German Climate Research Articles

Radical climate movements—is the hype about “eco-terrorism” analogy, warning or propaganda?

Is the hype about “ecoterrorism” analogy, warning or propaganda? In order to answer this question, we start by defining radicalization, terrorism, and civil disobedience to develop systematic categories which allow us to pursue two specific research goals: First, we analyse how the breadth of the German climate movement is represented in the media, how the issue of “terrorism” is taken up and with what consequences for the debate. Here we make a discursive argument. Secondly, we use the information provided by the media reports, triangulate it with primary data from the movements analysed and secondary data from academic publications in order to assess the validity of the accusation of terrorism. Here we make a factual argument about the current properties of the climate movement. Finally, we bring both arguments together and argue that even the more radical currents of climate activism should not be classified as terrorists. What we can see is that there has been an attempt to criminalize demands of the radical climate movement during which large parts of the German print media have become willing handmaidens in the delegitimization of more or less radical climate groups. More recently, very first signs of a backlash against the criminalization can be detected.

Dynamics of bio-based carbon dioxide removal in Germany

Bio-based carbon dioxide removal encompasses a range of (1) natural sink enhancement concepts in agriculture and on organic soils including peatlands, and in forestry, (2) bio-based building materials, and (3) bioenergy production with CO2 capture and storage (BECCS). A common database on these concepts is crucial for their consideration in strategies and implementation. In this study, we analyse standardised factsheets on these concepts. We find different dynamics of deployment until 2045: for CO2 removal rates from the atmosphere, natural sink enhancement concepts are characterised by gradually increasing rates, followed by a saturation and potentially a decrease after few decades; forest-related measures ramp up slowly and for construction projects and bioenergy plants, annually constant removal rates are assumed during operation which drop to zero afterwards. The expenses for removing 1 t CO2 from the atmosphere were found to be between 8 and 520 € t CO2−1, which arises from high divergence both in capital and operational expenditures among the concepts. This high variability of expenses seems to suggest the more cost-effective concepts should be implemented first. However, aspects from economics, resource base and environmental impacts to social and political implications for Germany need to be considered for developing implementation strategies. All concepts investigated could be deployed on scales to significantly contribute to the German climate neutrality target.

A new, high‐resolution atmospheric dataset for southern New Zealand, 2005–2020

AbstractThe regional climate of New Zealand's South Island is shaped by the interaction of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies with the complex orography of the Southern Alps. Due to its isolated geographical setting in the south‐west Pacific, the influence of the surrounding oceans on the atmospheric circulation is strong. Therefore, variations in sea surface temperature (SST) impact various spatial and temporal scales and are statistically detectable down to temperature anomalies and glacier mass changes in the high mountains of the Southern Alps. To enable future studies on the processes that govern the link between large‐scale SST and local‐scale high‐mountain climate, we utilized dynamical downscaling with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to produce a regional atmospheric modelling dataset for the South Island of New Zealand over a 16‐year period between 2005 and 2020. The 2 km horizontal resolution ensures realistic representation of high‐mountain topography and glaciers, as well as explicit simulation of convection. The dataset is extensively evaluated against observations, including weather station and satellite data, on both regional (in the inner domain) and local (on Brewster Glacier in the Southern Alps) scales. Variability in both atmospheric water content and near‐surface meteorological conditions is well captured, with minor seasonal and spatial biases. The local high‐mountain climate at Brewster Glacier, where land use and topographic model settings have been optimized, yields remarkable accuracy on both monthly and daily time scales. The data provide a valuable resource to researchers from various disciplines studying the local and regional impacts of climate variability on society, economies and ecosystems in New Zealand. The model output from the highest resolution model domain is available for download in daily temporal resolution from a public repository at the German Climate Computation Center (DKRZ) in Hamburg, Germany (Kropač et al., 2023; 16‐year WRF simulation for the Southern Alps of New Zealand, World Data Center for Climate (WDCC) at DKRZ [data set]. https://doi.org/10.26050/WDCC/NZ‐PROXY_16yrWRF).

