Climate fund ruling jeopardizes billions in funding for construction
The latest ruling by the judges in Karlsruhe has forced the Ministry of Construction to rethink funding plans worth around 2.3 billion euros. The KfW program to promote home ownership for families is also on the potential list of cuts, which is available to ntv.de.
The Federal Constitutional Court's decision on the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) will lead to significant changes in the federal government's funding plans, and numerous programs of the Federal Building Ministry are also up for discussion. According to an overview provided by the ministry to ntv.de, projects worth around 2.3 billion euros are uncertain following the ruling by the judges in Karlsruhe.
The following programs are "fundamentally affected"
- Energy-efficient urban refurbishment with a volume of 70 million euros (2023 and 2024 in each case),
- Climate-friendly new construction (KFN) and home ownership promotion for families (WEF) programs with a volume of 1.9 billion euros in 2023 (1.1 billion euros planned for next year)
- Renovation of municipal facilities in the areas of youth, culture and sport (SJK), worth 400 million euros this year,
- Adaptation of urban areas to climate change amounting to 200 million this year,
- Financial aid for municipal heat planning. Here, 500 million euros are up for grabs in 2024.
Following the ruling, funding for energy-efficient urban refurbishment for this and next year, the refurbishment of municipal facilities in the areas of youth, culture and sport and the adaptation of urban spaces to climate change have been stopped "with immediate effect".
According to the ministry, the Climate-Friendly New Construction (KFN) and Home Ownership Promotion for Families (WEF) programs are expressly still available this year. Citizens can therefore apply to KfW for funding for these programs until the end of December. The situation after that is uncertain.
Conversion instead of new construction could fall by the wayside
However, as a spokeswoman confirmed to ntv.de, two new funding programs that are currently in the conception phase and that experts had expected a lot from are also up for discussion. The first is "Young buys old", which enables families to purchase existing buildings in need of renovation. The second is the "Commercial to residential" project. Here, offices and retail premises are to be converted into climate-friendly living space. Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz had promised 235,000 new apartments from this KfW funding program for 2024 and 2025 alone.
On Wednesday, the judges in Karlsruhe prohibited the subsequent reallocation of coronavirus loans for climate protection and industrial modernization. This means that 60 billion euros are missing from the so-called Climate and Transformation Fund. The fund is a special fund that is economically separate from the core budget.
In a statement, the ministry said that the federal government would "immediately draw up a new business plan for the Climate and Transformation Fund for the years from 2024. Commitments already made will be honored". The Federal Government will continue to be "very aware of its responsibility for climate protection in the building sector".
The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) has potential implications for the 'Young buys old' and 'Commercial to residential' projects, two upcoming funding programs under the Federal Ministry for Building and Housing. These programs, aimed at promoting energy-efficient housing and creating new residential units, are currently in the planning phase.
The 'Young buys old' program, which encourages families to purchase and renovate existing buildings, and the 'Commercial to residential' project, which converts commercial spaces into climate-friendly living areas, could be affected by the ruling's impact on the KTF's funding.
Families interested in the Energy-efficient urban refurbishment program should submit their applications before the end of December this year, as the program's future beyond 2023 remains uncertain due to the KTF ruling.
Source: www.ntv.de
