Heating transition needs consistency across successive German govts – energy industry

A successful heating transition in Germany depends on continuity across successive governments, as well as the good will of society, energy industry association BDEW has said in a statement. On the occasion of a stakeholder dialogue between the federal ministries for the economy and for construction, BDEW head Kerstin Andreae said society must “close ranks” to master the heating transition. Decarbonisation in the sector must be approached as “integrated infrastructure planning” and rolled out in concertation with other infrastructure changes to the energy system, for example on electricity and gas grids.

The next government must ensure that the funding for replacing fossil fuel-based heating systems with more climate friendly alternatives remains in place. In 2028, Germany’s cities and villages have to present concrete plans for implementing the transition. “This is a huge responsibility for the roughly 10,800 municipalities in Germany, who should not be left alone on this,” Andreae argued.

The stakeholder dialogue offered one possible platform to achieve this, she added. “Planning the heating infrastructure is not a task for one single legislature,” Andreae said, insisting that a long-term plan must be sketched and then pursued irrespective of changes in government. “If this doesn’t work, there will be a lot of failed investments.”

After years of neglect, Germany in 2023 agreed upon concrete steps to reduce emissions from heating buildings, which are directly responsible for around 15 percent of the country’s entire CO2 output. But agreeing on the details of phasing out fossil fuel-powered boilers has proven to be an extremely difficult and protracted process.