New climate plan and climate protection law for Hamburg: Senate adopts concrete measures for the next 10 years and sets new CO2 targets for 2030 and 2050

03 Dec 2019 15:04 Environment

With a continuation of its climate plan and a new climate protection law, the Senate has agreed on two decisive steps in order to achieve Hamburg's climate goals. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 55 percent by 2030 and Hamburg is to become climate-neutral by 2050. The climate plan describes responsibilities and the respective CO2 reduction targets in the sectors "transport", "private households", "trade and services" and "industry". It contains a large number of concrete measures that should lead to a necessary reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030. The draft of the new climate protection law creates a binding legal framework for these measures.

Mayor Peter Tschentscher: "Hamburg has achieved a lot in climate protection since 2011. We are rehabilitating schools and public buildings, focusing on zero-emission local public transport, investing in shore power in the port, and do away with coal for district heating. CO2 emissions in Hamburg have been reduced every year since 2012, by an average of over 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. With the measures now adopted, we will certainly achieve the 55 percent climate protection target for 2030, and presumably even exceed it. As a modern monopoly and a major industrial location in Germany, Hamburg is making an important contribution to compliance with the Paris Climate Protection Agreement.

Senator for the Environment and Energy Jens Kerstan: "Climate protection is not an end in itself. Hamburg must do everything it can to protect people from the consequences of climate change. With the Climate Plan, we are showing a way in which Hamburg can concretely achieve its goals and live up to its responsibility. We have tightened up the interim target and want to reduce CO2 emissions by 55 percent by 2030. Hamburg is to become climate neutral by 2050 at the latest. It is a long way and the challenges are great. But we are now making progress and have adopted a large number of concrete measures in the climate plan. The Senate will invest billions. In addition to investment, promotion and innovation, we also need new rules and obligations in some areas so that we can make faster progress towards achieving our goals. We are therefore presenting Germany's most ambitious and far-reaching climate protection law, some of which is breaking new legal ground. Some regulations will require individual contributions, but we do not want to overburden anyone. We will therefore ensure a fair and socially balanced distribution of burdens. However, climate protection also offers opportunities: if we take up the challenge resolutely, the traffic turnaround, the heat turnaround, and an energy efficient transport system can all be achieved.
Necessary modernizations of buildings, power plants and industries will become a job engine and innovation driver for Hamburg. The climate plan and climate law do not yet solve all the problems. But they are a big step forward and a good foundation on which to build further climate protection efforts in the future."

Reduction target and binding controlling
By 2030, Hamburg will have reduced CO2 emissions by 55 percent compared with the base year 1990: by 2050, the city aims to reduce emissions by at least 95 percent in order to achieve climate neutrality.

Hamburg's CO2 emissions amounted to around 20.7 million tonnes in 1990 and are to be reduced to 9.3 million tonnes by 2030. Since CO2 emissions have already been reduced by 20.8 percent by 2017 (to around 16.4 million tonnes), the new reduction target calls for a further reduction of around 7 million tonnes by 2030.

In order for Hamburg to achieve its reduction targets, a fundamental course must be set for climate protection at the federal level as well. The expansion path for renewable energies and the phasing out of coal are of crucial importance. Hamburg's biggest responsibility is to expand and improve the quality of district heating supplies with the aim of complete decarbonisation in the medium term. Important cornerstones for this are the shutdown and climate-friendly replacement of the Wedel power plant and the climate-friendly conversion of the Tiefstack power plant.

According to current calculations, taking into account the potential of the federal electricity mix and district heating (savings through energy mix), there is a difference of around 4.1 million tonnes of CO2, which must be reduced by a mix of further independent measures in Hamburg.

In the climate plan, the reduction obligations are defined for each sector: the Climate Plan 2019 builds on the predecessor plan of 2015. It distinguishes between four major sectors of CO2 emitters: private households (PHH), commercial trade services (GHD), industry and transport. A fifth major area is climate change adaptation. Specific savings targets are set for the sectors in percent and tonnes.

The PHH sector (including buildings) is expected to reduce emissions by a further 2 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030, the GHD sector by 2.1 million tonnes, industry by 1.6 million tonnes and transport by around 1.4 million tonnes (starting in 2017)

Responsibility for compliance lies with the according authorities. The environmental authority is responsible for coordinating the climate plan. The implementation and success of the measures are reviewed annually, the citizenship is informed every two years and the climate plan is adapted at the latest every four years.

Climate plan
With its climate plan, Hamburg is planning to introduce the necessary measures in the coming years so that citizens can continue to live in a city that is worth living in, economically successful and affordable, a large metropolis that makes its contribution to coping with climate change.

A number of measures are linked to the plan, such as renovation and decarbonisation timetables, energy standards for buildings, expansion measures for public transport and cycling, as well as support for climate protection projects and on-site consulting for companies. (See below for a list of selected measures)

The measures to implement the climate plan require considerable financial resources. Cumulated over the term of the climate plan up to 2030, a total volume of around EUR 2 billion is assumed on the basis of the current planning status, which is naturally not yet estimable.
A substantial part of the projects in the various sectors is already the subject of ongoing planning by the respective authorities or public enterprises (e.g. public transport expansion) and therefore cannot be estimated separately. An equally substantial part of the projects is the subject of financial planning by private partners or stakeholders, in particular from business and industry, so that these do not trigger any or only a pro rata need for financing or promotion on the part of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Additional funds from the federal government are required for the federal states and municipalities in order to meet the enormous financial challenges of climate protection.

The remaining additional financial requirements for the financial year 2020 will be specified and raised in a post-approval printed matter and for the financial years from 2021 onwards in the respective budget statements. Budgetary provisions have already been made for corresponding reserves for the starting year 2020.

Climate Protection Act
With the draft of the climate protection law, the Hamburg Senate intends to incorporate the limitation of global warming as a state goal in the Hamburg State Constitution. The draft comprises 31 paragraphs and, according to today's Senate resolution, will be submitted to the citizens for further consultation. For the constitutional amendment a two-thirds majority in the citizenship is necessary.

The goals of the climate plan are incorporated in the law. The same applies to the procedure for regular revision and adaptation. In addition, a number of substantive provisions are made.

Among other things, it provides for an obligation to install solar systems on Hamburg's roofs from 2023 (in new buildings) and a mandatory share of renewable energies for an exchange of heating systems from mid-2021. Oil heating systems in new buildings are no longer to be permitted from 2022; when replacing existing systems, heating oil as a source of energy is no longer permitted from 2026. There will be exceptions for all these requirements in order to prevent the development of unreasonable hardness in individual cases. A scientifically occupied climate board is to be installed, which advises the Senate. Public-sector buildings are to be built and renovated in an exemplary energy-efficient manner. The state administration and its vehicle fleet are to be organised climate neutrally by 2030. In addition, the law defines targets for sustainable and low-emission mobility.

Short film about the climate plan: https://youtu.be/VhbwFX7QsF8

New climate plan and climate protection law for Hamburg

Press contact

Press office of the Senate
Marcel Schweitzer
phone: 040 42831 2242
email: pressestelle@sk.hamburg.de
 
Press office of the authority for environment and energy
Jan Dube
phone: 040 42840 - 8006
email: jan.dube@bue.hamburg.de