{
  "id": 8858528,
  "title": "The heating hammer that killed Germany’s heating law",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/the-heating-hammer-that-killed-germanys-heating-law",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T06:00:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Klement on Investing",
    "slug": "klement-on-investing",
    "url": "https://klementoninvesting.substack.com/p/the-heating-hammer-that-killed-germanys"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Germany's previous center-left coalition government, comprising Social Democrats, Liberal Democrats, and Greens, introduced the Gebäudeenergiegesetz (GEG, Buildings Energy Act) in 2021 to mandate that new heating systems in private homes use 65% renewable energy by 2025. However, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the deadline was accelerated to the beginning of 2024. Despite these efforts, a conservative tabloid, Bild, published a leak of the new regulation and initiated a campaign against it, branding it the \"Heizungshammer\" (heating hammer). The newspaper falsely claimed that the reform would compel older homeowners to pay for their own heating system upgrades or even ban boilers, a far from the truth. Additionally, the newspaper highlighted Robert Habeck, a member of the Green Party and Germany's Minister of Economic Affairs, to generate public opposition to the government. The Liberal Democrats, initially supportive of the reform, distanced themselves from it to gain favor in the press. This struggle between the coalition parties eventually led to their dissolution and subsequent snap elections, with the Liberal Democrats expelled from the Bundestag. The analysis of press reports revealed that Bild employed more emotionally charged and undermining language compared to the general German media. Ultimately, internal divisions within the coalition and weak leadership by Chancellor Olaf Scholz resulted in the reform being watered down to an ineffective measure that undermined Germany's climate and net-zero policies. The study concludes that for any government to succeed, they must have the media's support or possess strong leadership, communication skills, and determination to overcome media resistance.",
  "summary": "In the countries where I regularly read the press (UK, Germany, USA), most of the press is conservative-leaning or outright conservative, with liberal outlets reaching only a minority of the population.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}