29:46 min., published 2/3/2021
The Federal Cabinet today approved the draft of a timber construction initiative presented by Federal Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz and Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir. This strategy of the Federal Government is intended to strengthen the use of wood as a sustainable raw material in the construction sector and to ensure more climate protection, resource efficiency and faster construction. With eight fields of action, from the exemplary role of the federal government and the strengthening of research and innovation, to securing skilled labour and knowledge transfer, to securing the supply of raw materials, the use of wood is to be significantly improved and the timber construction quota increased by 2030.
Obstacles are removed and equal competitive opportunities for the use of a wide variety of building materials are ensured. The fields of action of the timber construction initiative describe priority topics and approaches to solutions that are implemented by the relevant federal ministries under their own responsibility and subject to the budget funds made available.
About seven per cent of the CO2-emissions in Germany come from the construction and modernisation of buildings. Since trees in the growth phase CO2 bind, the carbon is permanently stored with the wood used in the building. At the same time, wood is suitable for serial and modular building. With this construction method, shorter production and construction times are achieved by means of prefabrication, which means that affordable housing is created more quickly.
Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Construction: To create more affordable and good housing in which people feel comfortable, we want to improve serial and modular construction. Wood is particularly suitable here. It is light, versatile, durable and reusable. The wooden roof trusses, half-timbered constructions and wooden houses of earlier generations demonstrate this. At the same time, local wood is on our doorstep. Using this saves transport costs, increases regional added value and improves the local economic cycle.
Furthermore, wood is popular. It creates a good indoor climate, people feel comfortable in buildings made of wood. Countries like Switzerland, Austria, Sweden or Finland show how well wood can be used in modern buildings. With the timber construction initiative, we show the great diversity of this raw material and want to strengthen the sustainable use of wood in our country.
Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Food: The forest is our natural ally in the fight against the climate crisis - it extracts the climate-damaging CO2 and binds carbon in the wood. Our goal is to use wood for as long as possible. Every new wooden building is a CO2-In comparison to other construction methods, up to 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions can be saved - a real win-win situation for the climate and our forest. We urgently need this, because the consequences of the climate crisis have already weakened and damaged our forest. The timber construction initiative also helps to ensure that the wood from the necessary forest conversion and from forest damage is utilised in a high-quality and sustainable manner. This helps the forest owners and the many businesses in the forestry and timber industry, especially in rural areas..
Worldwide, but also in Europe and Germany, the last few years have seen impressive buildings made of wood and in wood hybrid construction emerged. Nevertheless, the timber construction quota in Germany remains below the possible level. While a rate of 26 percent has already been achieved in single- and two-family house construction throughout Germany, it is still below five percent in multi-storey residential construction. One of the aims of the timber construction initiative is to tap this potential. At the same time, the timber construction initiative sends a strong signal for the necessary transformation and decarbonisation of the economy.
Various dialogue formats with the federal states and associations are planned to implement the timber construction initiative. An initial kick-off event will be held in Berlin on 10 October 2023 with the participation of the two Federal Ministers Klara Geywitz and Cem Özdemir.
A core element of this is the establishment of a regular "Federal Timber Construction Round Table" for the transfer of knowledge and exchange of experience with the Länder and municipal umbrella organisations.
The detailed timber construction initiative and further information can be found here:
www.bmwsb.bund.de/holzbauinitiative
Source: PM 21 June 2023
Keywords:
Procurement, CO2-neutral, DE-News, Funding, Wood construction, Climate emergency, Climate protection, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, Affordable housing, Quarters, Settlements, Environmental policy, Housing
The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs is supporting the climate-friendly construction of new buildings with a new funding programme that will start on 1 March 2023. For the first time, the entire life cycle of a building will be considered - from construction to operation to potential deconstruction in the distant future. The buildings are characterised by low greenhouse gas emissions in the life cycle, high energy efficiency, low operating costs and a high proportion of renewable energies for the generation of heat and electricity. This funding thus makes a contribution to climate protection and to meeting national climate targets.
Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister for Housing, Building and Urban Development: Climate-friendly building is no longer a can-do decision, but a must. Those who build today as they did in the past in order to save money are harming the climate and their wallets through horrendous ancillary costs.
With this 750 million euro annual funding programme, we exclusively promote climate-friendly new construction. Anyone can use the KfW-funded interest rate reduction. It helps exactly when it is often most difficult: when starting the financing for a home or apartment building.
