One of the topics that is on many people’s minds these days and will of course also be used by the parties for upcoming election campaigns is the draft law to phase out gas and oil heating. That’s how Anne Will titled her program with the question: “The end of oil and gas heating – high time or hasty plan?”. The answers were not surprising. Above all, they were: “Yes, but…”
Guests at “Anne Will” were:
The draft law from the beginning of the year ending gas and oil heating was heavily criticized, but the current revision of the draft is also being criticized. “People” are unsettled and don’t understand what they have to do now, Jens Spahn railed. The “heat transition is becoming a chaos transition”, he complained and claimed that the citizens would not understand at all what will apply from January 1st, 2024.
The problem with such statements in “Anne Will” and other talk shows is often: The people who are being talked about are never invited. These meta-discussions about the people, instead of with them, are a big problem in the media, and that became clear again this evening. Of course, all talk show attendees can boast of having an ear to the grassroots and phoning various people in preparation for the show. Tenhagen and Spahn particularly emphasized this. Alone, it is questionable which people are the cues for such an appearance.
Klara Geywitz explained the draft in detail, pointing out that building applications that have been approved can also be implemented in this way. In plain language, this means that anyone who is planning a gas or oil heating system for this year can also install it, a heat pump is currently not mandatory. However, the way things are going at the moment cannot go on for years, because the final replacement of all heating systems in all households will take decades. “We have to stop” investing in gas and oil heating systems, but nobody would come into every German boiler room to rip out old heating systems and push for innovation.
Jens Spahn then wanted to know why the law had to be enforced “with a crowbar”, whether it came on 1/1/24 or 1/1/25 was not decisive. “One year doesn’t make a big difference for the global climate,” he suspected. But for those who build the heating system, according to Geywitz. She reported that at the trade fair in Frankfurt she was asked to stick to the date in order to create collateral. Because without these, German innovations could fail to materialize and Germany – similar to the e-cars – could be left behind. However, the truth is also part of it: So much technological development will probably not take place in one year. But sometimes a deadline also helps to promote something new.
According to journalist Ann-Kathrin Büüsker, the fact that both the FDP and the Union criticize the draft law is primarily “election campaign tactics”. That is foreseeable and to be expected, and yet this type of patronage politics is ultimately not going to save the climate. Klara Geywitz, however, did not have a satisfactory answer to the question of why the draft law does not provide for tax relief based on income. It is possible to get funding for the exchange, she explained the various options and yet it is not entirely clear whether, for example, pensioners, low-income earners or families, in case of doubt, really get a loan from the government and on what terms. It’s not social at all. Kai H. Warnecke noted that the statements on funding opportunities in the draft were not clear. “In cases of hardship, it gets flowery,” he said.
Büüsker also showed a lack of understanding here. The “watering can is simply anti-social,” she explained and also pointed out that the funding for the planned funding will probably not be enough for everyone. All those who can afford the exchange anyway, but would take the funding with them as a nice additional payment, have an advantage here.
Further topics:
Jens Spahn did a great job for the opposition that evening. It is not uncommon for politicians to always use the same buzz words on talk shows. With his “crowbar” comparison, Spahn strained the nerves of those present and those watching considerably. Ann-Kathrin Büüsker pointed this out quite charmingly when she asked the group to drink a schnapps every time the CDU politician spoke about the “crowbar”. Nobody dared to do that on the show, but at least Büüsker raised her water glass in amusement when Spahn continued to harp on this term.
