After the constitutional court forced the postponement of the Bundestag vote on the heating law, the Union is campaigning for a fresh start in terms of content – but it is met with rejection from the government. “There is now a new window for a broad, cross-party heat consensus from the federal, state and local governments,” said deputy CDU chairman Andreas Jung to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “The prerequisite is a fundamentally new approach to the matter, not just the procedure. Everyone should now approach each other.”
The coalition must decide whether it wants to “narrow-mindedly continue along the path of polarization by pushing through the unchanged law, or whether it will enable a dynamic that ensures social acceptance,” said Jung. However, corrections such as heating with wood are not enough, the coalition must “completely delete its dirigiste specifications for new heating systems in existing buildings”.
Government doesn’t want any more changes
The Federal Constitutional Court had forbidden the final vote that was actually planned for last Friday. The heads of the coalition factions then decided that the law for the installation of climate-friendly heating systems should now be passed at the beginning of September. In terms of content, they no longer want to allow any changes.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), who is in charge of the government, is also counting on this: “The governing factions have decided to draw up the Building Energy Act as agreed at the beginning of September for the second and third reading,” he told the “Rhein-Neckar- Newspaper”. “This gives opposition MPs more consultation time. That’s okay.”
First of all, only new development areas are affected
According to the law, only heating systems that can be operated with at least 65 percent renewable energy in the long term may be installed in the future. From 2024 onwards, however, the regulations should only apply directly to new development areas. For existing buildings, the linchpin should be mandatory and comprehensive municipal heating planning – on this basis homeowners should be able to decide what to do. Up to 70 percent of the costs of the switch are to be subsidized from tax revenue – but there is no more precise concept yet.
Constitutional Court President: Property is “an important right”
The President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Stephan Harbarth, pointed out that property rights should be respected. “Property is an important right to freedom that should also enable people to lead a self-determined, free life economically,” Harbarth told the “Handelsblatt”.
Even if there were a social change, one could not unhinge the fundamental right to property. It must be balanced with other private and public concerns.
Regarding allegations of indirect expropriation through the heating law with the ban on oil and gas heating, Harbarth said: “We will probably still get some of these cases on the table. Therefore only in general: Not every restriction of owner powers is an expropriation.” Expropriation would imply confiscation of property.
