Germany's renewable energy sector has welcomed the draft setting out the creation of a 500 billion euro special state fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality. “This fund is an important signal for future-oriented investment,” said the head of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), Simone Peter. It should be added that the draft is vague on key points needed to guarantee that the money is distributed effectively, so as to help Germany achieve net zero emissions by 2045.

The German government has created a debt-financed special fund of 500 billion euro for infrastructure and climate projects. A fifth of the fund is earmarked for national climate and transformation purposes. Economists warn that the fund must not become a source of cash for the government; it must strengthen long-term growth prospects.

BEE head S. Peter: “Clear definitions of terms and a modern understanding of economic viability are needed to ensure the funds are used purposefully.” The draft does not precisely define what counts as investment in infrastructure in Germany's federal states, which have the right to decide how their share of the fund is spent. “At federal level, some terms, such as ‘energy infrastructure' and ‘digitalisation', remain too vague to ensure targeted investment,” believes the BEE head.

At the same time, the planned financial oversight of infrastructure investment is insufficient to ensure purposeful spending. “Those investing in infrastructure must take into account the transition to climate neutrality, the scale of the potential costs of climate change impacts, and the development of new sectors such as renewable electricity and heat generation, electromobility, hydrogen and green gas,” said S. Peter.

The German Water and Energy Industry Federation (BDEW) stated that Germany's federal states should use this fund to make progress on the decarbonisation of municipal heat supply. “This could be achieved, for example, through guarantees to private investors for the expansion and conversion of the heating network,” said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae. “For all the mechanisms to work together to deliver the transition, the legal framework, support programmes and continuity must be aligned,” she added.