The presentation of the energy report for the district's own properties always triggers a debate about whether the district's efforts in the fight against climate change are sufficient.
District
– If you take a closer look at the district's energy report, you'll notice that the CO2 emissions of the 18 buildings that the district operates have hardly fallen in recent years.
Compared to the "base year", which reflects the average of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010, it has fallen by 39 percent.
But if you're being honest, that's mainly due to the fact that the district decided a few years ago to only use green electricity.
Not all members of the district committee liked this development.
Brigitte Gronau (Greens/Weilheim) said: "It's a bit frustrating that we haven't really saved anything." This is mainly due to the indoor pool.
It is all the more urgent to finally set up an investment plan on how to gradually renovate the district's buildings in terms of energy efficiency.
District Treasurer: “Have massively saved CO2 because consumption has remained stable”
District Treasurer Norbert Merk protested against the presentation that nothing had happened in the district.
"We have massively saved CO2 because consumption has remained stable," he said.
That only sounds paradoxical at first glance: "Today we manage 12,000 square meters more building space than in the base year, the number of IT end devices in the schools rose from 2,500 to over 7,000 in the same period," he calculated.
That doesn't change the fact that the main savings in CO2 production are due to switching to green electricity, countered Karl-Heinz Grehl (Greens/Weilheim).
In truth, however, it was "nothing special".
He misses an overview of the year of construction and the energy efficiency of the systems in the individual buildings, their facades and roofs.
You have to identify and tackle the energy wasters, otherwise "in ten years we will still be sitting here with an energy report that looks the same as it does today".
A corresponding renovation schedule is currently being drawn up and is to be presented this year, according to the district's construction and property management.
Markus Bader: "Climate protection has arrived in the middle of society and is sexy"
It's about time, said Markus Bader (SPD/Rottenbuch), because "climate protection has arrived in the middle of society and is sexy." The implementation of climate protection measures is less tempting.
That is “usually and tedious work”.
The district council must be clear about what it wants, said Florian Steinbach from the district office.
Past experience shows that (expensive) renovations usually result in a building's energy consumption being almost halved if proper investments are made.
“The district council now has to say whether we should do what is required.
Or what is possible to save as much as possible.
But that's much more expensive," says Steinbach.
Karl-Heinz Grehl called for more courage from politicians: "If you look at the consumption statistics, you can see immediately how much energy could be saved if you closed the indoor pool for three months in the harsh winter," he said.
But then added: "But I don't want to be the one who's to blame for the bathroom being closed."
Also read: The indoor pool as an energy guzzler
There will be no avoiding unpleasant decisions, said Markus Kunzendorf (ÖPD/Oberhausen).
If the district does not reach climate neutrality until 2040 or 2050, then "that's just far too late".
District Administrator shifts responsibility to the international community
District Administrator Andrea Jochner-Weiss saw things differently.
She shifted the responsibility for the fight against climate change to the international community.
"I'm happy when I go into my 19-degree warm office and think, 'Hooray, we're saving the world', while the EU and neighboring countries are wasting energy," said Jochner-Weiss in the committee.
In Brussels, all the lamps would be on, while the public buildings in the district should no longer be illuminated.
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