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In Bonn, the foundations are being laid for a liveable, sustainable and fair city. The climate plan shows that Bonn can become climate-neutral by 2035 and stay within the limits of the CO₂ budget in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"The Bonn Climate Plan is our roadmap for a climate-neutral Bonn that is worth living in. It shows us: climate neutrality by 2035 is a prerequisite, but possible! The City of Bonn will do its part and invites all Bonn residents to participate. In this way, everyone can benefit from the necessary changes. Bonn can be greener, quieter, fairer and even more liveable in 2035."
Mayor Katja Dörner
The effects of the climate crisis can already be clearly seen and felt throughout Bonn today: heat and droughts, heavy rainfall and flooding are becoming increasingly frequent. What will life actually be like in Bonn in 2035, when the goal of climate neutrality has been achieved?
A look into the future ...
Imagine that neither noisy combustion engines nor particulate matter bother you. You can breathe and sleep better; the city is quiet and clean. Each of the approximately two thousand hours of sunshine per year is captured by numerous photovoltaic systems. Electric bicycles and scooters as well as electric cars, buses and trains are supplied with the electricity generated. You can move from A to B in a climate-friendly and flexible way.
On cold winter days, you benefit from a renovated apartment and a sustainable heat supply. The federal city is less dependent on global energy crises.
Tree grates, green roofs and facades provide you with fresh air and shade even on the hottest summer days. During heavy rainfall, the green spaces soak up water and reduce the risk of flooding.
In 2035, public spaces will belong to you and your loved ones: squares and streets will be places to meet, interact and relax.
Bonn is a place of the future in 2035. A warm welcome!
Sounds good? These are all positive effects that combating the climate crisis will bring here in Bonn. The climate plan for a climate-neutral Bonn is the roadmap to achieve this.
Bonn Climate Plan 2035 - The roadmap for a liveable and climate-neutral Bonn
With the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, the Federal Republic of Germany committed to curbing the climate crisis and transforming the economy in a climate-friendly way. Together with our direct neighbors, the European Green Deal has also set the course for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. In November 2019, the City Council of Bonn decided that Bonn should become climate-neutral by 2035. In March 2023, the Bonn Climate Plan was adopted to achieve this goal. In doing so, the City of Bonn is not only making its contribution to international agreements, but also promising a socially just transformation process - also for future generations.
The climate plan defines clear goals and development paths for the period up to 2035. The program bundles all measures that will make our city climate-neutral by 2035 - from the energy mix to mobility. With a clear line and together with all Bonn residents, an ambitious but achievable roadmap is available.
What does climate neutral actually mean?
Climate neutrality means greenhouse gas neutrality: Bonn is climate neutral if the sum of the emitted and bound greenhouse gas emissions is zero. Greenhouse gases include CO₂, for example, which is primarily emitted through the burning of fossil fuels. The first priority is to avoid the emission of greenhouse gases, but a certain amount of emissions will remain unavoidable in the future. To offset this, natural solutions (reforestation and binding greenhouse gases in the soil) are preferred to technical compensation.
To become climate-neutral in Bonn, annual emissions in Bonn must be reduced by more than 90 percent by 2035. The climate plan describes how this can be achieved.
"The Bonn CO2 target path: emissions must fall year on year until 2035 (green) - by a total of 93% compared to 2020. An increasing proportion of the remaining emissions will be offset (blue). In this way, the available CO2 budget of around 16,000 kilotons (orange) can be met.
The Climate Plan 2035 consists of two parts:
1. climate neutrality strategy
The climate neutrality strategy for the city as a whole formulates the reduction potential in seven fields of action based on the residual CO₂ budget up to 2035. The strategy shows that climate neutrality is worthwhile, that the city as a group can influence around 40 percent of the necessary CO₂ savings and that avoiding greenhouse gases must always take priority over offsetting them. The strategy also illustrates how the city's citizens can live in a more climate-neutral way.
2. climate protection work program
The climate protection work program initially focuses on the years up to 2025. It lists around 70 activities in the seven fields of action, which the city administration is gradually implementing itself. The necessary preparations have been made, some of the positions have been filled and the first activities in the work program are already being implemented.
Reduction potential of the fields of action
CO₂ reduction potential depending on the field of action
The figure "Reduction potential" illustrates the necessary greenhouse gas savings per field of action. Population growth up to 2035 is taken into account. In the area of society, it should be noted that only the savings within the Bonn city area are calculated on the basis of the BISKO standard (opens in a new tab) applied. Lifestyle changes in consumption and nutrition also have the potential to influence greenhouse gas emissions outside the city area. At first glance, the potential savings in the areas of business (-six percent), mobility (-twelve percent) and buildings (-15 percent) appear to be lower. However, the switch to a CO₂-free energy supply and the savings from the electrification of transport and industrial processes are presented in the energy field of action. With a reduction potential of 56%, the greatest savings potential lies in the future use of renewable energies. Greenhouse gases that cannot be avoided are offset through compensation - i.e. the binding of CO₂ in soils and through reforestation. However, "avoidance before compensation" always applies here.
Climate protection "pays off"
Climate protection "pays off" as soon as the effects on society as a whole are taken into account: The necessary investments in ambitious climate protection measures pay off through lower costs for climate adaptation, lower costs for the elimination of environmental damage and through added value and job effects, for example in the skilled trades.
Climate protection costs a lot of money and the necessary changes in urban society are associated with major challenges. But we know that failing to take climate protection measures will be much more expensive in the long term and lead to much greater problems. With the climate plan, the city of Bonn is well positioned for the future. One thing is clear: neither politics nor administration can achieve the goal alone. Only together with the people of Bonn can we create a climate-neutral Bonn that is worth living in.
