The federal government is now also questioning the future of wood stoves and pellet heating systems, as their ecological balance is controversial. Both industry and Union as well as some members of the governing coalition express criticism of the planned heating reform. Although these heating systems provide comparatively cheap heat, they have been subsidized by the federal government for years. But now fireplaces and pellet stoves are also affected by the energy transition
From 2024 it should no longer be allowed to heat with wood in new buildings. If an existing system has to be retrofitted or replaced, buffer storage, fine dust filters and an alternative heat source such as a solar thermal system or photovoltaics must also be installed. This is what the federal government’s draft for the new version of the Building Energy Act provides for. There will only be a few exceptions, for example for reasons of monument protection. The governing coalition reduced funding for new pellet heating systems last year.
The forest owners’ association and union warn of the consequences of the planned heating reform
The association of forest owners, AGDW, describes the current draft law as a “massive attack” on their economy. Association managing director Irene Seling is concerned about the impending loss of income that would ultimately be missing from the commercial forest. According to Seling, the federal government is endangering “sustainable forest management in Germany”.
The Union supports these concerns. Andreas Jung, CDU Federal Deputy and spokesman for the Union faction for climate protection and energy, explains that heating with wood is sustainable and serves climate protection. He therefore speaks out against a ban in new construction. He also calls for the restrictions on retrofitting and replacing wood-fired heating systems to be removed. The traffic light coalition is fundamentally questioning heating with wood, and that is precisely their intention, according to Jung. In view of the already tightened standards, he considers the debate about fine dust in connection with wood to be excessive.
The Federal Environment Agency in Dessau sees the situation differently. Dirk Messner, President of the Federal Environment Agency, warns of the emissions, especially from smaller stoves and fireplaces. In the meantime, more than 20 percent of the total fine dust emissions are due to the combustion of wood, Messner told the dpa news agency. This roughly corresponds to the emissions from road traffic.
Debate on climate balance and use of wood as fuel
The current draft law on heating reform is also met with criticism within the traffic light coalition. Markus Hümpfer, SPD member of the Bundestag and expert on climate and energy policy, calls for improvements in this area. He refers to European directives that expressly allow the use of wood as a renewable energy source. Hümpfer emphasizes that it is positive when oil and gas heating systems are replaced by wood heating systems. However, heating with wood is only a “temporary solution”.
The SPD parliamentary group has already announced that it wants to prevent the ban on wood and pellet heating in new buildings. Hümpfer suggests leaving only the buffer storage in the planned regulations and only making dust filters mandatory in exceptional cases. Various state governments, including the green-black government of Baden-Württemberg, also advocate “technology openness”.
However, it is disputed whether heating with wood deserves the label “climate-friendly”. The Federal Environment Ministry, led by the Greens, states on its website that heating with wood is not climate-neutral, contrary to popular belief. This statement triggered criticism from business associations as early as autumn 2022, as the ministry did not take the entire usage chain into account.
CDU politician Jung expresses similar concerns. He explains that in Germany, pellets mainly consist of residual and waste wood. “Only the CO₂ that was previously bound is released,” he says. If the wood were to rot, greenhouse gases would also be released.
The Greens, on the other hand, support the use of wood for climate-friendly construction, but not as fuel. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir formulated this as follows a year ago: “Sawdust can be used more sensibly, for example by processing it into chipboard panels.” The current draft law also speaks of “scarce biomass capacities” that should be used sparingly.
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