Course locations for prototype development in 2017/2018


In the winter semester 2017/2018 the climate-fit (klimafit) course was offered at the community colleges of six cities throughout Southwest Germany: Bad Säckingen, Emmendingen, Bühl, Offenburg, Heidelberg and Stuttgart. Given their homogenous geographic distribution, combined with their varying structures and sizes, this mix of locations offers optimal conditions for gaining valuable insights regarding prototype development for the project. In addition, the effects of climate change can also be noticeably felt in this region, making it an excellent candidate for tackling the challenge of climate change. 

Bad Säckingen

With a population of ca. 17,000, Bad Säckingen is the smallest city offering the adult-education course climate-fit (klimafit). The city has an integrated climate protection concept, which has been supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) since December 2015.
20 participants joined the course in Bad Säckingen, which was conducted with the help of invited guest speakers, the local environmental affairs representative, and the climate pro-tection representative from Murg, as well as the European Energy Award (EEA) representa-tive and head of the internal Energy Working Group from the City of Wehr. As part of the first evening session, Dr Hans Schipper from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology joined the participants in taking a closer look at ‘climate change in the region – Bad Säckingen’. The course began on 09.11.2017 at the community college in Bad Säckingen and continued through 22.02.2018.

Emmendingen

Emmendingen enjoys a unique status among the selected locations, as it had previously taken part in the pilot study on climate-fit (klimafit) in the winter semester 2016/2017. Offering the course again – in a refined form – in the context of prototype development yielded a great deal of valuable information and insights for the project.
Emmendingen is home to ca. 28,000 citizens and has had its own climate protection manager for the past three years. In April 2011 the city began planning work on a climate protection concept, which was jointly prepared by the energy agency Regio Freiburg and the European Institute for Energy Research and was completed in July 2012. The concept was established within the framework of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) National Climate Initiative and supported by the energy provider Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW).
22 participants enrolled in the adult-education course climate-fit (klimafit) offered at the community college in Emmendingen. The guest speaker for the first evening session was Professor Eberhard Parlow from the University of Basel’s Department of Environmental Sci-ences, who shared insights into ‘How is climate change manifesting in Baden-Württemberg and in Breisgau?’. In Emmendingen, the adult-education course climate-fit (klimafit) began on 08.11.2017 and ended on 14.02.2018.

Bühl

With a population of ca. 30,000, Bühl is also one of the smaller cities involved in the climate-fit (klimafit) project. The city has its own climate protection concept, which it prepared from 1 October 2015 to 31 March 2017 in the context of the Federal Ministry of the Environment’s National Climate Initiative.The regional community college in Rastatt offered the adult-education course in collaboration with the City of Bühl, and 16 participants registered. The course was supplemented by talks from representatives of the local Office for Stakeholder Management, Climate Protection and Energy. During the first evening session, Dr Dirk Schindler from the Department of Environmental Meteorology at the University of Freiburg explored the question: “How is climate change manifesting in Baden-Württemberg and the Upper Rhine Plain?”. The five evening sessions began on 09.11.2017 and continued through 22.02.2018.

Offenburg

Offenburg has roughly 60,000 residents and has had an integrated climate protection concept in place since 2012, providing a framework for the city’s subsequent climate protection activities. Adapting to climate change is one of the fields of action reflected in the concept.
21 participants registered for the climate-fit (klimafit) course in Offenburg. During the first evening session, Dr Hans Schipper from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology spoke on the topic: ‘How is climate change manifesting in Baden-Württemberg and in Ortenau?’. In addition, the local climate protection manager presented the City of Offenburg’s stance on its own role with regard to climate change and climate protection. The course’s five evening sessions started on 21.11.2017 at the community college in Offenburg and ended on 06.02.2018.

Heidelberg

With a population of ca. 150,000, Heidelberg is the second-largest city participating in the climate-fit (klimafit) course programme. The city began tackling climate change and climate protection early on, and already had an initial municipal climate protection concept in place in 1992; it was subsequently revised and continued in an updated form in 2004.
In Heidelberg, 20 participants from throughout the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region signed up for the course. During the first evening session, Dr Sanam Vardag, Executive Manager of the Heidelberg Center for the Environment, gave a talk on the topic: ‘Climate change here and now?’ and illustrated the effects of climate change in Heidelberg and the surrounding region. The City of Heidelberg’s Office of Environmental Protection, Trade Supervision and Energy also took part in the evening sessions and a representative shared the Office’s perspective on the subject of climate protection. The course was held at the community college in Heidelberg from 15.11.2017 to 07.02.2018. 

Stuttgart

As the capital of Baden-Württemberg, with a population of over 600,000, Stuttgart is the largest city to offer the adult-education course climate-fit (klimafit). Stuttgart has had its own climate protection concept since 1997. Abbreviated as KLIKS, it chiefly focuses on the combined efforts of the city, industry, and citizenry to reduce CO2 emissions. In 2007 the climate protection concept was continued as a “10-Point Programme for Climate and Energy Policy”, and a third version – the Master Plan for 100% Climate Protection – is currently under development. Since 2012, Stuttgart has also had a climate adaptation concept in place. The concept employed in KLIMAKS is based on the federal government’s German Adaptation Strategy for climate change and tailored to the specific local conditions in Stuttgart.

In Stuttgart, 16 citizens with an interest in the climate took part in the adult-education course climate-fit (klimafit). As part of the first evening session, guest speaker Prof. Andreas Matzarakis, Head of the Centre for Human Biometeorological Research at Germany’s National Meteorological Service (DWD) in Freiburg, offered insights into the question: “How is climate change manifesting in Baden-Württemberg and in Stuttgart?”. All of the evening sessions featured talks on urban climate protection and adaptation, held by speakers from the City of Stuttgart’s Office for Environmental Protection. The course was offered at the community college in Stuttgart from 21.11.2017 to 06.02.2018.