They took advantage of the opportunity to engage in dialogue with experts and listened intently to the three-and-a-half-hour programme of scientific presentations, followed by a discussion from the perspective of federal and local politicians and a medium-sized entrepreneur, professionally moderated by BR business editor Gabriel Wirth.
The topic of the first evening of the event series, initiated by the Verein Hochschulstadt in collaboration with TUMCS, was ‘Climate killer CO2 – Where is action needed?’ The clear answer from a scientific perspective: Action must be taken, and much faster than before. TUM expert Prof. Hartmut Spliethoff from the Chair of Energy Systems, who joined the event digitally due to illness, showed how the greenhouse gas CO2 affects the atmosphere. The high concentration is clearly caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. In order to prevent further significant global warming and achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, ‘we must significantly increase our efforts.’
‘We urgently need greater acceptance.’
On the one hand, this means saving energy from fossil sources and, on the other, substituting it. To date, reductions in CO2 emissions in Germany have only been in the region of around 40 per cent per year. According to a study conducted by his department on behalf of the Bund Naturschutz (Nature Conservation Union), in order for Bavaria to be supplied with 100 percent renewable energy in the areas of electricity, mobility and heating by 2040, wind power in particular would have to be expanded to its maximum potential, but photovoltaics would also have to be expanded, while current consumption would have to be significantly reduced. The storage and separation of CO2 is not politically desirable in Germany. Spliethoff also saw less potential in hydrogen, which he said would only be able to cover 4.5 percent of primary energy needs in the future, roughly the same as the current figure.
Spliethoff's conclusion: ‘Everyone must do their part.’ He was also referring to the frequently used argument that Germany accounts for only a negligible share of global CO2 emissions. ‘As industrialised countries, we have a responsibility here because of our history.’
Prof. Sebastian Goerg from the TUM Campus Straubing highlighted the possible political steering instruments, among other things. He took up the cudgels for CO2 pricing, which he believes is the ‘means of choice’ from an economist's point of view, as it creates a real market and incentives for technologies that reduce CO2. However, he said it is crucial that the revenue now benefits citizens in the form of a climate dividend, something that even economic experts are now calling for in unison with climate activists.
‘We absolutely need greater acceptance, otherwise we will have a problem in the long term,’ said Goerg, because for many people, acceptance stops when it comes to the costs of climate protection. ’If we continue to move as slowly as we have been, my children will not be as well off.’
Discussion: From nuclear power to thermal insulation regulations
In the ensuing discussion, the two TUM experts expressed differing views on nuclear power in response to a question from the audience. While Prof. Sebastian Goerg considered the six per cent share of total electricity generation to be irrelevant, Prof. Hartmut Spliethoff believed that continuing operation would at least have bought some time. However, he said that building new nuclear power plants was out of the question.
Green Party energy expert Lisa Badum (MP) focused on what has already been achieved, ‘but of course we can always do better.’ In times of populism, she said, it is important to remain confident, noting that the heat transition has been turned into a ‘culture war’ and that a lot of fake news has been spread. The climate money will come. She saw great potential in saving and generating energy in Germany, saying that electricity is more efficient than burning oil and gas. Straubing entrepreneur Hubertus Bader (Nusser Mineralöle) was pessimistic. Even if all electricity were generated from renewable energies, we would still be dependent on fossil fuels. He said that current climate policy was ‘anti-social’ because most people could not afford new heating systems or electric cars. He also warned that high energy prices would cause companies to move abroad.
Alois Rainer (CSU), member of the Bundestag and chairman of the Bundestag's Finance Committee, expressed his conviction that electric cars would prevail, but described the coalition government's building energy law as ‘a mess’. He also emphasised the importance of accepting climate policy, ‘because I don't want a party that denies climate change to be in charge soon.’
Bernd Buckenhofer, managing director of the Bavarian Association of Cities and Towns, said that cities must focus more on the consequences of climate change in addition to decarbonisation, for example by greening and exposing water bodies. The implementation of the Thermal Insulation Ordinance with regard to local and district heating poses an extraordinary challenge for local authorities. The rector of the TUM campus, Prof. Volker Sieber, summed up the concentrated input at the end: ‘It's complex.’ In addition to CO2 emissions, there are numerous other threats to the climate and ‘all issues are extremely interconnected.’ This is an incentive for the initiators to continue. ‘We want to show what we can achieve with Straubing's expertise,’ said Toni Hinterdobler, chairman of the Straubing University City Association.
