In a roll-call vote, 399 MPs voted in favor of the new heating law in the Bundestag in Berlin. 275 were against, five MPs abstained. This was preceded by a heated debate in which the governing parties SPD, Greens and FDP signaled approval. All opposition parties wanted to vote against it.
The new law is intended to gradually ensure more climate protection in the building sector. It aims to make heating in Germany more climate-friendly by replacing oil and gas heating systems. The law still has to pass the Federal Council at the end of September.
According to the new law, every newly installed heating system should be powered by 65 percent renewable energy. It is scheduled to come into force at the beginning of 2024 – but will initially only apply to new development areas. For existing buildings, municipal heat planning should be the linchpin, which should come gradually.
There had long been conflicts between the governing parties over the law. Under pressure, particularly from the FDP, there were fundamental changes to the original draft. The FDP particularly emphasizes “technology openness” – according to the motto: “The heating must fit the house and not the other way around.”
Constitutional Court intervenes
The Building Energy Act, often referred to as the Heating Act, was actually supposed to be passed at the beginning of July, before the start of the summer break, after the government coalition had agreed on fundamental changes after a long dispute.
But the Federal Constitutional Court stopped the passage before the summer break. The court had expressed doubts as to whether the rights of the MPs were sufficiently protected. The CDU MP Thomas Heilmann had submitted an application for an interim injunction due to the tight schedule in the legislative process.
uh/hf (dpa, rtr)