Federal government stops subsidies for energy-efficient buildings
Renovation of old buildings in Berlin: A new reform should clarify what exactly will be funded in the future
What: pa/photothek/Thomas Koehler
Already in the first month, the applications significantly exceed the funds made available – which is why the federal government is no longer promoting energy-efficient buildings for the time being. False incentives were set.
An the face of a flood of applications and a “mismanagement”, the new federal government has stopped funding for energy-efficient buildings for the time being and is planning a fundamental reform. As the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection announced on Monday, applications from the state development bank KfW will no longer be approved.
The new construction subsidy for the so-called efficiency house, which would have expired at the end of the month anyway, will be finally discontinued. The background is an enormous flood of applications in January, especially for new construction funding, which significantly exceeds the funds made available.
According to the information, funding for renovations is to be resumed as soon as the appropriate budgetary funds are made available. The future of new construction funding will be decided quickly against the background of the funds available in the energy and climate fund and the funding requirements of other programs.
“The application freeze is sad and disappointing news for the applicants concerned,” said Secretary of State for Energy Patrick Graichen. “We would have liked to have avoided this step. However, in recent years there has been a failure to adjust the funding framework and the legal new building standards. Instead, an outdated subsidy was continued that creates the wrong incentives.”
These false incentives have recently produced an unprecedented run on funds. “A stop to the old funding was therefore now unavoidable. As the new federal government, we are taking this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to quickly reorganize the funding and legal standards for new buildings.”
“We are currently promoting the wrong thing”
With the so-called Efficiency House 55, a standard is being promoted with tax money that has long since established itself on the market, according to Graichen. “But: Where climate protection is written on it, climate protection must also be included. We are currently funding the wrong thing and this money is then not available for actually effective climate protection measures, for example for the very important building renovation. This can not go on like this.”
In the future, subsidies should be used in a targeted manner where the CO2 savings are greatest, Graichen continued. In the building sector, this is particularly the case with renovation measures. Graichen accused the previous black-red government of “massive climate policy and fiscal mismanagement”.