The right to climate protection and the essentially comparable protection of fundamental rights: Applying Solange in European climate change litigation?

AbstractIn an action for annulment against the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Directive, both the EU General Court and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) found the claim to be inadmissible because the applicants did not satisfy the infamous Plaumann criteria. Conversely, at the national level, the German Federal Constitutional Court (GFCC) accepted to decide on a claim by individuals arguing that the German Climate Protection Act violated their fundamental rights. In its decision, the GFCC makes far‐reaching statements on the protection of fundamental rights in times of global climate change. Some might even argue the GFCC established a fundamental right to climate protection. By contrast, the CJEU did not yet decide on the effective protection of intertemporal rights or a right to climate protection respectively. Almost 50 years after the Solange I decision, one must ask whether there is a substantial deficit of fundamental rights protection at the EU level.

Do NGOs recognise the climate-biodiversity nexus? Insights from 107 climate NGOs in Germany

Biodiversity loss and climate change are deeply intertwined and constitute a complex and interdependent crisis. These interlinked sustainability issues need to be addressed through an integrated approach. However, governments have been slow to integrate the need to protect both climate and biodiversity into environmental governance. NGOs, as non-profit organisations promoting public good, are seen as having the potential to recognise and advocate for this much-needed holistic protection of climate and biodiversity. But to what extent and in what ways do NGOs recognise this climate-biodiversity nexus? This article addresses these questions through an analysis of 107 German climate NGOs, examining their 190 annual reports from two time periods, 2016/2017 and 2021/2022. We found that, while German climate NGOs have made significant progress in recognising the climate-biodiversity nexus, they lack recognition of the role of biodiversity in stabilising the climate and the unintended negative consequences of climate policies and measures for biodiversity, highlighting that NGOs are still far from being holistic environmental stewards. Climate NGOs need to integrate the interplay between climate and biodiversity objectives into their organisational activities and align their mandates to promote synergies and minimise trade-offs between climate and biodiversity actions. We suggest that one way forward is to increase collaboration between NGOs. NGOs could then complement each other’s expertise and be better placed to jointly contribute to finding integrated solutions for climate and biodiversity protection and mainstreaming biodiversity into climate policy.

Next stop carbon dioxide removal? German climate policies and the risky road to negative emission technologies

Both the global and the German climate targets are ambitious given recent emission reduction rates. In addition to emission reduction measures, carbon dioxide removal has been increasingly discussed recently and initial measures have been developed to potentially scale-up carbon removals in order to meet net zero targets. In this article, we undertake a political economy-based analysis of the historical development and structural conditions of German climate policy measures and their enabling role for the emergence and strengthening of carbon dioxide removal policy options. We refer to regulation theory and the Modell Deutschland approach and argue that within this model the concept of ecological modernization has been established as the dominant approach to regulate society-nature relations. In light of the ambitious climate policy goals, such as net zero by 2045, ecological modernization reaches its current limits and must be recalibrated. Against this background, we conclude by discussing the risk of mitigation deterrence associated with carbon dioxide removals and considering alternative pathways, such as degrowth, to social ecological transformation.

Climate Guardians: Navigating the Future in the 2021 German Climate Verdict and Constitutional Landscape

In the realm of intergenerational justice, green constitutionalism underscores the necessity for present generations to make choices that do not jeopardize the capacity of future generations to fulfill their needs independently. The climate verdict defending the rights of future generations by the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) of March 2021 was a game changer in that regard. For the first time in Germany’s climate litigation, the fundamental rights of future generations were subject to constitutional claim and enforceable. They were no longer just a normative claim. Constitutional courts can be seen as defenders of the fundamental rights of future generations where constitutions include such normative perspectives. While the Court upheld the infringement of the fundamental rights of the adolescent plaintiffs in the future, the representation of not-yet-born generations remains unclear. This article examines how the 2021 German climate verdict and constitutional provisions address the representation and protection of the interests of future generations represented by the plaintiffs concerning climate change on the one hand and discusses the potential of protecting the fundamental rights of not-yet-born future generations. The article considers the implications for intergenerational justice and explores how these legal frameworks provided by the Constitution may contribute to the formulation of sustainable policies aimed at ensuring the long-term well-being of future generations. There is an urgent need to develop an institutional regime where the needs and rights of future generations are being considered and included in decision-making processes.

