Growing outrage at legislation that would force Germans to turn away from gas and oil as sources of heat as soon as next year is dividing Berlin’s ruling coalition, as the public is losing faith in its ability to govern. 

Last week the lower house of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, passed a bill banning new installments of oil and gas heating systems, requiring renewable energy-based equipment instead. 

At an estimated cost of a trillion euros over the next 20 years, the act is roiling the ruling coalition: The climate-focused Greens party, which is suffering from an erosion of public support, is increasingly at odds with its governing allies.

The new rules are “plainly unnecessary,” the vice chairman of an increasingly popular opposition party, Alternative for Germany, Peter Boehringer, tells the Sun, adding that many people will not be able to “afford the consequences of this law.”  

The drive to enact the new bill was led by Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens party. Once considered one of the country’s most popular politicians and often called “the real chancellor” by the German press, Mr. Habeck’s polling numbers have dipped in recent surveys due to concerns over the high costs of his climate change initiatives.

Disagreements over the bill threaten unity among the three-party ruling bloc of Chancellor Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats, the Free Democrats, and the Greens. As divisions become more apparent, public support for the coalition is dropping. At the  same time, support for right-wing parties is rising in the polls.

The parliament’s lower house voted 399 to 275 in favor of the bill. Starting on January 1, 65 percent of new heating systems in Germany would have to rely on renewable energy-fueled heat pumps. By 2045, Germany’s deadline for net zero emissions of greenhouse gasses, all heating systems would have to depend on renewable energy sources.

The bill is a “huge step for climate protection,” a member of the Greens party, Katharina Droege, told the parliament. “We are approving a concrete timetable for how climate-neutral heating will succeed everywhere in Germany in the future.” The bill’s final approval at the parliament’s upper house is expected in late September. 

The renewable energy heat pumps can cost 30,000 euros — 20,000 more than regular gas heaters, according to the German press. The government has vowed to subsidize up to 70 percent of the cost, depending on each household’s income level. 

Most Germans agree on the need to shift to alternative energy methods but oppose the government’s regulation to impose a general ban. According to an Ipsos survey commissioned by the TÜV Association, 59 percent of Germans support ending reliance on oil and gas. Yet, 60 percent of those surveyed reject a forced ban on oil and gas heating.

“The majority are ready to do something to protect the climate. However, pure bans and coercion are perceived as paternalism,” the managing director of TÜV Association, Joachim Bühler, said. 

Criticism of the law is rising at the Greens party’s expense. The right-wing Alternative for Germany party is now running second in opinion polls, while the Greens is fourth. Regional elections will take place in two German states in October. 

Elections for seats in the European Union’s parliament are scheduled for June 2024. The next national election for members of the Bundestag will be held in 2025.

The AfD party’s co-chairman, Tino Chrupalla, told members of the German parliament to “replace Habeck, not heaters.” The party’s co-chairwoman, Alice Weidel, called the home heating bill a “prosperity annihilation in really absolute gigantic dimensions.”

A member of the center-right Christian Social Union party, Alexander Dobrindt, said people are afraid they won’t be able to afford the heating pumps. “This bill is polarizing society,” he said on Friday during the parliament’s session.  

When the bill was introduced, the Greens backed Mr. Habeck, as did Mr. Scholz. Yet, members of the chancellor’s Social Democrats questioned the financial impact it could have on the consumers. The Free Democrats were the coalition’s biggest opposers to the bill, as they said it was too expensive. 

“I can understand the dissatisfaction of many people,” the FDP’s spokesman, Michael Kruse, told Politico. The party had to revise the law “from top to bottom” in order to support it, he added. 

A recent survey says 19 percent of Germans are satisfied with the work the current coalition government is doing. About 70 percent are less satisfied or not satisfied at all.