A law with gaps - the Berlin Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act

A law with loopholes

UfU comments on the Berlin Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act

On August 19, the Berlin House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Berlin Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act. A law that is intended to make Berlin climate-neutral in the long term and accelerate the energy transition. With the amendment, the House of Representatives has once again significantly tightened the law, making it one of the most ambitious climate protection laws in Germany. There is hardly a comparable state law in terms of its radicalism, depth and short-term nature. The climate targets have been drastically increased and the time frame in which the targets are to be achieved has been shortened by up to 5 years in some cases. UfU has dealt intensively with this amendment and commented on it. Basically, it must be said that we very much welcome the ambitious targets of the EWG Bln. The urgency with which we must face up to the energy transition in Berlin is taken into account with this law. However, we have well-founded doubts as to the appropriateness of the tightening if it is already foreseeable that the law’s targets will not be met. The law threatens to degenerate into another piece of paper with objectives that will ultimately not be implemented. Our core criticism is that the law consistently neglects official administrative processes and the time they take. For example, it sets targets of 80% savings in primary energy consumption in public buildings. At the same time, it ignores the fact that seven Berlin districts already have fully developed refurbishment roadmaps for these buildings, with significantly lower savings potential. So either the refurbishment would have to be duplicated, the plans would have to be fundamentally revised or the objective of the law is already untenable. Schools are to be given new efficiency standards without taking into account the fact that the planning procedures and approvals for many schools have already been completed as a result of the current school construction offensive. This is because work on public buildings such as schools is sometimes applied for and approved years in advance. The law can therefore only take effect through double renovations and increased financial expenditure. We have found many other points in the law that we believe simply cannot be implemented with the current staffing levels at all administrative levels. The acute shortage of skilled workers, including in the building authorities, prevents quick and punctual action. These should be the problems that the House of Representatives deals with before it passes further amendments to climate protection laws that cannot be complied with. Link: Click here for our statement: UfU comments on the EWG Bln (German only)