Field Trial Evaluation of a Hybrid Heat Pump in an Existing Multi-Family House before and after Renovation

Renovation of existing buildings is fundamental to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the building sector and to ensure the efficient operation of renewable heating systems. In multi-family houses, the suitability of heat pumps is limited by high required temperatures for the hot water preparation, which can be mitigated by hybrid heat pump systems. In this study, the energetic performance of a hybrid heat pump in a multi-family house, built in 1964, is investigated based on field data before and after a renovation. Multiple months are measured and mapped to a full year period. The combination of different renovation measures in the heating system and building envelope is rated w.r.t. their ecological and economical impact by taking into account the actual investment costs. The evaluation shows that the installation of a hybrid heat pump can achieve an accumulated greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 45%, which is similar to a building renovation to a new-build standard, which reduces the space heating demand by up to 62%. Nevertheless, only a combination of both measures can substantially reduce the emissions, which in this case are 81% lower compared to a gas boiler in 1990, which is still below the German climate target for 2040. Due to the low investment costs of a hybrid heat pump system, tenants are more likely to profit from a renting costs reduction, while a building renovation is especially economically beneficial at high energy prices. The results therefore emphasize that the insulation level should be selected carefully, as heat pumps already prepare space heating efficiently and that the heat pump must be able to support the hot water preparation to reach high emission reduction targets.

Regional Climate Protection in Times of Crisis? A comparative study of ten districts in four German Federal States

The amended German Climate Protection Act of 2021 is seen as an essential step towards fulfilment national climate protection targets and as a sign of mainstreaming climate protection in German politics. However, at the regional level, where many climate protection measures are implemented, there is a strong fragmentation in terms of priorities, policy instruments, actor constellations and resources. Moreover, the implementation of climate protection measures is under increasing pressure in the face of crises, such as the management of the Covid 19 pandemic or the energy crisis. We therefore ask: Under what conditions does regional climate protection succeed in times of crisis? Drawing on the regional governance concept and a comparative analysis of ten German counties, we explain differences in subnational climate governance. For our study, very different, but always rural districts were selected, as the importance of rural regions is often neglected in the study of local climate policy. Based on a qualitative document analysis in combination with observations and interviews with climate protection managers, we identify factors for the success of climate protection activities in times of multiple crises. We argue that structural factors are central to the success of regional climate protection measures in times of crisis, as they provide the framework conditions for the actions of actors.

Hygrothermal Performance of Prefabricated Insulation Elements for Serial Renovation of Apartment Buildings in a Moderately Continental German Climate

The reduction of energy use in the buildings is expected to be reached by fulfilling several requirements of the low- and nearly-zero energy buildings (nZEB) policy. The improvement of the energy performance of the building envelope and the service systems of the existing buildings offers great potential for energy savings as the annual replacement of the existing stock is only 1 to 2%. The efficient way to accomplish the purpose and global goals of the nZEB is to apply the integrated design process, development, and application of prefabricated insulation elements on a large scale. In this project, in the Berlin area of Germany, prefabricated timber frame insulation elements were designed for the external insulation of the envelope of the apartment building in the serial renovation process, with the thermal transmittance of the external envelope U external-wall = 0.14–0.16 W/(m2·K). In the current study, the potential hygrothermal risks and their effect on highly insulated multi-story apartment building envelope were analyzed. The study contained a set of hygrothermal analyses to ensure the moisture safety of highly insulated facade structures and the selection of materials from the perspective of hygrothermal performance and low risk of degradation. This research found that the risk of mold growth is high if timber elements are installed without protective measures against drying-out built-in moisture, wind-driven rain, and other weather conditions. The initial moisture content of the external concrete slab, to be considered critical, is 90 kg/m3, and the drying out period is longer than the covered with new layers constructions can sustain if a proper vapor control layer is not added between the existing moist wall and installed insulation elements. Furthermore, the wind barrier layer with high thermal resistance and vapor permeability of the installed insulation element helps to minimize the risk of mold growth. A careful analysis and selection of materials allow to design moisture-safe timber frame insulation elements and provide low thermal transmittance of renovated building envelopes. The results showed that before the final design and installation of the insulation elements, a thorough hygrothermal analysis of the original external envelope with actual climatic conditions and moisture loads must be realized.

