Billion for climate protection: Germany's real estate urgently need renovation!

Billion for climate protection: Germany's real estate urgently need renovation!

A current study shows that an investment of around 1.4 trillion euros is required for the climatic renovation of all German residential properties by 2050. These findings come from Allianz Research and Allianz Trade and were published by the news magazine merkur . In Germany, residential buildings alone cause around 14 percent of CO2 emissions without taking indirect emissions into account, which underlines the urgency of these investments.

The study is pursuing a comprehensive approach: In the four largest European economies - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - investments of around 3 trillion euros are required by 2050. For the German housing sector, which can make a critical contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases, about half of this sum, i.e. 1.4 trillion euros, are eliminated on renovations and energy efficiency increases.

The role of the building energy law

A central element of this renovation is the building energy law (heating law), which provides for newly installed heating to be operated at least 65 percent with renewable energies. However, the parties CDU, CSU and SPD have announced in the coalition agreement to abolish this law. The future orientation in this area remains uncertain.

The climate -friendly conversion could also bring economic advantages. It is estimated that property prices could increase by about 0.5 percentage points, while adding value in the real estate industry could increase by one trillion euros by 2050. This could create around 107,000 new jobs and reduce the unemployment rate by an average of 0.2 percentage points.

sanctions and investments in the renovation

To enable these changes, a mix of higher CO2 prices, financial support and improved political framework conditions is necessary. The current CO2 price of 55 euros per tonne would have to be raised to over 300 euros per tonne to implement cost savings in the building area.

Additional information on the climate effect of building renovations can be found in a short study by the German Society for Sustainable Building (DGNB) that Haufe published. This study shows that new buildings are necessary, but are usually associated with significantly higher CO2 emissions than renovations. In these, CO2 emissions are 50 to 66 percent lower than in new buildings, which underlines the effectiveness of renovation measures.

The DGNB study analyzes the ecological cycle statements of 19 certified renovation projects and encourages to renovate early. The ecological effect varies depending on the renovation type, which requires individual analyzes for each project. These findings are intended to serve as the basis for political decisions in order to promote the preservation of the existing building stock.