Explained in just under 10 min. The video is from April 2019 and shows two larger aquaponics facilities in Berlin.
Yesterday, the Agency for Renewable Energies awarded the Rhine-Hunsrück district in Kassel as "Energy Municipality of the Decade". "Climate change is clearly noticeable in Rhineland-Palatinate, as currently shown by the dramatic damage to forests. With its commitment to the energy turnaround, the Rhine-Hunsrück district is making a significant contribution to climate protection and the preservation of our animal and plant species on a regional level. The fact that the Rhine-Hunsrück district has been chosen as the energy community of the decade among all the exciting and exemplary energy transition projects throughout Germany in the last ten years is an outstanding recognition. I would like to warmly congratulate all those who have contributed to this: The award is a great honour and motivation for all climate protection campaigners in the Rhine-Hunsrück district," said Environment and Energy Minister Ulrike Höfken today in Mainz.
The award is a nationwide recognition of what the district has successfully achieved in recent years. "The Rhine-Hunsrück district is one of the first zero-emissions districts in the inland, 300 percent electricity from renewable energies is generated here in relation to its own consumption, 16 local heating networks are in operation and save around 2.7 million liters of heating oil annually. These figures are also impressive in a nationwide comparison and are the result of an early, energetic and planned energy turnaround on site," explained the Minister. And this also has an impact on regional and economic development: A total of around 44 million euros per year in municipal added value is generated in the Rhine-Hunsrück district through renewable energies, Höfken cited. With these financial means of energy production from wind, sun and biomass, further meaningful projects for the continuation of the energy turnaround as well as for the development of rural areas will be implemented. Höfken concluded: "The Rhine-Hunsrück district impressively shows how energy transition and climate protection work on a municipal level."
Keywords:
100% EEs, Awards, CO2-neutral, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Communities, News Blog RLP, PV, Solar thermal, Contests & Prizes, Ecology
Even before the UN Summit on Sustainable Development, it is clear that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is making slow progress. The global community now needs action instead of words to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The international report on the status of SDG implementation shows that there are major gaps in implementation worldwide. The number of hungry people is increasing again worldwide. Social inequality continues to rise. The climate crisis and species extinction are advancing.
It is particularly dramatic that Germany is not a pioneer. In sustainability policy, the German government permanently acts according to the motto "too little, too late". Germany has a double responsibility: firstly, as an industrialised country, to demonstrate that it is taking the implementation of the Agenda seriously as a pioneer. And secondly, to contribute more than it has so far to financing the 2030 Agenda at the international level.
There is no coherent national legislation aligned with the SDGs. Still not all departments have prepared SDG action plans or provided additional funding. The climate cabinet's proposals are far from sufficient to achieve the climate sustainability goal and the Paris Climate Agreement. Biodiversity is declining, nitrate pollution for groundwater is not decreasing, environmentally harmful subsidies amounting to over 40 billion euros annually are not being eliminated.
We demand binding targets for SDG implementation for all ministries and ambitious measures where there are particularly large deficits in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the German government must develop more ambitious indicators to meet the requirements of the SDGs. There is also a need for a sustainability TÜV for new laws.
At the international level, sustainability summits need to be organised in a more goal-oriented and inclusive way. It is incomprehensible that the private sector is invited to the SDG Business Summit at the United Nations, while there is no comparable forum for civil society. This is a fatal sign at a time when civil society actors worldwide are increasingly suffering from restrictions. This approach runs counter to the "Leave no one behind" guiding principle of the 2030 Agenda.
Source: Press release of 24.9.2019 by Buendnis 90/The Greens in the Bundestag Uwe Kekeritz, Spokesperson for Development Policy, and Bettina Hoffmann, Spokesperson for Environmental Policy
Keywords:
Greening / climate adaptation, Soil & land consumption, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Sustainable management, News Blog Europe (without DE), SDG 2030, Social / Culture, Transition Town, UN (United Nations), Environmental policy, Economics
The state of Lower Saxony has launched a new funding program for battery storage. The funding guidelines were published in the Lower Saxony Ministerial Gazette on 21 October. Applications can be submitted to the NBank with immediate effect.
The grant funding of up to 40 percent of the net investment costs of a battery storage system applies in connection with the new construction or expansion of PV systems (at least 4 kWp). In addition to natural persons, grant recipients can also be companies, legal entities, municipalities and many others.
In addition to the subsidy, bonuses can be granted for e-charging points, PV systems over 10 kWp and the roofing of parking areas or other structural facilities with elevated PV systems.
The funding programme is carried out as a support programme for the economy in the context of the Covid19 pandemic. The grantees are to make investments and thus contribute to the promotion of the economy. The programme is therefore limited in time, Applications can be submitted until 30.9.2022.
On the support programme for Private households and for Companies and municipalities
Source: PM of the State of Lower Saxony from 11 November 2020
Keywords:
Energy storage, Renewable, Funding, Climate protection, News Blog Lower Saxony, PV
Climate protection has long been one of the most urgent topics for the housing industry. In order to achieve a climate-neutral building stock by 2050, the 24 founding companies of the Wohnen.2050 initiative met in Berlin on 28 January 2020 to found the association. The nationwide association was initiated by the Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt group of companies.
"Don't just talk about climate change, act" - under this motto, the Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt group of companies invited founding partners from all over Germany to found the Initiative Wohnen.2050 (IW2050) association. The overarching objective is a climate policy alliance which, in addition to strategic cooperation and a technical and content-related comparison, focuses primarily on economic and financial concerns to achieve the targets.
The event was opened by Axel Gedaschko, President of the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW). "For the housing industry, climate protection is one of the most urgent topics - and all those involved have been making a continuous contribution for a long time. To achieve the two-degree target and a climate-neutral building stock by 2050, the stakes need to be raised significantly once again. The situation requires not only commitment, but transformation," Gedaschko explained.
The Wohnen.2050 initiative combines concentrated know-how and relies on the open-source approach. Solutions and tools for the resource-saving development of company-specific paths to climate neutrality are jointly developed and exchanged. In this way, even smaller companies are given the opportunity to position themselves in an economically and factually appropriate way. "We are facing what is probably the greatest challenge of our time. That's why it was clear to us that we needed an industry initiative to meet this challenge together and in partnership," says Dr. Thomas Hain, Managing Director of the Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt Group and member of the IW2050 Board of Directors, about the climate protection commitment.
The approach is convincing: on the day of its foundation, the initiative already represents around 1,050,000 housing units and six of the ten largest German housing companies within the GdW. "The participation and interest were overwhelming. We are proud to set out today with a staggering 24 founding companies on the path to a climate-neutral future," said Felix Lüter, Head of the Sustainability Competence Centre of the Nassauische Heimstätte | Wohnstadt Group. After the official founding of the association, the participants discussed possible financing and climate strategies in working groups. In the coming weeks, there will be further meetings to develop strategies and measures to achieve the goals set.
Supported by
Link
Manifesto of the Housing 2050 Initiative
www.iw2050.de
Source: PM from 28.01.2020 Nassauische Heimstätte
Keywords:
Stock, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Settlements, Housing, Housing policy, Thermal insulation
