EThere are still a good eight years left for a 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions in existing buildings. At first glance, that might sound feasible. But a look into the past shows how unrealistic the goals are. The emissions since 1990 have decreased from 209 million tons per year to 119 million tons in 2014 – a reduction of a little more than 40 percent. But there was also 24 years for these 40 percent. We have to do the next 40 percent in three times less time. And that in a building stock that is overall much more efficient than it was then. The famous low-hanging fruits – they have already been harvested.
The German Environmental Aid (DUH), for example, is now proposing: “In addition to increasing and stabilizing the subsidy, the first steps to be implemented immediately include a ban on installing oil and gas heating systems as quickly as possible.”
Given the realities in German boiler rooms, that sounds absurd.
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