Germany's dominant opposition party group CDU/CSU, which is almost certain to lead the next federal government following early elections on 23 February, has warned against "ideological" energy and climate policy, and pledged it will give a stronger role to carbon pricing.
"Climate policy must be accepted," deputy head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group Jens Spahn told delegates at an industry conference this week, after not having been accepted "in the last two years".
The CDU/CSU will not support the outgoing government, which lost its parliamentary majority earlier this month, on the proposed power plant bill currently under consultation, Spahn said. He cited the bill's "dirigiste" slant, reflected for instance in the fixed time frames for switching to hydrogen.
The CDU/CSU will also roll back the buildings energy act passed last year, with a focus on putting carbon pricing at the centre of the law and not "enforcing ideological choices", Spahn said.
The current buildings energy act supports the shift to a heating sector predominantly based on heat pumps and decarbonised heat grids. But a focus on reducing CO2 as quickly as possible, rather than aiming for "the perfect solution", would make easier solutions such as combining heating oil with bio-oil or gas with hydrogen possible, Spahn said.
Spahn underlined that heat pump sales had been rising for years before the buildings energy act came into force following a months-long acrimonious debate, since when they have plummeted. And he warned against keeping industries in Germany that "permanently depend on subsidies to function".
It should be acceptable for Germany to meet its target to become carbon neutral in 2045 a few years later, Spahn added.
