With a press conference on 13 September, the new report to the CLUB OF ROME was presented to the public in Berlin. In addition to the authors, the Federal Minister Dr. Gerd Müller also spoke. Read the whole article: www.globalmarshallplan.org/news/neuer-bericht-den-club-rome-berlin-vorgestellt
Kategorie für Blog: Ecology
While striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the City of Rotterdam in the Netherlands focuses its narrative on making buildings, industry and transport cleaner and more efficient, which are concrete and tangible issues that the public can easily rally behind.
In September, Germany's largest thermal solar plant officially went into operation in the Brandenburg city of Senftenberg. The plant was built by Stadtwerke Senftenberg on an area of around 2.2 hectares and is expected to produce around four million kilowatt hours of heat per year.
Support for solar houses with large photovoltaic and solar thermal systems for heat, electricity and mobility remains constantly high "Solar houses with large photovoltaic and solar thermal systems for the climate-friendly generation of electricity and heat are not affected by the changes in the amended Renewable Energy Sources Act." Rainer Körner, 2nd chairman of the Sonnenhaus-Institut e.V., points this out. Since [...]
In this article, Susanne Jacob-Freitag presents the tallest and largest timber buildings in the world, as well as the unique selling point of timber buildings in urban areas and their cost advantages.
In Zurich on 30 November 2008, a 76 per cent majority voted in favour of reducing energy consumption to 2000 watts per capita by 2050. The average value in Switzerland is currently 6000 watts. The 2000-watt society has since been enshrined in the municipal code. "Particularly is before [...]
A film by French philosopher Philippe Simay on arte.tv In this episode, the philosopher visits the region of Vorarlberg in Austria, the international model for ecological and sustainable architecture.
They are highly efficient, low-emission and quiet: New fuel cell heating units generate heat and electrical energy as mini CHP units with over 90 percent efficiency. They have been tested extensively in detached and semi-detached houses, and their function and design have been improved step by step. The first systems are already on the market. They can be operated with natural gas as well as [...]
In 2015, a new excursion attraction was created near Waldbröl in the vicinity of Bonn and Cologne that is not only attractive to wood construction fans: the Panarbora nature experience park. Covering an area the size of eleven football pitches, the park offers a unique combination of nature, amusement and environmental knowledge. The heart of the park is a treetop path [...]
Vancouver celebrates topping-out ceremony of the world's tallest wooden residential building 26.08.2016 - In Vancouver, Canada, a world record in timber construction has been set - almost casually and without much fuss. The wooden structure of the 18-storey student dormitory of the University of British Columbia, was erected in 66 working days and could be opened on [...]
Vision 2020 The municipality of Wüstenrot wants to be energy self-sufficient by 2020. The project "EnVisaGe - Development of a municipal plus-energy concept using the example of the municipality of Wüstenrot" is part of the EnEff:Stadt initiative and describes how, in addition to reducing primary energy use and CO₂ emissions (keyword "decarbonisation"), independence from energy imports can be achieved and local value creation strengthened [...].
"Well-insulated and energy-efficient modern housing must remain affordable for poorer people. This is crucial, said DBU Secretary General Dr Heinrich Bottermann at the expert forum "Urban Spaces in Climate Change", so that there is no division in society. He also emphasised how important it is for climate-neutral and resource-saving neighbourhood development to increasingly rely on timber construction [...]
In the 2nd quarterly report on the development of renewable energies in Germany published by the Renewable Energies Statistics Working Group, it becomes clear that they are not growing as fast as in the previous year. The addition of photovoltaics fell from 614 megawatts in the first half of 2015 to only 514 megawatts in the current year [...]
For more than 180 days, the power supply of the almost 5 million inhabitants has been almost completely provided by renewable energy sources. Thanks above all to hydropower, the country can now almost completely dispense with fossil fuels for its electricity supply. In addition to hydroelectric power, wind power, photovoltaics and geothermal energy are also used. Source: www.trendsderzukunft.de/... [...]
Electric cars are subsidised by the state, but not e-bikes. The bicycle lobby finds this unfair, as does the Federal Council - an opportunity for a change in transport is being missed, they argue. The government disagrees. Read the article from 2.9.2016 on SPIEGEL ONLINE "Purchase premium for e-bikes: Pedal aid from the Bundesrat".
