Niels Fuglsang: Homeowners should not pay for green transition
Niels Fuglsang, candidate for the European Parliament elections for the Social Democrats, has clarified a previous statement that has been met with widespread criticism. Fuglsang does not want Danish homeowners to finance energy renovations in their homes to make them more environmentally friendly. After a statement to DR, which sparked debate, Fuglsang wrote on the platform X: “I can see that there has been a lot of debate after I spoke to DR about energy renovations. Allow me to clarify: I do not think we should leave a bill to homeowners. I fully agree with Christel Schaldemose that the green transition should be socially just. I did not emphasize that clearly enough in my interview with DR.”
In the interview with DR earlier in the day, Fuglsang stated that he wanted Danish homeowners to ensure that their homes at least achieve energy label E by 2035. When asked whether homeowners should pay for this in the short term, he said: “In the short term, there are some investments that need to be made. That is clear enough.” However, he stressed that both the state and the EU should provide support to help the most vulnerable homeowners.
The proposal was criticized by, among others, Danish People’s Party’s lead candidate for the European Parliament elections, Anders Vistisen, who called it “a terrible proposal” to DR, which could make hundreds of thousands of homeowners technically insolvent. An expert noted that Fuglsang’s demand to make homes more environmentally friendly by 2035 “may not” be appropriate.
Despite the criticism, Fuglsang maintains that there is a necessary task in increasing energy efficiency in Danish homes, but now with a clearer emphasis on doing so in a socially responsible manner. “We have a task ahead of us to raise our energy efficiency. But it must be done in a socially responsible way,” he concludes.