Towns and municipalities want master plan for climate action
ZDF
Germany needs a nationwide masterplan for climate action that is applicable to all towns and municipalities, according to Gerd Landsberg, the head of the confederation of German towns and municipalities, public TV station ZDF reports. Many communities have climate action plans in place but more efforts and funds are necessary to achieve change in public transport and train connections, he said. Landsberg’s demands came after the city of Constance on Friday announced a “climate emergency”, saying that all decisions by the city council should in the future be tested against their climate compatibility.
Germany’s energy transition is a vast national project that is reshaping the entire country. But, of course, it is also taking place on a local level. With the shift to a decentralised energy system, renewable power has been increasingly generated in, and often owned by, local communities. Urban centres are where much of the country’s energy is distributed and consumed. And as the energy transition expands its focus from the power sector to heating, buildings and mobility, population centres will be where crucial changes take place. Germany will only meet its climate targets if localities implement their own energy transitions, which can also bring economic benefits.
