2:52 min, 9.11.2014
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/hundertwasserhaus-in-wien
25.03.2019 - The German Trade Union Confederation is today launching a nationwide week of action on the subject of housing. Under the motto "Affordable is half the rent", more than 200 actions and events will take place throughout Germany. The action week is the nationwide public launch of the DGB dialogue on the future.
The DGB Chairman Reiner Hoffmann declares at the start of the action week:
"We want to talk to local people and find out from them: What problems do they face in finding housing, rents and service charges. An ever greater proportion of income is eaten up by rents and many people can no longer afford a flat near their place of work. Workers' interests do not end at the factory gate. Affordable housing is the new social issue of our time."
Stefan Körzell in an interview with tagesschau24:
DGB Executive Board Member Stefan Körzell said in Berlin on Monday:
"Rising rents are a problem for more and more workers. They are also the result of decades of failed housing policy. The market failure in the housing sector is obvious - now politics must intervene strongly and steadily. At least 400,000 new and affordable homes are needed each year, including 100,000 social housing units. The federal and state governments must jointly provide seven billion euros annually for this purpose. The money the federal government has so far earmarked for social housing construction is not even enough to maintain the existing stock. In addition, politicians should take more decisive action against land speculation, for example by obliging owners to build on their land within the framework of building law."
With the DGB Future Dialogue, the DGB and its member unions are launching a broad social dialogue. We are asking people, collecting their answers and using them to develop impulses for fairer policies in Germany. The action week from 25 to 29 March is the nationwide public launch of the DGB dialogue on the future. Hundreds of other events will follow throughout Germany in the coming years. The debate on the dialogue on the future is taking place online at www.redenwirueber.de - there you will also find all further information.
Keywords:
Stakeholders, Housing policy, eG, Economics
Europe's environment is at a crossroads. We have a narrow window of opportunity over the next ten years to expand measures to protect nature, reduce the effects of climate change and drastically cut our consumption of natural resources
Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director of the EEA
While European environmental and climate policies have helped to improve the state of the environment in recent decades, progress has been insufficient and the outlook for the environment over the next decade is bleak, according to the report "The Environment in Europe - State and Outlook 2020en (SOER 2020)" is not positive.
The SOER 2020 is the most comprehensive environmental assessment ever undertaken for Europe. It provides an unsparing snapshot of Europe's position with regard to achieving the 2020 and 2030 policy targets, as well as the longer-term 2050 targets and ambitions for a shift towards a sustainable, low-carbon future. The report points out that Europe has already made significant progress in mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the past two decades. There are also signs of progress in other areas. Examples include tackling air and water pollution, new strategies to tackle plastic waste, progress on adaptation to climate change and in the areas of circular economy and bioeconomy. In addition, the EU Sustainable Finance Initiative addresses for the first time the role of the financial sector in the necessary transformation towards a sustainable future.
Although these achievements are significant, Europe will not achieve its sustainability vision of "living well within the carrying capacity of our planet" if it continues to focus mainly on promoting economic growth and curbing the damaging environmental and social side-effects associated with it. The report calls on European countries, leaders and decision-makers to use the next ten years for radical structural change. Only in this way can Europe achieve its medium and longer-term environmental objectives and thus avoid irreversible environmental damage.
The current range of European policies provides an essential basis for future progress, but it is not enough. Europe needs to tackle the current environmental and climate problems better and in a completely different way, as well as rethink its investments.
Achieving the European objectives will require better implementation and coordination of current policies. Moreover, additional measures will be needed to achieve fundamental changes in the main production and consumption systems which have a significant impact on the environment and which form the basis of our modern way of life, such as food, energy and mobility.
The report also stresses the importance of governments actively shaping the transformation towards sustainability. For example, Europe should rethink how existing innovations and technologies are used and production processes optimized, how research and development towards greater sustainability could be promoted, and how changes in consumer behavior and lifestyles could be stimulated.
Such changes require investing in a sustainable future and ending the subsidisation of environmentally damaging activities with public funds. Europe would benefit enormously from such a change in investment priorities, as it can create new economic and social opportunities. At the same time, it will be crucial to listen to public concerns and secure broad support for such a change - a socially just transformation.
