"Climate neutrality in urban neighbourhoods" in the issue "Ökologisches Wirtschaften 3/2019".

The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs is supporting the climate-friendly construction of new buildings with a new funding programme that will start on 1 March 2023. For the first time, the entire life cycle of a building will be considered - from construction to operation to potential deconstruction in the distant future. The buildings are characterised by low greenhouse gas emissions in the life cycle, high energy efficiency, low operating costs and a high proportion of renewable energies for the generation of heat and electricity. This funding thus makes a contribution to climate protection and to meeting national climate targets.

Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister for Housing, Building and Urban Development: Climate-friendly building is no longer a can-do decision, but a must. Those who build today as they did in the past in order to save money are harming the climate and their wallets through horrendous ancillary costs.
With this 750 million euro annual funding programme, we exclusively promote climate-friendly new construction. Anyone can use the KfW-funded interest rate reduction. It helps exactly when it is often most difficult: when starting the financing for a home or apartment building.
It is important to see this funding programme as part of a large, social and climate-friendly construction funding programme of the federal government. Looking at the year 2023 alone, we are investing several billion in social housing, Trainee- and student housing, in the promotion of home ownership for families, the construction of apartment buildings and cooperative housing. Targeted funding, thinking about tomorrow today and excluding windfall profits - that is the funding principle of this federal government in building. 

To the programme:

• Funding is provided for the construction of new buildings and the initial purchase of newly constructed climate-friendly and energy-efficient residential and non-residential buildings that fall below specific limits for greenhouse gas emissions in the life cycle and meet the energy standard of an Efficiency House 40 / Efficiency Building 40 for new buildings.
• There is greater support for buildings that also achieve the Quality Seal Sustainable Building (QNG).
• Funding is provided in the form of low-interest loans for the construction of climate-friendly residential and non-residential buildings. Investors, cooperatives, companies and private individuals can apply through their development banks.
• In addition, municipalities and districts receive investment grants e.g. for the construction of flats, day-care centres or schools.
• The "Climate-friendly New Construction" funding programme is part of the federal funding for efficient buildings, which differentiates between funding for new construction projects and measures in existing buildings.
• As of 1 January 2023, responsibility for new construction funding has been transferred from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection to the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction.
• With the implementation of the funding programme, the BMWSB the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) has been commissioned. In future, applications for funding can be submitted there. Until then, it is ensured that the new construction funding programme "Efficient House / Efficient Building 40 Sustainability Class" of the BEG of the BMWK continues.

The federal funding for efficient buildings - climate-friendly new construction is a measure of cross-sectoral climate protection. The new requirements for greenhouse gas emissions in the life cycle are as follows a.o. an important contribution to limiting "grey emissions", the greenhouse gas emissions that can be traced back to the production and construction of buildings, including the supply chain. According to the BBSR-According to the study "Environmental Footprint of Buildings in Germany", the production, construction and modernisation of buildings accounts for around 7 % of national greenhouse gas emissions (about 65 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalents). Added to this are 35 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalents from suppliers abroad.

In addition, the new programme contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector to 67 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalents and thus achieve both the national and the European energy and climate targets by 2030. The annual CO₂-equivalent reduction targets for the individual sectors are derived from the permissible annual emission quantities of the Federal Climate Protection Act.

Programme funds amounting to 1.1 billion euros are available from the Climate and Transformation Fund in 2023. Of this amount, 750 million euros will be allocated to the Climate-Friendly New Construction funding programme and 350 million euros to home ownership funding for families.

In the appendix you will find the Guideline for the "Climate-friendly new construction" programme

Source: PM BMWSB 25.1.2023

Keywords:
DE-News, Funding, Climate protection, Quarters, Settlements, Environmental policy, Housing, Housing policy