As of: March 9, 2024, 9:00 a.m
By: Magnus Reitinger
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According to Emeis, solar fields (like here next to Weilheim's Trifthof industrial area) often trigger discussions about what is more important: “local environment or global climate?” © Ralf Ruder (archive)
Weilheim is well positioned when it comes to “climate protection”: Stefan Emeis, the city council’s environmental officer, comes to this assessment.
Weilheim - How great the pressure to act on the climate is locally was outlined by Stefan Emeis (Greens) in just a few sentences when he presented his annual report as environmental and climate consultant at the most recent city council meeting.
The 67-year-old, who was also deeply involved in the topic professionally as a professor at the KIT Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, used a new graphic to show that global warming in 2023 alone “was as great as in the entire ten to twenty years before.”
Climate change is not occurring slowly and evenly, but in spurts.
“We all see the consequences,” says Emeis, “for example the severe hailstorm at the end of August just south of us or the flooding in large parts of northern Germany at the turn of the year 2023/24.”
These events were facilitated by the fact that in 2023 the entire North Atlantic ("Europe's weather kitchen") was "in some cases more than one degree warmer than ever before, meaning that more moisture evaporated from it into the atmosphere and boosted precipitation activity."
Therefore, measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are “more necessary than ever”.
Stefan Emeis, environmental and climate officer for the Weilheim city council.
© Private
In Weilheim “all the necessary information is available to advance the energy and heat transition”
With the climate protection concept for the city drawn up in 2023, the associated action plan and the energy usage plan approved last year, “We now have all the necessary information available for Weilheim to advance the energy and heat transition in a meaningful and effective way,” said the local politician.
Once the municipal heat planning required by the federal government has been drawn up, “everyone will know the best technical way to redesign the heat supply for their property in a sustainable way”.
The much-discussed heating law provides extensive financial aid for this.
In general, solar systems and electric heat pumps are “continually increasing in the cityscape,” stated Emeis, and not just in new development areas: “Maintaining a property has always meant modernization,” and this is always accompanied by an increase in value.
The fact that “in return, the fossil fuels oil and gas are now becoming noticeably more expensive every year due to the increasing CO2 tax was already decided by the grand coalition in Berlin in 2019,” emphasized the Green representative.
The question “Which is more important: local environment or global climate?” shapes the discussion
What is more important: local environment or global climate?
According to Emeis, this question is currently shaping discussions on site.
And it cannot be decided in general, but only “by careful consideration of the facts in individual cases”.
When it comes to applications for solar fields, both the federal Renewable Energy Act and Weilheim's energy usage plan set the general direction - in favor of these systems.
“This will apply until a certain degree of self-sufficiency in electricity generation through renewable energies is achieved.” However, “at least partial agricultural use under open-space systems should be aimed for wherever possible,” says Weilheim's environmental advisor.
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As far as the location of the energy center for the district heating network in Weilheim's northeast is concerned, according to Emeis, the consideration fell "in favor of a property that is currently neither natural nor in agricultural use": the former gardening area at Kranlöchl.
Should the climate committee deal with the question of “underground parking or parking deck?”
BfW spokeswoman Brigitte Holeczek referred to another current debate - the planned new building of the Chamber of Crafts on fields next to the vocational school - after Emeis' report: She suggested that the climate committee generally examine the question of "underground parking or parking deck?"
This is about weighing up land consumption or CO2 emissions (due to concrete construction), answered the environmental and climate officer.
And he warned: “We should be particularly careful with agricultural land.” In view of increasingly hot summers, attention must also be paid to the supply of fresh air to the city.
The “crucial point” about underground car parks is whether they are located under built-up areas, added Green Party colleague Karl-Heinz Grehl: “They should really be under buildings.”