• English Site
• >Germany
• >Climate Change
• >

  Climate Protection: Who's Footing the Bill?

Climate Protection Who's Footing the Bill?

By Roland Nelles and Michael Sauga

Part 2: A Conflict that Crosses Party Lines

Given these conditions, many building owners fear that they will end up shouldering the lion's share of the cost of modernization. Not surprisingly, they are increasingly resentful of the government's climate-saving plans. When Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, a state secretary at the Transport Ministry, recently spoke to a group of Hamburg building owners about the proposed programs, his comments were met with furious indignation. The owners, many of them past retirement age, wanted to know why, at age 70, they should borrow tens of thousands of euros to modernize their buildings.

Many tenants have similar thoughts. Although renters could expect new, climate-saving equipment to lower their heating costs, experts estimate that if the government's plans come to fruition rents would go up by at least 10 percent.

This has prompted experts at the Economics and Transport Ministries to do their utmost to curtail the plans. While Gabriel sees the proposed new environmental regulations being applied to virtually all construction, Glos and Tiefensee want to limit them to bigger projects. Gabriel wants to see more stringent energy standards for virtually all buildings, while Glos and Tiefensee would have them limited to new construction. Gabriel wants to impose sanctions on owners who resist the environmental upgrades, while Glos and Tiefensee are against such penalties.

The wrangling over the details of the program reflects these deep divisions. Last week, officials working on the plan agreed to a stipulation that a portion of the heating systems in new construction or large-scale renovation be based on renewable energy sources. But the agreement had hardly been reached before lobbyists started pushing for changes. The real estate lobby warned of billions in new costs for tenants and landlords, while manufacturers of solar panels urged the government to make the plan's environmental restrictions even more stringent.

As the conflicts continue, important details are being postponed. It's already clear, for example, that the plans for tightening construction regulations will not be completed by the deadline. To raise energy standards, scores of Germany's DIN industrial standards will have to be modified. This requires meetings among experts, which takes time. Because of delays like this, the government doesn't expect a cabinet decision until August of 2008 at the earliest.

Merkel Stays Above the Fray

It is already clear that it was a mistake for Merkel to have relinquished control over implementation of the program to the individual ministries instead of handling it directly at the chancellery. Only one official from the chancellery attends each of the regular meetings of senior ministry officials, and only in the capacity of an observer. The arrangement is a virtual guarantee of ongoing dispute, and not just when it comes to the emissions-reducing residential modernization program.

Another project that has proven to be particularly challenging is the proposed conversion of the vehicle tax from one based on engine capacity to one based on CO2 emissions. It is unlikely that more than the basic elements of the program will have been determined by the Dec. 5 deadline. In fact, the government does not expect the draft legislation to be completed before February or March of next year. So far the only aspect of the new legislation set in stone is that it will apply exclusively to new vehicles. Existing vehicles will still be taxed under the old engine capacity system.

Both Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and Tiefensee are anxious to prevent the new legislation from harming the German automobile industry. They are vehemently opposed to the imposition of too heavy a tax on German-made large sedans, sports cars and SUVs. In an effort to satisfy the various constituencies, officials at the Finance Ministry are currently developing various models for the new tax -- a time-consuming process. "Data problems" are officially given as the reason for the delays.

But Gabriel and his cohorts have been relentless. The environment minister knows that without substantial efforts and sanctions, if necessary, the goals the administration has set for Germany will remain unattainable.

In an effort to speed up the process, officials at the Environment Ministry have kept the chancellor informed about the delays and asked her to "add more pressure to the tank."

But whether this will do much good is questionable. As she has done so often in the past, the chancellor is doing her best to keep herself above the fray, limiting her efforts to general appeals. In one cabinet meeting, for example, she reminded the assembled ministers that the climate program is a project for the entire government, and that she expected active participation from all ministers. The ministers nodded, acknowledging Merkel's appeal -- and then the bickering continued.

The issue has seen politicians crossing party lines. For example, Gabriel has found an unlikely ally in his dispute with Economics Minister Glos over the expansion of the power grid: Christian Wulff, the governor of Lower Saxony, who also happens to be a member of the conservative CDU. Gabriel wants to see the government provide massive subsidies to expand huge wind farms in the North Sea. Many new power lines would have to be built in Lower Saxony to bring electricity from the plants to consumers.

Glos, who is responsible for the expansion of the power grid, wants to install aboveground power lines, which are more cost-effective for electricity companies. But citizens' groups in Lower Saxony are vehemently opposed to the proposed power lines, which they consider an eyesore. To placate the groups, Wulff and Gabriel have developed a model that would require utilities to bury all future power lines when they are near residential areas.

The chancellor, for her part, feels that it is her job to address the big picture, and not the nitty-gritty of her domestic climate protection program. She is already planning her next trip abroad. Merkel will be traveling to India on Monday to encourage Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to improve his country's commitment to climate protection.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan