There is money in Rhineland-Palatinate: After Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate will also launch its own funding programme for electricity storage this year. "The funding programme is being worked out at the moment," announced State Secretary Griese (the Greens). The Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament had already decided on the subsidy last December. In 2019 and 2020, 1.5 million euros each are to be distributed as grants for investment in battery storage systems; the grants are to roughly cover what was possible until the end of 2018 through federal funding from KfW: www.energyload.eu/...speicherfoerderung
Berlin: On 4 May 2018, BUND presented a shutdown plan for nuclear power plants (NPPs) and coal-fired power plants. This analysis shows that the decommissioning of the most climate-damaging coal-fired power plants by 2020 and a significant acceleration of the nuclear phase-out in Germany are possible without jeopardising security of supply. "The shutdown plan is a call to action for the political actors to finally take action," explains BUND Chair Hubert Weiger at the presentation of the shutdown plan in Berlin.
In the shutdown plan, BUND has drawn up a concrete performance balance and names power plants as well as annual figures for the shutdown. The focus is on the years 2020 and 2023. This period is considered to be a particular challenge for supply security, since on the one hand it is the legal date for the phase-out of nuclear power. On the other hand, a good half of the coal-fired power plants must be taken off the grid in order to achieve the German climate target for 2020.
The BUND shutdown plan shows that this is possible and that significantly more coal-fired power plants can be taken off the grid in the short term than has been discussed so far, and that this can also be combined with a significant acceleration of the nuclear phase-out. As a result, the power surplus in Germany is declining, but the supply remains guaranteed even in hours without sun and with little wind. "In the first quarter of 2018, Germany exported on average the electricity production of five large power plants. Against this background alone, it is surprising that the new federal government has not agreed on the short-term decommissioning of the most climate-damaging coal-fired power plants," says the BUND chairman. "We want to show with our analysis that much more is possible if the political will is there."
The BUND shutdown plan shows that security of supply can be ensured if politicians do not continue to wait, but actively promote the energy transition in parallel to the shutdowns. The calculations of the power balance are mainly based on values from, for example, the Federal Network Agency or the transmission system operators. Deviations and other assumptions are justified. "With our analysis, we want to provide an important impetus for a transparent debate within the framework of the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act and the coal phase-out commission that is being constituted," explains Weiger.
In a shutdown list for coal-fired power plants, BUND proposes the units that would have to be taken off the grid first in order to achieve the 2020 climate target. It concerns all larger coal-fired power plants that were connected to the grid before 1990, in order to reduce the coal capacity on the electricity market to 20 gigawatts. As a new measure to enable a socially acceptable coal phase-out and to safeguard security of supply in extreme situations, the environmental association proposes the introduction of an additional coal phase-out reserve of six to eight gigawatts.
"The Paris Climate Agreement requires the phase-out of coal before 2030. The federal government is responsible for achieving the climate targets, it must enshrine the phase-out in law and ensure a just structural change. To achieve the 2020 climate target, it must now launch an immediate programme. Waiting any longer is irresponsible," continued the BUND chair. Due to the inactivity of climate policy in recent years, the German "climate problem" has become increasingly acute. According to the latest emission forecasts, the German climate protection target for 2020 will be missed by ten percentage points.
At the same time as the coal phase-out, the nuclear power plants can also be taken off the grid more quickly than required by law. The seven nuclear power plants that are currently still connected to the grid represent a constant safety risk for the population and must be decommissioned as soon as possible. So far, however, the federal government does not want to use the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act to really accelerate the nuclear phase-out. "BUND demands an immediate nuclear phase-out. At the very least, the current revision of the Atomic Energy Act must be used to legally prohibit further transfers of electricity volumes," says Weiger. Without this transfer, the nuclear power plants would run for a total of ten years less and the production of 300 tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear waste would be avoided.
Getting out of nuclear power and coal and still securing the energy supply - this is possible if the energy transition is driven forward. "It is a matter of further expanding renewable energies with commitment and creating the energy-economic framework conditions for an energy turnaround that is essentially based on wind energy and photovoltaics," says Weiger. This means an expansion of flexible decentralised CHP power plants, a reduction in electricity consumption, optimised utilisation of the electricity grids and a significant increase in the possibilities for load reduction.
In this tutorial, Anne Albrecht, building consultant at Faktor X Agentur, shows you in detail how to enter an example house in massive construction into the climate and resource protection tool (KuRT) from start to finish.