Climate protection and social justice
The effects of the climate crisis affect disadvantaged people in particular. This also applies here in Bonn: people who are affected by poverty or language barriers have one more thing to worry about with the climate crisis.
Carbon pricing places a greater burden on low-income people than high-income people because they have to spend proportionately more of their total income on energy costs. On average, however, the energy consumption of a person with a high income is higher than that of Bonn residents with a low income due to vacation trips, everyday mobility and heating. High-income earners therefore contribute to the climate crisis to a greater extent than lower-income earners. These examples show how the climate crisis leads to social injustice.
Without mutual support in society and from the city administration, the transformation towards a sustainable Bonn would rest on the shoulders of those on the lowest incomes. This is why climate protection and social justice are two sides of the same coin. In order to support people, the city of Bonn promotes participation in the climate districts, provides funding and advice (e.g. for socially responsible renovations) and divides up public space fairly for the various user groups. In this way, inequalities are combated and the community strengthened.
Results from the "Bonn4Future" process have been incorporated into the climate plan
Bonn4Future - We for the climate
The participatory process "Bonn4Future - We for the climate" was initiated and developed by the Bonn im Wandel e. V. association. It was implemented in cooperation with and funded by the City of Bonn from December 2021 to April 2023. In four climate forums, randomly selected Bonn residents worked together with stakeholders from civil society and business to develop a "Climate Action Plan". It contains concrete recommendations on how climate protection can succeed in Bonn. The administration is now examining whether and how the recommendations can be taken into account when implementing the climate plan. For example, the establishment of "climate districts" is based on the recommendations from "Bonn4Future".
Documents on the climate plan in the "Allris" council information system
Detailed documents on the climate plan can be found in the city's council information system (Allris). Allris contains documents that are dealt with by the city's various council committees. The most important documents relating to the climate plan can be found here as direct links. You can find further templates on individual activities of the climate plan in Allris using the search function (keyword "climate plan").
Frequently asked questions and answers about the Bonn Climate Plan
How did the Bonn Climate Plan come about?
At the end of 2019, the Bonn City Council decided that Bonn should become climate-neutral by 2035. A consortium of experts consisting of "GERTEC", "Jung Stadtkonzepte" and the "Wuppertal Institute" was commissioned at the end of 2021 to develop a strategy for achieving this goal, including a work program. All offices and departments of the city administration as well as representatives of the City of Bonn Group were involved. The result is the Climate Plan 2035 for the City of Bonn - our roadmap to a climate-neutral future. The climate plan was adopted by the Bonn City Council in March 2023.
Isn't climate protection the responsibility of states and the international community?
Bonn is one of the seats of the United Nations and the headquarters of the UN Climate Change Secretariat. The city administration is therefore aware of the importance of the international level. Bonn's climate plan also emphasizes that climate neutrality can only succeed if important framework conditions are set by the state, federal government and EU. At the same time, the implementation of climate targets is in the hands of everyone at all levels, including here in the municipality. You are also in demand: the people you live with in Bonn today are your team for a climate-neutral Bonn by 2035.
Isn't "climate crisis" a bit of an exaggeration?
Climate change is dangerous and serious. Together with its citizens, the city of Bonn faces the task of making society fit for the future. In the end, everyone wins because Bonn becomes resilient and independent.
What greenhouse gases are there?
Without a natural greenhouse gas effect, life on Earth would not be possible. This is because greenhouse gases basically ensure that heat is stored in the atmosphere and prevent the planet from freezing. Since industrialization, however, the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased excessively, resulting in global warming. The climatic changes are leading to environmental disasters and humanitarian emergencies.
The reason for the climate crisis is therefore the excessive emission of greenhouse gases by humans. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂) methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). The different greenhouse gases have a different impact on the climate and remain in the atmosphere for different lengths of time. In order to make the different effects comparable, all greenhouse gases are converted into CO₂ equivalents (CO₂eq). The Bonn Climate Plan therefore refers to greenhouse gas emissions rather than CO² emissions and you will encounter "CO₂eq" as the unit.
What do BISKO and the territorial principle mean?
Greenhouse gas balancing in Bonn is carried out in accordance with the so-called "Municipal Balancing Standard" (BISKO). This uniform standard for local authorities in Germany was developed by the IFEU Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency. The standard describes the balance limits, which greenhouse gases are to be taken into account and specifies uniform emission factors. Non-energy-related emissions, e.g. from industrial processes and agriculture, are not included. Nevertheless, emissions must also be reduced in these areas.
All energy emissions that occur within Bonn city limits are accounted for, regardless of who is responsible for them. This is known as the territorial principle. This means, for example, that emissions caused by commuters traveling from Siegburg are included in the balance sheet, but the city limits are included. Emissions caused by Bonn residents outside the city area, for example when traveling in Cologne, are not accounted for (but appear in the BISKO balance for Cologne in this example).
A GHG balance indicates how many tons of climate-relevant greenhouse gases (GHG) are caused annually in a municipality by stationary energy consumption and transport. The City of Bonn's GHG balance has been updated every two years to date. In future, it is to be updated annually and shown in the climate dashboard, which is currently under construction. You can find the current greenhouse gas balance here (opens in a new tab)here (opens in a new tab).
What happens to the electricity demand in Bonn?
The future will be electric: according to scenario calculations in the climate plan, energy consumption in Bonn will be roughly halved by 2035 thanks to energy savings and efficiency gains. At the same time, the increasing use of electricity for mobility and heating will mean that we will need around twice as much electricity in Bonn in 2035 as we currently do, despite the considerable energy savings. You can find out more about this on the Energy action area subpage.
A significant expansion of photovoltaics in Bonn is urgently needed in response to the increasing demand for electricity. The city of Bonn is promoting the expansion of renewable energies with the "Solar Bonn" funding program. You can find more information here.
