German construction code involves prescriptions on heat insulation since 1978, strengthened successively. In addition, there have been and are subsidies for building renovation, aimed at the 73% of the 17.3 million homes in Germany that were built before. Between 1990 and 2005, despite continuing single family homes expansion especially in the East, these measures led to an overall 13% reduction of CO2 emissions from [heating] homes.

The current program for building insulation is the CO2-Gebäudesanierungsprogramm of the KfW ( = CO2 building renovation program of the Credit Institute for Reconstruction [<-post-WWII origins]). It was started by the Schröder government in 2001, but enhanced in 2006 and 2007. In fact, the responsible ministry is Tiefensee's.

The program isd primarily aimed at homeowners. Budget is presently over a billion annually.  In 2006, €1.5 billion of credit subventions went into credits of €9.6 billion in credits and €11 billion in investments to renovate 265,000 homes. (If you do the calculation, at this rate, it would take half a century to finish with pre-1978 homes. Faster would be better, but already this is respetable; I wonder what other country has something better.)

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}