How can Bonn become climate neutral by 2035? This is the question that the participatory project "Bonn4Future - We for the Climate!" would like to discuss together with Bonn citizens over the next two years. Since mid-2019, the climate emergency has been in effect in Bonn; in November 2019, the Council decided that Bonn should become climate neutral by 2035. The city and the non-profit association Bonn im Wandel have now signed a cooperation agreement and thus launched "Bonn4Future".
Very important in "Bonn4Future" is a new culture of mutual listening and good cooperation. All those involved are looking for solutions on how climate neutrality can succeed for our city. Everyone takes responsibility and makes their contribution.
"In order to achieve climate neutrality in Bonn by 2035, it is not only a question of setting the right course at international and national level, but also of all of us here on site," says Mayor Katia Dörner. "On politics, administration, companies and the people of Bonn with their ideas and decisions. We want to enter into dialogue with them in the participatory process 'Bonn4Future', because only in this way can this great transformation process for Bonn succeed. I am very much looking forward to working with Bonn in transition and our committed urban society!"
Project modules: Developing and implementing measures
At Climate Day - which will be scheduled and planned depending on the pandemic situation - citizens are invited to develop a joint climate vision and action plan for a climate-neutral Bonn. The ideas and findings from this Climate Day will flow into a total of four planned Climate Forums - The first is to take place in the first half of 2021. There, 100 randomly selected citizens will work together with experts from business, science, associations, culture, administration and politics to develop strategies and concrete proposals for the path to climate neutrality in 2035.
Results and ideas from the forums are reflected in the administration and in politics. They serve as orientation and support for the further development of the already existing catalogues of climate protection measures.
An Project Advisory Board and an accompanying scientific evaluation ensure a high quality of the participation process.
"Climate change is on people's minds in Bonn, we notice that every day in our work," says Dr. Gesa Maschkowski, board member of the Bonn in Transition association. "Many people want to do something and want effective measures. Now we bring them together. The citizens, people from business, science, culture and the social sector as well as politicians from all parties. Because we have to plan and act now if Bonn is to be climate neutral by 2035 at the latest."
The broadest possible participation should produce constructive ideas and results over the next two years. To kick off the process, citizens can already express their views today at the urban portalwww.bonn-macht-mit.de inform about the process and contribute their ideas on how to make the process work well.
Reaching the goal together
"Bonn4Future - Wir fürs Klima!" already received a lot of support from more than 50 Bonn initiatives before the official start of the project. However, it is important to the creators to bring people from all areas of the citizenry on board. The process is to be supported by all social groups.
An accompanying Communication and education concept is dedicated to building up a communication network. In this way, multipliers are won over and care is taken to ensure that "Bonn4Future" remains a topic of conversation and that many people are motivated to participate.
An important communication tool is also the city-wide, interactive Sustainability platform. It will make visible initiatives, activities and dates on the topic of climate-neutral city, commitment to sustainability and citizen participation in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Background
The cooperation agreement that has now been concluded was preceded by a citizens' application for participation in achieving the goal of climate neutrality. Bonn in Transition and the Climate Watch Bonn introduced this at the beginning of the year. In the meantime, the participation concept is supported by about 50 initiatives, companies and organisations. The citizens' committee agreed to it. Bonn im Wandel then developed a concept for the multi-stage procedure with the support of experts for citizen participation and further developed it in cooperation with the city administration.
With a resolution in September 2020, the Council of the City of Bonn finally commissioned the administration to conclude a cooperation agreement with Bonn im Wandel for the coordination and implementation of the two-year process. Funds of up to 719,000 euros will be made available for this until the end of 2022. The project will be implemented in the "Bonn4Future" project office. Here, four experienced experts for communication and participation work on 2.4 positions, supported by the Bonn in Change core team. On the part of the city administration the project is coordinated and accompanied by a half position. There is also a close connection to the citizen participation portal "Bonn macht mit". The participation portal bundles all information on participation offerings of the city of Bonn and provides opportunities for direct participation.
Bonn im Wandel sees itself as an ideas and project laboratory for a sustainable city. The association brings a large network as well as nine years of experience in the initiation and organization of civil society projects and change processes into the process.
Denmark's capital has reached a milestone on its way to becoming a bicycle city. There are now more bikes on the streets than cars. Will other cities follow suit?
Read the full article from 30.11.2016 on www.theguardian.com
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