Op-ed: Germany’s Leadership Opportunity

By Adrian Joyce, Secretary General of EuroACE.

In 2020 the stars will align for Germany, and a golden opportunity will emerge to lead the way in climate and energy policy. The German presidency of the Council of the EU falls from June to December this year, at a time when Europe is showing unprecedented commitment to tackling climate breakdown. The time is ripe for Germany to take advantage of the enhanced ambition at EU level and regain its position as a trailblazer in planet-saving climate policy.

One area where Germany can make serious improvements is its commitment to improving energy efficiency in buildings. An ambitious German vision for tackling energy waste in its building stock would be a crucial source of inspiration for standards in Europe.

As Secretary General of EuroACE, I visited Berlin recently for a National Dialogue Event, hosted with our partner DENEFF at the Bundestag. The message was clear: German government policy needs to do more to implement existing EU directives (such as the EPBD) and cure the stagnation in the German energy renovation market, which accounts for about a third of German emissions.

There was some good news at the end of 2019, with new tax incentives for homeowners to undertake energy renovation works, but they apply only to owner-occupied homes, meaning some 20 million homes do not qualify. These tax rebates are not sufficient to address some of the major barriers to energy renovation.