Halle's Climate Change 2021 discussion series
September 16, 2021
The Climate Protection Service Center of the City of Halle (Saale) and the Independent Institute for Environmental Issues UfU e.V. are continuing the Halle Climate Change Discussion Series with four events in autumn 2021. After a kick-off excursion to the energy and future storage facility on October 13, three lectures will follow at various locations in our city until the beginning of November. We are delighted to have the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina as a cooperation partner for the event on October 27. Please note that this year we have to ask you to register for the respective event at least 7 days before the respective date. Contact: 0345/221 4444 or dlz-klimaschutz@halle.de We would be delighted to welcome you to one or more of these events! Daniel Zwick, Climate Protection Service Center of the City of Halle (Saale) Dr. Peter Günther and Dr. Götz Meister, UfU e.V. Halle (Saale)
Program:
Excursion to the energy and future storage facility at Energiepark Dieselstraße
Hans-Ulrich Thiel, Zentrale Erzeugung EVH GmbH 13 October, 4 p.m. Meeting point: bus stop Energiepark der HAVAG-Linien 26 und 43 in Dieselstraße (5 minutes’ walk from the Damaschkestraße streetcar stop) Educational modules on climate adaptation for the education sector in Saxony-Anhalt
Dr. Detlef Thürkow, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg October 20, 7 p.m. Institute of Geosciences and Geography at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, Halle (Saale) – University Campus Heide-Süd
Does science have an impact on tackling climate change?
Prof. Dr. Michael Böcher, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (An event in cooperation with the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina) October 27, 7 p.m. Leopoldina Lecture Hall, Jägerberg 1, Halle(Saale) Social climate policy
Klaus Mindrup, Member of the Bundestag/ Climate Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group in the 19th Bundestag November 3, 7 p.m. Stadtmuseum Halle, Historischer Saal, Große Märkerstraße 10
Berlin climate schools competition launched
August 02, 2021
Every year, GASAG and the state of Berlin organize the “Berlin Climate Schools” competition. It promotes projects and activities with which Berlin schools contribute to greater climate protection and adaptation to climate change.
In 2021, ideas are needed that give climate protection more speed: projects in schools, ideas for climate-friendly behavior in culture, sport, politics and business. The ideas should be able to be implemented quickly and ideally lead to concrete CO2 savings. A team of at least three Berlin students must have worked on the idea. The formal submission is made by a member of the educational staff (teacher, educator) of a school or an extracurricular place of learning.
What you can win
The participating students can expect prizes totaling 6,500 euros as well as a class trip to a school.
Berlin climate schools in conversation
Three of the winning teams will also bring the “Berlin Climate Schools” into conversation with a person of their choice: they can thus enter into an exchange with climate activists, entrepreneurs and politicians. Because many people are committed to more climate protection. The interviews are professionally prepared and accompanied.
Procedure and dates
The process is very simple: ideas may be submitted from the start of the 2021/22 school year. Please use the form under Downloads. The ideas submitted are regularly reviewed by the jury approximately every six weeks and, if necessary, awarded prizes immediately. A possible climate meeting is then arranged together. By the way: Projects already carried out in the previous school year 2020/21 can still be submitted, as the competition could not take place this school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advancing Climate Action and Education for Sustainable Development
07th October 2020
On 24-25 September, representatives from schools and educational institutions as well as research and training institutions and local administrations in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, and Germany came together to gain a deeper understanding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the link to climate action in a virtual BEACON workshop.
After opening remarks by Sarah Heft of BMU on the first day, 31 participants tuned in for a discussion addressing fundamental questions such as what is the goal of ESD and the implementation thereof in relation to climate action? Five panelists provided their unique perspectives:
- Dr. Anne-Katrin Holfelder, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany
- Dr. Ilinca Pandele, AHK, Romania
- Dr. Jiri Kulich, Chairman and member of the Committee for Education for Sustainable Development of the Government Council for Sustainable Development, Czech Republic
- Dimitar Zhelev, Senior Assistant Professor at Sofia University, Faculty of Geology and Geography, Bulgaria
- Peter Schilken, Energy Cities and partner in the BEACON project, Germany/France
The panel discussion was followed by smaller, country-specific breakout sessions amongst participants from the three target countries. Here they focussed on identifying barriers to implementing ESD in their country context as well as ways to overcome these. The discussions were inspired by good practice examples from across Europe. Through these discussions and with the input from experts, it became clear that ESD is a useful pedagogical framework for addressing climate action. Since ESD promotes concepts such as critical thinking, solidarity, foresight, and empowerment and is both participatory and interdisciplinary in nature, it is an ideal framework in which to embed complex topics related to climate action. Dr.Anne-Kathrin Holfelder explained that “young people should feel that they can shape the future” and that ESD lays the foundation for youth empowerment.
On the second day of the event, three separate country workshops took place simultaneously in which different sub-topics of climate action and education for sustainable development were discussed.
