Socio-ecological heat transition: The Academies’ Project identify action areas
Berlin, 09 July 2025
2024 saw the buildings sector once again struggle to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, the pace of the heat transition must therefore be increased rapidly. Two new publications from the academy initiative ESYS reveal that focusing on Worst Performing Buildings will be a key lever in this process. More attention should also be paid to social sustainability to mitigate financial hardship and make citizens active promoters of the heat transition. Further, the amount of information available about Germany’s building stock has to be improved to enable the introduction of targeted political measures.
The energy transition in the buildings sector is stuttering – but it has a critical role if Germany aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. The buildings sector is responsible for around 40 percent of Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions and the rate of thermal retrofitting has stagnated at around one percent. So how can the heat transition in Germany be accelerated?
Experts at “Energy Systems of the Future” (ESYS) – a joint initiative of acatech, Leopoldina and Akademienunion – have identified action areas which must be addressed to effectively implement the multi-dimensional heat transition. Their findings can now be explored in the Discussion Paper “How Can the Energy Transition Be Achieved in the Buildings Sector? Action areas for a socio-ecological transformation” and the detailed Analysis Paper “Die sozial-ökologische Energiewende im Gebäudebereich. Worst Performing Buildings, soziale Nachhaltigkeit und Datenbasis” (only available in German). The working group was headed by Melanie Jaeger-Erben (Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus-Senftenberg) and Andreas Wagner (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT).
Focus on Worst Performing Buildings, improve data availability
Buildings with the poorest current energy performance – which are known as Worst Performing Buildings – stand out with above-average greenhouse gas emissions. Upgrading these buildings effectively to give them low-temperature capability and converting them to a climate-neutral heat supply therefore reduces emissions particularly quickly. “To incentivise energetic refurbishment of Worst Performing Buildings, a mix of mechanisms and levers will be necessary around both carbon pricing as well as more focused and increased subsidies,” explains Andreas Wagner. “Regulatory requirements can ultimately also make a contribution, but here it will be important to implement sensible accompanying measures that provide information and advice and mitigate social issues.”
Due to the inadequate data available on the German buildings sector, knowledge on Worst Performing Buildings as well as their owners and residents is limited – and the information available on other buildings segments is similarly only approximate. This poor state of affairs regarding data availability, coverage and quality poses challenges for legislators, as it makes formulating and evaluating targeted policy measures more difficult. Complementary, the provision of data in Germany must be improved. In addition, frequent and high-quality energy certificates could also to contribute to the database on the German building stock, with the information they provide collated in a central and publicly accessible database.
Addressing social challenges and sustainability
“If the heat transition is going to be successful not only environmentally but also in terms of social sustainability, vulnerable groups have to be supported with greater protection,” underlines Melanie Jaeger-Erben. “These people face a structural dilemma between rising housing expenses and the unaffordability of necessary thermal retrofitting measures. : they don’t have the financial resources to carry out thermal retrofitting measures, and then the constantly rising carbon prices also push up their housing costs. We have to remove this trap and enable people to become active promoters of the heat transition.” This also means giving people opportunities to reduce their energy consumption and the amount of floor space they are using. Proactive and smartly conceived communications together with local and target-group-oriented contact points can increase levels of societal participation and inclusiveness.
