Coaltion Agreement: Target to Double Energy Productivity by 2020

In its Coalition Agreement of 2006, the federal government highlighted the need for enhanced energy efficiency and laid down the following objectives: - steadily increasing the energy efficiency of the national economy with the objective of doubling energy productivity by the year 2020 compared with 1990; - increasing funding to the CO2 Building Modernisation Programme to at least 1.5 billion Euros per year, significantly improving its efficiency and attractiveness (for example by switching to investment grants and tax relief measures and by including rental accommodation) and also introducing an "energy passport" for buildings. The governments goal is to increase the energy efficiency of 5% of existing buildings built before 1978 every year; - promote the modernisation of existing power plants and the expansion of decentralised power plants and highly efficient combined heat and power plants; - review the funding criteria of the Heat-Power Cogeneration Act (KWK-Gesetz) on the basis of the monitoring report to be submitted in a timely manner. - support European initiatives to improve energy efficiency and work towards a European top runner programme; - continue and intensify the dena (German Energy Agency) initiatives for energy conservation in the areas of buildings, electricity use (for example standby) and traffic.