NFDI4Energy Case-Study: Comparative Analysis and Visualisation of Long-Term Energy System Scenarios

Analysis and comparison of energy system scenarios provide valuable insights into potential transformation pathways. These studies on long-term developments can serve as new inputs for scientific research and decision-making processes, providing policymakers and other stakeholders with the necessary guidance to achieve sustainable energy systems. Generally, such scenarios are derived from energy system models which often seek a cost-optimal system design under a variety of boundary conditions, ranging from technical constraints to limits of land availability or a cap on overall greenhouse gas emissions [1]. For Germany, several larger energy system scenario studies have been published, addressing the goal of carbon neutrality in 2045 as prescribed in the German climate protection act [2]. These studies show differences in their specific methodology, sector representation, parameter settings or, more generally, overall scenario narratives. This diversity represents a challenge regarding the comparability of these studies, and consequently the ability to identify consensus and controversies in their findings. Often only limited access to data for parameter settings and scenario results is provided. Almost always the data is presented in different detail and formats, thus imposing further barriers for comparison and usability for the scientific community [3]. As one of the three use cases applied in Task Area 6 of the NFDI4Energy research project, we aim to address this challenge by providing transparent and open comparative information and data on long-term energy system scenarios. Selected scenarios for the transition towards a climate-neutral Germany will be annotated with terms form the Open Energy Ontology (OEO) [4]. The comparison is building on an already existing database infrastructure from the Open Energy Platform (OEP) [5]. Existing concepts for qualitative and quantitative comparisons will be used and improved to cover a wide range of existing energy system studies.

The German Climate Verdict, Human Rights, Paris Target, and EU Climate Law

The German Constitutional Court’s climate verdict provided a re-interpretation of core liberal-democratic concepts, and it is highly relevant for liberal constitutional law in general, including EU and international law—where similar issues are currently being discussed in ongoing trials before the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice. The present article applies a legal interpretation to analyse the national and transnational implications of the ruling. The results show that the verdict accepts human rights as intertemporal and globally applicable. It applies the precautionary principle to these rights and frees them from the misleading causality debate. However, the court failed to address the most important violations of human rights, it categorised climate policy as a greater threat to freedom than climate change, and the court failed to acknowledge that the Paris 1.5-degree limit implies a radically smaller carbon budget. Furthermore, little attention has so far been paid to the fact that the ruling implies an obligation for greater EU climate protection, especially since most emissions are regulated supranationally. Against this backdrop, the EU emissions trading system demands a reform, which has to go well beyond the existing EU proposals so as to enable societal transformations towards sustainability.

Modeling and Simulation of a Zeolite Heat Storage with Binderless Zeolites

AbstractZeolite heat storages are one measure to contribute to the German Climate Change Act and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the heating sector. However, due to the challenging process engineering, those storages did not reach a commercial breakthrough yet. To overcome this obstacle, intensive process simulation work is required. Thereby, the simulation models have to pay attention to recent innovations regarding the zeolite synthesis. One of those innovations is the preparation of binderless zeolites. Behind this background, it was achieved by the present work to develop and validate a simulation model for zeolite‐based heat storage processes using binderless zeolites of type NaY.

