Heating Act: Freedom to be foolish
At the Catholic Day in Würzburg, Chancellor Merz faced fierce protests against his climate policy. Shortly before that, the federal government had passed the new Heating Act under the slogan ‘More freedom in the boiler room’.
According to this, ‘freedom’ means that everyone should be free to decide on their own heating system. Coal, gas and oil may continue to be burned. Just as they please. And it is only from 2029 onwards that there are to be meagre climate benefits through the addition of a tiny amount of renewable energy.
However, this new “freedom” is deceptive; it is a freedom to be foolish, to waste money, to be dependent on Trump’s and Putin’s oil and gas, as well as a freedom to pollute the climate and to be dependent on the Strait of Hormuz. Here, policy is not merely miscommunicated; it is fundamentally flawed, because it gambles away our future by relying on yesterday’s energy sources and holding back the rapid expansion of renewable energy.
Economics Minister Katherina Reiche is and remains a gas lobbyist. The problem here is not a ‘lack of communication’, but a minister whose policies are not in step with the times, but trapped in old structures. The current conflict over Hormuz shows that fossil fuels are bound to become increasingly expensive globally. These are the laws of the market that the federal government is otherwise so fond of invoking, but is now completely disregarding.
As long as Merz clings to Reiche and her outdated policies, his poll ratings and those of his government will not improve. At present, polls show that only 16 per cent of Germans support Merz’s policies and only 13 per cent those of his government. Ms Reiche is, quite rightly, the most unpopular minister.
“The freedom to do the wrong thing” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 13 May 2026) does not, in fact, lead to greater freedom. Even the former FDP leader Christian Lindner had recognised that renewable energies are “energies of freedom”. They are also energies of peace.
For no wars need be waged over these cost-effective, climate-friendly and “endless” sources of energy. They are gifts from heaven. They are the most affordable forms of energy in Germany and Europe, and they are growing fastest worldwide. Only when this federal government, too, recognises these advantages will its approval ratings rise again. The crucial question here is: wars over oil or peace through the sun?
A ray of hope: The Bundestag can still amend the new law and force Merz and Reiche to see reason. “Perhaps we argue too much,” the Chancellor said at the Catholic Day. No, the government must change its energy policy if it wants to regain trust. Germany and Europe must finally become energy-independent. This will also strengthen global food security.
