Climate Congress in Waiblingen: Green light for the energy transition!

Climate Congress in Waiblingen: Green light for the energy transition!

The climate congress in Waiblingen, which generated great interest today, was dedicated to the ecological energy transition and climate protection. Among the participants was State Environment Minister Thekla Walker from the Greens, who emphasized the transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energies as the central theme of the event. The high number of participants demonstrated the great interest in this topic. During the congress, the human influence on global warming was intensively discussed, with critical voices also being expressed about the relevance of climate protection in the current era. [ZVW] reports that the event was seen as an important forum for exchanging ideas and strategies.

Another important event on the topic of climate protection recently took place in Karlsruhe. The municipal climate congress on May 17, 2023 brought together over 400 representatives from politics, administration and experts, with 70 participants also joining in digitally. The congress aimed to promote exchange about climate protection measures and to provide support for the municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. [KEA-BW] emphasizes that Dr. Frank Mentrup, the mayor of Karlsruhe, emphasized society's willingness to protect the climate and appealed to politicians to provide more support for projects such as district heating, geothermal energy, photovoltaics and hydrogen.

Growing awareness of climate protection

As part of the municipal climate congress, the European Energy Award was presented to a total of 41 municipalities and districts, with 11 of them being classified in the highest category, gold. Dr. Franziska Brantner from BMWK pointed out the economic damage caused by extreme weather events, which amounts to around 80 billion euros. This highlights the urgency of taking action against climate change.

The discussions also focused on concrete suggestions as to how municipalities can accelerate their climate-friendly initiatives. Environment Minister Thekla Walker created a positive atmosphere by praising the progress in climate protection and introducing the newly founded central contact point “Renewable BW” to support municipalities. This initiative is intended to particularly promote the expansion of renewable energies and support smaller municipalities.

Strategic measures for the future

At the congress, several experts called for courageous action on climate policy. Prof. Dominik Düber emphasized that the time has come for specific measures to integrate climate protection into all 1,101 municipalities in the state. Matthias Rauch from KEA-BW also presented various funding opportunities for municipalities, while Ragnar Watteroth and Birgit Schwegle provided information about the activities of the Karlsruhe district.

Finally, the increasing damage costs caused by climate disasters were discussed by Prof. Dr. Jesko Hirschfeld addresses what further increases the pressure to act. Suggestions for adapting to climate change were made by Dr. Ellinor von der Forst and Dr. Meike Widdig presented, while Richard Kaum presented the status report on sustainable mobility for Baden-Württemberg.

In view of these committed discussions and initiatives, it is clear that both the climate congress in Waiblingen and the municipal climate congress in Karlsruhe represent crucial platforms for future steps in climate protection. Calling on municipalities to be active with suggestions and support from the state government are steps in the right direction.