The Darmstadt magistrate has already adopted the "Guidelines for Sustainable Building Construction", and the city council meeting is to follow in early February.

With these guidelines, the climate decisions of the city and the demands of the climate protection advisory board would immediately become a binding basic principle for all buildings in the city, said Heike Böhler, climate policy spokeswoman for the Greens parliamentary group in the Darmstadt city council.

Jochen Remert

Airport editor and correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.

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The obligation applies to all buildings, whether they are day care centers, schools, administration buildings or sports facilities.

According to the information, the guidelines should not only apply to new construction projects, but also in the case of renovations.

The standard defined in the guidelines obliges the city, among other things, to have the largest possible solar system installed on the roofs of all new city buildings and for all roof renovations.

"This will give Darmstadt's energy transition a real boost," Böhler is sure.

Existing before new construction

The KfW 55 standard is the target for the energetic refurbishment of existing buildings.

An efficiency house built according to this standard developed by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau makes it possible to reduce energy consumption to 55 percent of the energy consumption of a conventional new building.

For new heating systems, the guidelines provide for the installation of heat pumps or the connection to climate-friendly district heating, as stated in a statement from the coalition of Greens, CDU and Volt.

According to the information provided, the new "Darmstadt Standard" is not just limited to energy consumption.

"Nature conservation and adaptation to climate change are also defined as quality standards for municipal buildings," said Ana Lena Herrling, climate policy spokeswoman for the Volt Group.

For example, green roofs and facades should help to cool the buildings in summer.

In addition, stock should come before new construction: It is always checked first whether the determined space requirements in existing buildings can be covered.

"The decision thus implements sustainability holistically," said Hartwig Jourdan from the CDU.

This is good for the environment and protects the municipal budget.