The municipality of Wüstenrot wants to be energy self-sufficient by 2020. The project "EnVisaGe - Development of a municipal plus-energy concept using the example of the municipality of Wüstenrot" is part of the EnEff:Stadt initiative and describes how, in addition to reducing primary energy use and CO₂ emissions (keyword "decarbonisation"), independence from energy imports can be achieved and local value creation strengthened.
This publication "Vision 2020 - The PlusEnergy Community of Wüstenrot" describes
the starting position of the community of around 6,500 inhabitants,
the key steps in the conceptualisation and implementation of the goal of energy self-sufficiency and
the results obtained by 2015 as part of the research project
As the energy transition will primarily be implemented in the municipalities, this publication is intended to provide valuable information that should inspire people to follow suit.
Bibliographic data:
Vision 2020 - The PlusEnergy community of Wüstenrot
by Dirk Pietruschka
2016, 139 pages, 97 illustrations,
11 tables, cardboard
ISBN 978-3-8167-9545-2
How can Bonn become climate neutral by 2035? This is the question that the participatory project "Bonn4Future - We for the Climate!" would like to discuss together with Bonn citizens over the next two years. Since mid-2019, the climate emergency has been in effect in Bonn; in November 2019, the Council decided that Bonn should become climate neutral by 2035. The city and the non-profit association Bonn im Wandel have now signed a cooperation agreement and thus launched "Bonn4Future".
Very important in "Bonn4Future" is a new culture of mutual listening and good cooperation. All those involved are looking for solutions on how climate neutrality can succeed for our city. Everyone takes responsibility and makes their contribution.
"In order to achieve climate neutrality in Bonn by 2035, it is not only a question of setting the right course at international and national level, but also of all of us here on site," says Mayor Katia Dörner. "On politics, administration, companies and the people of Bonn with their ideas and decisions. We want to enter into dialogue with them in the participatory process 'Bonn4Future', because only in this way can this great transformation process for Bonn succeed. I am very much looking forward to working with Bonn in transition and our committed urban society!"
Project modules: Developing and implementing measures
At Climate Day - which will be scheduled and planned depending on the pandemic situation - citizens are invited to develop a joint climate vision and action plan for a climate-neutral Bonn. The ideas and findings from this Climate Day will flow into a total of four planned Climate Forums - The first is to take place in the first half of 2021. There, 100 randomly selected citizens will work together with experts from business, science, associations, culture, administration and politics to develop strategies and concrete proposals for the path to climate neutrality in 2035.
Results and ideas from the forums are reflected in the administration and in politics. They serve as orientation and support for the further development of the already existing catalogues of climate protection measures.
An Project Advisory Board and an accompanying scientific evaluation ensure a high quality of the participation process.
"Climate change is on people's minds in Bonn, we notice that every day in our work," says Dr. Gesa Maschkowski, board member of the Bonn in Transition association. "Many people want to do something and want effective measures. Now we bring them together. The citizens, people from business, science, culture and the social sector as well as politicians from all parties. Because we have to plan and act now if Bonn is to be climate neutral by 2035 at the latest."
The broadest possible participation should produce constructive ideas and results over the next two years. To kick off the process, citizens can already express their views today at the urban portalwww.bonn-macht-mit.de inform about the process and contribute their ideas on how to make the process work well.
Reaching the goal together
"Bonn4Future - Wir fürs Klima!" already received a lot of support from more than 50 Bonn initiatives before the official start of the project. However, it is important to the creators to bring people from all areas of the citizenry on board. The process is to be supported by all social groups.
An accompanying Communication and education concept is dedicated to building up a communication network. In this way, multipliers are won over and care is taken to ensure that "Bonn4Future" remains a topic of conversation and that many people are motivated to participate.
An important communication tool is also the city-wide, interactive Sustainability platform. It will make visible initiatives, activities and dates on the topic of climate-neutral city, commitment to sustainability and citizen participation in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Background
The cooperation agreement that has now been concluded was preceded by a citizens' application for participation in achieving the goal of climate neutrality. Bonn in Transition and the Climate Watch Bonn introduced this at the beginning of the year. In the meantime, the participation concept is supported by about 50 initiatives, companies and organisations. The citizens' committee agreed to it. Bonn im Wandel then developed a concept for the multi-stage procedure with the support of experts for citizen participation and further developed it in cooperation with the city administration.
