DAccording to Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, the planned ban on oil and gas heating should include generous exemptions for hospitals, care and rehabilitation facilities. “We will not allow rising energy and heating costs to endanger the existence of hospitals,” Lauterbach told the “Bild am Sonntag”.
The state guarantees services of general interest. This also includes “that we compensate for deficits that even well-functioning clinics are not responsible for,” said the SPD politician. In concrete terms, it should be possible for the above-mentioned facilities to be exempted from the obligation to switch to climate-friendly energies even after the new Building Energy Act has come into force if they have to replace their heating.
Healthcare facilities will receive 2.5 billion euros
The prerequisite should be that the investments would otherwise represent a disproportionate burden on the healthcare facilities and jeopardize the continuation of operations. The newspaper also reported that Lauterbach would provide the facilities with an additional 2.5 billion euros to compensate for increases in indirect energy costs, such as increased costs for laundries.
The draft of the Building Energy Act provides that from 2024 onward, every newly installed heating system should be operated with 65 percent renewable energy. This is intended to herald the departure from gas and oil heating systems. According to the funding concept, there should be a basic subsidy for all citizens in owner-occupied homes for the exchange of an old fossil for a new climate-friendly heating system. The subsidy rate is to be standardized at 30 percent.
In addition, there should be surcharges in the form of “climate bonuses” under certain conditions. FDP party leader Christian Lindner said at the FDP party conference on Friday that the draft was “not yet what should ultimately be decided by the Bundestag”.