Berlin (dpa / d.de) – From 2024 to 2027, the German government intends to invest around 212 billion euros in climate protection and transforming the economy. The money will be made available in the form of a special asset called the “Climate Fund”, which is separate from the federal budget. The fund aims particularly to finance the decarbonisation of industry, the expansion of renewable energies and electric mobility, and the energy-efficient renovation of buildings. Massive investments into Deutsche Bahn’s rail network are also to be made.
According to the budget plan that has now been approved for the fund, it is to be financed primarily from revenues from European emissions trading and from the national system of carbon pricing in the areas of transport and heating. Companies that bring petrol, diesel, heating oil and natural gas into circulation must buy emission allowances. The carbon price is supposed to act as an incentive to switch to more climate-friendly alternatives such as electric cars and heat pumps. The carbon price for fossil energies in the transport and heating sectors is to rise more sharply than previously planned. From 1 January 2024, it will amount to 40 euros per tonne, then climbing to 50 euros per tonne in 2025. Previously, a carbon price of 35 euros had been set for the coming year – the current price is 30 euros.