Prof. Maja Göpel is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Federal Government and a member of Scientists for Future. She criticizes that Germany's climate goals cannot be achieved with the climate package of the Grand Coalition.
"The reactions to the key points on climate protection adopted by the Climate Cabinet last Friday are predominantly negative from the point of view of renewable energies. Representatives of associations are positive about the planned increase in the construction of offshore wind farms. "The lifting of the 52 GW cap on photovoltaics is also to be welcomed," says Marie-Luise Wolff, President of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). The BDEW President also sees it as positive that the coalition was finally able to bring itself to exempt energy storage systems from existing levies." www.solarserver.de/...klimaschutzplaene-nicht-ausreichend.html
The Frankfurter Rundschau writes: "The climate policy reform package that the grand coalition has now brought about does not live up to the claim. More electric cars on the road, more rail travel, less flying - measures that advance this are steps in the right direction. But instead of specifically displacing fossil energies, a hodgepodge of expensive subsidy measures is supposed to encourage people to act in a climate-friendly way. What is lacking above all is a consistent dismantling of subsidies that are harmful to the climate and the environment, which have just the opposite effect and amount to more than 50 billion euros annually - including the diesel privilege and the commuter tax allowance. They prevent climate-damaging behaviour from becoming expensive and climate-friendly behaviour from becoming worthwhile. Their gradual melting would also free up funds to finance the climate protection turnaround. But the grand coalition has once again caved in to the lobby interests that are stonewalling against it, and the conjured-up climate crisis does nothing to change that." www.fr.de/meinung/pillepalle-20-klimaschutzpaket-wird-anspruch-weitem-nicht-gerecht-13023518.html
With the Sustainable Small House Building (BNK) quality seal, there is now a standard for detached and semi-detached houses that you can use, for example, to optimise the conditions for insurance and financing of your own home. At the first official award ceremony, our "Room for Healthy Ideas" was also awarded the top grade of 1.4.
The number of CarSharing customers in Germany rose to 2.46 million over the course of last year. Above-average percentage growth was recorded by station-based CarSharing services. Station-based CarSharing also remains the backbone of the expansion in terms of area and is now available at 740 locations in Germany.
At the beginning of 2019, 2.46 million customers in Germany are registered with a car-sharing service, 350,000 more than in the previous year. Station-based car sharing providers are experiencing above-average growth with an increase of 21.5 percent. In free-floating CarSharing, customer growth is slowing somewhat and amounts to 14.9 percent. Overall, CarSharing in Germany continues to be on a clear growth path.
Graphic: bcs
Gunnar Nehrke, Managing Director of Bundesverband CarSharing e.V., comments:
"The positive development in the German CarSharing market over the past years shows: More and more people want to deal responsibly with the resource car and practically shape the traffic turnaround."
The association is particularly pleased with the strong growth in the area of station-based CarSharing services, as several scientific studies had shown in 2018 that this variant has a particularly high traffic-relieving effect. Association Managing Director Nehrke explains:
"In station-based CarSharing, 70 to 80 percent of customers no longer own a car. Cities and municipalities should specifically promote this variant by setting up CarSharing stations in public areas.
In connection with CarSharing funding, the association criticises the Federal Ministry of Transport: "Even one and a half years after the Carsharing Act (CsgG) came into force, cities and municipalities cannot practically apply this law in all points because the Ministry does not present the ordinances that are the basis for it.
Christian Hochfeld, Director of Agora Verkehrswende, explains the current development of CarSharing:
"It is important that CarSharing becomes visible and available in public spaces. However, CarSharing should not be seen as an individual measure, but as an integral part of a municipal mobility strategy. After all, the right traffic policy framework conditions - such as comprehensive parking space management and the expansion of environmental zones - can further strengthen the positive effects of CarSharing services."
Strong growth also on the supply side
20,200 CarSharing vehicles will be available in Germany at the beginning of 2019, 2,250 more than in the previous year. Station-based providers account for more than half of the supply with 11,200 vehicles, while 9,000 vehicles will be used in free-floating CarSharing.
In the "free-floating" market segment, 890 vehicles belong to combined station-based/free-floating offerings. This new form of offering is used by some formerly purely station-based providers in order to be able to offer the advantages of both CarSharing variants from a single source. New combined systems were launched in 2018 in Leipzig and Karlsruhe, for example.
