"We will only reach our climate target if all measures are ambitiously addressed. This is a major joint task, which the government cannot tackle alone," said Barbara Hendricks at the inaugural meeting of the "climate protection action group" ("Aktionsbündnis Klimaschutz") on 25 March in Berlin. Speaking as an external consultant at the meeting, Walter Kahlenborn underlined the potential of concrete measures aimed in particular at the consumption patterns of energy consumers.
His recommendations included amongst others the funding of further information campaigns on climate protection – especially in the agricultural sector, which until now has been an under-recognised emitter of greenhouse gases. Citing the example of space heating use, he encouraged a stronger employment of measures that lead to climate-friendly user behaviour by energy consumers. For example, as part of building renovations, heat metres and electronic displays can be installed, which can monitor and display the building’s energy usage on a continual basis. Additionally, accompanying informational and educational measures could lead to even greater awareness.
Action group to give the government climate protection program an added boost
The climate protection action group has the goal of identifying additional potential climate protection measures and of finding viable corporate solutions. The action group is tasked with furthering the Climate Protection Action Program 2020 (Aktionsprogramm Klimaschutz 2020) that was resolved by the German cabinet at the end of 2014. With the Climate Protection Action Program, the government is aiming to reach its goal of reducing carbon output by 2020 to 40% below 1990 levels. Without this action program, Germany would miss its target by five to eight percentage points.