Germany approves a €500 billion climate and infrastructure fund

Germany’s incoming government has secured parliamentary and federal approval for a €500 billion special fund aimed at upgrading infrastructure, strengthening defence, and accelerating climate action. Of this total, at least €100 billion is earmarked for climate-related investments, forming a major public commitment to supporting the country’s 2045 climate neutrality target.

This presents a major opportunity to support the decarbonization of Germany’s construction sector — responsible for a significant share of the country’s emissions, especially through building materials.

A public investment plan for long-term decarbonization

This debt-financed fund will be deployed over 12 years and is designed to modernize critical systems — from energy grids to transport networks — while reducing industrial and structural emissions. The fund’s scale and legal backing signal a long-term shift toward systemic decarbonization, with direct implications for the construction and manufacturing sectors.

“This is not a spending programme for the next few years. This is a long-term programme for the transformation of our country.”

— Friedrich Merz, CDU party leader 

The Greens agreed to support the package after securing a commitment that at least one-fifth will be allocated to climate protection.

Relevance for construction and building materials

While investment details are still being developed, the fund is expected to prioritize:

• Energy-efficient buildings and retrofits, including public and social infrastructure
  
  
• Low-carbon construction methods and materials, especially in line with Germany’s climate neutrality target by 2045
  
  
• Innovation in manufacturing and industrial decarbonization, particularly in emissions-intensive materials like steel and cement

This creates strong incentives for stakeholders to demonstrate the carbon performance of materials and construction systems. In this context, life-cycle assessment (LCA) data and environmental product declarations (EPDs) will play a crucial role in qualifying for funding and meeting compliance requirements.

Supporting EU-aligned climate progress

Germany’s move could influence other EU member states to adopt similar mechanisms, reinforcing the EU’s broader climate objectives under the Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package. The fund’s emphasis on long-term, transparent climate impact is closely aligned with several key EU-level regulatory developments that affect the construction sector:

• Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD): The revised EPBD proposes mandatory whole-life carbon reporting for new buildings from 2030, driving demand for life-cycle assessments and low-carbon construction solutions.

• Construction Products Regulation (CPR): The ongoing CPR revision aims to require harmonised environmental performance data, including carbon metrics, for construction products across the EU — with a likely future role for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

• Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR): Expanding the scope of ecodesign beyond energy-using products, ESPR will introduce digital product passports and minimum sustainability requirements — potentially including embodied carbon — for a broad range of materials and components.

• EU Taxonomy and the “Omnibus Regulation”: Financial regulations like the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities and related Omnibus Regulation incentivize climate-aligned investment by defining technical screening criteria for sustainable construction and renovation activities, often referencing LCA-based indicators.

Together, these policies signal a clear direction: data-backed, whole-life carbon transparency is becoming very important for accessing public funding, regulatory compliance, and sustainable finance.

Germany’s €500 billion fund is not just a national strategy — it’s part of a larger shift toward an integrated European approach to decarbonizing the built environment.

How can One Click LCA help construction professionals

At One Click LCA, we help manufacturers, contractors and policymakers prepare for this shift — by providing LCA tools that quantify and improve the environmental performance of construction products and projects. 

• For manufacturing: One Click LCA's EPD Generator tool offers an end-to-end solution for manufacturers who need to create environmental product declarations (EPDs) compliant with EN 15804 standard. With this tool, users can perform unlimited life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and create EPDs at scale for any product category. 
• For infrastructure projects: One Click LCA's infrastructure LCA tool is designed for AEC professionals to deliver low-carbon infrastructure projects and comply with PAS 2080 or BREEAM Infrastructure LCA. Get certified for compliance with ISO and EN general and construction-specific LCA standards.