Strong local commitment on climate requires equally strong national and

European frameworks for action

Findings from the City of Hannover Climate Protection Audit

for 1990-2005

Hans Mönninghoff• since 1989 Head of the City of Hannover

Directorate of Environmental Affairs

• since 1997 also Deputy of the Lord Mayor in his function as Chief Executive

• since 2005 also Head of Directorate of Economic Affairs

• till 2013 re-elected in all three functions

1650 employees, 315m Euro budget

World energy consumption will produce a climate-desaster, unless drastic steps are taken

billion t coal

Developing nations

Former USSR

Industrial nations

1970 1980 1990 2002 2020 2050

7.9

10.4

12.614.6

19.4

27.1

The necessity is clear:drastic reductions in CO2 emissions are necessary to avert climate collapse!

• Long-term: 80% CO2 reduction

• 50% reduction by 2030 / 2040

• minimum 20% reduction by 2020 (the current EU commitment)

• Many cities have set themselves ambitious climate protection targets.

• The cities of the European Climate Alliance have committed themselves to reduce their CO2 emissions by 10% over 5 years

• Signatories to the Aalborg Commitments entered an obligation to set specific targets within 24 months of signing.

• But I have the impression, that most Cities do not take their responsibilities seriously !

Hannover is an interesting example of the most that can be achieved by a local authority , within the current framework conditions

Hannover at the Heart of Europe

Hannover Region1.1 million inhabitants

Hannover520,000 inhabitantsHannover520,000 inhabitants

Hannover Climate Protection Audit,1990-2005

• City Council rejection of nuclear power followed in 1992 by a resolution to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by 25% by 2005

• Now we made an audit, to find out what really happened

Hannover has clear advantages:

• Stable socialist-green party majority on the city council with environmental priorities in the last 18 years

• Committed climate protection unit in the city administration

• Majority municipal holding in the city energy utility (enercity)

• Regional climate protection agency comprising around 60 institutions and companies

Notable successes:

• Climate protection fund, making grants totalling 5 million € each year for the last 7 years

• Excellent local public transport network• Extensive experience with low-energy-house

construction with 3000 units at the Kronsberg new-build settlement

• About 80 industrial and commercial companies in the Ecoprofit project

And the findings of the climate protection audit?

Against the baseline year, 1990, greenhouse gas emissions declined over 15 years by only about 7.5%!

That is much better than the most other cities in Europe, but from my point of view, it is not enough

Where does the CO2 come from ?

The average Hanoverian produced 11.8 tonnes of CO2 in 2005:

• 5.7 tonnes (48%) for electricity• 4.1 tonnes (34%) for heat (process heat, space heating,

hot water)• 2 tonnes (17%) for transport*

* Rounded up or down, the sectors do not add up to 100%.

Very positive developments in three areas where the municipality can exert a direct influence:

1. Electricity generation from combined heat and power plants (CHP)

2. Municipal buildings

3. Waste management

1. Electricity generation from combined heat and power plants (CHP)

• 30% of electricity generated from gas and coal-fired plants (no nuclear power!) comes from CHP plants (national average: 12 %)

• District heating delivery has increased by 21% over 15 years.

• Additionally: 91 decentral CHPs, total capacity 7.6 MW

2. Municipal buildings management

• Investment and staff training reduced heating energy consumption in municipal buildings by 24% between 1997 and 2005.

• Ongoing conversion to district heating and decentral CHP will improve the CO2 balance even more.

3. very good figures for waste management:

• Until 1990 rubbish was buried and gave off large amounts of methane.

• Today the thermal component (50% of waste) is incinerated and the heat used to generate electricity.

• Organics (the other 50%) are fermented, and the gas is also used for electricity generation.

There are three areas of positive development, although they are not as good as they are presented to the public:

1. Heating demand from private households

2. Industry

3. Renewable energy sources

1. Heating demand from private households

• Calculated on the 1990 housing stock, there was a reduction of around 13%.

• But by 2005 the average resident had about 10% more living space than in 1990

• Therefore, the actual reduction was only about 4%.

2. The actual energy balance for industry in Hannover:

• The savings on heating are about 16%

• But the electricity demand rose by about 12%, driven by economic growth.

