One of the truisms of the present day is that time is of the essence when it comes to the impending climate catastrophe. So it was only logical that politicians in the past few weeks at the referendum “Berlin 2030 climate-neutral” argued above all about dates: When should this topic be voted on – together with the election to the Berlin House of Representatives in February? Or will the repeat election become the next breakdown election?
It is now clear that Berliners will only decide in March whether the four-million metropolis should drastically reduce its CO₂ emissions by 2030. And not only in 2045 – as the Berlin state government has imposed on itself.
However, the core question of this referendum has hardly been discussed: would it be realistic at all to turn the polluted city of Berlin into a clean city within seven years? The project resembles “the ten-year project for the moon landing in the 1960s,” say the activists themselves.
Bettina Jarasch is Berlin’s environment and transport senator. As a Green, she is not only officially in favor of rebuilding the city, but also out of conviction. Regarding the petition for a referendum, however, she says: “In all honesty, I can’t plead for a law that I can’t implement.” Unlike the Senate, the activists’ legislative proposal is not just about climate protection goals, but about clear “climate protection obligations”.
According to the initiative’s legal text, the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions in Berlin must be reduced by at least 95 percent by 2030 compared to emissions in 1990. She is happy about the additional pressure “that the referendum puts on climate protection,” says Jarasch. At the same time, she can give many examples of why she thinks this cannot work. That starts on the street.
It’s not just daily political life that’s a hindrance
In a climate city plan developed together with scientists, the activists want to reduce CO₂ emissions in city traffic to 750,000 tons a year by 2030. In 2018 it was still four million tons. Among other things, they are calling for public transport and cycle paths to be expanded and access for combustion engines to be restricted.
“Even in our left-wing, progressive coalition, almost everything that would reduce car traffic quickly and effectively cannot be implemented,” says Jarasch about the Senate made up of the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party. “Every neighborhood block, every 30 km/h zone, zero-emission zone or city toll – everything is controversial.”
But it’s not just everyday politics that inhibits. In its critical assessment of the referendum, the Berlin Senate relies on a feasibility study by the Institute for Ecological Economic Research. The authors assume that the capital could definitely become climate-neutral in the 2040s. “A significantly earlier target achievement is unlikely.”
The scientists cite a number of practical reasons for this. A large number of specially trained craftsmen are needed just for the energetic refurbishment of public buildings. But they are already lacking in the construction industry and cannot be trained in such a short time.
The economic researchers also question other basic assumptions of the climate protectors: Berlin imports around half of the energy that its residents consume. The “Berlin 2030 climate-neutral” scenario assumes that these imports will then come from renewable sources. But whether that will be the case is up to the federal government or the state of Brandenburg, which supplies the city with some electricity.
Cities such as Tübingen and Freiburg serve as role models
The activists’ ideas about the use of CO₂-neutral hydrogen are similarly optimistic. The initiative assumes that well over three million megawatt hours can be generated by 2030. So far, however, the substance has only been produced on a very small scale in Germany. The authors of the study commissioned by the Senate therefore believe that hydrogen “will not become a game changer in the short to medium term”.
Cyclists cross a street in Berlin (symbol image).
(Photo: IMAGO/Dirk Sattler/IMAGO/Dirk Sattler)
A look at the rest of the country shows how ambitious the goal of the activists is. In dozens of municipalities, city or local councils have decided to be climate-neutral by a certain year – from the metropolis of Munich to Saerbeck in North Rhine-Westphalia with 7000 inhabitants. The ambitious among them want to do it by 2035, others by 2040. The climate protection organization German Zero refers to more than 80 groups that are striving for a climate decision in their communities or have already implemented it.
The student cities in the south-west, Tübingen, Constance and Freiburg, serve as role models. The Heidelberger Stadtwerke go to great lengths to advise citizens and advance the heat transition. Nevertheless, the overriding question here is: Can it be done?
For Wuppertal, the local Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy has investigated how the city could succeed in becoming climate-neutral by 2035. This is how the city politicians decided, and the scientists describe the magnitude of the challenge: “This is an extremely ambitious project that goes beyond all historical templates in many areas.” Buildings have to be renovated at a speed that is hard to imagine. Even now, houses, roads or factories that permanently require fossil fuels should no longer be built. Roads and rails would have to be rebuilt, industrial processes would have to be changed. Consumption patterns and lifestyles are also under scrutiny.
Even for the less ambitious goal of being climate-neutral by 2045, the Berlin study recommends that the Senate use regulatory law: “In order to give the actors orientation and direction security for the changes that are partly pending in the medium term.” In other words, bans are simply needed to achieve climate change. Cars with combustion engines must be banned from the city, as must oil or gas heaters.
A lot is already happening in Berlin for the conversion to a climate-neutral city
Despite these concerns, the initiators of the popular initiative “Berlin 2030 climate-neutral” are sticking to their plan. “These are extremely high hurdles,” says Stefan Zimmer. “I would agree with Ms. Jarasch that it’s going to be very, very difficult in the real political situation.” Because there is still a lack of will for a radical change – in state politics just like with many Berliners. “The drama of the situation there is not yet clear.”
But the technical possibilities for a quick conversion are ready, says Zimmer. “The point of the referendum is to get the Senate to do everything in its power. The Senate is not doing that at the moment.” One of the role models for the activists is Great Britain during the Second World War. In order to defy the German attack, the government had converted the country to a war economy within a very short time. Such a conversion is therefore possible, says Zimmer. The pressure just has to be high enough.
In fact, a lot is already happening in Berlin to make the city climate-neutral. Brown coal has not been burned to generate electricity since 2017, and the entire bus fleet in the city is to be converted to electric drives by 2030; From next year every newly built house will need a solar system on the roof. But if you want to get an idea of what a climate-neutral Berlin could look like, the best place to go is Lichtenberg. There Ulrich Schiller stands 64 meters up on the roof of a high-rise building and says: “This is not real estate, this is a statement.”
Schiller is managing director of Howoge, one of the largest urban housing companies, and the “Liese”, the Lichtenberg giant, has only just been completed. 394 apartments on the smallest floor space, maximum energy efficiency and a playground with a climbing wall on the roof. So far, however, only the concrete foundations can be seen of the highlight of the building: soon, wind turbines will be erected on every corner of the house. Together with the solar panels, the house could then generate a quarter of the energy it needs itself. A combination of living and energy production that is unique, says Schiller. “This is new territory.”
From the roof you have a good view of all the other high-rise buildings in Lichtenberg that are owned by the housing association. “Howoge-Land”, as Schiller calls it. Smaller wind turbines could presumably be installed on each of these roofs. “The potential for existing roof areas is huge,” says Schiller. “In a project like this, Berlin can develop its very own path” towards climate neutrality.
But until then, the city must first approve the four wind turbines on the roof of the “Liese”. Berlin’s building senator said it was “only a matter of time”.