The State of the Environment report comes at just the right time and gives us the extra impetus we need as we start a new five-year cycle in the European Commission and prepare to unveil the European Green Deal. Over the next five years we will set a truly transformative agenda by introducing new clean technologies, helping citizens adapt to new job opportunities and changing industries, and moving towards cleaner and more efficient mobility systems and more sustainable food and farming. If we get this right, Europe and Europeans will benefit in many ways, and our economy and planet will also gain. This is an urgent global challenge and a unique opportunity for Europe
Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission
"Europe's environment is at a crossroads. We have a narrow window of opportunity over the next ten years to expand measures to protect nature, reduce climate change impacts and drastically cut our consumption of natural resources. Our assessment shows that incremental changes have led to progress in some areas, but not nearly enough to meet our long-term goals. We already have the knowledge, technologies and tools we need to make key production and consumption systems such as food, mobility and energy sustainable. Our future well-being and prosperity depend crucially on putting this knowledge into practice. Moreover, the whole of society needs to be engaged in bringing about such changes and shaping a better future," says Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director.
Overall, environmental trends in Europe have not improved since the EEA's last environmental report in 2015. The assessment points out that most of the 2020 targets will not be met, especially in the area of biodiversity, but there is still the possibility of achieving the longer-term targets and objectives for 2030 and 2050.
Europe has made significant achievements in resource efficiency and the circular economy. However, recent developments point to a slowdown in progress in areas such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, industrial emissions and waste generation, and increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy. Looking ahead, the current pace of progress will not be sufficient to meet the 2030 and 2050 climate and energy targets.
Progress in the protection and conservation of biodiversity and nature in Europe is not encouraging. Of the 13 specific policy targets for 2020 in this area, only two are likely to be achieved: the designation of marine and terrestrial protected areas. If current trends continue, this will lead to further damage to nature and further pollution of air, water and soil by 2030.
The impact of climate change, air pollution and noise on the environment and human health also remains a concern. Exposure to particulate matter is responsible for around 400 000 premature deaths in Europe each year, with Central and Eastern European countries disproportionately affected. There is also growing concern about hazardous chemicals and the risks associated with them. The prospects for future reductions in environmental health risks could be improved by better integration of environment and health policies.
Europe can still achieve its vision of a low-carbon and sustainable future. The report identifies seven key areas where bold action is needed to put Europe back on track to meet its 2030 and 2050 targets and ambitions.
The State of the European Environment and Outlook 2020 report is published by the EEA every five years in accordance with its founding Regulation. SOER 2020 is the sixth such report published by the EEA since 1995. It provides sound and science-based evidence on how we need to respond to huge and complex challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and air and water pollution. SOER 2020 has been prepared in close cooperation with the EEA's European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET). The report draws on the vast expertise of leading experts and scientists in the environmental field in the EEA's 33 member countries and six cooperating countries.
SOER 2020 Full Report - Integrated Assessmenten
SOER 2020 summary (translations available)
Source: EEA PM of 4.12.2019
Keywords:
Renewable, Climate protection, Media, Sustainable management, New books and studies, News Blog Europe (without DE), SDG 2030, Social / Culture, Transition Town, Environmental policy, Ecology, Economics
"What do the digitalisation society and the eco-scene have in common? Both are apolitical, says social psychologist Harald Welzer."
Source: The zeozwei controversy: Ecos are apolitical
Keywords:
Stakeholders, DE-News, Social / Culture, Environmental policy
Housing construction has great potential to contribute to resource conservation. For this reason, NRW.BANK supports developers with a new additional loan under the state's housing promotion programme.
Wood as a building material already contributes to climate protection during the construction of a building. This is why the Ministry of Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Equality has introduced a new additional loan for construction projects with a high wood content in the context of its housing promotion programme. Regardless of whether the project involves the construction of a new building or the modernisation of existing properties, NRW.BANK offers attractive development loans under the state's housing promotion programme to create affordable and modern housing.
Attractive low interest rates with high redemption discounts of 15 to 25 percent, and partial crediting against equity, as well as a long fixed interest rate.
"Housing developers and investors who opt for a 30-year commitment period are now rewarded by the development bank for North Rhine-Westphalia with an even higher redemption discount of an additional 5 percentage points. For special aspects - such as building with wood - the repayment discount is even 50 percent. In addition, the initial interest rate on the development loans is now uniformly 0.0 percent in NRW for a period of 15 years. In modernisation promotion, building owners can now benefit from a repayment discount of up to 30 percent (regularly 20 percent) if they use certified ecological insulation materials or achieve an above-average energy standard."
FAQ and general information about it:
www.bauen-mit-holz.nrw/...neues-zusatzdarlehen-fuer-bauen-mit-holz/
Further information
www.nrwbank.de/de/pulsar/2020_April_WRF_Bauen_mit_Holz.html
Keywords:
Funding, Wood construction, News Blog NRW
