Energy: City Council: Pay out climate money for the next heating season

The German Association of Cities has called on the federal government to speed up climate money. The climate money must now be prepared technically and legally so that it can be paid out by the next heating season at the latest, said managing director Helmut Dedy of the dpa. Under this condition, the Association of Cities can also imagine higher CO2 pricing for refueling and heating using fossil fuels, specifically an increase of up to 90 euros per ton of CO2 for 2025.

The CO2 price is currently 45 euros per ton and is expected to rise to 55 euros per ton in 2025. This is intended to provide incentives for more climate-friendly consumption.

“Before there is a higher CO2 price, it must be clear that part of the money collected will be paid back by the federal government in a socially fair manner as climate money,” said Dedy. Price shocks must be prevented. “That’s why we need a concept for targeted and unbureaucratic climate money very soon. Citizens, but also the economy and local suppliers must be able to plan.”

Start of climate money open

Climate money could offset the additional burden on citizens caused by a rising CO2 price. The SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed in the coalition agreement: “In order to compensate for future price increases and to ensure acceptance of the market system, we will develop a social compensation mechanism beyond the abolition of the EEG levy (climate money).”

According to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), a per capita payment should technically be possible from 2025. Every citizen could then get money back from the state. However, that would cost billions. It is currently unclear whether and when the coalition will implement its announcement. Income from CO2 pricing flows into the climate and transformation fund, from which projects for climate protection, among other things, are financed – money would then be missing from climate money. After a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in mid-November, 60 billion euros had to be removed from the fund anyway.

City Council warns against postponement

“Many people can no longer cope with the high energy prices,” said Dedy. The federal government is therefore not allowed to postpone the agreed climate money until the next legislative period. Paying out the climate money by the next heating season at the latest is also right because price signals will have to be set in the future with a rising CO2 price. “That would be an effective lever for reducing emissions noticeably,” says Dedy.

Cities would have to make a lot of changes locally in the coming years in order to become climate neutral. “The energy transition and heating transition in cities can only succeed if we have the necessary acceptance among our citizens. The only signal that should reach people is that electricity and heating are becoming more expensive. They also need the feeling that things are happening fairly “That’s why we need climate money.”