According to the law, the climate and transformation fund should “finance the additional expenses of the program to promote measures”, which “serve to achieve the goals of climate protection”. Among other things, the fund is filled with income from the price of CO2.
“We collect the price of CO2 for coal, oil and gas, and then we take revenue to make fossil gas cheaper,” says Bamachi, “this is really brazenly.”
Bamachi made a small request to the federal government and asked how to finance the collection of storage of fossil gas from KTF is compatible with the fact that the fund is intended for investment in the climate.
The response of the federal government does not respond to this contradiction: the KTF law should be supplemented, so relief can be paid from your favorite assistance at the price of gas, writes Frank Vetzel, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Federal Government: The goal is to be facilitated, not subsidies
To date, these additions included only payments for the release of electricity prices, which can be considered a measure of climate protection, as well as coal output. “There was no dementia that fossil subsidies from the climate -the grill should be paid. The federal government, obviously, was speechless on this issue, ”says Bamach. The Ministry of Economic Affairs also did not come into this contradiction when it comes to the expression of demand from TAZ.
However, according to the ministry, the abolition of the gas warehouse “does not contribute to the source of energy, but about the financing of a crisis tool that has become necessary in the energy crisis.” The goal is to free citizens and companies from high prices for energy and gas. The State Secretary of the Vetzel also responded to the Green Baumach. Nevertheless, the federal government only reduces electricity tax for industry, and not for households.
Gas storage was represented by the Government of the traffic light in 2022 in order to be able to pay for filling gas storage before winter. At that time, the Russian government basically hired gas supply to Germany after an attack on Ukraine and previously left gas stores in Germany at a very low level. When collecting gas storage, the money is still repaid that at that time it was supposed to be placed in gas imports.
Until now, a gas storage set should have paid only if you bought gas, 0.289 cents per kilowatt. This is about three percent more for the price of gas, which is only 9.2 cents per kilowatts.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeal and Minister of Economics Katerina Reich (CDU) now want gas consumers no longer pay for the collection, except for the state. KTF costs 3.4 billion euros. In 2024, about 40 billion euros were spent from KTF.
61 percent of natural gas is consumed in Germany by industry, the rest, especially for heating households and trade. To fully take over the allowance for gas “Direct redistribution in favor of industry”, criticizes the Badum. The staff should not take on gas supplies, because this is another fossil subsidy. “At best, gas companies should also pay a contribution.”
Habek also wanted him to be used incorrectly
Former Minister of Economics Robert Habek (Green) also wanted to use KTF for projects that have little or nothing to protect the climate. Thus, he wanted to promote gas power plants, which at some point can also work with hydrogen to replace coal power plants that should leave the network with a coal phase. In addition, the government of the traffic light contributed to the settlement of chips plans with KTF products.
The current federal government is in a fundamentally different financial situation than in a traffic light, Badum justifies the home tricks of his colleague from the Khabek party. “An important point is that the government now has 100 billion more to protect the climate.”
100 billion euros from 500 billion euros in special funds, which in March, CDU, SPD and Greens, made it possible to change the basic law, should be comprehended in KTF and, therefore, to protect the climate. “If, in the end, there are fewer investments in the protection of the climate and much more in fossil, this is a mockery, and not the agreement that we agreed,” says Bachum.
