German Habitat Forum: Impulses for sustainable urban development worldwide

Published 7. July 2016

The German Habitat Forum came to an end today with the "Berlin Recommendations". Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Gunther Adler, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, handed over the "Berlin Recommendations". the recommendations to the Secretary General of the Habitat III Conference, Joan Clos. The "Berlin Recommendations" are intended as a contribution to the new urban development agenda that the United Nations intends to adopt at the third World Human Settlements Summit in Quito, Ecuador, in October.
Thomas Silberhorn: "Decisions made by today's urban planners will shape the way we live together in cities for decades to come. That is why we have to set the right course now. Our meeting in Berlin has shown: Sustainable urban development is not possible without innovative ideas, partnership, networked thinking and action. The key role is played by local actors - a powerful municipal administration, non-governmental organisations, business and science, and citizens.

More than 1,000 urban development experts, municipal representatives and personalities from politics, business, science and civil society from all over the world had spent two days at the German Habitat Forum developing recommendations on how to shape a liveable future in cities. Sustainable urban development combines many aspects: urban climate and environmental protection, social balance, safety and quality of life for all citizens. For this, according to the recommendations, cities and municipalities must be even more strongly recognised, empowered and financially equipped as central development actors at national and international level.

A final preparatory conference for the Habitat Summit will take place in Surabaya, Indonesia, at the end of July. Based on the principles "Liveable cities - cities capable of action - integrated urban solutions", Germany will there support the negotiations of the New Urban Agenda push forward.

You can download the "Berlin Recommendations" from the following link: www.bmz.de/berlinerempfehlungen (PDF 135 KB, English)

Source: Press release from 02.06.2016

Keywords: SDG 2030, UN (United Nations), Environmental policy, Housing policy

	Settlement	Page- calls
01.	Sustainable model district Vauban	782
02.	Tree houses by Frei Otto in Berlin-Tiergarten	641
03.	Community housing estate "Alte Gärtnerei in Kiel	610
04.	Clay housing estate Schöneiche	599
05.	Hundertwasser House "Waldspirale	539
06.	Hanover-Kronsberg	495
07.	Ecological settlement Bielefeld-Waldquelle	473
08.	PlusEnergyHouse "Heliotrope	453
09.	Düsseldorf-Unterbach	433
10.	French Quarter Tübingen	429
11.	Signal box 60 Cologne-Nippes	391
12.	Energy self-sufficient solar house	384
13.	Cologne-Blumenberg eco-settlement	330
14.	Eco-settlement "Frasenweg	289
15.	Eco-settlement Allermöhe	288
16.	S.U.S.I.	261
17.	Moor meadow settlement Kiel-Hassee	245
18.	"Laher Wiesen" Hanover	215
19.	Anders Wohnen eG Bremen	210
20.	Munich-Riem Trade Fair City	210
21.	Ecological settlement Geroldsäcker	210
22.	Eco-settlement Friedrichsdorf	199
23.	Building Biology Settlement "Schafbrühl	191
24.	Farmsen trotting course	187
25.	Gewerbehof "Prisma" Nuremberg	186

Published 8 July 2022

DIW "Traffic Light Monitor": Energy transition must be accelerated considerably

Researchers at DIW Berlin have developed the "Ampel-Monitor Energiewende" - monitor the extent to which the government's energy policy agenda is being implemented - immense efforts are needed to close the gap between the announced targets and the current status quo

If the German government wants to achieve its energy policy goals, it must step up the pace. There are particularly large gaps between the current development and the targets for green hydrogen, electromobility and renewable heat, as the "Ampel-Monitor Energiewende" of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) shows. DIW researchers developed the monitor to track the progress of the energy transition towards climate neutrality using 15 indicators. The monitor, which is based on open data, accompanies progress on the government's goals with a focus on the period up to 2030. Selected results are now available on the DIW Berlin website (https://www.diw.de/ampel-monitor) are provided in the form of interactive graphics and short analyses and are updated regularly. All indicators and the underlying data can also be found open source on the Open Energy Tracker platform (https://openenergytracker.org).

