Higher sales in Germany and a trend towards heat pumps and biomass-based systems buoyed the German heating system industry in 2020.

The European Union has implemented a biodiversity strategy as part of a Green Deal to protect the environment that could also help prevent zoonotic pandemics in the future.

Government information suggests pilot scheme will provide financial support through "carbon contracts for difference" for higher operating costs incurred by business increasing climate and environmental protection.

Good news for the climate and homebuilders: The BMWi building subsidy programs have been allocated significant new funding.

Carbon aerogels are more than 90 percent air. These new materials could drastically improve the thermal insulation of furnaces, leading to incredible energy efficiency improvements. Germany’s AeroFurnace research project is testing these lightweights’ heavyweight effects.

Swiss-based building materials company Holcim is registering rising demand for climate-neutral concrete, Clean Energy Wire reports, citing an article in Hamburger Abendblatt.

The price of gasoline, diesel, heating oil and fossil gas is set to rise in Germany from 2021 following an amendment to the country’s fuel emissions trading act at the start of October.

The southern German state of Baden-Württemberg wants to utilize heat from data centers to heat buildings. The state’s Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector has published guidelines to that effect in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart.

Good news for businesses in Germany with energy efficient solutions for buildings: In the first six months of 2020, government support programs for energy-efficient buildings and other energy efficiency measures saw investment in projects double compared to the same period the previous year. In private construction, the growth exceeded 180 percent.

The GEG should enter into force on October 1, 2020 after the president has signed it and it is published in the federal gazette. There have been some changes to the draft version approved by the cabinet on October 23, 2019.