It is important to see this funding programme as part of a large, social and climate-friendly construction funding programme of the federal government. Looking at the year 2023 alone, we are investing several billion in social housing, Trainee- and student housing, in the promotion of home ownership for families, the construction of apartment buildings and cooperative housing. Targeted funding, thinking about tomorrow today and excluding windfall profits - that is the funding principle of this federal government in building.
To the programme:
The federal funding for efficient buildings - climate-friendly new construction is a measure of cross-sectoral climate protection. The new requirements for greenhouse gas emissions in the life cycle are as follows a.o. an important contribution to limiting "grey emissions", the greenhouse gas emissions that can be traced back to the production and construction of buildings, including the supply chain. According to the BBSR-According to the study "Environmental Footprint of Buildings in Germany", the production, construction and modernisation of buildings accounts for around 7 % of national greenhouse gas emissions (about 65 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents). Added to this are 35 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents from suppliers abroad.
In addition, the new programme contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector to 67 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents and thus achieve both the national and the European energy and climate targets by 2030. The annual CO2-equivalent reduction targets for the individual sectors are derived from the permissible annual emission quantities of the Federal Climate Protection Act.
Programme funds amounting to 1.1 billion euros are available from the Climate and Transformation Fund in 2023. Of this amount, 750 million euros will be allocated to the Climate-Friendly New Construction funding programme and 350 million euros to home ownership funding for families.
In the appendix you will find the Guideline for the "Climate-friendly new construction" programme
Source: PM BMWSB 25.1.2023
Keywords:
DE-News, Funding, Climate protection, Quarters, Settlements, Environmental policy, Housing, Housing policy
Following China and the USA, India now also wants to approve the Paris Climate Agreement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the date as 2 October. It is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. India is the world's third largest producer of greenhouse gases.
Read more on today.com
Keywords:
Climate protection, UN (United Nations), Environmental policy
In the Bavarian 10,000 Houses Program, there is now also money for electricity storage units if the user installs them together with a PV system. Until the end of 2020, 24 million euros are available for the entire program.
The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched the new photovoltaic storage programme. It is part of the well-known 10,000 Homes Programme. From 1 August, owners of detached and semi-detached houses can apply for funding for a new electricity storage unit in conjunction with a photovoltaic system. In addition, there is the possibility for a grant for the installation of a private charging station for electric vehicles.
"We need to make better use of the sun's potential," says Minister of Economics Hubert Aiwanger. " With the new support programme, we will give additional momentum to the energy transition. It sets the right incentives to advance the decentralised expansion of renewable energies in Bavaria and will actively involve citizens in the energy transition." Citizens can also reduce their electricity costs with the help of the programme. The smart controls and connections provided for under the funding will also enable plant operators to participate in regional direct electricity marketing in the future.
The subsidy amount is graduated according to the capacity of the battery storage unit and ranges from 500 euros for a three-kilowatt-hour storage unit to 3,200 euros for a 30-kilowatt-hour storage unit. The prerequisite, however, is that the applicant simultaneously installs a new photovoltaic system whose output in kilowatt-peak is at least equal to the value of the capacity of the battery storage unit. For an additional charging station for electric vehicles, the subsidy is 200 euros. The Ministry of Economics is providing up to 24 million euros for the 10,000 Houses Programme until the end of 2020.
The successful EnergySystemHouse programme component will be continued. There, too, the use of solar energy and its storage in combination with energy-efficient refurbishment or particularly efficient houses and systems will be promoted. "The targeted promotion of innovative technologies is working, manufacturers are developing new systems and bringing them to market," says Aiwanger. "The number of particularly efficient heat pumps on the market has increased from 40 models to over 160 models. In the case of high-efficiency heat storage systems, the eligible models have increased fivefold to more than 250 models in the same period. Energy advisors report that many building owners are improving their plans and constructing or refurbishing buildings much more efficiently because of the programme."
All subsidies of the 10,000 Houses Programme are coordinated with the federal programmes and can be combined. It is very easy to apply electronically. Further information and the application platform can be found under this link.
2.8.2019 | Source: StMWi
Keywords:
DE-News, Energy storage, Funding, Climate protection, News Blog Bavaria, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Electricity storage, Environmental policy, Ecology