Electric cars with E-plates will be allowed to park free of charge in municipal parking lots in Bonn in the future. This was decided by the Council in its meeting on Thursday, 22 September. It thus followed a draft resolution of the administration for the implementation of the Electromobility Act. In addition, parking spaces are to be set up at charging stations for e-cars and the charging infrastructure is to be developed in coordination with [...].
After China and the USA, India now also wants to approve the Paris climate treaty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 2 October as the date. It is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. India is the world's third largest producer of greenhouse gases. Read more on heute.de
22 Kommunen in ganz Deutschland werden mit Förderung des Bundesumweltministeriums einen Klimaschutz-Masterplan entwickeln und umsetzen. Die sogenannten Masterplan-Kommunen vereint das Ziel, ihre Treibhausgasemissionen bis 2050 um 95 Prozent zu senken und ihren Endenergieverbrauch gegenüber 1990 zu halbieren. In Schleswig-Holstein gehören die Region Flensburg und die Landeshauptstadt Kiel zu den geförderten […]
"BISKO" is neither a sausage nor a new chocolate bar, but the new "Municipal Accounting Standard". After four years of development, a methodology paper is now available that provides clear accounting rules for energy and greenhouse gas balances for municipalities in Germany. In a lengthy consultation process, coordinated and technically led by ifeu Heidelberg, [...]
It was to be the first 6-storey wooden building in NRW, now 5 storeys are being realised as student accommodation with 32 units in passive house standard. The building is located not far from Bonn's main railway station and is implemented with a car sharing concept.
Since 2012, the DGNB certification system has provided local authorities with a tool that helps them to optimise neighbourhoods from a sustainability perspective and to document this through an award. For this system, the DGNB has now specifically further developed the criteria catalogue and significantly reduced the scope through adjustments. This would [...]
The flame retardant HBCD, which was mainly used in polystyrene insulation boards, has been banned since March 2016. But trouble looms from the many millions of cubic metres of HBCD-containing insulation material that have already been installed in Germany. The flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) has been largely banned from trade and use in the EU since spring 2016. HBCD was [...]
In the Netherlands, a village is being built that will be completely self-sufficient - from electricity production to food supply. The Utopia website shows what it will look like: Utopia.com
More and more cargo bikes can be rented throughout Germany. For good reason: if you only need a transport bike occasionally or want to test it out in detail first, you don't need to buy one right away. For this case, cargo bike sharing systems or rental offers are particularly attractive.
In Sweden, a residential building is being built that is specially designed for cyclists. Malmö is considered the most bicycle-friendly city in Sweden. 30 percent of the inhabitants here use a bicycle every day, and bike sharing is booming. Soon, however, Malmö will have even more to offer cyclists: In the middle of the city centre, the first house is currently being built that [...]
"With their jointly planned residential building, the two Viennese architectural firms "Berger+Parkkinen" and "querkraft" have ventured a new interpretation of the urban block: despite high density, the broken-up ridge structure allows for small-scale development with varied open spaces." Read the article by Julia Liese from 19.08.2016 on DETAIL.de
The Federal Government has agreed to fund one of four regional "Sustainability Strategies Network Offices" in Bonn. This was announced by Chancellor Merkel and the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) at the RNE annual conference in Berlin at the end of May.
Many thanks to Mr Pohlmeyer for the current photos of the small "cube settlement" planned by Peter Hübner (plus+, Neckartenzlingen). To the photo gallery 9/2016
The renovation project "Efficiency House Plus in Old Buildings" shows how two dilapidated rows of houses from the 1930s can be brought up to plus energy levels - and in some cases that good architecture can be created in the process. Read more on the DETAIL website
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.
E-bikes replace conventional delivery bikes and make work easier for letter carriers Deutsche Post operates the largest e-fleet in Germany with 2,500 StreetScooters "Work" and 10,500 pedelecs Local emissions target: 70 percent of last-mile deliveries to be converted to clean solutions by 2025 The number of e-bikes is to be increased in the coming years [...]
In June 2016, the state government adopted a sustainability strategy for NRW. It is the first federal state to commit to implementing the global sustainability goals of the United Nations and has defined a system of targets and indicators for key areas of action.
"Every year, 1.2 million people die in road accidents worldwide. This makes car accidents the ninth most common cause of death overall."