Matosinhos becomes the first UN Resilience Hub in Portugal
The city joins the Province of Potenza (Italy) as the newest role models for the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative
The state government in Stuttgart wants to blanket their province with solar panels
Germany’s state of Baden-Württemberg will mandate its citizens to install solar panels on their homes every time they do major roof renovations, according to a new law coming into effect on 1 January 2023. The same applies to the construction of new buildings, however, the law will come into effect sooner, on 1 May of next year.
The Green-CDU coalition government has some ambitious goals in the fight against climate change in the near future. Baden-Württemberg wants to stay at least five years ahead of the federal government and get to climate neutrality by the year 2040. This will greatly outpace Germany’s overarching milestone of 90% climate neutrality by the year 2050.
The new law will make developers install photovoltaic systems during the construction of new buildings from 1 May of 2022, with the same rule applying for parking spaces larger than 35 cells. Homeowners will also have to keep this regulation in mind, as every major roof renovation from 1 January of 2023 onwards will come with mandatory solar panels.
Environment Minister Thekla Walker underlined the fact that this is one of the most progressive climate protection laws on the provincial level in the whole country. Before the state parliament’s summer break a week ago, the coalition government in Stuttgart agreed to create solar obligations for schools, commercial buildings, and supermarkets. Now, they have decided to expand upon their preliminary ideas.
More and more solar systems are going up across Baden-Württemberg, with 2020’s output being a good 30% higher than that of the previous year. However, there is still some catching up to do in terms of both solar and wind energy. The proportion of “green” electricity in the state’s overall energy production breakdown is around 30%, which is about 10% lower than the country’s average.
The floods from last week and this week as well hitting Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Romania had a sharpening effect on the region’s overview on the urgency of climate change.
Germany’s death toll sits at 169 people, while material damages are estimated to cost around 2 billion euros, and that is just when it comes to infrastructure. At the same time, the country pledged financial aid for citizens who suffered material damages, and that will surely push the cost up.
Minister Walker explained that her rationale for the law is to mitigate the consequences of climate change and ultimately make future generations' efforts easier.
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The demand for affordable housing is still quite high, coupled with rising construction material prices, land purchase prices and a labour shortage
The partnership initiative was launched during the ICLEI World Congress Summit
Apart from car lanes, the 130-metre-long structure also features a 4-metre-wide bike lane
The Portuguese city is one of the participants in this exciting global initiative
The Smart City Alliance has been quietly building functional tools for both citizens and authorities since 2016
Part of an ongoing trend among these institutions to increase convenience for users
The Siberian flying squirrel is an endangered species whose biggest threat is forestry
They will develop or reconstruct cycle paths and pedestrian bridges
The partnership initiative was launched during the ICLEI World Congress Summit
The Portuguese city is one of the participants in this exciting global initiative
The demand for affordable housing is still quite high, coupled with rising construction material prices, land purchase prices and a labour shortage
Those between the ages of 9 and 13 can attend workshops to learn how to work with wood
These will be spread across 11 EU countries and will serve to support the EU Missions
The European Commission has accepted to develop the idea
An interview about AYR, one of the 2021 New European Bauhaus Prize winners
An interview with Nigel Jollands and Sue Goeransson from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
An interview with the President of the City of Athens Reception & Solidarity Centre
A talk with the Mayor of Malmö on the occasion of the city’s UN Resilience Hub status