The urban energy transition in China and Germany: selected best practices

As a stakeholder in the Sino-German Urbanisation Partnership (SGUP) project, the Deutsche Energie-Agentur (German Energy Agency – dena) is substantially involved in the cooperation between Germany and China on climate-friendly urban development. In Germany, dena’s Urban Energy Transition project has compiled findings from practice and drawn up recommendations for policy-makers to enable the energy transition’s […]

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in China and Germany

Solar energy is becoming increasingly important as a clean, abundant and affordable renewable energy source for achieving globally necessary energy savings, advancing the energy transition and increasing the use of renewable energies. It is particularly relevant for achieving the new climate targets announced in September 2020 by China, which is aiming to peak CO2 emissions […]

The Current Development of Bicycle Systems in Chinese Cities

This document is part of ten Keystone Papers looking at current emerging topics in the building and city sector, focusing on energy efficiency and resilience. The Keystone Papers were developed within the framework of the Sino-German Urbanisation Partnership as a basis for its working topics.

Transformative City

Cities are shaped by continuous urbanisation, increasing or shrinking population numbers, as well as other demographic changes. Cities are important economic drivers, and also responsible for a large proportion of ecological impacts and emissions. Physical transformation in urban environments mainly occurs in form of renewal, rehabilitation and upgrading. Germany’s Federal government offers a number of subsidy programmes, with many of them targeting inner city neighbourhoods, the improvement of existing structures, renovation of existing buildings and blocks, as well as the enhancement of green infrastructure and public spaces.

A study under the Sino-German Urbanisation Partnership: Cycling (systems) in Germany and Europe

While motorized transport has been the dominant consignee of transport planning for decades, the understanding of planning and the public interest have changed increasingly in recent years. “Fewer people accept […] that the car has such prominence in the cityscape.” In Europe, the bike is increasingly establishing itself as a climate-friendly means of transport, also on the ways of daily traffic.

CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT IN CITIES

Globally, cities account for about 70 % of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Also in Germany, cities are emitting a large proportion of the country’s carbon footprint, while being especially prone to be affected by the impacts of climate change. In urban environments, increased frequency of extreme weather events, including storms, flooding or heat waves, can have severe physical, economic and social impacts. To create climate resilient cities, therefore, municipalities need to follow a two-legged approach, taking both mitigation and adaptation measures into account.

International Standards for Sustainable Infrastructure: An overview

Infrastructure investments are inherently long-lasting and, taken as a whole, infrastructure has a profound impact on the economies, environment, and society of the places where they are located. Decisions taken at the planning and investment stage of the infrastructure sector—such as in roads or energy facilities—often have implications that last for generations, and guide settlement […]

Plus Energy Buildings & Districts

Germany’s building sector accounts for about a third of the country’s total greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and 40 % of total energy consumption. The continuous enhancement of building standards is a key element to reduce CO2 emissions of buildings especially during the operational phase. In recent years, several models to maximise thermal performance of buildings have been developed. Well-known examples are the Passive House, the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB), and the Plus Energy Building as the next ambitious step in the evolvement of highly energy efficient construction.