The New Buildings Energy Act

Abstract

The reform of the Buildings Energy Act is intended to increase the share of renewable energies in the heat sector. But the proposed measures (among which the promotion of electric heat pumps figures prominently) are ecologically ineffective. They will not decrease the total amount of CO2 emissions in Germany, which are already subject to the caps of national and European emissions trading systems. Installing heat pumps in the building stock will require high investments and thus make any emission reductions in the heat sector much more expensive than in other sectors. Furthermore, due to its command-and-control approach, the bill is incompatible with the central principles of the German Social Market Economy.