Giessen wants to be climate-neutral by 2035.
The city council passed a corresponding citizens' application in September 2019.
But making such a decision is one thing, realizing it is another.
The latter is often left to the successors in politics.
Mayor Alexander Wright, who is responsible for climate protection, says that in this case the interim results are impressive.
"We are in a good position compared to other Hessian cities," says the Green Party politician.
5.5 million euros have been earmarked for climate protection in the 2022 budget, more than ten percent of the total investment sum.
“Giessen is not an island”
The ambitious goal is to save 640,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by buildings, industry and road traffic in the city in 2019.
The economic costs for this were estimated at more than 5.35 billion euros in the inventory presented by the magistrate in September.
The Mayor at the time, Dietlind Grabe-Bolz (SPD), pointed out that the path to success largely depends on the decisions made outside of the city.
"Giess is not an island," she said.
The Bundestag has decided that the entire republic should be climate-neutral by 2045.
The Hessian state government is lagging behind and is still working on a corresponding draft law.
And the citizens would also have to go along by changing their behavior, according to the Gießen inventory.
The heating sector accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions - Gießen has an extensive district heating network - followed by transport and electricity, Wright explains.
Climate protection manager Evelina Stober, who heads her own department with five employees, adds, referring to the second climate protection report from 2021, that CO2 emissions from heat have fallen by 37 percent compared to the reference year 1990, by 60 percent for electricity and by 60 percent for transport 33 percent.
So the trend is going in the right direction.
The municipal utilities play a major role in this.
According to the report, from the beginning of 2020 to May 2021, 47 different measures for climate protection were implemented or are being implemented, and another 29 are planned.
In the transport sector, Wright wants to reduce the high proportion of passenger cars.
A household survey on mobility showed that Giessen residents use a car for 40 percent of their journeys, a bicycle for 20 percent and local public transport for 13 percent.
27 percent of journeys are made on foot.
The mayor fails to understand that from a distance of three kilometers, the car is the dominant means of transport.
For distances of up to three kilometers, it is on par with the bicycle.
Local transport only plays a role over longer distances.
In order to make local transport more attractive, the green-red-red city government is aiming to double the bus frequency in the city center and later also in the entire city area.
There should also be “new offers”.
Around 175 stops will be made barrier-free and provided with passenger shelters.