It was only in October 2023 that the Environment and Technology Committee approved the concept for a climate-neutral administration. As part of this project, the Ludwigsburg District Office is setting out to consistently implement climate protection within the administration in order to become climate-neutral by 2035. The second climate and energy report on the status of implementation has now been published in the Environment and Technology Committee. District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier emphasized the importance of close monitoring: "Even if we are not deciding on additional funding today, the findings are no less important. After all, they provide us with information about the priorities we need to set within our administration in the coming months and years in terms of climate protection and services of general interest."
Significant reduction in energy consumption in the period under review
The energy and greenhouse gas balance for the years 2020 to 2023 shows for the first time that the district administration is making progress towards climate neutrality. Energy consumption fell significantly during the period under review. According to the climate protection section, the joint efforts to save energy since the impending gas shortage have made a particular contribution to this. Translated into greenhouse gas emissions, a reduction of eight percent was recorded compared to the starting year. Although the savings are not yet on the defined reduction path, they are now moving in the right direction. In order to get even closer to the target, the district administration wants to continue to pursue measures in all fields of action - with a focus on buildings and energy.
With the expansion of photovoltaics, the district authority is contributing to the joint task of the energy transition
The climate and energy report also takes a look into the future. As part of the overarching refurbishment strategy, the district administration is working on various scenarios that outline possible paths towards a climate-neutral building stock. Just under a third of the permanent reduction in emissions still required can probably be achieved through external factors such as the expansion of renewable energies in the public grids. The remaining two thirds must be achieved through our own activities such as the replacement of heating systems and energy-efficient building renovations. With the ongoing expansion of photovoltaics, the district authority is making a contribution to the joint task of the energy transition, in which all levels and stakeholders work together.
"In the current difficult budgetary situation, the challenge of achieving our climate protection goals has become even greater," noted Tina Prietz, one of the representatives for the climate-neutral administration, at the end of the presentation. She went on to explain that climate protection and sound budgets are not mutually exclusive. "The administration takes economic efficiency into account in all projects, be it the installation of PV systems, replacing heating systems, refurbishment or converting to e-mobility. In the upcoming climate and energy reports, we will explain in more detail how climate-friendly building operation can even help to reduce costs in the long term."
