Federal Cabinet adopts second climate package
Today the Federal Cabinet adopted the second package implementing the integrated energy and climate programme. The seven acts and ordinances of the package focus on increasing energy efficiency. "Germany is pursuing the most ambitious climate and energy programme worldwide. Our aim is to make better use of renewable energies and energy efficiency and move away from oil and gas. This protects the climate, lowers energy costs for our citizens and will create more than 500,000 additional jobs by 2020", said Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
The cabinet decision envisages for example stricter energy-related requirements for buildings which will increase energy efficiency by an average 30%. These requirements apply to new buildings and substantially modernised existing buildings; and they apply to all types of buildings, including detached and semi-detached houses, if the owner decides to carry out a substantial modernisation. It is furthermore planned to enable, under certain conditions, underground cabling for the urgently necessary expansion of the electricity grid. The cabinet also adopted a key points paper on a more environmentally friendly vehicle tax.
During its closed meeting in Meseberg in August 2007, the German government presented a programme consisting of 29 key elements of energy and climate policies. The aim of the package of measures is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Germany by 40% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. By 2007, greenhouse gas emissions were already reduced by a good 20%. The German climate protection target under the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce emissions by 21% between 2008 and 2012. "We have already achieved a great deal in climate protection: we have almost met the Kyoto target and we have made good progress towards our 2020 target. We will now have to increase our efforts - also with regard to guarding against continuously rising energy prices. While the 20th century was characterised by a continuously increasing labour productivity, the 21st century must become the century of energy efficiency", said Federal Environment Minister Gabriel. The individual measures adopted today:
Amendment of Energy Conservation Act and Energy Saving Ordinance: as of 2009 energy-related requirements for buildings will be raised by an average 30%. In addition, implementation will be pursued much more consistently. This measure will considerably increase energy efficiency with regard to buildings.
Energy grid expansion act: the act ensures a swifter expansion of electricity grids, which is necessary to transport electricity from future offshore windparks in the North and Baltic Seas to consumers. For sensitive areas it is planned to lay pilot line cables under ground instead of above ground where possible, in order to mitigate effects on residents and the environment. Innovative technologies such as high voltage direct current transmission lines are supported as well.
Amendment to Act on the Levying of Distance-Related Charges for the Use of Federal Motorways by Heavy Goods Vehicles and Toll Level Regulations: in line with the new infrastructure costs assessment the toll for lorries will be raised slightly and fanned out in such a way that lower-emission lorries will pay a lower toll while high-emission lorries will have to pay more. Toll revenues will be invested in traffic infrastructure.
Ordinance on electricity and gas meters: the ordinance specifies the requirements for the introduction of smart metering. Smart metering will make energy consumption more transparent to consumers and thus provide information on energy and cost saving potential. In addition, this will enable providers to offer more variable prices based on consumption.
Amendment to Heating Costs Ordinance: in future, 70% of heating costs in buildings with several rental apartments have to be split up according to consumption instead of evenly distributing costs over all apartments (previously: at least 50%). Thus, saving energy will pay off even more.
Key elements for changing basis of vehicle tax: the federal cabinet also decided to agree on exchanging rights to tax revenues with the Länder within the Framework of the Federal Reform II in order to ensure that the vehicle tax can be based on CO2 emissions from 1 January 2010.