"Our traffic light monitor makes it clear: the current pace of the energy transition is far too slow to achieve the 2030 targets," says DIW energy economist Wolf-Peter Schill, co-initiator of the monitor, which is presented in a study today. "If the government does not want to fall behind its target path, it must implement concrete and far-reaching steps promptly."

The pace of photovoltaic expansion must be tripled

The monitor shows: If the government wants to achieve its photovoltaic targets by 2030, it will have to triple the pace of expansion compared to the trend of the past twelve months, and even quadruple it for onshore wind power. At the current rate, the targets would clearly be missed. This would also make it impossible to achieve the coalition's goal of increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity consumption from the current 42 percent to 80 percent in 2030.

There is also a large gap in renewable heat, for which a share of renewable energies of 50 percent is envisaged in 2030. For this to happen, the share must grow by almost four percentage points per year - although it has not even increased by three percentage points since 2012.

"The Federal Government's to-do list is still long. The energy policy goals that have been set are not self-fulfilling; development must gain momentum in all areas." Alexander Roth

E-car fleet still growing very slowly - charging infrastructure inadequate

If the coalition's goal of increasing the e-car fleet to 15 million vehicles by 2030 is to be achieved, an average of around 130,000 vehicles must be registered in Germany every month. In addition to the existing purchase premiums, the EU ban on combustion engines, which is currently being voted on, could certainly contribute to more electromobility," explains study author Adeline Guéret.

According to the Monitor's data, the charging infrastructure must increase even more if the target is not to be missed. Instead of the current 1200 charging points per month, 8,700 would have to go into operation - around seven times as many.

From practically zero to ten gigawatts in green hydrogen

Most needs to happen with green hydrogen, as the traffic light monitor shows: The electrolysis capacity of around ten gigawatts in 2030 targeted in the coalition agreement still seems a long way off, given an electrical capacity of around 60 megawatts at the end of last year.

"With its open and constantly updated energy data, our traffic light monitor makes an important contribution to an informed and fact-based energy policy debate," concludes study author Alexander Roth. "It shows that the German government still has a long to-do list. The goals set are not self-fulfilling; development must gain momentum in all areas."

Source: DIW press release dated 6 July 2022

Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, PV, Environmental policy, eMobility

Published 5 February 2020

Vorarlberg has included the "Holz von Hier" label in the new subsidy guidelines for residential buildings

Recently, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg published the subsidy guidelines for 2020 and 2021 for residential renovation and new construction in the private and public sectors. The climate-friendly procurement of wood and wood products from the region is anchored in these guidelines. The origin of the wood must be proven by means of the "Holz von Hier" label recently introduced in Austria or comparable certificates.

Financial advantage for building owners through regional wood

If regional wood is used, the costs eligible for housing subsidies increase by 20 euros per square metre of roof and façade area, for example. For an average-sized single-family house, this can add up to around 4,000 to 5,000 euros. In the case of new buildings, the recognised costs for a loan under the housing subsidy also increase by 20 euros per square metre of floor space for the use of regional wood for the windows, and by as much as 30 euros for the façade.

"With this innovation, we have placed climate-friendly procurement in the foreground, without the risk of legal discrimination against companies in border regions," says Provincial Councillor Christian Gantner, emphasising the priorities. Unlike other quality labels, "Holz von Hier" is not oriented towards state or national borders, but only takes into account transport distances along the entire processing chain. Cross-border cooperation in the wood processing chain is thus strengthened. "In the long term, thanks to "Holz von Hier", regional, rural businesses can be strengthened and imports from more distant countries such as Russia and Scandinavia can be replaced," adds DI Andreas Amann, Head of the Forestry Department of the Provincial Government.

Trend reversal towards more regionality and climate protection in timber construction

The inclusion of the "Holz von Hier" label can stimulate demand among end customers for domestic timber. In public tenders, the proof of origin is already required in accordance with the law, since it has found its way into the specifications for the municipal building certificate. In order to use the label, the entire processing chain must be traceable - all companies from the sawmill to the dealer to the window manufacturer must join the initiative if they want to offer domestic wood with chain-of-custody certification.

