City Oberhäugter from Vienna, Hamburg and Zurich Poushen climate protection!

City Oberhäugter from Vienna, Hamburg and Zurich Poushen climate protection!

Simmering, Österreich - On June 11th and 12th, 2023, the city councilors of Vienna, Hamburg and Zurich met in the Austrian capital. Zurich's city president Corine Mauch and Hamburg's first mayor Peter Tschentscher accepted the invitation of Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig as part of the "Triolog", which was launched in 2019 to discuss central topics such as climate protection and renewable energies. This was the fifth meeting of this initiative, which promotes a lively exchange among cities and focuses on innovation.

The first day of the visit was characterized by a tour of the impressive large -scale heat pump of Vienna Energy in Simmering. "The dimensions of this system are simply overwhelming," said Corine Mauch, who is probably used to a slightly smaller heat pump in Zurich. Mayor Tschentscher had to admit that Hamburg was behind Vienna in terms of large -scale heat pumps, but the first plans for such projects in the Hanseatic city are already on the table.

technological progress and urban development

Another important aspect of the visit was the waste disposal project "Waste2Value", which served as an example of innovative solutions in the circular economy. The three guests agreed that the exchange in these areas is decisive in order to be able to better counter the municipal challenges, such as decarbonization.

"Our cities face similar challenges and can learn a lot from each other," said Ludwig. The importance of the international dialogue was emphasized by all city leaders. They were convinced that the cooperation in technology development and health infrastructure is of fundamental importance.

A look at the use of large -scale heat pumps shows that this technology is becoming increasingly important not only in Vienna, but also in other countries, especially in Germany. In the real laboratory "Large heat pumps in district heating networks" in Germany, several partners are working to integrate large heat pumps into existing district heating systems in order to contribute to the decarbonization of heat supply. Experts estimate that a large part of CO2 emissions in Germany come from heat supply, which underlines the urgency of such projects. With the Integration of large heat pumps, not only CO2 emissions should be reduced, but also the dependence on fossil fuels is to be reduced. A total of five locations in Germany are planned by 2026, where these innovative systems are to be used to gain technical knowledge.

renewable energies in focus

Another point on the agenda was the use of renewable energies. Austria is committed to the goal of reaching a share of 100 percent of renewable energies by 2030. In comparison, the proportion of renewable energies is currently 18.1%of the entire final energy consumption for heat and cold in Germany. The increasing use of heat pumps by 15% could promote a necessary change, while biomass use is actually declining.

In addition, the federal government supports such projects with investments, which increases employment in the field of renewable energies. Over 406,000 people in Germany are currently working in this sector. This shows that the transformation towards sustainable forms of energy is not only ecologically but also economically advantageous.