The HYPV research project has developed a guideline that discusses low-CO2 electricity and heating networks. It is intended to make planning easier for energy suppliers.
At the end of the UN conference Habitat III in Quito (Ecuador), the environmental and development organization Germanwatch draws a mixed balance. "Around 50,000 people took part in the conference. This alone shows that cities are considered to be of great importance on the way to a sustainable world. It is very good that the adopted New Urban Agenda recognises cities as important players in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate targets," says Lisa Junghans, expert on climate change, adaptation and urban transformation at Germanwatch. However, she qualifies: "The New Urban Agenda is not concrete enough in parts. Citizens will not feel directly addressed and there is a complete lack of measurable goals and criteria for monitoring the success of the agenda. It remains to be seen to what extent the agenda really supports cities in their development towards greater sustainability and a higher quality of life. Civil society in particular will have a key role to play in the coming years to ensure that the principles adopted here for future urban development have an impact."
Habitat III was the third World Conference on Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development after 1976 and 1996 and is intended to define guidelines for future urban development. Despite the highly participatory process in the preparation of the New Urban Agenda, the negotiations in the final phase took place, as expected, exclusively within the circle of government negotiators. Junghans: "Although this process is a classic UN process driven by states, it is problematic that city representatives are excluded from the final decisions on their own development."
Germanwatch is particularly positive about the fact that the final document grants cities more self-determination and ownership in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and that "no one is to be left behind" - a reference to the particularly vulnerable population groups that must be included in the planning and implementation of future urban development policy.
The hope that a larger number of cities would lead the way with voluntary commitments, for example towards climate neutrality, has unfortunately not materialised. "Although there have been some very good announcements from civil society as well as from Germany and the EU regarding the creation of housing and climate-friendly mobility, concrete announcements from local governments themselves have been very limited," says Junghans.
Source: Germanwatch press release, 20 October 2016
Keywords:
DE-News, Communities, Quarters, SDG 2030, Settlements, City, UN (United Nations), Housing policy
"To be climate neutral by 2050, we not only need to make additional investments in green and innovative technologies of the future. Above all, we also need a shift from existing investments in 'brown' raw materials such as coal, oil and gas to 'green' climate-friendly technologies. The phase-out of fossil fuels must be global and rapid, in line with the goals of the World Climate Conference. Only in this way can we realistically achieve the climate protection goals. Churches, municipalities and also companies are setting new standards here and demonstrating the feasibility of the changeover in both ecological and economic terms," said Environment Minister Ulrike Höfken today at the event "Divestment and Sustainable Finance", which took place during the Climate Protection Weeks in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Höfken discussed new sustainable financing approaches together with Saori Dubourg, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and member of the Council for Sustainable Development, Oberkirchenrat Heinz Thomas Striegler, Head of Church Administration of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau and Chairman of the Working Group of Church Investors of the Protestant Church in Germany, as well as Christoph Bals, Political Director at Germanwatch e.V. and member of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council of the German Federal Government.
According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the financial sector in particular has one of the greatest levers of influence in the short term to encourage other sectors of the economy to do more to protect the climate. The central tool here is divestment, a withdrawal of capital from markets and products that violate sustainability criteria, such as fossil-intensive industries, Höfken continued. "Rhineland-Palatinate is one of seven German states that has already passed a divestment resolution: The special assets of the state and the funds of state foundations are invested according to sustainable criteria," the minister explained. The Energy Agency Rhineland-Palatinate will support municipalities in the state in establishing divestment approaches in the future, Höfken announced. Here, the discussion is still in its infancy and further development in terms of content is necessary.
Whether municipalities, churches or companies: All players are called upon to examine their investment strategies and invest in a sustainable future. The City of Bonn is one of the pioneer cities with its path to sustainable financial investment. Carsten Buschmann, Head of Department at the City of Bonn, said: "The City of Bonn is pursuing a holistic approach that will be further expanded. Our experience in Bonn has shown that sustainable investing and returns are not mutually exclusive."
Climate Protection Weeks Rhineland-Palatinate:
During the Climate Protection Weeks Rhineland-Palatinate from 12 November to 11 December 2020, experts will discuss concrete instruments and measures against the climate crisis. From climate-efficient construction to climate funds and sustainable management, the events will highlight numerous approaches to achieving climate protection goals. In addition to top-class experts such as Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Prof. Claudia Kemfert or Christoph Bals, renowned companies and organisations such as BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim and the European Investment Bank, numerous national and international politicians from Germany, Luxembourg, Rwanda, Canada and the EU will be represented.
Detailed information on the climate protection weeks can be found at
here
Source: PM of the MUEEF RLP from 16.11.2020
Keywords:
Renewable, Climate protection, Sustainable management, News Blog RLP, Environmental policy
ESA crowdfunding video from 12.09.2020
The popular ESA dormitory on the campus of the TU Kaiserslautern (TUK) is in great need of renovation. The foundation's renovation concept for TUK envisions the former experimental building becoming a CO2-neutral building. The estimated costs for the work have not yet been fully raised. Therefore, the ESA residents are participating with a crowdfunding campaign, which has been available on the Startnext platform since September 13.
