Association of the German Wood-Based Panel Industry e.V.
3:08 min. published on 8.3.2017
30.06.2020 - 16 players in the German financial sector, with assets of more than €5.5 trillion and over 46 million customer connections in Germany, have signed a voluntary commitment to align their loan and investment portfolios in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Through the agreed measurement, publication and target setting to reduce the emissions associated with the loan and investment portfolios, the financial sector intends to make a contribution to climate protection and support the sustainable and future-oriented further development of the economy. This brings the German financial centre one step closer to the goal set by the German government at the beginning of 2019 of making Germany one of the leading locations for sustainable finance.
This initiative, which originated in the banking sector of the financial sector, aims to play an active role in shaping one of the most important societal tasks for future sustainability, namely the successful societal transformation to limit climate change. The signatories align their respective products and services as well as their commitments and initiatives accordingly in order to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and to aim for the 1.5 degree target by financing the transformation towards a low-emission and climate-resilient economy and society. At the same time, active support for the transformation will strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the companies financed and reduce sustainability and default risks for the banks.
Specifically, this means that by the end of 2022, each signatory will develop and implement mutually acceptable methodologies to measure the climate impact of its credit and investment portfolios and then manage them in line with national and international climate targets. The agreement applies only to those investment portfolios that are not the subject of fund or mandate business. The fund and mandate business will be taken into account gradually without any fixed timeframe.
The signatories want to support each other in collecting the necessary emissions data and developing methods for measurement and approaches for managing the banking business in line with the targets. In order to meet the shared responsibility and that of each actor, each signatory commits to report annually (e.g. within its existing reporting formats) on individual progress towards implementation.
The impetus for this voluntary commitment came from a group of financial institutions initiated by Triodos Bank and at the same time via a WWF bank working group. Since March, these two groups of banks have merged the previously parallel discussions into the present voluntary commitment. This is open to all financial actors for adoption and signature.
The wide range of initial signatories in terms of company size (from large banks to small specialist banks) and affiliation to different areas of the financial sector (e.g. state banks, commercial banks, sustainability banks, foreign banks and pension funds), shows that this challenge is widely accepted and that implementation by financial players is possible regardless of size or specific asset classes.
In the international context, the Climate Agreement (June 2019), the Collective Commitment to Climate Action (UN Climate Summit in September 2019) and, in the context of the 25th Climate Conference (December 2019), a voluntary commitment by the Spanish financial sector have already been signed. All of these agreements have comparable structures and target levels on which the German voluntary commitment now made builds. Comparability with the other international agreements enables international financial institutions in particular to develop uniform processes and standards and ensures that the greatest possible impact can be achieved efficiently and without redundancies.
The current overview of the signatories as well as the complete voluntary commitment can be found at:
www.klima-selbstverpflichtung-finanzsektor.de
Keywords:
Procurement, DE-News, Climate protection, Sustainable management, Transition Town, Environmental policy
The city of Eschweiler (North Rhine-Westphalia) has been awarded the climate protection prize "Klimaaktive Kommune 2019″ by the Federal Environment Ministry in category 1: "Resource and energy efficiency in the municipality". The city of Eschweiler is committed to more resource and climate protection with its Factor X construction areas.
Film about the Faktor X housing estate in Eschweiler:
(6:25 min.) published on Nov 5, 2019
The prize is awarded by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) as part of the National Climate Initiative (NKI), which is implemented by the German Institute of Urban Affairs gGmbh (DIFU).
More information about the climate protection award "Climate Active Community 2019″ is available on the website of the National Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Government :
www.klimaschutz.de/stadt-eschweiler
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/neue-hoefe-duerwiss
All Factor X settlements:
http://sdg21.eu/thema/faktor-x-siedlung
Keywords:
Awards, Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Faktor X / ResScore, Movies, Movies 4 to 10 Min, Wood construction, Climate protection, Communities, Media, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, News Blog NRW, Recycling, Resource efficiency, Settlements, Sufficiency, Tools, Contests & Prizes, Housing, Certification & Labels, Life cycle assessment, Ecology
Lecture by Richard Sennett and Saskia Sassen on 9 June 2016 at the Oskar von Miller Forum (International Meeting Centre of the Bavarian Construction Industry) in Munich.
From the press release of the lecture announcement: "Richard Sennett and Saskia Sassen examine the way in which modern society is evolving - to use the words of the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt - towards a state of "brutal simplicity" in which clear distinctions are made between winners and losers, religious beliefs, natives and strangers. Contrast this with the idea of the "open city," which promotes an opening up of the city in terms of a complex interplay of politics, social life, and culture."
Video recording 1:55 min.:
www.oskarvonmillerforum.de/videoarchiv/the-open-city-richard-sennett-saskia-sassen.html
Keywords:
DE-News, Movies, Movies > 45 Min, Mix of uses, Social / Culture
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
