News from the environment in the Hanover area

Grateful to share that I had the privilege of participating virtually in the International Conference on India, EU, and Just Energy Transitions 🌍, organized by the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations (DGIR) at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), India Office, on August 29-30, 2024.
I had the honor of speaking at Semi Plenary 3: Diplomatic Pathways: Fuelling India-EU Energy Transitions Collaboration, chaired by Dr. Amrita Jash of DGIR, MAHE. It was inspiring to share the stage with such esteemed colleagues, including Ambika Vishwanath (Kubernein Initiative), Dr. Louise van Schaik (Clingendael Institute), Dr. Pooja Vijay Ramamurthi (Centre for Social and Economic Progress), and Uwe Gehlen (Embassy of Germany).
In addition, I am delighted to announce my official appointment as Adjunct Faculty at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, MAHE, Manipal.  I'm excited to contribute to this esteemed institution and look forward to working closely with the incredible team at MAHE.
Here’s to new beginnings and continued collaboration for sustainable futures!

News from the environment in the Hanover area

💡 Celebrating Innovation 💡
Innovations need creative minds. In such discussions, it’s inevitable to meet with Prof. Tiwari (Rajnish). His extensive experience in frugal innovation highlights the need for a skilled workforce to create cost-sensitive and highly effective solutions. Skilled workforce is a theme that we will work on very closely.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

Celebrating 15 Years of Partnership
This partnership extends back to almost 15 years. Prof. Wesonga (John) from Kenya and his sustainable cooperation with Hannover in the field of water management, indigenous crops, internationalisation of higher education, capacity building of young researchers among other areas.
Glad to be part of the noble efforts by John and his rational but very human way of approaching the local needs of the community with innovative and cost-effective solutions.
More informations here.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

Climate action week in the Aufhof
From January 23rd, 2024 to January 27th, 2024, everything in the “aufhof” (formerly Kaufhof) revolves around the topic of climate. Lectures, consultations and hands-on activities offer visitors a diverse program. For example, energy consultants are available on site to answer questions, there are concrete tips for climate-friendly planting in the garden or a clothing swap party where you can shop in a way that conserves resources. As chairman of the proKlima board of trustees, I say: “We can only implement the energy and heating transition together with the local people,” which is why we made the week of action financially possible with proKlima. More information is available here.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

On October 4th I was able to accept the friendly invitation from Mr. Martin Beese, Managing Director, Hagedorn Hannover and Mr. Frank Kramer, Managing Director, HWG. The two hours were used very sensibly to understand the companies' mix of skills in the areas of demolition, disposal, revitalization and land management. Both companies form the perfect duo to master the challenges in a future-oriented construction industry. The trimodal connection (truck, train, ship) minimizes transport costs on the one hand and traffic-related CO2 emissions on the other, thus relieving the strain on the road network - a truly unique selling point in terms of environmental protection.

Here in Lower Saxony and the greater Hanover area, you have created the perfect contact point for all aspects of “disposal” and “material flow management”. I am very grateful for the time and that I was given the opportunity to visit the revitalization construction site in Salzgitter.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

Yesterday, September 11th, the school biology center celebrated its 140th birthday! With a colorful program, great weather and lots of fun, young and old alike were able to celebrate properly. Also present were our education policy spokeswoman Claudia Baxx, the school committee chairwoman Belgin Zaman and I as environmental policy spokesman for the SPD council faction of the state capital Hanover. The school biology center is an important extracurricular learning location and must be preserved. We have been committed to this since day one. 

News from the environment in the Hanover area

On July 19, 2023, the local climate protection fund in cooperation with BDA awarded the proKlima special prize for a special “climate protection approach”. It went to Jan Hüttmann for his master's thesis "Suburb Commons - The effects of a living space limit in suburban suburbs" 

Matthias Wohlfahrt from proKlima-Der enercity-Fonds explained this in his laudatory speech: 

  “Today, as a local climate protection fund in cooperation with BDA, we are awarding the proKlima special prize with a special “climate protection approach”. My assessment basis is our funding mandate to save CO2. When I look at the work, I naturally look for sustainable building materials, high energy efficiency, solar energy or heat supply concepts. Things we promote. I think that must always be part of your design ideas in the future. But I also allow myself to take a “political” broader view beyond the practical issues of my daily “promotional task”. And the focus was on a work that “has it all”. It shakes the foundations of “German post-war culture”. She questions what my parents are proud of and what they will probably never truly understand in their lives. “Create, create, build a house,” says the Swabian. Or we know the saying “A sweet home, happiness alone”. The master's thesis shows us how things could be different. The boundaries of a classic single-family home neighborhood with 120 private properties in Oldenburg are being dissolved and converted into a community neighborhood. Expansions are only planned and gaps closed on sealed areas. Private green spaces are made available to everyone. A colorful “ecovillage” is created in the existing “communal family houses”. A sketched living space foundation enables implementation and organizes the process. Even if it sounds very utopian, it is worth trying to get the topic on the agenda in politics and administration. In doing so, we not only reduce the specific consumption of living space, but also gain community and aggregate with the climate protection goals. Because the greenest energy is the one that we don't use or use! The special prize is worth EUR 300.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

