Sea sand is a sought-after building material - so sought-after that beaches are being plundered everywhere. Researchers now want to tap the desert instead. To the article from 1.7.2017: www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/baustoff-der-welt-geht-der-sand-aus-1.3588083
Kategorie für Blog: Environmental policy
312 posts
With 46 billion euros per year, the Federal Government favours the mining and climate-damaging burning of coal, oil and gas in Germany. This policy makes the energy transition more expensive and passes on a large part of the follow-up costs of fossil energies to society. This is the result of a study by the Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft (FÖS) [...]
Senate passes new building code The Hamburg Senate passed a new building code on June 13. Hamburg is one of the first federal states to create new possibilities for diverse and innovative construction with wood: In future, wood may also be used for building projects with a height of up to 22 metres - this corresponds [...]
07.07.2017 - The Ministry of the Environment in Thuringia has increased the funding for the Solar Invest Programme by a further 1.3 million euros as of 1 July 2017. After Erfurt already increased the originally planned funding amount of 2.5 million euros by 1.9 million euros in April, a total of 5.7 million euros are available for this year [...]
Hamburg (8 July 2017). In Hamburg, 19 heads of government of the largest economies jointly reaffirmed their commitment to the swift implementation of the Paris climate agreement and rejected US President Trump's attempt to undermine it. The final declaration - according to the leaked result - will highlight the differences between the US and the [...]
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is expanding its funding for fuel cell heating systems. With immediate effect, you can apply to KfW for attractive subsidies for the installation of fuel cell heating systems in both all residential and non-residential buildings. Private individuals, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises (including contractors) as well as municipal and non-profit organisations are eligible to apply.
The ForschungsVerbund Erneuerbare Energien (FVEE) is today publishing its latest conference volume entitled "Research for the energy transition - shaping the energy system". The papers collected here from the last annual conference present current research findings and instruments for a successful energy transition. The spectrum of contributions ranges from scenarios for the transformation of the [...]
On 26 April 2017, the Agency for Renewable Energies in Berlin honoured the Saxon-Anhalt town of Burg for its commitment as Energy Municipality of the Month. A local tenant power project ensures that 230 rental apartments can obtain solar power to cover part of their electricity needs directly from the roof of their apartments. "Tenant power projects are ideal [...]
In an interview with PV Magazine, Xavier Daval, President of the French solar association Ser-Soler, said the EU desperately needs a major European photovoltaic manufacturer. A complete exodus of the domestic solar industry to China and the US, he said, would drive Europe into energy dependency for decades to come. "We are not talking about a [...]
Stadtwerke Ludwigsburg-Kornwestheim is building one of the largest solar thermal plants in Germany with a collector area of over 10,000 m². The way is clear for another forward-looking project in Ludwigsburg: Stadtwerke Ludwigsburg-Kornwestheim GmbH (SWLB) has won a prize in the call for funding for municipal climate protection model projects as part of the national climate protection initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety [...]
The 88th Conference of Environment Ministers has just passed a resolution in Bad Saarow on the "Promotion of Building with Wood", which was introduced by Rhineland-Palatinate. The document calls on the federal government to improve the framework conditions for timber construction. As the environmental minister of Rhineland-Palatinate reports, among other things, the positive climate protection properties of renewable raw materials are to be taken into account in the building energy [...]
A total of 150 million hectares of destroyed forest to be rebuilt An important milestone in the Federal Environment Ministry's international nature conservation and climate protection policy has been reached. The so-called "Bonn Challenge" initiated by Germany to rebuild forests has succeeded in getting countries to pledge a total of 150 million hectares. Achieved was [...]
"Schleswig-Holstein's most popular politician comes from the Green Party and his name is Robert Habeck. He will not run in the state elections." Quoted from a successful portrait in the taz of 28.4.2017: www.taz.de/Habeck-Syndrom/!5401443
The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo is creating more space for cyclists and pedestrians - and wants to push cars out of the city in the long term. Everything else is "old-fashioned". Read what is planned in the article from 9.1.2017: www.faz.net/...paris-buergermeisterin-anne-hidalgo-sagt-autos-den-kampf-an-14611364.html
Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2017 http://datatopics.worldbank.org/sdgatlas/ Topic 11: Sustainable cities and communities - make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable https://datatopics.worldbank.org/sdgatlas/archive/2017/index.html
After one and a half years of consultation, the black-green Hessian state government has adopted its Climate Protection Plan 2025. According to this plan, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 30 percent by 2020, by 40 percent by 2025 and by at least 90 percent by 2050 (compared to the base year 1990). By achieving these goals, Hesse aims to [...]
2:15 Min. Published on 9.4.2017 Mission 2020 is a global campaign, blending radical collaboration and relentless optimism to put emissions on a downward path by 2020. When it comes to our climate, timing is everything, and we have a game-changing opportunity to make the big changes now. Let's not be [...]
With a new law, Paris calls on its residents to garden the public space. Wherever possible, vertical and horizontal gardens are to be created, urban agriculture is promoted. There is even a starter kit with planting soil. Among other things, 100 hectares of living facades and roofs are to be created by 2020. Links to read more: http://inhabitat.com/paris-allows-anyone-to-plant-an-urban-garden-anywhere/ [...]
Extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rain, floods and storms do not stop at property boundaries. That is why adapting to the consequences of climate change is an issue for everyone - both for politicians and administrators, who are responsible for protecting public space, and for every private owner and tenant. Task of [...]
New labelling mandatory from 1 April Since 1 April 2017, the EU energy efficiency label now also applies to wood heating systems such as pellet, woodchip and log heating systems. The energy efficiency class scale for wood heaters ranges from A++ to G, and from 26 September 2019 from A+++ to D. Pellet boilers are generally rated A+, [...]
On 15 March, the Mayors' Dialogue "Sustainable City" developed impulses for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in German municipalities. The mayors focused on the contributions of municipalities to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable".
Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl is in demand worldwide as a source of inspiration for urban redevelopment. He explains what Stuttgart can do in the face of increasing traffic and environmental problems and why he thinks nothing of self-driving cars.
The share of renewable energies in total energy consumption in the EU was 16.7 percent in 2015. That is almost twice as much as a decade earlier. Compared with the previous year, the share rose by 0.6 percentage points, the statistics authority Eurostat announced on Tuesday. In 2004, when data first became available, the [...]
The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) are supporting municipalities that want to use new approaches to activate more unused land for housing construction. To this end, the cities are employing inner development managers and expanding active inner development with various building blocks. The model projects in Aalen, Berlin, Hamburg-Altona, Ludwigsfelde, Offenburg, Regensburg, Solingen and [...]
Some cities subsidize the use of certified insulation materials with a bonus to support resource conservation, carbon storage and particularly environmentally friendly products. This also includes many insulation materials made from renewable raw materials. The overview lists the cities that grant an extra subsidy for certified natural insulation materials: Düsseldorf 10 - 25 EUR/m² Hamburg 10 EUR/m² Hanover [...]
15.02.2017 SRU member Prof. Dr. Messari-Becker speaks today in the Bundestag as an expert on the amendment of the Building Code. The SRU welcomes the new area category "Urban Area". However, the noise protection level in these areas must not be lowered. It is also problematic that the amendment is also intended to promote construction activity on the outskirts of settlements.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, more than 720 million square metres of building space have been covered with polystyrene since the Second World War. Now, according to manager magazin, a series of major fires in the industry has startled the insurance industry. According to the report, the insurance industry is now openly advising against the use of Styrofoam not only as an insulating material for commercial buildings, but also [...]
With the targets for the Climate Protection Plan 2050, the German government is pursuing ambitious plans. For the building sector, this means that a nearly climate-neutral building stock is to be achieved by 2050. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs has launched model projects, such as Efficiency Houses Plus in Old Buildings, with which ways of achieving this [...]
At least 18 million birds die each year from bird strikes on glass. It is more than disconcerting that the 100,000 to 200,000 victims of wind energy are discussed so intensively, but the main causes of bird deaths are not.
Publication of the final report The project "Energy Sufficiency - Strategies and Instruments for a Technical, Systemic and Cultural Transformation to Sustainably Limit Energy Demand in the Consumer Field of Building/Housing", funded by the BMBF, was successfully completed at the end of 2016. The project investigated how energy-sufficiency-related everyday routines, social practices and lifestyle aspects can be reconciled with the requirements of a [...]
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. The BMUB is making a total of five million euros available this year.
Ireland no longer wants to make money from fossil fuels. With 90 votes and 53 against, the members of the Irish parliament voted in favour of a corresponding law last Thursday. According to the law, the state-owned Strategic Investment Fund is to withdraw its money from fossil investments. The island state would be the first country to [...]
How can people be helped to leave their cars behind more often for short journeys? Answers to this question are to be provided by a new project funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment. The project "Living Leads Mobility" aims to create new opportunities and offers for climate-friendly mobility in the residential environment.
The DGNB blog highlights sustainable building in all its facets. Leading experts from the construction and real estate industry discuss topics that move the industry. Pioneers of sustainability provide impulses that encourage people to rethink. Click here for the DGNB blog: http://blog.dgnb.de
Back in December, with the votes of the red-red-green coalition, the state parliament passed a resolution on how the state intends to implement the 2030 Agenda for Global Sustainable Development and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the ground.
Video verfügbar bis 28.01.2017, 16:30 Eine Million Elektroautos sollen bis zum Jahr 2020 in Deutschland fahren, so will es zumindest die Bundesregierung. Noch hinken die Verkaufszahlen den Erwartungen hinterher. Zusätzlich stellen sich wichtige Fragen nach der Herkunft von Strom und Rohstoffen. Das ZDF hat diesen Fragen in der Reihe „planet […]
In contrast to combustion engines, the amount of energy required to produce the batteries plays a greater role in electric cars. According to the IFEU Institute in Heidelberg, CO2 emissions can be estimated at around 125 kg for one kWh of battery capacity. The production of an electricity storage unit with 24 kWh thus generates about three tons of CO2. In contrast, the resulting [...]
For four years now, Tallinn's residents have been allowed to ride buses and trains for free. The utilization of buses and trams has increased by around 10 percent, as expected, but car traffic has hardly decreased. In the taz article from 27.1.2017 there is a first interim assessment of the experiment in Tallinn
