Despite spending hundreds of billions of euros on ‘climate protection, Germany’s decarbonisation policy seems to be stuck in a cul-de-sack.
Consumption of oil and natural gas for heating Germany’s residential buildings rose by 1.1 and 1.5 percent respectively in 2018 compared to the year before, when adjusted for weather conditions, shows a study by energy provider Techem. The total energy consumption for room heating in residential buildings also increased in 2018. A past downward trend followed by some years of stagnation has thus reversed into a “significant increase”, said Nicolai Kuß, director of Techem. “Consumption of natural gas has not been this high since 2011, consumption of oil not since 2009. We urgently need to do something to make buildings more energy-efficient and require less heat,” he added.