"We are all grateful that we can continue to live in the ESA and contribute to the building's continued existence. There is a unique atmosphere here," says resident Marcel Meyer. At the end of May, the dormitory was finally handed over to its new owner, the TUK Foundation. Now the renovation work, worth a total of two million euros, is to get underway quickly. The remaining cost share of 700,000 euros is currently being raised by the foundation through fundraising. The ESA housing association's crowdfunding campaign is intended to generate further publicity and finance a modern solar system and insulation for the listed building.
On the campaign website at www.startnext.com/ein-haus-im-gruenen a pitch video and further information are available. "So that potential supporters can learn even more about us and life in the dormitory, we are also posting self-made video clips and a virtual tour of the building on the ESA website and on Facebook," explains Meyer.
Renovated all around, the dormitory will act as a gateway between the university campus and the Palatinate Forest in the future. "TU Kaiserslautern is proud to present such a unique building on its campus. With the energy-saving architecture, the builders have created a dormitory that has not lost its relevance today after 35 years. This is one reason why it was the first building on our campus to be listed at the end of last year," says Prof. Dr. Arnd Poetzsch-Heffter, President of TUK.
Annette Mechel, board member of the foundation, adds: "As the new owner of the dormitory, the TUK Foundation is pleased to be able to accompany this exciting project. The commitment and willingness of the residents to cooperate are helping us enormously to implement the not so easy renovation.
The crowdfunding campaign is expected to be available on Startnext for three months. The TUK Foundation and the ESA housing community are happy about every small donation that contributes to the preservation of the unique building. On the campaign website, supporters can receive a thank-you gift in return and request a donation receipt.
Further information is available at: esa.dormitory.uni-kl.de. On Facebook, the page of the ESA dormitory can be found under "@esakaiserslautern".
The TU Kaiserslautern is the only university in Rhineland-Palatinate with a technical and scientific orientation. Future-oriented study programs, practical training and a modern infrastructure are the framework conditions that students find at the campus university. The TU Kaiserslautern was awarded the Excellence Prize for Studies and Teaching in the nationwide competition "Excellent Teaching". With this award, the TU demonstrates the high value of its study programs. In addition, students and scientists benefit from the numerous internationally renowned research institutions that cooperate closely with the TU Kaiserslautern in the field of applied research.
Source: Press release of TU Kaiserslautern from 9.9.2020
Keywords:
Cohousing, DE-News, News Blog RLP, Affordable housing, Build it yourself, Student housing, Housing projects
Difu city survey "OB-Barometer 2020" gives municipalities' assessment of the future*
Berlin/Cologne. Climate protection and adaptation to the consequences of climate change will become increasingly important for cities. This is one of the findings of the survey of (Lord) Mayors of large German cities* conducted by the German Institute of Urban Affairs in January and February 2020. Almost two-thirds of the respondents named climate protection as an important municipal issue for the future. This means that the number of mayors who attribute an increase in importance to this field of municipal policy action has more than tripled compared to the previous year. Future surveys will show how strongly this result was influenced by the protests of the 'Fridays for Future' movement.
More than half of the respondents also see a growing need for action in the area of mobility. This topic, which already ranked second among the future topics last year, has thus once again gained in importance for city leaders. This may also have something to do with the fact that urban mobility is an essential aspect of municipal climate protection. The top future topic of the two previous years, digitalization, is in third place in the survey among the most important future topics for municipal policy. A good third of respondents believe that digitisation will become more important for cities in the next five years. Other municipal policy issues to which the mayors attach particularly high relevance for the future are the creation of affordable housing, the financial situation of the cities and the strengthening of the economy.
City leaders agree that the future challenges facing cities will require a high level of funding. This is particularly true for the topics of mobility and climate protection. Almost 90 percent of those for whom these are key issues for the future expect to have to make large or very large investments in these areas. The situation is similar in the areas of digitisation and the creation of affordable housing: here, around three quarters of the city leaders who see digitisation and housing among the most important future issues for cities still consider the future financing requirements in these policy areas to be high or very high.
* The survey was conducted before the Corona pandemic in Germany pushed other issues into the background. Even if normality should have returned to some extent in the cities after the state of emergency, the view of the political decision-makers on the municipal world will be different. Difu will therefore publish the full results of the OB-Barometer 2020 at a later date, possibly linked to current surveys that include "Corona aspects". This report therefore focuses primarily on the sub-area of "future issues".
Source: PM Difu from 12.5.2020
Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate emergency, Climate protection, Communities, New books and studies, City, Transition Town, Environmental policy
