Old Neustadt in Bremen becomes a model bicycle district
Published
Federal Environment Ministry provides 2.4 million euros from the Climate Protection Fund
The Senator for the Environment, Building and Transport and the Bremen University of Applied Sciences jointly applied for funding in a competitive procedure in the "Federal Competition for Climate Protection in Cycling" of the National Climate Protection Initiative (NKI) for a "Bicycle Model Quarter Alte Neustadt Bremen - from bicycle street to bicycle zone". Now, after many rounds of negotiations, the funding decisions for the implementation of the bicycle model quarter have been received by the Senator for the Environment, Building and Transport (1,576,361 euros) and the Bremen University of Applied Sciences (834,835 euros).
Unanimously, on March 21, 2019, members of Berlin's state parliament voted in favor of promoting urban timber construction.
Following in the footsteps of Baden-Württemberg, the state of Berlin has now also decided to focus on wooden buildings in the future with its application "Sustainability in construction: Berlin builds with wood". As part of the Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme (BEK), wood as a building material is to be used to a much greater extent from now on and, as a carbon dioxide reservoir, is to make a contribution to climate protection and resource efficiency.
As the largest builder in the city-state, the Berlin Senate is to lead the way in the future and increasingly use wood in state buildings such as schools, kindergartens and residential buildings. In addition, subsidy programs such as those in Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Munich should create incentives for private builders. A timber construction cluster is to develop and bundle competencies along the value chain in the long term.
Since April 2018, an amendment to Berlin's state building code has facilitated timber construction for private and public buildings. Load-bearing components of multi-storey buildings can now be made of the natural material without the need for a time-consuming case-by-case assessment.
For new buildings and complete modernisation projects, Berlin will in future apply the Sustainable Building Rating System (NBB) with its defined, transparent standards for sustainability.
The associations and organisations involved in the Building Alliance (Graphic: NABU)
The energy transition in the building sector has stalled. Less and less is being invested in energy-efficient refurbishment and the Paris climate protection targets are in jeopardy. The reason for this is inadequate advice and the uncertainty of many consumers on the one hand, as well as inadequate government regulations and poorly managed subsidies on the other. For almost two years now, the Building Alliance, an association of environmental and consumer organisations with energy consultants, tradesmen, trade unions, the building industry, architects' associations and the construction industry, has been positioning itself against this. Under the leadership of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), numerous natureplus members such as BUND, BAUM e.V. and IG Bau are also working together in favour of more climate protection in the building sector.
In a recent statement, the Building Alliance calls on a new German government to "make the neglected third of the energy transition in the building sector an integral part of an integrated climate protection and energy policy". So far, politicians have "missed the opportunity to make energy-efficient building refurbishment the largest value creation and value retention programme in Germany and thus a real job engine for the domestic economy", criticises Jörg-Andreas Krüger, Deputy Federal Managing Director of NABU. Residential and non-residential buildings must now be addressed more strongly and more specifically than before by the three pillars of "information and advice", "support" and "demand".
A "lack of prioritisation and reliability" has unsettled investors, homeowners, tradespeople and businesses. In order to create reliability, "more transparency is needed in the assessment of buildings" through a standardised, optimised energy performance certificate. In addition, "high-quality, quality-assured advice from trained experts" in accordance with national standards is needed. Politicians must "set the course for reliable and permanent funding for high-quality consulting services and refurbishment measures". The refurbishment costs should be "shared equally between the state, landlords and tenants". At the same time, however, "new, market-based incentives are needed to mobilise additional investment and provide smart incentives", concludes NABU.
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