"We think that with the inclusion of 'Holz von Hier' in the housing guidelines, a trend reversal towards more regionality and climate protection in construction can be initiated," hopes Erich Reiner, contact person for Holz von Hier in Austria. This could succeed even better if the regionality of the entire building construction is taken into account in future revisions of the subsidy guidelines. The climate-friendly use of wood is in line with the forestry strategy of the state of Vorarlberg and supports the efforts to achieve the energy autonomy goals.

Link
www.holz-von-hier.eu

Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, Procurement, Funding, Wood construction, Climate protection, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, News Blog Europe (without DE), News Blog Austria, Resource efficiency, Vorarlberg

Published 9 March 2017

Visions for the Future: Shaping Urban Neighborhoods Participatively and Sustainably

How can cities develop sustainably? How do they limit traffic, reduce pollutants and make attractive use of urban spaces, how do they create affordable attractive housing for all? These and other questions are at the centre of a project just launched by the Öko-Institut in cooperation with the Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research (ILS, Dortmund), the German Institute of Urban Affairs (difu, Berlin) and the City of Darmstadt, which has the working title "Transformative Strategies for Integrated Neighbourhood Development - TRASIQ".

Visions for the Future: Shaping Urban Neighborhoods Participatively and Sustainably

How can cities develop sustainably? How can they limit traffic, reduce pollution and make attractive use of urban space - in short, be liveable for their inhabitants? How can they meet the needs of an ageing population and the influx of younger people in equal measure, and how can they create affordable, attractive housing for all? What role do possible conflicts between ecology - more forest - and economy - more living space - play and how can they be resolved? These and other questions are at the centre of a project just launched by the Öko-Institut in cooperation with the Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research (ILS, Dortmund), the German Institute of Urban Affairs (difu, Berlin) and the City of Darmstadt, which has the working title "Transformative Strategies for Integrated Neighbourhood Development - TRASIQ".

In the two cities of Darmstadt and Griesheim, the project partners discuss sustainability requirements together with planners - for example with a view to limited budgets - and develop concepts and strategies for liveable neighbourhoods. How exactly such visionary ideas could be implemented is then to be co-developed by the future residents. team ewen and the Schader Foundation support the project in communicating and shaping the dialogue. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Darmstadt and Griesheim - testing sustainable neighbourhoods

Darmstadt is one of the so-called "swarm cities" - that is, one of the 18 municipalities in Germany where the age group of 20 to 35-year-olds is concentrated far above average. The city has been growing continuously since 1997, currently at a rate of around 2,000 people per year. In this context, Darmstadt set itself targets for sustainable urban development early on and wants to test new settlement concepts in pilot projects such as on the site of the former Cambrai-Fritsch barracks.

"Precisely because we are a city of science, we rely on the dialogue between research and practice in urban development. We are particularly pleased to be cooperating with the Öko-Institut within the framework of TRASIQ, which is one of the most important players in the field of Green Smart City in Darmstadt's scientific landscape," explains Lord Mayor Jochen Partsch.

"Conflicts arise in the conception of an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable urban area - for example, in high-quality, energy-saving construction that nevertheless has to remain affordable," says Dr Dietlinde Quack, one of the two project leaders of the transdisciplinary project at the Öko-Institut, explaining the challenge. "Discussing such conflicts in the municipalities with those politically responsible, the citizens and future investors and finding a fair way for as many parties as possible is our task for the next three years. In doing so, the exchange about common visions of the future of design will help us. If all stakeholders agree on this, we can then align ideas for the concretisation of the development areas with it."

Contact persons at the Öko-Institut

Dr Dietlinde Quack
Head of the Consumer and Society Group
in the area of products & material flows
Öko-Institut e.V., Freiburg Office
Phone: +49 761 45295-248
E-mail: d.quack(at)oeko.de

Dr Bettina Brohmann
Research Coordinator Transdisciplinary
Sustainability Science
Öko-Institut e.V., Darmstadt Office
Phone: +49 6151 8191-135
E-mail: b.brohmann(at)oeko.de

The Öko-Institut is one of Europe's leading independent research and advisory institutes for a sustainable future. Since its foundation in 1977, the Institute has been developing principles and strategies on how the vision of sustainable development can be implemented globally, nationally and locally. The Institute has offices in Freiburg, Darmstadt and Berlin.

More info: http://www.trasiq.de/

Keywords:
News Blog Hesse, Participation, Quarters, Settlements