proKlima is 25 years old and I have been pleased to represent proKlima as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for 1.5 years. The proKlima partnership is something very special, not only because it has offered us a reliable and continuous source of financing for climate protection since 1998, but also because it enables measurable CO2 emission reduction measures to be implemented. ProKlima was created as an institution to actively involve citizens in the energy transition (think globally, act locally). Since 1998, around 35,000 funding measures (31,000 in LHH) and EUR 72 million (EUR 58 million in LHH) have been approved. And more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions (1.1 million t in LHH) were saved. We are proud of the work done by the office and as the council we stand behind the proKlima model. We need proKlima more than ever to implement our local climate protection goals.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

From June 1, 2023, non-profit organizations in the Hanover city area can receive financial support for the installation of solar power systems on their buildings. The new proKlima funding offer "GemeinNützlichSolar" is limited to the area of the state capital Hanover. We want to make non-profit organizations fit for the future and reduce their operating costs with solar energy. More information here.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

As an update on the topic "Cycle paths in the Eilenriede" (see below) here is my comment on our amendment. For all questions about the Eilenriede, different interests have to be considered, some of which are in conflict with each other: As a city forest, the Eilenriede is a forest, but also a local recreation area; Questions of nature conservation and forestry must therefore be reconciled with questions of leisure and traffic, which also flows through the Eilenriede.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

The city of Hanover supports low-income people and issues vouchers for the purchase of an energy-efficient household appliance to low-income citizens. On Monday, the environmental committee gave the green light to continue and expand the city's support program. This means that anyone who, among other things, receives Hartz IV and wants to replace an old, energy-guzzling refrigerator with a new, economical device can receive a subsidy of 100 euros from the city treasury. There is another 100 euros from the federal government. If the council agrees, the money will probably be available from the summer. As the SPD environmental expert, it is very clear to me: "We stand by the side of the people who need help now". More about this here in the article from March 8.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

The enercity fund proKlima is starting its 25th anniversary year with a special funding program for short-term low-investment energy saving measures in non-profit organizations. The special contributions from the state capital and enercity are added to the annual budget of around 3.32 million euros.
The special campaign, which begins on January 1st, is aimed at the fast and unbureaucratic promotion of low-investment energy saving measures in clubs, social institutions, day-care centers and cultural institutions. The special funding program goes back to an initiative by the state capital of Hanover, which is providing 200,000 euros for measures in Hanover.
My comment as councilor and proKlima chairman of the board of trustees: "This measure is part of our stability package 'Together through the crisis', with which we want to help the institutions that are important for our society through the difficult time." Here you find the press release and the newspaper article.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

A number of cycle paths and footpaths intersect the Eilenriede, but if the city of Hanover has its way, that will soon change. She announced that 15 forest paths with a total length of three kilometers are to be dismantled. The areas are left to nature again. The city is investing around one million euros in the project. The council bodies still have to agree. Greens and SPD welcome the initiative.
My comment on this topic in the HAZ of December 3rd can be read here.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

Federal Blue Compass Award
Climate adaptation, biodiversity and solar energy combined -
proKlima funding offer nominated nationwide
 In the end, it wasn't enough for the prize itself, but proKlima made it into the top 20 nominees in Germany with the SolarGreenRoof funding offer. 20 projects were preselected from over 240 projects. On Friday, September 16, 2022, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and the President of the Federal Environment Agency, Prof. Dirk Messner, honored the five best projects and presented the nominees with their certificates. The federal award "Blue Compass" is the highest state award in Germany, which is awarded as part of a competition for projects to prevent and adapt to the consequences of climate change.
 As councilor of the state capital Hanover and chairman of the proKlima Board of Trustees, I am very pleased about the honor that was given to the state capital and the enercity fund proKlima for the jointly developed funding offer: "We are very proud that our regional Commitment to climate protection is also recognized at federal level.”
 Together with proKlima solar project manager Matthias Littwin and proKlima managing director Matthias Wohlfahrt, I was able to receive the certificate at a ceremony in Berlin on Friday. Due to the high demand triggered by the gas crisis, the entire proKlima funding budget is currently exhausted with more than 3.7 million euros. However, the proKlima team is working intensively on the new edition and continuation of the funding for the beginning of 2023.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

proKlima funding budget exhausted – funding period stopped due to the high demand of over 3.5 million euros in funding, the proKlima office ended this year's funding period early on Wednesday, August 24th. Despite a short-term budget increase from 3.3 to 3.5 million euros, funding had to be stopped a good two months before the end of the funding period.
Dr Bala S. Ramani, Chairman of the proKlima Board of Trustees, sees the current driven development as a positive effect for climate protection: "We would like to thank all sponsors and climate protectors for sending a strong signal for climate protection from the proKlima support area."
What's next?
The proKlima office and committees will discuss the development of the funding program and budget planning for 2023 in the coming weeks. New funding will be available again from January 1st, 2023. More information here.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

