Berlin Not even a day had passed before the other departments had received mail from the Federal Ministry of Economics. Last week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) ordered the continued operation of three nuclear power plants – against the will of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).
At the same time, Scholz instructed the Ministry of Economics to get its Energy Efficiency Act off the ground. It had lain there in the drawer for weeks. By 3:42 p.m., less than 22 hours after Scholz’s word of power, the law was processed one last time in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The draft then went to the other departments.
Habeck wanted to maintain the speed. According to the agenda, the cabinet decision was already scheduled for this Wednesday. But the finance and building ministries have vetoed it, and the point has been dropped from the cabinet plan.
Instead of reaching an agreement within a few days, it could now take until the end of the year to reach an agreement, government and coalition circles told the Handelsblatt. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is open to the criticisms, so that it is still possible to deal with the draft in the cabinet meeting next week.
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However, it is still unclear whether this will work. There’s still a lot to talk about. According to government officials, the draft was “suddenly put on the table without being addressed at management level”.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz had given his authority to continue operating the remaining nuclear reactors.
(Photo: dpa)
The Energy Efficiency Act is a long-held wish from Economics Minister Habeck. In line with the climate goals, it is intended to ensure that citizens, companies and the public sector in Germany consume less energy. The ministry’s draft law, which is available to the Handelsblatt, contains the following measures, among others:
• The annual consumption of “final energy”, ie the energy that reaches citizens and companies, is to fall by around 500 terawatt hours by 2030. That would be a fifth less than today.
• The federal and state governments would be obliged to take energy-saving measures from 2024, which would mean annual energy savings of 45 terawatt hours for the federal government and five terawatt hours for the states.
• Companies with high energy consumption would have to undertake to introduce systems for environmental management and consumption controls.
• Companies and energy producers that participate in European CO2 certificate trading have so far been exempt from national energy efficiency regulations. The Ministry of Economic Affairs wants to remove this “lock-up clause”.
Criticism of the proposals from the coalition partners is varied. It’s about the basics and the details. The SPD-led Ministry of Construction is said to have warned of bureaucracy and burdens on the housing industry. Above all, it is about social housing, which would be raised to high efficiency standards in too short a time. That would block funds for renovation and new construction.
Blockade for social housing?
Ironically, in the chancellor’s party SPD, many are bothered by the general approach of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The introduction to the draft already states that there are no alternatives to the measures: “In particular, the CO2 price signal from emissions trading alone is not enough for many companies to realize the existing efficiency potential.”
One coalition partner describes this as “mockery” and refers to the enormous burdens caused by energy prices that the economy is currently having to shoulder. In addition, the federal government had also decided on a moratorium on burdens with its “defense shield” for the economy, which would immediately counteract the law.
The draft law makes it clear how different the perspective of the Ministry of Economics is. There is talk of great untapped potential for saving energy in the economy. Almost a billion euros more a year is needed in terms of expenditure from companies.
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It can be heard from circles in the Greens that there is no alternative to more speed in energy efficiency due to climate protection. In addition, the law is the preparation for an upcoming EU directive on the subject. However, it can also be heard that the ministry did not expect a departmental vote without comment and is basically ready for adjustments.
According to the newspaper “Welt”, the reservations of the FDP-led Ministry of Finance are primarily about excessive public spending. The draft law specifies 310 million euros per year in state funds required for the implementation of efficiency measures. In addition, FDP representatives do not believe in lifting the blocking clause. It makes no sense to create national parallel systems.
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