From Sustainable Development to a Low Carbon Strategy

The slides from "Moving Cities to Low Carbon - Lessons from Hannover" at The University of Sydney, 15 October 2009 are available from Hans Mönninghoff's web site. Unfortunately they are 3 Mbytes of Powerpoint. Here is the text:

From Sustainable Development to a Low Carbon Strategy on a local level

(and how to combine environment and economy)

The example of the City of Hannover (Germany)

Hans Mönninghoff

• since 1989 Head of the City of Hannover Directorate of Environmental Affairs
• since 1997 also Deputy to the Lord Mayor in his function as Chief Executive
• since 2005 also Head of Directorate of Economic Affairs

• until 2013 re-elected in all three functions

1,700 employees, 370 Mio. Euro p.a. budget

Hans Mönninghoff in the political Structure of the City of Hannover

Hannover: A Liveable City at the Heart of Europe

• Pop: 520,000 inhabitants (Region: 1.1 Mil.)

City of Hannover

• 204 km ²
• Capital and economic centre of Lower Saxony
• the world’s largest trade fair location
• 245.000 jobs in service industries (e.g. insurances) and manufacturing and processing industries (e.g. automobile)
• 35.000 students in famous universities

Presentation Overview

1. Four challenges of sustainable development
2. Four important principles of Urban Planning as instrument of sustainable development
3. Three central fields of a Low Carbon Strategy as part of Local Sustainability
4. Three economic advantages

Four Challenges of Sustainable Development

Sustainability is more than environmental policy

• stable population and social structures
• employment
• environmental quality, quality of life
• stable municipal finances

Challenge I Demographic Change 2005 - 2050
Challenge II Employment
Challenge III Maintaining the Quality of Urban Life, Crucial Soft Location Factors

Challenge IV Stable Municipal Finances
income and expenditure must be balanced !
(1,580 billion €)

Four Principles of Urban Planning as Part of a of Sustainable Development and low carbon strategy

Planning principle I
all new building developments in the region only along existing rail routes

Planning principle II

• minimum out-of-town shopping centres encouraging car use
• support for city centre shopping
• local shops

Planning principle III

• reutilisation of industrial wasteland; Hannover has extensive experience with decontamination of polluted sites.
• There is a movement of older people to the City from the Hinterland
• single-family-homes in the City, to keep young people here

Why do we speak about low carbon strategies?

1. Transport
Hannover has a successful Long-Term Transport Plan with a good Modal Split

• 27% on foot
• 13% by bicycle
• 41% by car - today no more cars per household than 1995 (411 per 1,000 inhabitants)
• 17% by public transport

Far-sighted planning for cars has averted serious traffic problems.

• very good Light Rail/U-Bahn network with 12 routes
• 63 Bus routes
• 933 km of Public Transport routes in the city
• 163 million Passengers per year in the region (+10% in the last 5 years)
• 160 Mil. € subsidies per year
• good connections with the train network

2. Waste Mangment

• Waste Quantities in the City of Hannover
• waste avoidance
• (- 380,000 t)
• dumping of soil, building rubble, sewage sludge
• (- 340,000t)
• recycling of compost, organic waste (+ 72,000t)
• recycling of glass, paper, packaging and scrap metal (+ 41,700t)

Waste Treatment Concept for the Hannover Region from 2005

• 365,000 tonnes p.a. unavoidable and unrecyclable waste
• about 60% coarse fraction incinerated in a new waste-to-energy plant
• about 30% fine fraction biologically treated in a fermentation plant
• about 10% separated wood-fraction used in a special wood-fuelled power station

Waste Treatment Centre

• house insulation
• construction of Low Energy Houses
• high-efficiency heating systems e.g. decentral CHP plants
• extension of the district heating network
• electricity saving campaigns
• renewable energy use

Economic Advantage 1: more local purchasing power

• In 2005 Hannover’s private households spent around 220 million € on gas and oil, most of which came from abroad.
• Reducing these imports will increase local purchasing power considerably.

Economic Advantage II: a stronger regional craft industries

• Investment in and technologies for climate protection stimulate a dynamic added-value chain for the regional craft trades and businesses - an important job motor for the local economy .

Economic Advantage III: more jobs !
In the Hannover region there are already 3,000 people working in climate protection.

In Germany jobs in wind energy is rising from 45.000 (in 2004) to 106.000 (in 2009)

Worldwide more than 2 Mio. jobs in the solar-industry in the next 20 years (greenpeace-study)

It is funny to read in THE AUSTRALIAN, Sept.14th 2009, The union-leader Tony Maher says “Green jobs are dopey”

There is a lot to do !

G20 low carbon competitiveness
Report of the Climate Institute (Sep. 2009)

Australia is ranked 15th out of 19 industrial countries and is the lowest of the Annex I countries of the Kyoto Protocol

The GDP per tonne of CO2
is very different
in the countries
(intelligent use of energy)
Australia 0,8
Germany 2,0
Japan 3,6

Economic growth and sustainable development are not contradictions:

• Sustainable development means that economic, ecological and social issues are harmonised.
• Economic and ecology are not adversaries; they enhance each other’s potential.
• Better environmental standards and quality of life are important soft factors for the economic development of a city and a nation.

Adapted from: "Moving Cities to Low Carbon - Lessons from Hannover", Hans Mönninghoff, 2009