The Association of Housing and Real Estate Industry Lower Saxony Bremen (vdw) has called on Minister-President Olaf Lies to promptly initiate a comprehensive “Master Plan for the Heating Transition” for the federal state. This measure is considered essential for achieving the state government's ambitious climate targets, as Dr. Susanne Schmitt, vdw Association Director, emphasises. Such an initiative would require a coordinated approach involving the state government, local government associations, the energy and utility sector, the housing industry, the tenants' association, as well as trade and craft businesses. This joint effort was underscored in a letter to the head of government.
Dr. Schmitt further explains that achieving the climate targets in the building sector in Lower Saxony is currently considered difficult. Successful decarbonisation of the building stock can only be ensured through a combination of proportionate renovations and a heat supply using greenhouse gas-neutral energy. The 180 housing cooperatives and companies affiliated with the vdw aim for a socially acceptable transformation towards a climate-friendly building stock. This implies that extensive investments, for example, in new energy and control technology or the building envelope, must not lead to rent increases that would financially overstretch tens of thousands of tenant households.
Efficiency of Investments and Criticism of Existing Strategies
The Association Director highlights the necessity of making investments as efficient as possible to avoid wasting resources. She criticises current political strategies at federal and state level, which are assessed as flawed and cause high costs. As an example, she cites the intended CO2 reduction through efficiency house standards, the annual costs of which would amount to EUR 263 billion nationwide. A scientifically supported practical path to CO2 reduction would reduce this amount to EUR 96 billion. For comparison, currently around EUR 60 billion are invested annually nationwide in energy modernisation.
In this context, Dr. Schmitt refers to the latest annual report of the Lower Saxony State Audit Office. This report concludes that only seven out of one hundred state funding measures in climate protection effectively contribute to CO2 savings. The auditors therefore urged for “more economical climate protection”. The demanded master plan for the heating transition is intended to put an end to this identified mismanagement and enable a return to reason.
Objectives of the Master Plan
With the proposed master plan, the Association of Housing and Real Estate Industry Lower Saxony Bremen intends to create a foundation for economically important sectors in the state. These should be able to orient themselves towards concrete, efficient, and targeted plans. Dr. Schmitt underlines the urgency of the situation by describing the introduction of the master plan as overdue.
- —Coordination of the state government, municipalities, energy, housing, tenant industry, trade and craft businesses.
- —Promotion of proportionate renovations to avoid exorbitant rent increases.
- —Focus on greenhouse gas-neutral energy supply in the building stock.
- —Ensuring the efficiency of investments and avoiding misguided strategies.
