1:32 min., video from 15.01.2021
In the run-up to the UN World Human Settlements Summit Habitat III, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) points to the major challenges posed by increasing urbanisation. In its report "The Relocation of Humanity: The Transformative Power of Cities", the WBGU emphasises that a brief window of opportunity will open up in the coming decades of urbanisation "to set the course towards sustainability" - see Printed matter 18/9590. In this context, the Council recommends shortening the Habitat conference cycle from 20 to four years. The upcoming Habitat conference will take place from 17 to 20 October in Ecuador. The topic of "urbanisation and transformation" should also become a permanent item on the G20 agenda.
"The report is impressive in view of its wealth of arguments and diverse examples of urbanisation phenomena and the description of their effects. The Association of German Cities feels - not least due to its contributions to the success of the HABITAT III conference in Quito in October 2016 - in complete agreement with the report regarding the central role of cities in mastering the upcoming transformation challenges and utilising their opportunities. The challenges to urban transformation are clearly expressed: the call for a sustainable, globally coded urban development policy is a mandate to the global community and national policies to make cities capable of taking action and to urban societies to utilise this capacity for the benefit of the urban population."
Lord Mayor Dr Eva Lohse
President of the Association of German Cities
In its report, the WBGU presents a transformation strategy for the sustainable and "people-oriented design" of urbanisation. Cities play a particularly key role in this, as "the relocation of humanity could become the most powerful process of social change in the 21st century".
The force of the current urbanisation dynamic and its effects are so great that cities, urban societies, governments and international organisations worldwide must face up to this trend. A "business as usual" approach would lead to an unsustainable global urban society if urbanisation policy is not shaped. Only if cities and urban societies become sufficiently capable of acting can they realise their potential for sustainable development: It is in the cities that it will be decided whether the Great Transformation towards sustainability will succeed. This book discusses the conditions for success.
The report identifies five transformative, interlinked fields of action:
With regard to climate protection, for example, fossil CO₂ emission sources must be replaced by 2070, writes the WBGU. There would also have to be a "move away from a large part of the current infrastructure patterns" in order to reduce the temperature increase to significantly less than two degrees Celsius.
This link leads to the downloads of the expertises
www.wbgu.de/hg2016
Source: WGBU press release, 29/09/2016
Keywords:
DE-News, Communities, Media, New books and studies, News Blog Europe (without DE), Quarters, SDG 2030, Settlements, City, UN (United Nations), Environmental policy, Housing policy
In the EEG draft 
The German government plans to make a number of changes in the rooftop PV segment. According to information from pv magazine, an exemption from trade tax is planned and neighbourhood solutions are to become possible.
BSW-Solar concludes: "The German government urgently needs to make improvements, otherwise we will continue to head at high speed towards a climate protection and electricity generation gap. The compromise bill is far too timid, and at the same time too many important points are postponed. Unacceptable are the planned restrictions on the promotion of new larger solar roofs", explained Carsten Körnig, CEO of BSW-Solar.
For other solar associations, too, the EEG amendment does not go far enough, despite minor improvements:
www.pv-magazine.de/2020/12/14/eeg-novelle-2021-spd-verkuendet-durchbruch-enttaeuschung-bei-solarbranche/
Keywords:
Construction and operating costs, Citizen Energy, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Environmental policy
"What do the digitalisation society and the eco-scene have in common? Both are apolitical, says social psychologist Harald Welzer."
Source: The zeozwei controversy: Ecos are apolitical
Keywords:
Stakeholders, DE-News, Social / Culture, Environmental policy
Since 2012, the DGNB certification system has been a tool for municipalities that helps them to optimise neighbourhoods in terms of sustainability and to document this through an award. For this system, the DGNB has now specifically further developed the criteria catalogue and significantly reduced the scope through adjustments. According to the DGNB in its press release, this would reduce the effort and costs for building owners "without compromising on quality". New in the updated system version are topics such as light pollution, smart infrastructure, governance, resilience and adaptability.
The revision of the criteria that has now taken place relates to the use profiles for urban districts and commercial districts. The restructuring and the significant reduction in scope from 46 to 30 criteria are the result of a targeted process in which a large number of experts from the DGNB network were involved.
The innovations in detail
In terms of content, numerous adjustments were made. For example, the criterion "social and functional mix" - a core issue of sustainable neighbourhood development - was given a stronger weighting. On the other hand, some topics that previously had only a minimal influence on the overall assessment were dropped. These include, for example, the criteria "art in construction" or "building site/construction process". Numerous other criteria were combined with related topics.
Four criteria were newly integrated or fundamentally revised. The criterion "Emissions / Immissions", which was previously called "Noise and Sound Protection", was expanded to include the topics of air quality and light pollution. The criterion "governance" aims to create structures in the planning stage that will endure after the realisation of the neighbourhood. The entirely new criterion of "resilience and adaptability" aims to promote neighbourhood development that implies the highest possible flexibility and resilience to possible disruptive events. The "Smart Infrastructure" criterion has been greatly expanded in its approach. This includes, among other things, the question of the extent to which digitalisation is fundamentally integrated into neighbourhood planning and what infrastructural prerequisites there are for this - in the buildings and the open spaces alike. This criterion, which takes into account the topic of "smart cities", was deliberately formulated in an open manner, as there is currently a great deal of technological movement in this area.
In order to ensure the international applicability of the DGNB system for neighbourhoods, the content of some criteria was expanded. This applies, for example, to the criterion "environmental risks", in which internationally relevant risks such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or tsunamis were added in addition to the environmental hazards that frequently occur in Germany, such as storms or floods.
Source: DGNB press release dated 13.9.2016
www.dgnb-system.de/...System_grundlegend_ueberarbeitet.pdf
Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, DE-News, DGNB, Quarters, Certification & Labels, Ecology
