Berlin – Environmental and consumer groups and labor unions are calling on the federal government to finally implement effective measures to increase energy efficiency as part of its energy strategy. The billion-euro cut to funding for energy-efficient building retrofits announced in the 2011 austerity package must be reversed. Only in this way can the federal government achieve its climate protection goals and provide important impetus for a sustainable energy supply, according to the German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), the German Nature Conservation Ring (DNR), the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv), the German Tenants’ Association (DMB), and the industrial unions IG Metall and IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) at a press conference today in Berlin. Increased support for energy efficiency measures would significantly reduce energy costs for businesses and consumers and create approximately 850,000 additional jobs.
Overall, more efficient energy use in the electricity and building sectors could prevent approximately 100 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually by 2020. This would require long-term, adequate funding for energy-efficient renovations in the building sector. In addition, the energy strategy must be accompanied by an Energy Efficiency Act that sets a binding savings target of at least two percent per year. Among other things, the law must provide for the establishment of an energy efficiency fund that could also be used to subsidize the purchase of energy-efficient household appliances.
Klaus Brunsmeier, deputy chair of BUND: “Instead of extending the operating life of nuclear power plants, energy savings must be at the core of a sustainable energy strategy. The energy companies, on the other hand, are primarily interested in continuing to earn millions from their old, depreciated nuclear power plants.”
DNR Secretary-General Helmut Röscheisen criticized the fact that the federal government has fallen behind countries like Denmark and the United Kingdom in terms of energy efficiency in Europe and that Germany is not even meeting EU requirements in this area. “With its comprehensive energy strategy, Germany must become a pioneer in energy efficiency,” he demanded.
An ambitious Energy Efficiency Act could become a job engine, much like the Renewable Energy Sources Act, and secure jobs in the long term, said Wolfgang Rhode, executive board member of IG Metall. “Energy-efficient technologies are becoming increasingly important in the global competition for innovation. Employment in the metal and electrical industries, in particular, can benefit from this,” said Rhode.
“Programs in the area of energy efficiency benefit not only the climate and the environment, but also consumers,” said Holger Krawinkel, head of the Construction, Energy, and Environment Division at the vzbv. “While purchasing energy-efficient household appliances pays off despite higher upfront costs, a subsidy program for the most efficient appliances should be launched to ensure that outdated and energy-guzzling appliances are replaced more quickly,” Krawinkel demanded. In addition, he said, more funds overall must be allocated specifically to energy-efficiency measures, such as building retrofits.
Lukas Siebenkotten, Director of the German Tenants’ Association: “Energy costs are the number one driver of housing costs. Modernizing the building stock is essential. The costs must be offset through subsidy programs so that they do not lead to excessive rent burdens. The cut in subsidies for building renovations announced by the federal government in its austerity package therefore sends the completely wrong signal and must be reversed.”
“The planned cuts to the CO2 building renovation programs will put more than 100,000 jobs at risk, particularly in the regional skilled trades sector,” said Martin Mathes, head of the Department of Economic, Construction, and Labor Market Policy at IG BAU. “If the federal government wants to maintain its credibility on climate policy and not jeopardize a successful program for climate and employment policy, it must shelve these plans for cuts,” Mathes said. The suspension of funding for individual measures—such as the installation of efficient heating pumps—announced by KfW Bank last week, effective beginning in early September, is another step backward.