• Thus, overall savings are about 9%

3. Renewable EnergyIn Hannover were built 1990-2005• a hydro-electric plant in our river• three large wind turbines,• More than 1000 sun-collectors• hundreds of photovoltaic plants.

• but all that produces only about 0.2% of the total energy demand in Hannover

The main positive effect of renewables in a city is, that politicans have an opportunity to have their picture in the local media, when the project is being started!

There are exceptionally positive regional prospects: • In the rural areas around Hannover, some 250

large wind turbine generators meet about 8% of the region’s electricity demand.

• Actually there is a boom of building biogas plants.

But we are far away from the EU-target of 20% for the renewables

Two developments, both very problematic but outside the sphere of local authority influence, mean that there’s a wide gap between our climate protection objectives and the reality:

1. Higher Electricity Consumption

• Private households are consuming 32% more power. There are more one-person households, more computers and electrical appliances, many of them with stand-by wastage.

• In the Hannover climate audit, the more rational CO2-neutral electricity generation in CHP plants and from renewable fuels and waste only just compensates for the increase in emissions from more electricity generation.

2. Transport:

• Despite several billion Euro invested in public transport for World-EXPO in 2000, only 4% more passengers

• Despite much better car-engine technology, CO2 from car-traffic has fallen by just 6%.

• Cause: more and bigger cars, more truck journeys

Air Travel

• The average German flies 135% further than 15 years ago.

• Aviation fuel consumption (despite optimised engines) almost doubled from 1990-2005.

• CO2 emissions rose by more than 70%.

• Aircraft emissions are especially bad for the climate.

How does Hannover compare with other cities?

• Fifth place from 78 entrants in the German competition “Capital of environment”

• No European city will meet ambitious climate protection targets (e.g. 25% by 2010; 40% by 2020).

• Audits by local authorities who boast of better results in the media should than Hannover be regarded with caution:

– percentage reductions say little about actual improvements; the key value is absolute CO2 emissions per resident.

– Statistics sometimes exclude electricity generation.– Statistics sometimes exclude transport.

Where do we go from here?

The first requirement is even stronger local commitment.

• Intensifying work and programmes so far• Even stronger involvement of city utilities e.g.:

– More advice on cutting electricity consumption (least cost planning)– Significant expansion of district heating use and strengthening

contracting activities for local CHP development

• Commitments from industries with very high energy needs• Devising a new climate protection programme

for 2008-2020

Setting higher objectives at local government level is doomed to failure unless European and national framework conditions are made much tougher.

Stronger intervention by the EU and national governments

• Quality standards for modernisation of old buildings must be analogue to New Build:– Retrofitting must be to at least LEH standard; – Deadline for replacement of all single-glazed windows

• EU requirements for electrical appliances to the latest technical standards, setting maximum electricity ratings and stopping stand-by wastage

Necessary measures for industry and power plants

• Certificates for CO2 trading must be made much more expensive for industry and energy providers.

• The extra income from this should be used for subsidising district heating expansion and local CHP plants more generously.

Necessary measures for motorised traffic

• Stricter CO2 fleet regulations for car manufacturers, the EU-Commission has capitulated in front of the car-industry

• Drastic increase in tolls for heavy goods vehicles

• Divert freight to rail and ship

• Introduce a high European tax on aviation fuel

The necessary radical measures are a tremendous challenge for business and society as a whole, but also a tremendous opportunity:

Advantage 1: More local purchasing powerReducing imports of gas and oil strengthens local purchasing power.

Advantage 2: More JobsAlready, about 3,000 people in the Hannover region work in climate protection.

Advantage 3: Energy saving is a big wourld-wide market in the future - technological Know-How stimulates exports

Advantage 4: Acting fast is cheaper !

The Stern Report (a study commissioned by the British Government) has shown:• All the measures necessary to avert climate collapse

would cost a maximum of 1 - 3% of the world’s gross business product.

• But if we don’t take deliberate action, the irreversible damage from climate change will be a burden of over 10% on the global economy.

Acceptance

• Radical measures need a shift in public awareness and readiness to accept it, otherwise politicians won’t be able to push them through against the resistance of the specialist lobbies.

• We must do our job, that this public awareness doesn’t develop when it’s too late – when we’re confronted with a climate catastrophe.

Thank you!The complete report is ready in english in may 07; ask for it by mail:

67.11@hannover-stadt.de