Economist warns Germany's heating policies risk climate backslide amid crisis
"We also need to protect people from making poor decisions. We can't seriously believe this will be the last oil and gas price crisis," Ottmar Edenhofer told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), referring to the fallout from the Iran conflict.
He warned that urgent action was needed to prevent a renewed surge in installations of new oil and gas heating systems. A targeted solution, he suggested, would be an investment levy on such systems. Edenhofer expressed understanding for homeowners who cannot afford the renovations often required to switch to a heat pump and thus remain dependent on gas heating.
Lowering the electricity tax would make heat pumps more attractive, he explained. Existing subsidy programs could continue, focusing both on supporting the transition to cleaner heating and on offsetting ongoing financial burdens through a climate dividend. "Unfortunately, the federal government has not made it a priority to design this carefully. Yet now would be the perfect time to change course."
"Short-term crises always carry the risk that we lose sight of long-term challenges," Edenhofer cautioned. He criticized the perception of climate policy as a luxury. "Without climate protection, we are destroying future prosperity. Climate policy is about long-term security and safeguarding wealth. Once you grasp that, it becomes clear that climate action is not a competitive disadvantage but an advantage." He also urged the government not to scapegoat climate policy for failures in industrial strategy, responding to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's (CDU) statement that climate protection must not undermine Germany's industrial base.
