The controversial climate fund is intended to finance investments in “energy efficiency and renewable energies in the building sector”.
(Photo: imago images / UJ Alexander)
After the Federal Audit Office and lawyers have reported constitutional concerns about the billion dollar climate reserve of Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the traffic light coalition now wants to sharpen its plans. The Energy and Climate Fund (EKF) should have clearer guidelines.
The SPD, Greens and FDP want to prevent possible problems if the supplementary budget should end up before the Federal Constitutional Court. The Union has already announced a constitutional lawsuit.
The background is Lindner’s plan to park unused corona emergency loans amounting to 60 billion from 2021 in a climate fund and then use them in the coming years to invest in the climate-friendly restructuring of the economy. To this end, the traffic light has initiated a supplementary budget that is currently being discussed in the Bundestag.
A draft of the traffic light groups available to the Handelsblatt stipulates that the EKF will use the money to finance investments in “energy efficiency and renewable energies in the building sector”. “Investments to accelerate the expansion of electromobility” are also to be promoted.
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Part of the reserves could also be used to finance the “abolition of the EEG surcharge”. The aim is to boost demand from private consumers and small and medium-sized businesses. Investments by companies in climate-friendly production processes could also be supported.
These concrete uses could be part of the supplementary budget – and thus invalidate constitutional concerns, according to the traffic light. The task list for the EKF, however, is still a draft, as emphasized in the traffic light coalition. The conversations were still ongoing. It is becoming apparent, however, that the climate fund will definitely receive guidelines.
Comply with the debt brake again from 2023
The Federal Ministry of Finance is also of the opinion that the supplementary budget could be legally secured even more in this way. In addition, the traffic light will probably make it clear that the reserve should be used up within a few years and not be used for long-term financing of projects. This is also intended to dispel the legal concerns.
Lindner plans to comply with the debt brake again from 2023 after it was last in fact suspended due to the pandemic. With the help of the reserve, the transition should be made possible without the economy being burdened by drastic cuts in the budget.
Criticism at the expert hearing in the Bundestag
At an expert hearing in the Bundestag on Monday there was criticism of the plan. The Federal Audit Office considers the project to be “constitutionally dubious”. Like some other lawyers, he points out that the debt brake was suspended last year to combat the consequences of the pandemic. These credit authorizations could now not be used to finance future climate protection investments.
Many economists, however, consider the traffic light plan to be correct and constitutional. They point out that the reserve will overcome the economic hardship caused by the pandemic. Lindner has also emphasized that it is not about the financing of general traffic light projects, but about securing the economic recovery. The coalition factions want to underline this again by giving the climate fund guidelines for investments.
More: Climate protection, citizens’ money, digitization: what exactly the traffic light has agreed on – and how it wants to finance it