“Old Government in Charge”
Greens countered outrage at construction funding freeze
01/26/2022, 02:00 am
CSU boss Söder tells the outraged that the traffic light government has suddenly ended a subsidy program for new buildings. The Ministry of Economics points out that the old federal government ordered the stop. There are also doubts about the climate impact of the instrument.
After massive criticism of the sudden stop to KfW funding for energy-efficient new buildings, the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Oliver Krischer, blamed the previous government for it. “The fact that many of the applicants are now disappointed is absolutely understandable. That is clearly the responsibility of the old federal government. The subsidy program was far too small and practically all construction projects are eligible,” said the Green politician of the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”. So many applications came together within a very short time that budget funds of more than 20 billion euros were tied up. According to Krischer, the old federal government ordered the freeze on funding on January 31.
“This week, the tsunami of applications would have widened and an even higher amount of funding was to be expected. That’s why the ministries for finance, construction and economics agreed that a short-term provision of so many billions of euros in the budget is neither affordable nor sensible,” said the Green politician. They are working “at high pressure” on solutions so that funding, especially for very energy-saving construction projects, can be resumed “as soon as possible”. “Tax money must be used where it is particularly effective. The promotion of standards established on the market cannot be the task of the federal budget,” Krischer continued.
“Funding that benefits the climate”
Similar to Krischer, the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, Michael Kellner, already argued in the early start of ntv. The funding was priceless and no longer objectively justifiable. “This KFW-55 standard, which is at stake, is now standard in construction. So it is not a contribution to climate protection.” Therefore, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will develop new programs. “There will continue to be funding, but there will be funding that benefits the climate,” said Keller ntv.
The background to the dispute is that the federal government announced on Monday that the current support from the state KfW for energy-efficient buildings was stopped with immediate effect. The reason given by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, led by Robert Habeck, was “a massive climate policy and fiscal mismanagement in recent years,” triggering a storm of criticism. “Bad news for climate protection: The traffic light surprisingly stopped an important funding program for energy-efficient building renovation today,” wrote CSU boss Markus Söder on Twitter.