Babiš: Government will return to Czech New Green Savings scheme, which cut household costs

The government will return to the New Green Savings subsidy programme, which supported energy-efficient home renovations, and will look for funding for it. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said today on Nova TV’s Za pět minut dvanáct programme that the scheme had reduced people’s costs. Motorists party chairman Petr Macinka, who heads the Ministry of the Environment, had previously announced changes to the programme because of a lack of funding.

"We inherited empty coffers, but this project was very good for people, and we will want to return to it," the prime minister said.

According to him, the programme reduced people’s costs, for example by lowering their heating bills, and also had a significant investment impact.

The New Green Savings programme has operated since 2009 as a financial tool encouraging homeowners to renovate the housing stock and reduce energy consumption. During its existence, it has supported around 600.000 households, two-thirds of them since 2021, when, according to the ministry, investment in household energy savings amounted to around 55 billion crowns.

In November, the Ministry of the Environment temporarily closed the application process for grants. The reason was strong demand, which led to the funds allocated for last year being used up more quickly, although applications already submitted continued to be processed without restrictions.

At the end of January, Macinka said the previous government had overestimated revenue from emissions allowances for the State Environmental Fund at 12 billion crowns. The current government’s budget assumes 5.5 billion. Former Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) subsequently said he did not understand how Macinka had arrived at the lower figure for allowances. According to him, the 12 billion figure was based on the ministry’s official forecast, and allowance prices had risen further since then.

The fund, among other things, finances the New Green Savings programme. Macinka said the programme needed to be revised. Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček (ANO) announced that support would be based mainly on guarantees.

Eva Neudertová, director of the Association for the Use of Heat Pumps, said that ending the programme without a replacement would be a worst-case scenario for Czech households and would run fundamentally counter to what Babiš’s government had promised them.