2:52 min, 9.11.2014
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/hundertwasserhaus-in-wien
Annual DIW Heat Monitor based on data from energy service provider ista Deutschland GmbH: Heating energy demand in residential buildings declines again for the first time since 2015 - Rising prices, however, cause heating expenditure to increase by 2.4 percent - CO2emissions have fallen by 21 percent overall since 2010, but by only 2.6 percent when adjusted for temperature - Energy-efficient renovation in residential buildings almost stagnant
Last year - for the first time since 2015 - tenants in Germany used slightly less heating (minus 3.2 per cent). However, at an annual average of 130 kWh per square metre of heated living space, the heating energy requirement in apartment buildings is now only back at the 2010 level. CO2-emissions have not fallen nearly as much as they would have to in order to achieve the 2030 climate targets: adjusted for temperature, they have only fallen by 2.6 per cent since 2010. These are the key findings of this year's heating monitor calculated by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) on the basis of data from energy service provider ista Deutschland GmbH. They are based on the heating bills of 300,000 multi-party houses in Germany and are adjusted for climate and weather conditions.
"If we only look at the absolute reduction in CO2 emissions, appearances are deceptive" Jan Stede
As energy prices for heating oil and natural gas rose by an average of 5.6 per cent last year, tenants spent 2.4 per cent more on space heating while demand fell. The regional differences in heating energy requirements and prices are very large. In western German households, seven per cent more is heated per square metre than in eastern German households. In 2019, heating energy requirements were highest in the Schleswig-Holstein Southwest and East Frisia regions, and lowest in central Mecklenburg/Rostock and Allgäu. Heating energy cost the most in Saarland and the least in Hamburg.
According to the study, there has been a significant overall reduction in CO2-emissions in the residential building sector have fallen by 20.7 per cent since 2010. However, this is largely due to the warmer winters. Adjusted for temperature and weather conditions, CO2-emissions have only fallen by 2.6 per cent over the past ten years.
"If we look at the absolute reduction in CO2-emissions, appearances are deceptive. The reduction of around 21 per cent, which would already make the climate targets unattainable, is hardly due to efforts to increase building efficiency. There is therefore no reason to scale back efforts to reduce emissions," says DIW economist Jan Stede, summarising the results.
"A sober assessment of ten years of building refurbishment shows that energy-efficient refurbishment does not automatically lead to less CO2. Climate policy measures must provide the right incentives for everyone involved: for landlords to invest and for tenant households to consume sparingly," comments Thomas Zinnöcker, CEO of energy and property service provider ista, on the results of the study. "More focus on results, unbureaucratic implementation and accompanying measures for consumers will make climate protection in buildings more effective."
Investment in the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing residential buildings is still too low to achieve the climate targets in the building sector. The plan was to increase the refurbishment rate to two per cent per year. Most recently, however, it was only one per cent. While energy-efficient refurbishment still accounted for a third of all measures in the building stock in 2010, in 2019 it was only a quarter.
The authors of the DIW study are therefore calling for stronger incentives for energy-efficient building renovations. "The higher subsidy rate for energy-efficient refurbishment and the planned CO2-pricing from next year could create additional incentives to invest more in this area again," hopes study author Franziska Schütze. With the CO2-However, care should be taken to ensure that social effects are cushioned. Tenants, especially those on low incomes, are disproportionately burdened by higher energy prices and have little influence on the building's energy efficiency and energy source. "Reimbursement of the income from the CO2-pricing in the form of a climate premium would relieve the burden on low and middle incomes and at the same time minimise the incentive effect of higher CO2-prices," suggests Jan Stede.
A commentary by the German Solar Energy Society (DGS) from 2 October 2020:
www.dgs.de/news/en-detail/021020-lediglich-effizient-klimaschutz-im-gebaeude/
Source: DIW press release from 30 September 2020
Keywords:
Stock, DE-News, Research, Climate protection, New books and studies, Thermal insulation
With only a few weeks left until the Habitat III conference, DDD #18 on "Cities" has now published 22 insightful articles around the topic of urbanisation. Authors from all over the world have told us about urban life in Africa, Asia, Middle East and the Americas. With a close eye on the conference's outcome, they directed the attention towards inspiring initiatives that aim for a positive change.
With completion of DDD's issue #18, we are happy to provide the entire issue as an eBook.
Click here to download it for free!
