SIEMENS

Blizzards in New Delhi, freak hailstorms in Tokyo, a gigantic surge of floodwater in downtown New York – it seems unlikely that climate change will prove quite as apocalyptic as the scenes depicted in Roland Emmerich’s Hollywood disaster epic The Day after Tomorrow. Yet there is broad agreement that the consequences of global warming will be dramatic. Climate change is going to have a significant impact, including on areas such as water supply, public health, and the environment. What’s more, three quarters of all the world’s megacities lie along coastlines. If Greenland’s icecap melts, the inhabitants of New York, London, Shanghai, and Sydney will all be endangered by rising sea levels.

Huge coastal cities have a major interest in helping to combat climate change. They also have a special responsibility, since urban areas are responsible for as much as 70 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, given the high population density of metropolitan regions, they also have certain advantages when it comes to making more efficient use of resources.

We already have the technology to reduce CO₂ emissions. This was confirmed in a study carried out in 2008 by McKinsey and Siemens, which investigated London’s scope for reductions. The study concluded that, using currently available technology, it would be possible to achieve a 44 percent cut in CO₂ emissions by 2025 (compared to 1990). This would take the British Capital a big step closer to its objective of reducing emissions by 60 percent over this period. The study also found that around two thirds of the technology used to cut CO₂ emissions is self-financing, primarily as a result of lower energy costs.

Cities around the world have set targets for local reduction of CO₂ emissions. One of the pioneers in climate protection is Copenhagen, which has set itself the goal of carbon neutrality by 2025. In practice this means that the city is implementing a variety of strategies to reduce its CO₂ emissions by as much as possible and then offsetting the rest through investments in renewable sources of energy. Copenhagen currently emits around 1.9 million metric tons of CO₂. Its goal is to reduce this figure to 1.2 million by 2025. An updated version of the climate was approved by the city council in September 2012. This contains measures to replace old coal-fired power plants with wind power, geothermal energy, biomass, and waste incineration. More than 100 wind turbines are scheduled to start feeding electricity into the grid by 2025. With a combined output of 360 megawatts, this will more than cover Copenhagen’s electricity needs, with the surplus going to offset the city’s remaining CO₂ emissions from road transport, for example.

Combined heat and power plants fueled by biomass will also be part of the power mix. Today over 98 percent of the city’s heating requirements are already met by district heating, and 30 percent by waste incineration.At the same time, Copenhagen needs to improve its energy efficiency. The city is therefore striving to modernize existing housing stock and to develop suitable models to finance such measures. The regulations governing energy efficiency for new buildings are also to be tightened. Additionally, there will be an increasing use of intelligent building systems to control energy and heating consumption

By 2025, three quarters of all trips in the city are expected to be by foot, bicycle or CO₂ -neutral public transport such as electric or biofuel buses. The remaining car drivers will be encouraged to switch to electric, hydrogen or hybrid vehicles. Meanwhile, Siemens technology is now helping the city to achieve its targets in other areas. Projects include a new waste-fired power plant equipped with Siemens turbine and control technology, which will supply Copenhagen with district heating, and the first six Siemens wind turbines out of a total of 100. At the same time, a pilot project at a Copenhagen school is using Siemens technology to monitor and enhance the school’s energy use. Thanks to such measures, the city has already passed an important milestone ahead of schedule: its target of achieving a 20 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2015 was met in 2011.

Leading by Example. Another contender for the title of the world’s first CO₂ -neutral city is Melbourne, an honor that Australia’s second-largest city is aiming to receive by 2020. Melbourne says that it has relatively little direct control over the actual sources of CO₂ emissions, as these are principally commercial properties. Its aim is therefore to provide consultation, establish partnerships, and set a good example. To this end, all of the city council’s own activities are to become CO₂-neutral. This will be achieved in part by improved waste management and the refurbishment of several council buildings.

In the area of commercial real estate Melbourne has set up a “1200 Buildings” program that provides information and advice on how to lower energy and water consumption, reduce waste, and improve recycling, all of which translates into cash savings. At the same time, the city is also encouraging citizens to travel by public transport, bicycle or foot. These measures include the introduction of a bicycle rental program and the creation of new cycle paths. All of these measures to reduce energy consumptiDie tropfende Hirnhälfte legt er behutsam auf eine Ablage aus Edelstahl. „Das Hirn ist stark geschrumpft“, sagt er, während er es dreht und wendet. „Sehen Sie hier: auffällig tiefe Furchen, wie die Runzeln einer eingetrockneten Weintraube.“ Nach einer kurzen Pause die Diagnose: „Der Patient war erst 56 Jahre alt. Es handelt sich um Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease.“ Nirgends auf der Welt werden so viele Menschen von dieser besonderen Form der Demenz dahingerafft wie im kolumbianischen Bergland, im Bundesstaat Antioquía.on and carbon emissions also have an important positive impact on the quality of life in cities, because they often result in shorter transportation routes, improved air quality, and stronger local communities. Ultimately, therefore, it may not really be so important which city is the first to become CO₂-neutral. In the end, all of them will benefit. And, no less importantly, Roland Emmerich’s apocalyptic scenario will remain a vision for the silver screen.