Covid-19 Economic Stimulus Package: Greening Germany's Building Stock

The German government increased its focus on building efficiency in the climate package that came into effect at the start of the year, so the incentives for energy-efficient renovation and construction had already been given a dramatic boost before the pandemic.

On top of that, this new package stocks up the ‘CO₂ Building Renovation Program’ with a further EUR 1billion – taking it to an impressive EUR 2.5 billion. The government also intends to use a further billion euros of federal funds to expand the existing program for the energy-efficient renovation of communal buildings and set up a new program for climate change adaptation measures in social facilities.

The vast majority of the buildings that will exist in Germany in 2050 have already been built. For us to have a climate-neutral building stock by then means we will need to push harder on energy-efficient renovation. The majority of construction investment was already going into existing buildings and the new, even greater volumes of funding announced in this package are only going to increase that.

More from Germany's Covid-19 economic recovery package:

• Hydrogen strategy: making Germany the home of power-to-X
• Power grids: sector coupling through the SINTEG program
• EV charging infrastructure: turbocharging the mobility of tomorrow
• Future forestry: adapting to climate change and moving to sustainable forestry
• Solar and wind power: higher expansion limits

• Energy Efficiency & Green Building