In the study “A CO2-guarantee-fund for climate protection investments in the building sector”, EWI examines the possible design of a CO2-guarantee-fund and which policy instruments such a fund could use. The study was prepared jointly with the Institute for Public Economics at the University of Cologne (FiFo).
The 2020s will require a significant acceleration of modernization efforts in the building sector to achieve climate targets. Considering different CO2 price paths and assumptions on the development of end-user prices for electricity and fuels, we calculate the profitability of climate protection investments in the building sector. Our calculations show that, despite the existing federal subsidy for efficient buildings (BEG), high CO2 prices are necessary to stimulate climate protection investments in the case studies considered. In addition to conventional subsidies, such as capital cost subsidies, we additionally analyze innovative subsidy instruments such as Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs). These contracts can ensure the efficient promotion of climate protection investments, whereby the actual disbursement of subsidies is based on the development of the CO2 price. In this context, a CO2-guarantee-fund can address the different needs of homeowners by means of different designs of CCfD contracts.
