The Federal Cabinet has introduced a reform to the Heat Planning Act. Both the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Federal Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure stated on Wednesday that the draft aims to significantly ease the burden on smaller local communities during the heat planning process. Specifically, municipalities with up to 15,000 residents will benefit from a highly simplified procedure known as “small-scale heat planning”.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Katherina Reiche (CDU), explained that this reform provides smaller towns with a “lean and targeted procedure” allowing them to develop a meaningful heat plan within just a few months. She added, “We are thereby ensuring a tangible relief for rural areas and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy”. Complementing this, Federal Minister for Housing and Infrastructure, Verena Hubertz (SPD), noted the impact of climate change on urban environments, stating that as cities change and warm up due to climate change, “heat and cold planning must go hand in hand in the future”.
This “small-scale heat planning” is an optional procedural choice that responsible authorities can select independently, meaning that specific implementation at the state level is not required. The time commitment and procedural requirements are significantly reduced under this simplified system. Furthermore, the guidelines for data collection and processing are intended to be made “more practical” for local implementation.
