Leipzig ist klimabewusst. Logo: Stadt Leipzig
Climate City Agreement submitted by the City of Leipzig
Leipzig, 14.11.2024 – Tilo Arnhold
The city of Leipzig is one of 100 European model municipalities that are embarking on the ambitious path to climate neutrality and are receiving individual advice and support from the European Union. Alongside Dresden, Leipzig is the only city in eastern Germany to take part in the EU's ‘100 climate-neutral and smart cities’ mission by 2030.
Overall, urban areas consume more than 65 per cent of the world's energy and are therefore responsible for more than 70 per cent of CO2 emissions. In order to establish Europe as the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, it is essential to work on the emissions of metropolises. The EU is therefore supporting model municipalities such as Leipzig, which should serve as a model for many other municipalities.
Key components of this are the Energy and Climate Protection Programme 2030, which is largely implemented by the administration and municipal companies, and the Climate City Contract (CCC), which Leipzig's civil society, business and science use to develop and implement concrete measures for a climate-neutral Leipzig. This participatory approach makes it possible to develop concrete measures to avoid CO2 emissions based on the commitment of civil society, the private sector, universities and other stakeholders. This participatory process was kicked off by Leipzig's Future Day on 22 April 2023, where TROPOS took part in the innovation fair with information on its urban research projects. The urban climate agreement was developed in 2023/24 and also signed by many research institutions such as TROPOS. ‘Leipzig - like Paris, Barcelona or Copenhagen - will thus become a European innovation centre that benefits from networking and serves as a model for other cities,’ the agreement states. In autumn, the city submitted the urban climate agreement to the EU Commission for final review.
‘As the Transition Team of the City of Leipzig, we would like to express our sincere thanks for the impressive number of measures and approaches that you have contributed to the Leipzig Climate City Agreement. With a total volume of over €370 million, around 560,000 tonnes of CO2 can be avoided, which brings us significantly closer to the city's climate neutrality target. Together, we have already succeeded in positioning Leipzig as an innovative metropolis with a forward-looking landscape of players and companies at European level, which is reflected in the compendium of the Climate City Agreement. We look forward to continuing our productive cooperation in the interests of municipal climate protection and would like to thank you once again for your commitment to date,’ said Johann Singer, Energy and Climate Protection Coordinator for the City of Leipzig.
If the agreement is accepted by the EU Commission, the city is planning a local climate conference for 2025, which will be the starting signal for the further development of the Leipzig Climate City Agreement.
> Stadtklimavertrag Leipzig & EU-Mission "100 klimaneutrale und smarte Städte"