Overview
- The government bill would replace the previous heating rule by dropping a 65% renewables mandate for new systems, allowing new oil and gas boilers long‑term and introducing a staged “Bio‑Treppe” that requires 10% biofuels from 2029, 15% from 2030, 30% from 2035 and 60% from 2040.
- The Bundestag's Wissenschaftlicher Dienst issued two legal opinions raising serious doubts about the draft's compatibility with Germany's constitutional duty on climate protection and with EU rules.
- The expert hearing in the Economic Affairs Committee on Monday, June 22, drew broad criticism from academics and industry groups and prompted the Deutsche Umwelthilfe to say it will file a constitutional complaint if the law passes unchanged.
- The draft also rewrites cost rules: tenants will continue to pay half of network charges and the CO2 price from 2028 while landlords must share half the extra costs for mandated biofuel mixes only up to a 30% blend, a formula that housing groups and tenants' organisations say creates new cost and legal risks for renters and owners.
- Parliamentary committee work and possible amendments are now decisive because the government defends the bill as a pragmatic, technology‑neutral 'Neustart' for the heat transition but its passage and implementation remain uncertain pending revisions and likely court review.