment, effective climate and modernization policy required a stable regulatory environment defined by clear legal parameters, consistent public support instruments, and a deliberate alignment between environmental objectives and social stability.
Counties back heating reform as Greens predict lower cost reductions
Institutional support for the reform emerged from the German Counties Association, whose managing director, Kay Ruge, described the proposed measures as both necessary and overdue in light of implementation challenges experienced under previous regulatory frameworks. He argued that the planned adjustments reflected an urgent need to increase technological flexibility, reduce bureaucratic complexity, and ensure that legal requirements correspond more closely to administrative and operational realities at the municipal level. At the same time, he cautioned that legislative implementation must avoid introducing new financial burdens or regulatory uncertainties for local governments and residents, emphasizing that predictability remained essential for effective planning and infrastructure development. Within this context, he stressed that municipal heat planning should remain firmly established as a strategic instrument for coordinating long-term energy transitions at the local level. However, he also emphasized that administrative procedures associated with such planning must be simplified to ensure accessibility and feasibility, particularly for smaller municipalities with more limited institutional and financial capacities.
Opposition from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen was articulated in markedly critical terms. Party co-leader Felix Banaszak argued that the coalition’s policy direction reflected a prioritization of political positioning over coherent climate protection and long-term affordability considerations. He contended that the continued authorization of fossil-based heating systems, combined with the introduction of green gas quotas, would neither guarantee sufficient supply nor achieve meaningful cost reductions for consumers. In his view, these policy choices risked perpetuating structural dependence on conventional fossil energy sources, thereby exposing consumers to prolonged cost volatility and delaying the transition to more sustainable heating technologies. He further warned that regulatory ambiguity and mixed policy signals could weaken investment certainty for emerging climate-friendly technologies, potentially slowing industrial scaling and undermining market confidence among manufacturers, installers, and investors involved in the energy transition.
Economist questions long-term rationale in Germany’s climate framework
Coalition representatives rejected assertions that alternative fuels such as biogas would remain structurally scarce or economically unviable, reaffirming their intention to preserve technological flexibility by permitting the continued installation of gas- and oil-based heating systems alongside expanded modernization and decarbonization initiatives. This position was met with a detailed critique from Monika Schnitzer, chair of the German Council of Economic Experts, who questioned the long-term economic rationale of maintaining fossil heating options within the regulatory framework. She also argued that such provisions risked extending investment and planning uncertainty, particularly given the unresolved question of whether climate-neutral fuels would become available at competitive and scalable price levels. Moreover, she noted that the progressive expansion of the European emissions trading system was likely to increase the structural cost burden associated with fossil fuel consumption, thereby raising the probability that fossil-based heating systems could become economically disadvantageous over time. Schnitzer suggested that greater legislative clarity, combined with a reduction in bureaucratic barriers to adopting climate-friendly technologies, could accelerate industrial scaling processes, facilitate cost reductions through increased production volumes, and strengthen the long-term economic viability of low-emission heating alternatives.