Since July 5th, 2022 I have been a newly appointed member of the Climate Protection Board of the Hanover Region. I am looking forward to this new task and constructive cooperation for the current municipal election period.
"The Board of Trustees has been bringing politics, administration, business and science together since 2012. The Hanover region and the state capital of Hanover bundle their climate protection activities in the "Climate Protection Region Hannover" network. The network was founded in 2003 to anchor climate protection in the region in the long term In 2012, the Hannover Climate Protection Region Board of Trustees was set up to further optimize climate protection-related work structures in the region and to develop common positions on climate protection in the Hannover region." (Source: https://www.klimaschutz-hannover.de/meine-kommune/region-hannover/kuratorium)

News from the environment in the Hanover area

It was an honor to inaugurate the Cinema del Sol's solar-powered cinema screens. Thanks to the Enercity proKlima funding, such climate-friendly, sustainable programs are possible. Many thanks to the youth organization JANUN e.V. for their active commitment. A very innovative technology and the first event was already very well attended. It is also a very personal thing for me, as I have personally witnessed the suffering of people when natural disasters completely destroy people's livelihoods. You have to be very sensitive to climate change and its effects. We should look beyond our neighborhood, our borders, because the impacts of climate change are universal, stretching from Antarctica to Africa. If we closely analyze many of the conflicts in the world today, ultimately it is about resources, be it water, minerals, oil, etc. Let's work together on sustainable, climate-friendly innovation, on a way of life that is social, so that all included and nobody is excluded due to economic feasibility.

Picture:http://cinemadelsol.de

News from the environment in the Hanover area

On March 12th, I was allowed to take part in a small interview at the event ZUKUNFT UNVERPACKT on the topic "Without plastic" from the Hannover regional group for the common good. The video of the interview can be viewed here.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

On the trail of power guzzlers: enercity fund proKlima provides the city library with measuring devices that can be borrowed free of charge.
Saving energy is a big topic these days. There are simple ways and means of tracking down power guzzlers in private households. The enercity fund proKlima also sees it this way and makes eight electricity meters available to the Hanover City Library. Interested parties can now borrow them free of charge for consumption analysis in the household at the library locations in Oststadt, List, Mühlenberg, Kronsberg, Ricklingen, Roderbruch and in the central library at Hildesheimer Straße 12. Here is the link to the page.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

At the beginning of December I was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees at ProKlima. The Enercity fund ProKlima revised its funding programs at the turn of the year. The innovations concern solar energy and heat supply. Upon request, property owners in the distribution area that covers the cities of Hanover, Hemmingen, Laatzen, Langenhagen, Ronnenberg and Seelze can help themselves. All funding offers have an eye on the climate neutrality aimed for by 2035, so the fund also supports the implementation of the coal phase-out in Hanover. Here is the article from the HAZ.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

A green oasis in the middle of the city center, that should be achieved with the green roof of the first module of the Roofwalk in the heart of Hanover. We agreed to that in the Council today (You can read my words about this here). In addition to the increase in attractiveness, the more green leads to significant added ecological value (Read more about this here). Photo by chora blau Visualisierung.

News from the environment in the Hanover area

As the environmental spokesman for the SPD parliamentary fraction in Hanover, I was allowed to go on a tour and listen to the plans for the Misburger bathing lake recreation area on November 23th, 2021.
In the former HPC II pit of the “Hannover Portland Cement” company, the cement industry has been mining marl lime as a raw material since the end of the 19th century.
For around 25 years there has been a concept for re-use, which is a
Provision of a local recreation area with a lake, beach- and play areas, sunbathing lawns and parking lot near the neighboring nature reserve, which will be accessible all year round and should also serve as a destination during the cold seasons. Photo: Tim Schaarschmidt

News from the environmental planning

Recently I was allowed to go for a walk with the enchanting Olja Yasenovskaya, who is the press spokeswoman for the state capital Hanover and among other things, showed her my favorite places. During our little walk we talked about my work as a scientist and I told her why I wanted to go back to India almost shortly after my arrival in Hanover. Have a look at the video.