Germany needs to invest 120 billion euro in energy-related modernisation measures and significantly step up the pace to make its public buildings climate neutral by 2045, shows a report by the German Energy Agency (dena), according to CLEW. If these measures, such as refurbishments of heating systems and insulation, continued at today’s rate and by the current minimum standards, public buildings would not reach climate neutrality in the year the country plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The additional investments (compared to basic upkeep which does not improve energy use) would lead to savings of 45 billion euros by 2045 and the entire investment sum would be recouped another 20 years later, said the report. The state, therefore, had to make “substantial upfront investments” available, with local communities particularly under pressure and in need of federal support. Germany’s limit on new debt presents a hurdle to finding the necessary sums, and the government should consider setting up a special-purpose federal fund, the report suggested. It was compiled by consultancy Prognos AG and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) on behalf of dena.

The state plays a central role in ensuring the transition in the building sector, said Corinna Enders, chairwoman of dena’s management board. “Politicians must create the necessary framework conditions for scalable business models for the refurbishment of public buildings,” she said, adding that activating private capital in parallel also is a key aim.

The heating transition will be a “mammoth task” for the public sector over the coming decades, and public building modernisation should become a role model for the private sector to follow, said dena. The report said that federal, state and municipal properties have a final energy consumption of 70 terawatt hours annually, with around three quarters used for heating.