Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Culture and Sport; Ministry of Transport, Energy and Spatial Planning North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany:
Solar and Energy Saving Construction and the Kyoto-Instruments

Facing the threatening of a dramatic climate change, the necessity to reduce CO2-emissions is undisputable. Looking at the high end energy consumption in a country like Germany, the call for action becomes apparent. Heating and domestic hot water supply in buildings, which represent a share of one third of Germany’s total energy consumption, feature an enormous potential for savings. By improved heat insulation of existing settlements, a reduction of CO2 emissions by 80 % can be achieved. Existing examples in North-Rhine Westphalia have proven this rather impressively. At the same time, cooling systems for buildings would achieve similar saving measures. However, the construction of a building does not only offer the possibility to save energy; buildings can be used for the production and use of renewable energies in an impressive variety. Moreover, Kyoto-instruments present a range of possibilities to connect such CO2 saving investments in the area of housing, commercial and industrial buildings as well as in urban development with the acquisition of emission certificates.

The aim of this side event in the course of renewables 2004 is to point out possibilities of saving energy as well as using solar energy in buildings. Also on the agenda is to point out and illustrate how Kyoto-instruments can be used in this field.

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