Lecture by Prof. Quaschning "Energiewende, Climate Protection and Citizen Energy
Published
24 min., published on 22.09.2016
Internationally, the German government promises effective climate protection measures. But with the current energy policy, it is impossible to keep these promises. In his lecture at the 3rd Citizens' Energy Convention, Prof. Volker Quaschning explained to the State Secretary for Energy Rainer Baake, who was present at the event, the undesirable developments in German energy policy and the need for change for a functioning energy transition.
The video is worth watching, it is a factual as well as unsparing analysis of the current energy policy of the German government. In the meantime, there is also an interesting discussion on the topic on the YouTube page, especially with regard to the State Secretary Rainer Baake, who was addressed several times by the speaker.
Modern mobility is more than e-car subsidies, which is why Baden-Württemberg has introduced a 50% (max. 4,000 euros) purchase premium for commercial eCargobikes. In an interview with cargobike.jetzt, Minister of Transport Winfried Hermann (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) explains the Bicycle STRATEGY in the southwest: www.cargobike.jetzt/interview-winfried-hermann
Timber construction can be cheaper than standard construction - At the same time significantly better CO2 balance
MNP Architects Munich, School Wangen
Current comparative calculations based on realized new buildings in timber construction show: Building with wood does not have to be more expensive than the standard construction method. This result is surprising, as it contradicts the common perception that timber construction is more expensive. At the same time, the CO2 balance of timber construction is significantly better; as a result, its CO2 avoidance costs are very favourable, in some cases even negative. An expansion of timber construction would therefore be climate protection at comparatively low cost.
The architect and developer of the Legep construction software, Holger König, has balanced the construction costs and CO2 emissions for the production of five public and private timber buildings and compared them with the results that would have been produced for the same buildings if they had been built in the conventional way. Legep can be used to calculate the manufacturing and life-cycle costs, energy requirements and environmental impact of buildings. In this case, König only looked at manufacturing. For the prices, he used current sirAdos data, which represent the market very realistically. He then went to the trouble that many architects, civil engineers and building owners shy away from: He modeled the buildings with the same area and cubature and the same energy standard, but replaced the wooden components with conventional materials - depending on the building project, solid masonry in brick, sand-lime brick or aerated concrete, or a column-beam supporting structure made of reinforced concrete. He used reinforced concrete for the floor slab, cellar, ceilings and flat roofs, mineral wool or polystyrene for the insulation, and plastic or aluminum frames for the windows. König explains the fact that four out of five buildings in timber construction cost less or the same as in standard construction with the industrial-technical development that many timber construction companies have undergone in recent years. Two of the timber buildings even achieved a negative CO2 balance in the manufacturing phase due to the large amount of renewable raw materials used, which act as carbon stores. In the other three buildings, a slightly higher proportion of non-wooden components, which every timber building also contains, caused the slightly positive CO2 balance.
If one relates the difference in CO2 savings to the difference in construction costs, one obtains the CO2 avoidance costs of timber construction. Negative abatement costs here mean that the builder has saved costs with timber construction compared to standard construction and at the same time protected the climate.
By increasing the proportion of timber construction, more climate protection can be achieved at low or even negative costs, while at the same time strengthening rural areas. The green-red state government in Baden-Württemberg has recognised this and created more favourable framework conditions for the building material in its state building code, which was amended on 1 March (information here). In contrast, some state building codes still contain legal obstacles to building with wood.
The city of Munich also wants to convince more builders to use timber construction: as part of its "Munich Energy Saving Promotion Programme", it has been granting a CO2 bonus for the use of timber and other renewable raw materials in building construction of 30 cents/kg since 2013 (information here).
A high insulation standard with insulating materials made from renewable raw materials is also a contribution to climate protection. The plant raw materials from which the insulating materials were obtained have bound CO2 from the atmosphere, which is now stored in the building material for long periods of time. And finally, heating based on renewable energies also reduces CO2 emissions.
The Agency of Renewable Resources (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.). (FNR) funded the determination of LCA baseline data for the Legep programme with funds from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) between 2004 and 2006.
Whether it's financial incentives for moving to smaller flats, mandatory bicycle parking spaces or public tenders based on social and environmental criteria - there are a variety of ways to reduce the consumption of space, energy and materials in municipalities. This is shown in a study by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy entitled "Kommunale Suffizienzpolitik. Strategic perspectives for cities, federal states and the federal government" commissioned by the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND). Using concrete examples, the study presents the instruments available to municipalities and federal and state governments to create incentives for resource-conserving living. Measures are recommended for the areas of housing, mobility and public tenders.
Christine Wenzl, BUND sustainability expert: "Every year, an area the size of Frankfurt is lost in Germany for new residential, commercial and transport buildings. For years, the number of cars, their performance and the distance travelled by car have been increasing. Cities are growing into the surrounding countryside, biodiversity is dwindling and the high energy demand is destroying climate protection efforts. The study proves: There is enormous potential to turn things around at the municipal level and significantly reduce resource consumption."
In terms of housing, municipalities could, for example, take advantage of the sometimes considerable vacancy of offices and support their conversion into flats. Promoting cooperative housing with shared living, working and communal spaces would also contribute to resource conservation, as examples in the study showed. In order to strengthen cycling as well as public transport, state governments could - as happened in Lower Saxony - among other things change the building code so that car parking spaces are no longer required in new buildings. Instead, the federal states could make parking spaces for bicycles mandatory.
Often, the competition among municipalities for purchasing power, inhabitants and commercial revenues stands in the way of resource-saving development. "Even in regions with stagnating or even shrinking populations, new commercial and residential areas and transport routes continue to be built. This is where the federal government can take countermeasures, for example by imposing a moratorium on land consumption," said study author Michael Kopatz of the Wuppertal Institute. A nationwide restriction on new construction would enable municipalities to turn to existing alternatives without having to fear competitive disadvantages.
More information
Study "Municipal Sufficiency Policy. Strategic perspectives for cities, federal states and the federal government". download (PDF, 1 MB)
Further information on the study as well as graphics for download can be found at www.bund.net/stadtlandglueck
What makes a sustainable university? Sustainability Council and 50 university administrations, employees and students are developing a sustainability code for universities. The test phase of the beta version of the university code will start in autumn. In autumn 2014, the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) held a stakeholder conference on "From Pilot to Standard: Implementing Sustainability in Research, Teaching and Operations" to discuss the implications [...]
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