For many people, the housing turnaround now seems more urgent than the climate turnaround. This is because the new federal government is facing enormous tasks. The multi-crisis is about peace in Ukraine, boosting the economy, pensions, education and digitalisation.
Playing off one urgency against another gets no one anywhere. Many tasks must be tackled simultaneously . In the best case scenario, the solutions interlock and lead to better living conditions in several places. Constructive cooperation between different interest groups can succeed if everyone is prepared to find compromises in favour of the better arguments.
When it comes to housing policy, some interests currently seem to contradict each other. In the election campaign, the economy, security and migration took centre stage - and not climate protection. This is no coincidence, as a new study by the German Economic Institute (IW) shows: Political priorities have clearly shifted.
In its impulse paper, the German Energy Agency (dena) addresses the major infrastructure areas of the energy sector, buildings, industry and mobility. The bottom line: in order to achieve the climate targets, we must not deviate from the goals we have set ourselves. Business and politics must pull together and get society on board.
The 25 associations in the Building Alliance - including Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), the German Caritas Association and the German Heat Pump Association (BWP) - are calling on the new German government to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and secure funding programmes in the long term. Confidence in the heating transition must be strengthened.
However, people currently have completely different problems. They can no longer afford the high rents and often cannot afford to buy their own home. More new housing construction could help here, but the construction industry is lacking orders. Politicians are called upon in two respects: It must boost new housing construction and must not neglect climate protection. As new buildings are significantly more climate-friendly than most old buildings, this would be a win-win situation for everyone.
Photo: © Vidmarsimon, Pixabay
