Key reading: The social impact of the Energiewende
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The US economist and thinker Jeremy Rifkin's book explores how internet technology and renewable energy are merging to create a "Third Industrial Revolution." He presents the idea of millions of people producing and sharing green energy in homes, offices, and factories as an "energy internet" that echoes the democratization of information online.
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Harald Welzer, one of Germany’s most prominent public intellectuals, argues in this book that we can’t pursue business as usual in growth-oriented, consumption-minded economies and hope to head off climate change and other disasters. There are concrete, hands-on solutions going well beyond green-washing, he argues. (Not as yet available in English translation).
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Colourful website with all you ever wanted to know about best-practice Vauban, a district of the South German city of Freiburg where residents play an active role in urban development characterised by low energy and energy-plus buildings, ecological sanctuary systems, green transport and wildlife conservation.
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Germany’s development bank KfW explains in this one-page brief what must be done to bring Germany’ housing stock up to standard on energy efficiency and how this will be executed.
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This report describes the Passive House concept in the context of the EU 2021 requirements for new buildings with close to zero energy demand. The Passive House concept goes beyond these requirements, potentially achieving an energy surplus (in German).
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Accessable 16-page brief on the Energiewende from the federal government’s perspective (in German).
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An insightful report on how to finance the renovations and retrofitting needed for Germany to meet energy efficiency targets for buildings (in German).
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Facts and figures covering climate targets, emissions trends, the energy mix and economic effects.
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The second edition of the first-ever Energiewende tourism guide, published by Baedecker, one of Germany’s oldest guide book publishers, and funded by the German Renewable Energies Agency, among others.
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Graphics on German tourists and sustainability.
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A study looking at why Germans object to Energiewende-related installations when they do, based on recent case studies (in German).
Date:
Wednesday, 5 November, 2014 - 00:00