The amendment to the climate protection law that has now been submitted by the green-black government in Baden-Württemberg should also play a role in the coalition negotiations after the federal elections in Berlin.

Because the technology and industrial state wants to be exemplary in several respects - nationally and internationally - in terms of climate protection policy: The state wants to be climate neutral by 2040, five years before the federal government.

Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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Science and companies should develop technological solutions that are exportable and also promote climate protection efforts at national level.

In addition, from May 1, 2020, solar power will apply to every newly built house in the southwest.

From January 1, 2023, homeowners will have to have a photovoltaic system built on their roof if they thoroughly renovate the roof structure.

First land with compulsory solar power for private houses

Baden-Württemberg is the first state with a solar obligation for private houses.

Only the city-states of Hamburg and Berlin have decided on this so far - but not until 2023.

In Baden-Württemberg, every parking lot with more than 35 parking spaces must in future be equipped with a photovoltaic system.

When expanding wind power and area photovoltaic systems, two percent of the country's area is to be reserved for this purpose.

Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) said at the presentation of the draft law by both parliamentary groups that the state was “too small” to save the global climate on its own.

But one can develop business models and product lines for the world market and thus advance climate protection.

However, the amendment to the law only provides for “to be greenhouse-neutral on the balance sheet” by 2040, which means that the reduction in CO2 emissions can be offset against compensatory measures.

The coalition of the Greens and the CDU only came about in May because the CDU had said goodbye to its previous reservations about climate protection policy in the election manifesto and committed itself to more ambitious goals.

The Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister of the Interior Thomas Strobl (CDU) said nevertheless that there could be no question of a greening of his party, the CDU did not have to correct its course.

Additional costs of up to 13,000 euros for builders

In the first green-black coalition, the ruling parties had decided to make photovoltaics mandatory for commercial buildings, but the solar obligation for private houses demanded by the Greens at that time failed due to the resistance of the CDU parliamentary group.

For a single-family house or a terraced house, the builders will have to pay additional costs of 10,000 to 13,000 euros due to the solar obligation, which should generally be amortized within ten years.

However, it remains questionable whether industry and trade will even be able to satisfy the demand boom that will set in in the coming year.

The opposition in the state parliament criticizes the amendment of the climate protection law: In the opinion of the SPD parliamentary group leader Andreas Stoch, the government is only catching up on what it did not manage in the previous legislative period - i.e. the solar requirement for private houses.

Criticism from the FDP

The FDP rejects the solar obligation, calls for greater efforts to save energy and is concerned about the social balance in climate protection: “A solar obligation in the course of roof renovations will present many older or less affluent homeowners in particular with major challenges when a roof renovation is pending. They will often hardly be able to pay the additional surcharge, especially since a solar system is not feasible on every old existing roof, ”said Daniel Karrais, the climate protection spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group.

The draft to amend the Climate Protection Act is only the first step on the way to improving climate protection: because detailed regulations are standardized in the "Integrated Energy and Climate Protection Concept" (IEKK), which is currently also being revised. The construction of surface photovoltaic systems and wind turbines is likely to continue to progress slowly due to outdated regional development plans. The state government therefore wants to reform the state development plan, which essentially dates back to the 1970s, which was agreed in the coalition agreement, but will probably take a few years.