Overarching goals for 2030
With the Paris Agreement of 2015, the global community resolved to do everything in its power to limit global warming to between 1.5°C and a maximum of 2°C. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes it clear that decisive, i.e. far-reaching, rapid and sustained action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades is crucial. This would lead to a demonstrable deceleration of global warming as well as verifiable changes in atmospheric composition within a few years (IPCC 2023). In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the IPCC recommends increasing carbon absorption and storage within the urban environment. The jointly defined European targets are enshrined in the Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG) with legally binding climate targets and decreasing emission levels. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 65% compared to 1990 and greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2045. The aim is to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by around 6% per year to 67 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents by 2030, those from the energy sector by around 4% per year and those from the industrial sector by over 6% per year. In support of this, the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) aims to increase the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption to at least 80% by 2030. To achieve these climate protection targets, it is crucial to reduce energy consumption in building stock and switch to the use of renewable energy. For this reason, part of the European Green Deal is a 'Renovation Wave', which essentially calls for an annual doubling of renovation rates in the member states by 2030 and rapid decarbonisation of the heating supply.
The following targets for 2030 can be derived from this: a zero-carbon supply of buildings with renewable energy sources generated as locally as possible, greenhouse gas-reduced conversion, modernisation, construction activities and the creation of carbon reservoirs in developed areas.
Our Objectives
1.1 Zero-carbon building operation and use
Buildings are operated and used such that they are neutral in terms of greenhouse emissions; consumption is optimised and energy is used efficiently, using only renewable energy that is generated as close to the site as possible.
1.2 Energy production on site
On-site energy production and using grid-friendly, controllable solutions can be demonstrated as making positive contributions to transformation of the surrounding energy system.
1.3 Construction measures and buildings with the lowest possible CO2 emissions
Building measures required to modernise, extend, convert or construct new buildings are implemented with the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions over the entire life cycle.
1.4 Carbon capture and storage ☼
Potential to store carbon, preferably with renewable materials, is leveraged on site as well as in and on buildings, thus implementing site-specific options for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere such that – over and above decarbonisation processes – measures are demonstrably effective, have been tried and tested and present no risks to people or the environment.
Note: The ☼ symbol indicates objectives that should ideally by realised but either involve a great deal of effort to implement or can only be demonstrated using methods that are not yet established.