Exceeding the 1.5°C temperature limit of the Paris Climate Agreement would jeopardise the prospect of living in security and prosperity in Germany and globally, says Germany’s first-ever National Security Strategy. In the document, the government addresses growing threats that include the consequences of climate change and the increased need for critical raw materials. Germany commits itself, among other things, to meeting NATO's 2 percent target for defence spending, and to building up food and energy reserves for emergencies. At a time of upheaval for the global security environment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the strategy highlights the need to diversify the energy supply – even as the country moves towards a renewables-based economy.

Table.Media / Clean Energy Wire

The German government has reached a compromise on the shift to climate-friendly heating by effectively postponing a ban on the installation of new fossil fuel heating systems, following months of bickering among the three-way coalition. Agreement on a draft law was only made possible by a number of concessions that were previously considered non-negotiable by individual governing parties - the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP). According to a report in Table.Media, the law – which has long been blocked by the pro-business FDP – will also postpone municipalities’ obligation to provide climate-friendly heating networks by several years. The main part of the law – a ban on fossil fuel-only heating systems – will only apply to new buildings from January 2024, and only to buildings in purely new construction areas. In its highly controversial previous agreement, the government had proposed a general de-facto ban on the installation of new fossil fuel heating systems from the start of next year.

In existing buildings and new buildings outside of development areas, new oil and gas heating systems can continue to be installed until the municipality has delivered a climate-neutral district heating plan, also with an extended deadline, the compromise states. Economy minister Robert Habeck described the result of the negotiations as “good,” adding that he was pleased that the government wanted to pass the law before the summer break - Habeck's long-stated aim. Energy and water industry association BDEW also welcomed the plans. However, environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe described it as “a low point for climate policy.” After a months-long debate, the coalition initially agreed in April to allow various technologies, longer transition periods and more compliance options to make the law “even more consumer-friendly.”

Germany has neglected the decarbonisation of its building sector for years — which is directly responsible for around 15 percent of the country’s entire CO2 output. The draft law for a phase-out of fossil fuel-powered boilers triggered a fierce debate, with critics arguing that the investment costs for climate-friendly solutions like heat pumps will overburden homeowners or tenants.

Tagesspiegel

Germany is drafting its first-ever nationwide plan to prevent heat-related deaths as heatwaves have become more severe as a result of climate change, health minister Karl Lauterbach said. "We must realise that we are not well positioned to combat heat death in Germany," the SPD politician said as he unveiled the plans in Berlin on Tuesday (13 June), newspaper Tagesspiegel reports. He stressed that Germany will be ever-more affected by climate change-related heatwaves in the future, adding that “if we do nothing, we will lose several thousand lives every year, unnecessarily.” Up until last year, the federal government had not considered a national heat action plan necessary and left it up to the municipalities to develop their own strategies. The new plan will be modelled on that of France, which consists of four different heat-level alerts that activate specific measures.

The federal German Hospital Federation, the Nursing Council (Deutschen Pflegerat) and environmental NGO Klug have all previously lobbied for a national action plan to prevent heat-related deaths, describing these as the greatest climate change-related threat to human health. In 2022 alone, the country registered 4,500 heat-related deaths. During the particularly hot summer of 2018, there were 8,700 heat-related deaths. As a result of climate change, the number of hot days exceeding 30 degrees is increasing in Germany, and there are longer periods of heat.