Intergenerational Justice as a Lever to Impact Climate Policies: Lessons from the Complainants’ Perspective on Germany’s 2021 Climate Constitutional Ruling

AbstractClimate litigation based on the constitutional rights of future generations is an emerging and promising approach to enforcing long-term policies based on intergenerational and climate justice. In Germany, a high-profile constitutional judgment triggered by climate activists ruled that the German climate policy infringes future freedom rights. Based on an assessment of legal opportunity structures and interviews with key actors, this research finds that the complainants utilised the opportunity to facilitate a strong public perception of intergenerational injustice set by the Fridays for Future movement. While the court’s response in the form of the intertemporal effect doctrine is ambiguous and does not constitute clear fundamental rights of future generations, the complainants reached their strategic goal to directly influence policymakers and draw public attention to the issue of climate protection as an intergenerational responsibility. An interplay of four different legal arguments and numerous actors associated with the climate movement was crucial to triggering this outcome. These findings from a sociolegal bottom-up perspective are of great relevance as they show that impactful climate litigation through intergenerational principles relies on the strategic utilisation of the cultural context beyond the legal sphere.

Differences in science-based target approaches and implications for carbon emission reductions at a sectoral level in Germany

As climate change becomes more apparent, companies increase their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission, both on a compulsory and voluntary level. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) provides methods and guidelines for companies to align voluntary emission reduction targets with climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Two different approaches are provided: the absolute contraction approach (ACA), which aims for linear reduction in absolute emissions, and the physical intensity convergence approach (PICA), which targets equally reduced emission intensities within sectors. This paper examines how the interplay of ACA and PICA influences reduction targets and overall emission reduction levels. A cross-sectoral analysis is carried out to derive near- and long-term emission reduction targets for sectors specified in the German Climate Change Act. This is followed by a sector-specific analysis for the sectors residential and service buildings. To investigate the interplay of ACA and PICA within these sectors, a case study is carried out. By analysing several sectors, it was found that the combined SBTi budgets of the individual sectors lead to a range of 6.7 % by 2030, which could be as low as 333 MtCO2eq in the best case or as high as 355 MtCO2eq in the worst case. The sum of all sectoral science-based targets developed in the cross-sectoral analysis undercuts the overall emissions budgets for 2030 and 2040 specified in the German Climate Change Act by 16.3 %. The sectoral analysis complements these findings by showing that the interaction of ACA and PICA within a sector can lead to an increase in permitted future emissions, which would result in a slight exceedance of the 2040 emissions budget of 0.2 %. The co-existence of ACA and PICA can also lead to the 2040 emissions budget being undershot by around 24 % in the best case scenario. This paper shows that allowing companies to choose between ACA and PICA to develop emission reduction targets can lead to emissions exceedances. The SBTi should therefore consider approving only one approach for each sector.

The formative phase of German carbon dioxide removal policy: Positioning between precaution, pragmatism and innovation

Since net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets have become a keystone of European and German climate policy, a debate about the need to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in addition to drastically reducing emissions has emerged. Although still relatively scarce, empirical studies on the emergence of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on the political agenda have shown that variations in the constellations and positions of policy-relevant actors play a key role in shaping patterns of CDR policymaking. The German and wider European Union (EU) CDR policy space is emergent, and political actors are just beginning to position themselves. Building on our previous work which established a typology of CDR policy integration patterns and developed a discourse analytical framework for mapping CDR-policy-relevant speaker positions, we present the first fine-grained empirical reconstruction of CDR-policy-relevant actors and their positions in the German context. Our analytical approach aims to improve understanding of patterns in CDR policymaking by showing that on the EU, national, and subnational levels, a multitude of institutional actors may adopt differing positions as the CDR policy space evolves. In addition to identifying fine-grained ‘ideal types’ of positions that policy actors may adopt in the formative phase of German CDR policy, our analysis provides an empirical ‘map’ of CDR policy-relevant actors and explores hypotheses about emerging discourse coalitions and potential conflict cleavages.