Source: Nofitication GIZ, 05.09.2016
Keywords:
SDG 2030, UN (United Nations), Environmental policy, Housing policy
One advantage of photovoltaics is that they can supply electricity for decades if installed and components are selected correctly. If photovoltaic modules are no longer used to generate solar power due to damage or age, they must be disposed of properly in accordance with the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG). After all, they contain valuable raw materials.
"The recycling of solar modules is technically feasible today. Specialised waste management companies can recycle old modules in such a way that the raw materials they contain can be fed almost completely into a production process as secondary raw materials," says Carsten Körnig, Managing Director of the German Solar Industry Association (BSW). "It is therefore important that discarded modules are channelled into the materials cycle. Owners of photovoltaic systems, installers and operators of collection centres can find out where old modules can be handed in and what needs to be considered in our new information sheet."
For example, modules from private households can be disposed of free of charge at designated collection points such as recycling centres or the take-back centres of manufacturers and distributors. "As an electrical voltage is generated when light falls on the active cell layer in photovoltaic modules, it is important to handle dismantled modules for disposal with care," says Körnig. For example, module cables should be secured, modules should be carefully stacked and, if necessary, provided with edge protection. "The solar-active side of the module should always face downwards when stacking, and open contacts and damaged backsheets should be insulated before removal."
More than 1.7 million photovoltaic systems are in operation in Germany. Under normal conditions, a photovoltaic module can reliably supply climate-friendly electricity for at least 25 years, and usually much longer. The industry association therefore does not expect to see a large number of old modules for a good ten years.
The free information paper "Safe handling of old PV modules" is available at
www.solarwirtschaft.de/fileadmin/user_upload/bsw_hinweispap_altmodule.pdf
Keywords:
100% EEs, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Sustainable management, New books and studies, PV, Recycling, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy
30.06.2020 - 16 players in the German financial sector, with assets of more than €5.5 trillion and over 46 million customer connections in Germany, have signed a voluntary commitment to align their loan and investment portfolios in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Through the agreed measurement, publication and target setting to reduce the emissions associated with the loan and investment portfolios, the financial sector intends to make a contribution to climate protection and support the sustainable and future-oriented further development of the economy. This brings the German financial centre one step closer to the goal set by the German government at the beginning of 2019 of making Germany one of the leading locations for sustainable finance.
This initiative, which originated in the banking sector of the financial sector, aims to play an active role in shaping one of the most important societal tasks for future sustainability, namely the successful societal transformation to limit climate change. The signatories align their respective products and services as well as their commitments and initiatives accordingly in order to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and to aim for the 1.5 degree target by financing the transformation towards a low-emission and climate-resilient economy and society. At the same time, active support for the transformation will strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the companies financed and reduce sustainability and default risks for the banks.
Specifically, this means that by the end of 2022, each signatory will develop and implement mutually acceptable methodologies to measure the climate impact of its credit and investment portfolios and then manage them in line with national and international climate targets. The agreement applies only to those investment portfolios that are not the subject of fund or mandate business. The fund and mandate business will be taken into account gradually without any fixed timeframe.
The signatories want to support each other in collecting the necessary emissions data and developing methods for measurement and approaches for managing the banking business in line with the targets. In order to meet the shared responsibility and that of each actor, each signatory commits to report annually (e.g. within its existing reporting formats) on individual progress towards implementation.
The impetus for this voluntary commitment came from a group of financial institutions initiated by Triodos Bank and at the same time via a WWF bank working group. Since March, these two groups of banks have merged the previously parallel discussions into the present voluntary commitment. This is open to all financial actors for adoption and signature.
The wide range of initial signatories in terms of company size (from large banks to small specialist banks) and affiliation to different areas of the financial sector (e.g. state banks, commercial banks, sustainability banks, foreign banks and pension funds), shows that this challenge is widely accepted and that implementation by financial players is possible regardless of size or specific asset classes.
In the international context, the Climate Agreement (June 2019), the Collective Commitment to Climate Action (UN Climate Summit in September 2019) and, in the context of the 25th Climate Conference (December 2019), a voluntary commitment by the Spanish financial sector have already been signed. All of these agreements have comparable structures and target levels on which the German voluntary commitment now made builds. Comparability with the other international agreements enables international financial institutions in particular to develop uniform processes and standards and ensures that the greatest possible impact can be achieved efficiently and without redundancies.
The current overview of the signatories as well as the complete voluntary commitment can be found at:
www.klima-selbstverpflichtung-finanzsektor.de
Keywords:
Procurement, DE-News, Climate protection, Sustainable management, Transition Town, Environmental policy