With a resolution in September 2020, the Council of the City of Bonn finally commissioned the administration to conclude a cooperation agreement with Bonn im Wandel for the coordination and implementation of the two-year process. Funds of up to 719,000 euros will be made available for this until the end of 2022. The project will be implemented in the "Bonn4Future" project office. Here, four experienced experts for communication and participation work on 2.4 positions, supported by the Bonn in Change core team. On the part of the city administration the project is coordinated and accompanied by a half position. There is also a close connection to the citizen participation portal "Bonn macht mit". The participation portal bundles all information on participation offerings of the city of Bonn and provides opportunities for direct participation.
Bonn im Wandel sees itself as an ideas and project laboratory for a sustainable city. The association brings a large network as well as nine years of experience in the initiation and organization of civil society projects and change processes into the process.
There is money in Rhineland-Palatinate: After Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate will also launch its own funding programme for electricity storage this year. "The funding programme is being worked out at the moment," announced State Secretary Griese (the Greens). The Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament had already decided on the subsidy last December. In 2019 and 2020, 1.5 million euros each are to be distributed as grants for investment in battery storage systems; the grants are to roughly cover what was possible until the end of 2018 through federal funding from KfW: www.energyload.eu/...speicherfoerderung
Sustainable development is hardly conceivable without a consistent circular economy. Turning away from a predominantly linear economy requires a change of course. UBA has drawn up guiding principles for politics, business and society which systematically set out the objectives, scope for action, standards of action, requirements and success factors of a circular economy.
The pressure of strain is increasing
The world's population has doubled in the past five decades, and global raw material extraction has tripled. By 2060, the demand for raw materials threatens to increase dramatically from the current level of around 90 billion tonnes to as much as 190 billion tonnes. The competition is no longer just for raw materials, but for access to natural resources as a whole: such as soil, land, clean drinking water and intact ecosystems. According to the International Resource Panel, about 50 % of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions and 90 % of biodiversity loss and water stress are due to the extraction, preparation and processing of raw materials. The negative impacts on the natural environment from the extractive industries as a whole, and the resulting waste and emissions, continue to increase. Meanwhile, only just under 9 % of raw material demand worldwide is met by resource-conserving secondary raw materials.
No "business as usual" with the linear economy
A rethink is slowly taking place to meet these challenges. For example, the European Green Deal, which sets out the EU's key development goals for 2030, makes a carbon-neutral circular economy a key pillar of sustainable development. The European Commission's new "Action Plan for the Circular Economy - Towards a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe" aims at a more circular economy, which is about preserving the value of products, materials and resources within the economy for as long as possible and precisely not consuming them, as well as generating as little waste as possible. The stated aim of the action plan is to reduce the footprint in terms of resource consumption in absolute terms and, to this end, to double the proportion of materials used in a circular way over the next ten years.
Circular economy, but the right way
This requires a systemic approach; across entire value chains and product life cycles, with a systemic change of the economic system that focuses on more sustainable production patterns and product policies. This transformation to a circular economy and its political design goes far beyond what can be regulated with the help of the German Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act in the production and management of waste. In the sense of a sustainable circular economy, other ministries, economic and legal areas are included. The broader focus is already partly reflected in the amendment of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act (2020) to take account of the revised EU Waste Framework Directive (2018). However, in the next few years, the systemic approach of the circular economy must be developed and concretised so that the overarching goals such as the conservation of natural resources, the protection of human health and a more sustainable supply of raw materials are also achieved.
Guiding principles provide orientation
The Federal Environment Agency has therefore drawn up nine guiding principles which are intended to create a common understanding of the circular economy, its central terms, principles, objectives, benchmarks and the most important approaches to action. Waste and secondary raw materials management is embedded in these principles as an essential functional area for a circular economy. In addition, there is also a place for overarching approaches such as avoidance, design and the consideration of how to deal with pollutants. The guiding principles are explained in detail in each case, and terms and starting points are systematically explained. In addition, standards are set on the basis of the objectives of the circular economy, assessments are made and the links between the guiding principles are shown. The guiding principles are intended to create an order for the circular economy and provide reliable orientation for its successful development.
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