Ban on oil and gas heating in 2024: the Greens’ State Secretary advises against panic buying

Business Oil and gas heating

Green State Secretary advises against panic buying

Status: 08:07 a.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

“A total shifting of the energy transition to the individual citizen”

If Economics Minister Habeck has his way, the installation of new oil and gas heating systems should be banned from 2024. “The people who worked on the law are real believers,” says WELT energy expert Michael Fabricius. But they would forget one important point.

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The Economics Ministry is sticking to plans to ban the installation of new oil and gas heating systems from 2024. Green State Secretary Stefan Wenzel is trying to discourage homeowners from panic buying. He points to the long-term costs.

Dhe plans by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) to ban oil and gas heating from 2024 have unsettled many homeowners. If you have an old heater, you might consider replacing the device before the deadline. Habeck’s State Secretary Stefan Wenzel is trying to prevent a run on the devices until the turn of the year.

“Simply sticking to oil and gas for as long as possible can become significantly more expensive in the long term than switching to climate-friendly heating in the next few years,” Wenzel told Zeit Online. “Therefore, you shouldn’t make a rushed decision to have another oil or gas heating system installed while it’s still possible.”

From next year, the federal government only wants to allow the installation of heating systems that are operated with at least 65 percent renewable energy. In fact, that would be an obligation to use a heat pump. However, there is resistance from the FDP to a first draft law from the economics and construction ministries.

Read more about the heat pump

Despite the criticism, Wenzel expects the project to be implemented on time. “I firmly believe that the law will come into force on January 1, 2024 as planned,” he said. “Time is of the essence: we must reduce our dependency on Russia as quickly as possible. And we want to be climate-neutral by 2045, which means that we now have to gradually start replacing fossil-based heating systems with others.”

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Wenzel spoke out in favor of additional funding measures: “For example, we also have to create incentives for landlords. It is already anchored in the Income Tax Act that energetic renovation measures, such as replacing the heating system or insulating measures, can be tax-deductible for owners who use the property themselves. This approach could be extended to rentals and commercial,” he said.