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Members of Merz’s CDU warn heating law reform could be unconstitutional

Members of chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are raising objections to the government's planned reform of Germany's heating decarbonisation rules, saying it could be unconstitutional, several media outlets reported. The Building Modernisation Act, commonly known as the “heating law,” was approved by government cabinet last week on the initiative of CDU economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche, as a replacement for legislation introduced under her predecessor Robert Habeck of the Green Party. The draft law, which would allow the installation of new oil and gas boilers without a phase-out deadline, must still be approved by parliament."I am sure there will be legal challenges to this law, and I have my doubts as to whether it will stand up to scrutiny," CDU politician Thomas Heilmann told news magazine Der Spiegel. Other legal experts among the conservatives were more outspoken off the record, Spiegel wrote. The draft bill was “blatantly unconstitutional”, and would "never hold up”, the magazine quoted one unnamed expert as saying. A legal opinion circulating within the CDU parliamentary group concluded that the law in its current form “almost certainly” violates a Federal Constitutional Court ruling on climate policy, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. The reform would allow newly installed fossil heating systems to operate beyond 2045, but introduce a “green gas/heating oil” quota aimed at replacing fossil fuels in the heating networks. The government aims to provide details on the quota by summer. The draft would also require owners of new fossil fuel heating systems to sign fuel supply contracts guaranteeing a rising share of lower-carbon fuels, such as methane from waste or biomass.However, the legal opinion criticises that existing fossil heating systems are exempt from this so-called “bioenergy staircase”, thus violating a landmark Constitutional Court ruling. The court had called for a “coherent overall reduction pathway” that "not only sets out the targets in policy terms, but also ensures they are met in a legally binding manner," according to the legal opinion. It goes on to state that, without a binding end date for the operation of fossil fuel heating systems, building owners and industry lack the necessary planning certainty to invest in heat pumps, district heating connections or other zero-emission heating systems.Germany’s National Regulatory Control Council, an independent advisory body tasked with improving the quality of legislation, also criticised the heating law reform plans last week. The council’s head, Lutz Goebel, told the tabloid Bild that the proposal was "poorly drafted and detached from practical application." Neither the heating industry nor consumers would understand the law’s objectives, Goebel said, arguing that proposals of this kind risk alienating citizens from policymaking. The law would likely generate significant bureaucratic burdens and force homeowners to seek costly expert advice before making investment decisions, the council head said. He called on parliament to substantially overhaul the proposed law before voting on it. The heating law has been one of the most contentious climate policy debates in Germany in recent years, and its reform was a key promise of Merz’s 2025 election campaign. The government aims to have the reform passed before parliament’s summer recess begins on 10 July.

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