Local climate-protection solutions

Energy and climate protection

As main contributors of CO2 emissions, electricity and thermal energy are two key issues when it comes to protecting the climate.

Producing electricity from the sun, wind, water, and biomass is critical to achieving a climate-neutral municipality. Renewable power sources are all the more important, since mobility and heat will be increasingly electricity-based in the future as well. At the same time, generating electricity locally also means a municipality is less affected by turbulence on the international commodity markets.

In addition, energy-efficient buildings and sustainable urban planning are extremely important, which is why a score of measures pertain to this area of action. For years, the City of Freiburg has been setting a good example for sustainability in its own properties and administrative activities. There are also well-established subsidy programs for citizens as a means of supporting energy-efficient modernization measures. Nevertheless, it is necessary to proceed far more ambitiously in all areas in order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality. This requires support on state, federal, and EU levels as well—support that Freiburg frequently petitions as part of its climate commitment.