Bulgaria
Linking to the discussion on barriers the previous day, the Bulgarian participants, experts, and BEACON partner NTEF focused on climate neutrality and the obstacles they face incorporating the topic into schools. They discussed further how the obstacles could be mitigated and what teachers can already start doing to promote climate neutrality. Some of the largest barriers include the discrepancies in lifestyle/quality of life between smaller towns and large cities as well as the lack of support from school administrations and/or parents. Participants mentioned that European ideas about climate neutrality must be ‘translated’ to the local Bulgarian context, so people can better understand why it matters to them personally.
Romania
The Romanian group led by SNRB dived deep into how ESD can be implemented and how related topics can be digitised to raise the interest of students and other stakeholders. Specifically, they brainstormed ways to make these topics more accessible and incorporate them into the curricula despite the pandemic. For example, an app could be developed that integrates topics like climate change, energy efficiency, online classes, competitions, quizzes, or best practices. The app could also serve as an online platform that integrates classes from different schools and the open classes from BEACON. The participants of the Romanian group will further develop ideas for the app and present them at the BEACON-development workshop in October.
Czech Republic
The Czech participants and BEACON partner SEVEn worked with Veronika Ambrozyová of the NGO People in Need and focussed on why and how to teach climate change. In the discussion, the participants shared tips and tricks as well as their experiences in the classroom.
BEACON’s work in schools continues in the last quarter of 2020 with virtual, cross-border study tours and further workshops towards developing an incentive system for energy savings in schools. Stay tuned for more updates.
Halle's Climate Change 2020 discussion series
September 14, 2020
The Climate Protection Service Center of the City of Halle (Saale) and the Independent Institute for Environmental Issues UfU e.V. are continuing the Halle Climate Change Discussion Series with five events this autumn. After a kick-off excursion to Dölau on October 7, four lectures will follow at various locations in our city until mid-November. We are delighted to have the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina as a cooperation partner for this year’s final event on November 18. Please note that this year we have to ask you to register for the respective event. Please register in advance due to the coronavirus situation. Contact: 0345/221 4444 or dlz-klimaschutz@halle.de We would be delighted to welcome you to one or more of these events! Daniel Zwick, Climate Protection Service Center of the City of Halle (Saale) Dr. Peter Günther and Dr. Götz Meister, UfU e.V. Halle (Saale)
Program:
Excursion: Are we wasting energy? Hybrid PVT modules
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Gossel, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg October 7, 4.30 p.m. Meeting point: Dölau bus stop on HAVAG line 21, Stadtforststraße/corner of Salzmünder Straße (towards Kröllwitz)
Acceptance-promoting design of photovoltaics
Prof. Frithjof Meinel, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle October 14, 7 p.m. Stadtmuseum Halle, Historischer Saal, Große Märkerstraße 10
Attention! The events scheduled for November 4, 11 and 18 will not take place for the time being. We hope to be able to make up for this as soon as possible in the new year.
Educational modules on climate adaptation for the education sector in Saxony-Anhalt
Dr. Detlef Thürkow, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg 4 November, 7 p.m. Institute of Geosciences and Geography at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, Halle (Saale) – University Campus Heide-Süd
Social climate policy
Klaus Mindrup, Member of the Bundestag/ Climate Policy Spokesman for the SPD Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag November 11, 7 p.m. Stadtmuseum Halle, Historischer Saal, Große Märkerstraße 10
Does science have an influence on the management of climate change?
Prof. Dr. Michael Böcher, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg 18 November, 7 p.m. Lecture hall of the Leopoldina, Jägerberg 1 (an event in cooperation with the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina)
PDF file of the program (German only)
Vertical Workshop: Anchoring Climate Action and Energy Efficiency in Bulgarian Schools
02-03. September 2020
„In nine European countries, education on climate change and energy saving is a national government policy. It is time to do it in Bulgaria.“ These words of Dimiter Zhelev, Sofia University professor in the Faculty of Geography, capture the essence of the BEACON workshop that took place on 27-28 August in Sofia. The workshop brought together school directors, municipalities, university trainers, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment and Water to explore the creation of a national programme for climate action and energy efficiency education in Bulgarian schools.
This ‘vertical integration’ workshop was led by BEACON partners NTEF, Guidehouse and UfU, and sought to connect actors from the local level with policy makers in the national ministries. “The goals of such workshops are to serve as a platform to share positive experiences, discuss challenges, and ultimately initiate lasting structural changes,” explained Kristen Brand of Guidehouse, who along UfU and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, joined the meeting virtually. With the support of a nationally administered programme or initiative, the BEACON team could ultimately scale many of its capacity building and energy saving activities across the country.
School directors, municipalities, and academic experts met on day 1 of the workshop to jointly discuss and address key questions about the potential design of such an initiative such as the role of kindergartens and municipalities and the qualification of teachers. They consolidated their points and prepared for discussions with the national government.
These participants were joined on day 2 by representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Education to further discuss these issues. Examples of energy saving initiatives in schools were also presented in addition new statistics compiled by NGO EnEffect on energy consumption (2017-2019) in Bulgarian schools and kindergartens from two EUKI projects, BEACON and TICA. Kamelia Georgieva from NTEF explained that “with only 1% energy savings for one year, we could save enough money to renovate two schools.” This was the first time such statistics was presented in the country. Participants agreed that this information is of great value for the planning and development of such a national initiative going forward. “The reported results on the participation of pupils in the BEACON project and the saved energy, present a good opportunity for collaborative actions on regional and national level to scale the achievements to many other schools and kindergartens across the whole country,” said Ivanka Stoyanova, Chief Expert at the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science.
