The Federal Minister of Health wants clinics to be able to apply for the installation of a new gas heating system under certain circumstances in the future, for example.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The exceptions for clinics requested by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) for the planned heating replacement are met with widespread rejection by operators. “The minister’s idea of exempting hospitals from the obligation to replace heating systems is incomprehensible to me,” said the head of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Gass, to the Handelsblatt.
“Hospitals consume large amounts of energy, also because the modernization of the heating systems and the improvement of the building shell have been overdue for many years due to a lack of investment funds at most locations.” Therefore, a comparatively large amount of greenhouse gas can be saved in the area with environmentally friendly heating systems.
“The contribution to climate protection and the possibility of reducing ongoing energy costs would be much greater than that of individual private households,” said Gass. It is wrong to protect hospitals from the urgently needed investments by means of exceptions.
According to the DKG, the clinics lack around three billion euros in investment by the federal states every year.
The federal government decided to reform the so-called Building Energy Act last week. According to this, from January 1, 2024, every newly installed heating system must be operated with 65 percent renewable energy. Pure gas or oil heating systems should therefore no longer be newly installed.
Clinics require investment funds
Health Minister Lauterbach had called for generous exceptions for hospitals, care and rehabilitation facilities on Sunday. “We will not allow rising energy and heating costs to endanger the existence of hospitals,” he said.
>> Read here: Why Germany has far too many clinics – and the emergency rooms are still overcrowded
Specifically, it should be possible for the facilities to apply for the installation of a new gas heating system under certain circumstances in the future. The law already provides for exceptions for such facilities in individual cases.
Instead, DKG boss Gaß demanded that the clinics “finally be given the investment funds” that are required by law. “Minister Lauterbach should approach his colleague Habeck in the Ministry of Economics and set up a special program for CO2-free hospitals from the enormous financing volume for climate protection measures, which the federal states will then co-finance accordingly.”
A survey by the German Hospital Institute last year shows that 90 percent of houses use gas for heating. In addition, the healthcare sector makes a significant contribution to the emission of German greenhouse gases. According to a study by the non-governmental organization “Health Care Without Harm”, the proportion in Germany is around five percent.
More: What homeowners need to know about heating subsidies