Berlin – Germany’s governing coalition has agreed to significantly revise a contentious heating law, allowing homeowners to continue installing oil and gas heating systems, a move that fulfills a key campaign promise made by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party. The decision, reached after weeks of internal debate, marks a substantial retreat from a policy championed by the Green party and initially implemented in 2023.
The original law, pushed through by the Greens, mandated that most newly installed heating systems utilize at least 65% renewable energy. The revised plan, announced Wednesday, will require gas and oil heating systems to operate with an increasing proportion of climate-friendly fuels, such as biomethane. This proportion will begin at 10% in 2029 and incrementally increase in three stages, reaching a yet-to-be-specified level by 2040.
The shift represents a significant victory for Merz and his Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who had pledged to scrap the previous law during last year’s election campaign. The agreement with their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners was a central tenet of their governing deal.
“Government says changes maintain goal of cutting emissions from buildings, but gives households more freedom of choice over heating and technology,” a government statement released Wednesday confirmed. Approximately 80% of Germany’s residential buildings currently rely on oil or gas heating, making the issue particularly sensitive for a large segment of the population.
The 2023 law had sparked considerable public outcry and a backlash from homeowners and opposition parties, contributing to a growing sense of instability within the previous coalition government. Robert Habeck, then Economy Minister and a prominent Green party figure, was forced to water down his original plans in response to the criticism. The ensuing internal conflict within the coalition was widely seen as a catalyst for its eventual collapse.
Green party politicians have expressed strong opposition to the reversal, arguing that it jeopardizes Germany’s climate goals. Concerns have too been raised by experts regarding the availability of sufficient biomethane and other green fuels to meet the increased demand created by the new regulations.
Germany aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, but progress in the transport and building sectors has been lagging. The revised heating law is intended to balance environmental objectives with the practical concerns of homeowners and the economic realities of transitioning to a more sustainable energy system.
The agreement was reported by Reuters on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers, editing by Thomas Seythal)
