Philipp Nimmermann should now fix it for Robert Habeck.
Image: dpa
Philipp Nimmermann is supposed to save Robert Habeck’s major project. He is considered pragmatic – but climate policy has not been his topic so far. The FDP sees no chance of passing the law before the summer break.
The appointment of the Hessian State Secretary for Economics and economist Philipp Nimmermann (Greens) as the new permanent State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics met with a largely positive response in Berlin. This could solve blockages in climate policy that arose under predecessor Patrick Graichen (Greens), it said on Monday. This also applies to the Building Energy Act, which Graichen designed to a large extent, which provides for a ban on the installation of new heating systems from 2024 that cannot be operated with at least 65 percent renewable energies. There is resistance to this project not only from the population and the opposition, but also from the SPD and FDP.
“It’s good that a quick decision was made to succeed Graichen,” said the deputy leader of the Liberal parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Lukas Köhler, of the F.A.Z. “The change in Philipp Nimmermann can mean a fresh start for the many important legislative projects in climate and energy policy, including the controversial building energy law. It is urgently necessary to make progress here without ideological blinkers.” FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai said it was unlikely that the law would be debated in this week of sessions and that it would be passed before the summer break, as desired by the Greens and SPD. The energy association BDEW praised: “With his objective and level-headed manner, Philipp Nimmermann is an excellent choice in challenging times.” BDEW boss Kerstin Andreae told the F.A.Z.: “It’s good that the personnel debates are now over. In this way, the substantive questions about the heat transition can move back into focus.”