Special Fund 2025: Billions for climate protection and ailing infrastructure!

Special Fund 2025: Billions for climate protection and ailing infrastructure!

On July 5, 2025, the federal government launched a comprehensive special fund to improve infrastructure and achieve climate neutrality by 2045. This remarkable project has a total volume of over 500 billion euros, of which 300 billion euros are earmarked for direct federal investments. The need for this special fund arises from years of deficiencies in public infrastructure, reflected in broken roads, dilapidated bridges and inadequate internet. This not only makes engineering expansion more difficult, but also undermines Germany's competitiveness federalgovernment.de explained.

In 2023, 37.2 billion euros are to be spent from the special fund “Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality”. A further 84.8 billion euros are committed as commitment appropriations for future financial years. The economic plan, which is part of the government's draft for the 2025 federal budget, has the status of a "working plan". Despite the ambitious plans, some of the announced projects in the economic plan have not yet been backed with funds, such as: gabot.de reported.

Planned investments and distribution

The special fund is divided into three pillars: 100 billion euros for states and municipalities, 100 billion euros for the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) and finally the aforementioned 300 billion euros for additional federal investments. For example, over 11.7 billion euros are planned for transport infrastructure for 2025, including 2.5 billion euros to maintain the bridges in the existing federal highway network and 7.6 billion euros for construction cost subsidies to maintain the railways.

Overall, the planned editions are divided into seven title groups:

• Titelgruppe 01: Verkehrsinfrastruktur
• Titelgruppe 02: Krankenhausinfrastruktur – 1,5 Milliarden Euro für „Sofort-Transformationskosten Krankenhäuser“
• Titelgruppe 03: Energieinfrastruktur – 855,2 Millionen Euro
• Titelgruppe 04: Bildungs- und Betreuungsinfrastruktur – unter anderem Digitalpakt 2.0
• Titelgruppe 05: Forschung und Entwicklung – 472 Millionen Euro
• Titelgruppe 06: Digitalisierung – 4,0 Milliarden Euro
• Titelgruppe 07: Wohnungsbau – 327 Millionen Euro

Budget consolidation and performance monitoring

To consolidate the budget, the federal government plans to promote growth and additional savings measures, including reforms to basic security as well as savings in personnel and support programs. In order to check the targets of the special fund, accompanying performance checks after four and eight years as well as a final check at the end of the term are planned to ensure that the federal government's expenditure on investments is at least ten percent above the total budgeted expenditure.

With a look back at the past development of the infrastructure and the clear goal of making Germany climate-neutral by 2045, the special fund marks a decisive step into the future. Investments in the country's foundations should not only promote social justice, but also at least create a healthy economic basis. Further details are expected in the coming week of the meeting, as the coalition factions CDU/CSU and SPD would like to present a corresponding draft law.