With the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, energy security and independence have become the
new imperative for German policymakers. Under these circumstances, an accelerated transformation towards climate neutrality serves both ecological as well as security policy goals. It requires massive public investments over a very short period of time. To finance this, the Bundeswehr Special Fund, announced by the German government in February 2022, should be complemented by a special fund for energy security and independence. To this end, we call for the existing Energie- und Klimafonds (Energy and Climate Fund, EKF) to be endowed with autonomous borrowing powers and its exemption from the so-called ‘debt brake’ to be enshrined in the German constitution. This has already happened for the Bundeswehr Special Fund, which provides legal certainty for upcoming investments. With 260 billion euros, the necessary federal investment and funding for both special funds is comparable to the financial volume raised for reunification via special funds.
Co-author:
Jan-Erik Thie, Global Climate Forum
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IIPP Policy Brief
