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Today, almost everyone has a mobile phone, which was different 20 years ago. Sometimes, contrary to forecasts, technological change can happen very quickly. Scientists say that in 20 years' time, one in two of us will be driving an electric car.
The city of Eschweiler (North Rhine-Westphalia) has been awarded the climate protection prize "Klimaaktive Kommune 2019″ by the Federal Environment Ministry in category 1: "Resource and energy efficiency in the municipality". The city of Eschweiler is committed to more resource and climate protection with its Factor X construction areas.
Film about the Faktor X housing estate in Eschweiler:
(6:25 min.) published on Nov 5, 2019
The prize is awarded by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) as part of the National Climate Initiative (NKI), which is implemented by the German Institute of Urban Affairs gGmbh (DIFU).
More information about the climate protection award "Climate Active Community 2019″ is available on the website of the National Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Government : www.klimaschutz.de/stadt-eschweiler
As a result of the Corona crisis, the state will implement emergency aid and far-reaching stimulus measures of historic proportions. While the focus is on health and short-term support for workers and businesses, the mistakes of past economic crises must not be repeated. The planned aid for an economic reboot can set the course for the necessary transformation. A number of examples illustrate how short-term economic support can be reconciled with long-term social priorities.
Environment Minister Heinen-Esser: "The protection of the starry night sky serves health, species and climate protection and enables fascinating nature experiences at night".
A fascinating natural spectacle: The Eifel National Park is one of few places in Germany where you can see the Milky Way with your naked eyes. Now the International Star Park Eifel National Park has received the final and so far unique recognition in western Germany. (Photo: Maximilian Kaiser)
Schleiden-Gemünd / Nettersheim, 05.04.2019. Experiencing the starry sky at night with twinkling celestial bodies is a special experience for many people that is now only possible in a few places in Germany - one of these places is the Eifel National Park. Since 2010, a regional initiative has been successfully campaigning for the protection of the night sky and the preservation of the natural night landscape - in 2014, this was followed by the provisional designation as the first "International Dark Sky Park" in Germany. Now this initiative can look forward to the final recognition as International Star Park Eifel National Park. On the grounds of the observatory of the astronomy workshop "Stars without Borders" in the Eifel National Park, Dr. Andreas Hänel, highest representative of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) in Germany, presented the certificate of recognition to Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser and the head of the Eifel National Park Administration Dr. Michael Röös. The distinction of being a protected area of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a title that only a few regions worldwide can use to promote themselves, in Germany there are only four. For the Eifel National Park, which turned 15 this year, this recognition is a nice "birthday present".
The Eifel National Park is a refuge of undisturbed night skies and has been recognised as a star park since 2014. "Rarely does a topic offer so many win-win situations," said Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser when handing over the certificate. She emphasised the many benefits of protecting the starry night sky: "Dark nights have a positive effect on health, conserve resources and thus help to protect the climate. Darkness is important for many nocturnal animal species, especially insects. Artificial light at night can be a serious threat to them." For North Rhine-Westphalia, he said, the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as the only star park in the entire western half of Germany was an outstanding honour. "The final recognition of the Eifel National Park as a star park helps to raise the profile of our state as a nature destination as well," the state environment minister summed up.
The initiative goes back to the astronomer and lighting consultant Harald Bardenhagen from Cologne, who managed to convince the region of the value of the starry sky. Initially, Bardenhagen found enthusiastic comrades-in-arms in the administration of the Eifel National Park, the district administration of Euskirchen, the national park towns of Schleiden and Heimbach, and those responsible for the Vogelsang property. However, until the final recognition as a Dark Sky Park, further efforts on different levels were necessary: In the design of the outdoor lighting to reduce the artificial light in the National Park and the directly surrounding villages or in the development of tourist offers for stargazing for the general public. The North Eifel Nature Park, in which the Eifel National Park is embedded, has also been intensively involved in this process.
Dr. Michael Röös, Head of the Eifel National Park Authority, thanked Mr. Bardenhagen for his unprecedented commitment against light pollution and his dedication to protecting the night sky and making it possible to experience it. "With the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as an International Star Park, we have reached an important milestone with the region and at the same time taken a pioneering role in the protection of darkness in North Rhine-Westphalia."
"Together we will significantly expand this unique selling point", Manfred Poth, Chairman of the North Eifel Nature Park, was pleased to say. With the innovative project application "Under the Tent of Stars - Eifel by Night", the nature park was able to prevail in the "Nature Park Competition.2021.NRW" of the NRW Ministry of the Environment and, for the first time in its history, took first place. "With the associated 400,000 euros in funding, the protection of darkness through public relations work, through educational offers of sustainable development and tourist infrastructure projects in the Eifel will experience a significant further development," explained Poth. More than 40 project partners, including the Eifel National Park Authority, want to participate in the realisation.
The EEG is supposed to achieve the goals of the Paris climate summit. But at the rate of expansion to date, according to a study by Berlin's HTW, we will have to wait until 2150 for Germany to switch completely to renewable energies.
It is not news that the implementation of the climate turnaround will not proceed without effort. Based on the expansion progress of energy systems for renewable energies from the years 2000 to 2015, Volker Quaschning from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences has calculated in the so-called "sector coupling study".how long it would take for Germany to obtain 100 per cent of its energy from renewable sources. He arrives at the year 2150.
"Paris goals practically impossible"
"This makes it practically impossible to meet the Paris targets. Either the political leaders lack the necessary expertise or they do not intend to comply with the climate protection agreement at all," says Quaschning.
"We need to expand wind and solar energy three to six times faster than planned by the federal government," Volker Quaschning specified the results of his research group Solar Storage Systems at HTW Berlin: onshore wind power would have to be expanded by 6.3 gigawatts net per year instead of 2.8 GW gross, as envisaged in the EEG 2016. In the case of photovoltaics, as much as 15 GW would be required annually instead of the 2.5 GW envisaged in the EEG.
At www.greenpeace-energy.de/presse you will also find a fact sheet with key results of the HTW study and additional calculations by Greenpeace Energy on the need for long-term storage (wind gas / power to gas) in the context of sector coupling.
Press release from 20 June 2016 by Greenpeace Energy eG and Prof. Dr. Volker Quaschning, Renewable Energies Course, Berlin University of Applied Sciences
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The EEG is supposed to achieve the goals of the Paris climate summit. But at the rate of expansion to date, according to a study by Berlin's HTW, we will have to wait until 2150 for Germany to switch completely to renewable energies.