The participants engaged in fruitful discussions about their priorities and why such a national programme or initiative is needed. Following the workshop, a letter to the Ministry of Education will be drafted on the basis of the wishes and priorities expressed in the discussions from the workshop. It will include a justification about why the national government should prioritise this initiative as well as outline proposals for the design of the initiative and the role of NTEF in its implementation.
The important progress made during this workshop will be continued in another BEACON workshop in Bulgaria this fall focussed on the development of an incentive system for energy saving measures in schools.
Civil society involvement in climate policy in coronavirus times
August 15, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is having an impact on the participation of citizens and civil society organizations in climate policy processes. Analog meetings are hardly possible anymore, new ideas for digital formats are needed. Together with the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), UfU has summarized what needs to be considered in virtual participation processes in a policy paper. The focus here is on the current development of the respective national climate targets (Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs) of the countries that have committed to more climate protection in the Paris Agreement: How should virtual participation processes be structured? Which principles and criteria are important to consider? And which online participation processes on climate issues that have already been implemented in other countries can serve as a model? The policy paper can be read and downloaded as a PDF here. Contact:
The paper is part of the project
“Strengthening civil society in the implementation of national climate policy”
was developed. Funded by the International Climate Initiative, UfU has been working closely with BUND in Germany and NGOs in Georgia, Colombia and Ukraine since 2018. The aim of the project is to analyze and strengthen the participation opportunities of civil society in the three countries within their national climate policies. Further information on the project: https://www.ufu.de/projekt/zivikli/
Restricted UfU operation from August 03-07, 2020
July 28, 2020
In the week from August 3 to 7, 2020, UfU will move to new premises in the House of Democracy and Human Rights. Our contact details will remain the same despite the move. As all employees are helping out, the technology has to be successfully installed and the new desks have to be set up, you will unfortunately only be able to reach us to a limited extent during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Local climate projects in Central Vietnam enter second round
July 02, 2020
Following the great success of the pilot projects in 2019, UfU would like to support local projects in Central Vietnam again this year to raise awareness about climate change. With funding from the German Federal Foreign Office’s Climate Fund and in cooperation with the Mientrung Institute for Scientific Research (MISR), UfU enables talented and young Vietnamese to develop their own project ideas and implement them locally. For the young people, this is not only a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience in project management – at the same time, they are making a major contribution to the sustainable strengthening of climate change awareness among the local population. This year, the following four projects have been selected:
- Promoting The Roles Of Young Generation’s Participation In Minimizing The Impact Of Solid Wastes On The Natural Environment To Mitigate Climate Change Issues In Pho Thanh commune, Duc Pho district, Quang Ngai province
- Green Action – Green Future, Hai Duong Commune, Huong Tra District, Thua Thien Hue Province
- Pilot project on turning agricultural by-products into biochar to reduce pollution and increase crop yields in Krong Klang village, Dakrong district, Quang Tri province
- Increasing awareness of climate change through additional planting and building a fence to protect seedlings for mangroves along Kien Giang river in Tan Ninh commune
The implementation of the projects was officially launched with a kick-off workshop on June 25. In a positive and cordial atmosphere, the participants discussed the challenges of each individual project and developed proposals for solutions and alternatives. The project managers are supported in the implementation of their projects through regular reporting and feedback rounds. The next milestone is a mid-term workshop in September, which will focus on the progress of the individual projects.
UBA brochure: “Well informed to protect the environment!”
June 17, 2020
In order to protect and preserve yourself and your environment, it is important to know about them. On behalf of the Federal Environment Agency, UfU has developed the Brochure “Well informed to protect the environment! – Your right to free access to environmental information” (German only) created. Under environmental information law, the authorities are obliged to actively inform the public about the environment even without a request – a lot of environmental information can be found on the authorities’ websites. However, it is also possible to request environmental information directly from the authorities and agencies. The publication(German only) contains all the important information!
Participation of Ukrainian civil society in national climate policy
18. May 2020
As other topics are ousting climate protection from the political agenda these days, it is more important than ever that civil society pushes for ambitious climate protection goals. What opportunities and participation rights do civil society organizations in Ukraine have to take influence? Which obstacles prevent their involvement in national climate policy? And what can be done to overcome these barriers? We have analyzed these and other questions together with colleagues from Ukraine. Our results were published some days ago in the online journal “Ukraine Analysen”: Chancen und Grenzen der Beteiligung der Zivilgesellschaft an der nationalen Klimapolitik der Ukraine
We also provide an English version of the article.
The article presents some results of a comprehensive study that UfU is currently preparing. Since 2018, UfU has been working together with NGOs in Georgia, Colombia and Ukraine in the project “Strengthening civil society in the implementation of national climate policy”, which is supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) as part of the International Climate Initiative. The aim of the project is to analyze and strengthen the participation of civil society actors in Georgia, Ukraine and Colombia within their national climate policy.