Overview
- The Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz would roll back the previous rule that new heaters run largely on renewables, allow new oil and gas boilers and introduce a phased biofuel blending requirement from 2029 called the 'Bio‑Treppe'.
- Two recent legal assessments from the Bundestag's Wissenschaftlicher Dienst and a Freshfields opinion commissioned by Enpal conclude the draft likely conflicts with Article 20a's duty to protect future generations, while a Pielow opinion for the Unionsfraktion disputes that finding.
- Greens have called for an immediate halt to the bill and Hamburg's Bürgerschaft has demanded a Länderöffnungsklausel to preserve stricter local rules on heat pumps and district heating.
- A Forsa poll for the Umweltinstitut München finds majorities expect higher heating costs and doubt the bill will help meet climate goals, and the heating industry reports a sharp fall in installations tied to the policy uncertainty.
- Parliamentary approval is now uncertain, a constitutional challenge to the law is widely anticipated, and the dispute is already depressing investment and consumer decisions in the heating market.