Law on Energy and Climate Fund

The law on the new Energie- und Klimafonds (Energy and Climate Fund -EKFG) creates a special purpose energy and climate fund. The money is to be dedicated to the promotion of an environmentally-friendly, reliable and affordable energy supply, for instance with respect to energy efficiency. Originally revenue was meant to come mainly from a contractual agreement of the nuclear power plant operators with the German state that skims off part of their extra profits, from parts of the nuclear fuel rod tax and the auctioning of emission allowances as of 2013. As a consequence of the nuclear power exit from 2012 onwards, only the revenues from European emissions trading will flow (but completely and directly) into the Energy and Climate Fund.