Station-based CarSharing remains the backbone of CarSharing expansion
Graphic: bcs
Station-based CarSharing is currently available at 740 locations in Germany. This is 63 locations more than in the previous year. Pure free-floating services are currently available in seven metropolitan areas and a few surrounding communities of these major cities.
E-share stagnates at a high level, more e-vehicles in the fleets of station-based providers
Graphic: bcs
The number of electric vehicles in the German CarSharing fleet remained almost unchanged in 2018. However, there are shifts in the number of electric vehicles in the individual fleet segments: The number of electric vehicles in the free-floating fleets of car manufacturers remained largely unchanged at 1,025 vehicles. The medium-sized CarSharing providers in the station-based sector were able to increase the number of electric vehicles from 321 to 498.
On the other hand, the operators of pure e-car sharing projects recorded declines. Here, the number of vehicles fell from 431 to 304. This is mainly due to the fact that the period of public funding or the leasing contracts for a high number of vehicles expired in 2018. As the vehicles had not reached the threshold for economic viability, they were removed from the fleet. Gunnar Nehrke explains:
"The electric share in CarSharing is 50 times higher than in the national car fleet. This shows: The providers want to switch to emission-free drives. But the framework conditions are not yet right: the vehicles are still too expensive. And there is still no funding concept for the installation of charging infrastructure at car sharing stations."
The district of Paderborn has achieved a climate target that can currently only be dreamed of nationwide. It has a green electricity supply of more than 100 per cent. This year, with the help of wind, sun, biomass and water, for the first time as much renewable electricity is being generated as is being consumed. Since the end of June, it has been exactly 112 per cent.
Annual consumption: 2.3 billion kilowatt hours
This is what the State Association for Renewable Energies in OWL determined. The association used figures from the State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) as well as current data from the district of Paderborn. According to these figures, the more than 500 wind turbines, 11,500 photovoltaic systems and 53 biomass power plants generate slightly more electricity on an annual average than private individuals, trade and industry in the district of Paderborn require over the year: Almost 2.3 billion kilowatt hours.
Second place for Höxter district with 63 per cent green electricity
This puts the Paderborn district in the Champions League nationwide: "There are very few regions that already fulfil the 100 per cent green electricity quota - in NRW, we are the first and so far the only one," says Kerstin Haarmann (Paderborn), Managing Director of LEE OWL. This is particularly remarkable because the district of Paderborn has a national average electricity consumption due to its share of industry. Smaller districts with little industry and commerce would naturally find it easier to reach 100 per cent. In a comparison of East Westphalia, the district of Paderborn is the lone leader: the district of Höxter is in second place with 63 per cent green electricity, followed by the district of Lippe with 23.5 per cent, Gütersloh with 20.8 per cent, Minden-Lübbecke with 17 per cent and Herford with 6.5 per cent. Bringing up the rear is the city of Bielefeld with a 4.5 per cent share of green electricity in electricity consumption.
Renewables account for 27 per cent of total energy demand
The district of Paderborn has even achieved its climate target, which was unanimously approved by the district council in 2011, ahead of schedule. The plan was for electricity consumption to be completely renewable by 2020. "However, we don't have time to rest on our laurels in the fight against climate change," explains Jürgen Wrona (Delbrück) from the LEE OWL board. Measured in terms of total energy demand (electricity, heat and transport), the proportion of renewables in the Paderborn district is currently only around 27 per cent. "There is room for improvement, especially in the areas of heating and transport," says Wrona.
Source: Press release from the NRW Energy Agency dated 8 August 2018
A new "Export Initiative for Environmental Technologies" of the Federal Ministry for the Environment is to support the foreign business of the German environmental industry and thus promote the development of environmental infrastructure. Interested companies and organisations can apply until the end of April. In total, the BMUB five million euros available this year.
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks: "Germany is the world export champion in environmental protection. We want to maintain this position. In the meantime, other countries have also recognised that environmental protection goods are a key market of the future. With the export initiative, we want to support our companies in developing their Know-How continue to successfully market internationally while driving sustainable development."
Applications are open to institutions from Germany that are working on the development of environmental infrastructure abroad. Funding is available, for example, for projects in the field of circular economy, sustainable water management, sustainable, efficient construction, mobility or sustainable and nature-friendly regional infrastructure development. The initiative will also specifically provide funding for urbanisation partnerships and international "Smart City-projects" will be used. The initiative is also intended to help accelerate the application of global environmental standards abroad.
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