An increasing number of municipalities in Germany are making investments to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their CO2 emissions, making them leaders in climate action. The International Conference on Climate Action (ICCA 2015) taking place at Hannover's Herrenhausen Palace on 1 and 2 October attempts to speed up this development.
State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth of the Federal Environment Ministry, Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Stefan Wenzel and the Head of the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu), Professor Martin zur Nedden set out the objectives of the conference today. It will present and discuss local approaches to climate action, climate adaptation and sustainable development. The conference intends to establish a strong message for the climate summit in Paris in December. ICCA2015 is one of the most prominent platforms for the implementation of climate action at local level.
More than 3000 cities and municipalities are already actively involved in climate action. Approximately 350 million euros from the National Climate Initiative (NKI) of the federal government is being invested in this context. The money goes to projects such as energy efficient LED lighting, the construction of bike lanes, mobility points or low-emission buses and climate friendly modernisation of administrative buildings and schools. These measures are often initiated and enforced by local climate managers who are also funded by the National Climate Initiative. A total of more than 400 of these managers have taken up activity in Germany and 64 of them in Lower Saxony. The vanguard in climate action are the so-called master plan municipalities, which have embarked on a path to make their municipalities practically climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this end they have developed comprehensive concepts and a wealth of individual measures. Out of the 19 pioneering communities in Germany, five are located in Lower Saxony - the city of Göttingen, the district of Osnabrück, the city of Osnabrück, the region around Hanover and the city of Hanover.
Environment State Secretary Flasbarth explained: "There are many cities and municipalities around the world successfully engaged in climate action. In the run-up to the Paris climate summit we want to present the projects to an international audience at an international municipality-focused climate action conference, because we will only succeed in adopting an ambitious global climate agreement if the world is convinced that climate action works on a day-to-day basis."
Environment Minister Wenzel added: "In the past it was often the smaller communities such as the bioenergy villages which showed what could be done in the future. Municipalities are in a position to become models for initiatives that must be taken on globally to preserve forests, protect soils and develop climate adaptation strategies."
The organisers expect approximately 300 representatives from municipalities, politics, networks, foundations and the scientific community. Alongside the conference there will be an important exhibition and an extensive programme of events entitled "Climate Neighbourhoods". The programme, particularly geared towards young people, is being organised in cooperation with the Climate and Energy Agency of Lower Saxony (KEAN). Domestic and international climate action projects will be on display and the programme includes discussions, film viewings and stage performances. Events will be held at the Herrenhausen orangery.
One example of municipal initiative in climate action is the annual local authority conference of the German Institute for Urban Affairs (Difu), which this year will take place back to back with the international conference. On 1 October the winners of the award "Municipal Climate Action 2015" will be presented at the conference. This competition takes place in cooperation with the German Association of Cities, the German Association of Districts and the German Association of Local Authorities. Professor Martin zur Nedden commented: "Together with the Federal Environment Ministry we honour particularly committed municipalities with this award. The prize of 25,000 euros has to be reinvested in climate action projects and the climate active cities, local authorities and districts are given a platform to present their successful projects. At the same time we want to motivate other municipalities to launch their own activities.