On 5 November 1977 27 people, including lawyers from the anti-nuclear movement, members of various environmental movements and critical natural scientists, but also economists and representatives of the Protestant Church, founded the Öko-Institut in Freiburg. The aim was to provide the public with independent scientific advice and well-founded expert opinions.
Today, more than 165 employees at the Freiburg, Darmstadt and Berlin sites work across disciplines in the fields of energy and climate protection; immission and radiation protection; agriculture and biodiversity; sustainability in consumption, mobility, resource management and companies; nuclear technology and plant safety, chemicals management and technology assessment as well as law, policy and governance.
2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the Öko-Institut. The independent scientific institute, which works extensively on sustainability issues and plays an active role in shaping environmental policy, is celebrating its anniversary under the motto "We wish for something!"
Video-Feature on Rutger Bregman in German on ttt 16 Jun 2019.
8:25 min. available until 06/16/2020:
www.daserste.de/information/wissen-kultur/ttt/sendung/sendung-vom-16062019-100.html
(unfortunately the article is no longer online)
The associations and organisations involved in the Building Alliance (Graphic: NABU)
The energy transition in the building sector has stalled. Less and less is being invested in energy-efficient refurbishment and the Paris climate protection targets are in jeopardy. The reason for this is inadequate advice and the uncertainty of many consumers on the one hand, as well as inadequate government regulations and poorly managed subsidies on the other. For almost two years now, the Building Alliance, an association of environmental and consumer organisations with energy consultants, tradesmen, trade unions, the building industry, architects' associations and the construction industry, has been positioning itself against this. Under the leadership of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), numerous natureplus members such as BUND, BAUM e.V. and IG Bau are also working together in favour of more climate protection in the building sector.
In a recent statement, the Building Alliance calls on a new German government to "make the neglected third of the energy transition in the building sector an integral part of an integrated climate protection and energy policy". So far, politicians have "missed the opportunity to make energy-efficient building refurbishment the largest value creation and value retention programme in Germany and thus a real job engine for the domestic economy", criticises Jörg-Andreas Krüger, Deputy Federal Managing Director of NABU. Residential and non-residential buildings must now be addressed more strongly and more specifically than before by the three pillars of "information and advice", "support" and "demand".
A "lack of prioritisation and reliability" has unsettled investors, homeowners, tradespeople and businesses. In order to create reliability, "more transparency is needed in the assessment of buildings" through a standardised, optimised energy performance certificate. In addition, "high-quality, quality-assured advice from trained experts" in accordance with national standards is needed. Politicians must "set the course for reliable and permanent funding for high-quality consulting services and refurbishment measures". The refurbishment costs should be "shared equally between the state, landlords and tenants". At the same time, however, "new, market-based incentives are needed to mobilise additional investment and provide smart incentives", concludes NABU.
From summer 2019, new ideas can be entered into the race
The Federal Ministry for the Environment is today launching a new funding call "Climate protection through cycling". In future, the National Climate Initiative (NKI) will fund model projects that support cities and municipalities, as well as associations and companies, in developing attractive offers for cycling and meeting the increased volume of cycling. The aim is not only to save greenhouse gas emissions but also to contribute to improving the quality of life locally.
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze: "Every second car journey is shorter than five kilometres - for many journeys, cycling is therefore a practical and climate-friendly alternative. However, the existing infrastructure for bicycles on site is often insufficient. This is where we come in with our funding offer. We want to contribute to making cycling more attractive and thus our cities and communities more climate-friendly and liveable.
Project outlines can be submitted from 1 August 2019. Applications are open to cities, municipalities, companies and cooperations of municipalities, associations, clubs, religious communities with corporate status and universities.
Since 2016, the Federal Ministry for the Environment has already supported 38 individual and 18 joint projects on cycling throughout Germany with a funding volume of around 85 million euros.
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