Climate concept 2035

Synergies must be exploited in order to be well prepared for the negative effects of climate change, such as heat, drought and heavy rainfall. Existing money can only be spent once - climate protection and climate adaptation are being worked on together.

A total of 6.7 million euros is planned up to 2035, excluding investment costs for buildings. The aim is to mitigate change and adapt successfully with 62 measures. Among other things, the adopted concept provides for a sustainable strengthening of local public transport, renovation of existing buildings and regulations for new buildings. It also includes measures for environmental education and a heat action plan to be well prepared for particularly hot days, as well as measures to expand renewable energies in Offenbach. Of course, the city of Offenbach can only make a small contribution to Germany achieving its climate targets. But this can only succeed if the municipalities fulfill their obligations. Everyone must join in. In Offenbach, this means reducing local emissions by one tonne per person and per year every five years from the current level of approx. 7 tons of CO2 equivalents, i.e. the total of all greenhouse gas emissions. If this is achieved, greenhouse gas emissions will already be below 4 tons per person in 2035 - making Offenbach climate-neutral by 2050. This means that the maximum amount of greenhouse gases that can be absorbed through reforestation, for example, will still be produced.

To this end, nine fields of action were defined for the Climate Concept 2035 together with stakeholders from the city administration, the municipal corporation, the scientific community and the citizens of Offenbach: strategic management, public relations and education, urban development, buildings and infrastructure, energy and economy, mobility, health and social affairs, water and soil as well as biodiversity and green spaces. Depending on local conditions, such as local energy production, the building stock or the transport system, there are various ways of reducing emissions in cities. The climate is changing gradually. It is not the climate that adapts, but the people who have to adapt to the change - it is still possible to react and prepare by planning accordingly. Newly planted urban trees, for example, must meet different requirements and be more resistant to heat and drought in order to provide shade and store CO2. Buildings must be constructed in such a way that they do not overheat and require energy-guzzling air conditioning systems. Climate protection and climate adaptation therefore often go hand in hand.

The declared aim of the Climate Action Plan 2035 is to reduce emissions, not only of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) but also of other gases that are harmful to the climate, such as methane. Methane is produced during coal mining, rice cultivation, landfill sites and agriculture and is twenty times more harmful to the climate than CO2. As far as the development of CO2 emissions is concerned, the city of Offenbach is at least on the right track. This is because they were reduced from around 11.6 to 6.4 tons per year between 2009 and 2019 with the implementation of the Climate Protection Act. One of the reasons for this was the closure of the Alessa and Clariant plants in 2009, although higher CO2 emissions can already be expected with the establishment of new commercial service providers and data centers. Climate neutrality can only be achieved if lifestyles are adapted and responsible action is taken.