“You Can Do Better Than That!”: Tweeting Scientists Addressing Politics on Climate Change and Covid-19

Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are global challenges in which scientists play a crucial role, and immediate political actions are necessary. However, in contrast to climate change, strong governmental actions have been taken during the pandemic. While climate change has been on the public agenda for several decades, the pandemic is a rather new issue. In such cases, social media offer scientists the potential to disseminate scientific results to the public and express calls to action and their personal views towards politics. Thus far, little is known about the extent to which scientists make use of this option. In this study, we investigated the similarities and differences between visible German climate experts and visible German Covid-19 experts regarding advocacy and assessments of policies and political actors on Twitter. We conducted a manual content analysis of tweets (<em>N</em> = 5,915) from 2021 of the most visible climate experts (<em>N</em> = 5) and the most visible Covid-19 experts (<em>N</em> = 5). The results show that climate experts addressed politics more often than Covid-19 experts in their tweets. The selected climate experts more often expressed negative evaluations, the degradation of competence and blaming. The Covid-19 experts, however, made more political calls for action. We assume that an issue’s history and context will affect scientists’ public assessments of politics. Our comparative study provides insight into the interrelations between science and politics in digital communication environments and elucidates visible scientists’ communication behaviours towards different socio-scientific issues.

ICON-Sapphire: simulating the components of the Earth system and their interactions at kilometer and subkilometer scales

Abstract. State-of-the-art Earth system models typically employ grid spacings of O(100 km), which is too coarse to explicitly resolve main drivers of the flow of energy and matter across the Earth system. In this paper, we present the new ICON-Sapphire model configuration, which targets a representation of the components of the Earth system and their interactions with a grid spacing of 10 km and finer. Through the use of selected simulation examples, we demonstrate that ICON-Sapphire can (i) be run coupled globally on seasonal timescales with a grid spacing of 5 km, on monthly timescales with a grid spacing of 2.5 km, and on daily timescales with a grid spacing of 1.25 km; (ii) resolve large eddies in the atmosphere using hectometer grid spacings on limited-area domains in atmosphere-only simulations; (iii) resolve submesoscale ocean eddies by using a global uniform grid of 1.25 km or a telescoping grid with the finest grid spacing at 530 m, the latter coupled to a uniform atmosphere; and (iv) simulate biogeochemistry in an ocean-only simulation integrated for 4 years at 10 km. Comparison of basic features of the climate system to observations reveals no obvious pitfalls, even though some observed aspects remain difficult to capture. The throughput of the coupled 5 km global simulation is 126 simulated days per day employing 21 % of the latest machine of the German Climate Computing Center. Extrapolating from these results, multi-decadal global simulations including interactive carbon are now possible, and short global simulations resolving large eddies in the atmosphere and submesoscale eddies in the ocean are within reach.

Did policy lose sight of the wood for the trees? An UTAUT-based partial least squares estimation of farmers acceptance of innovative sustainable land use systems

The ongoing EU-wide public debate on sustainability concerns is increasingly reflected in policy programs at both supranational (e.g. the EU green deal), and national levels (e.g. the German climate protection program of 2030). As part of these programs, measures for improving the ecological sustainability of food production play a central role and require the wider implementation of innovative land use systems. Alley cropping agroforestry systems are one example that could, according to recent scientific literature, make an important contribution to resolving the trade-off between economic and ecological sustainability in sparsely forested EU countries such as Germany. However, even today these systems show limited dissemination in agricultural practice, exposing a lack of knowledge about farmers’ profit and subsidy expectations and their main behavioral acceptance drivers in the current political situation. This study aims to close this gap in two ways. Firstly, it assesses farmers’ expectations of economic benefits from planting alley cropping agroforestry systems, and offsets them against national taxpayers’ willingness to pay an annual tax for these systems. Secondly, it quantifies the influence of psycho-social factors that drive farmers to accept alley cropping agroforestry systems as part of their cultivation program. It does this through the empirical application of a case-specific model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Data on farmers’ economic expectations and model constructs were generated during a quantitative survey of 209 farmers in Germany and analyzed using descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modeling technique. The descriptive results demonstrate a general rejection of alley cropping agroforestry systems and a low intention to implement them. Farmers prefer subsidy programs to the sale of wooden components as sources of economic benefit, expecting a yearly support of €512 (∼ 606US$) per hectare. Results from the partial least squares analysis show the positive influence of performance expectancy, attitude, and facilitating conditions on the behavioral intention to use an alley cropping agroforestry system, with the latter exerting a positive influence on the final use behavior. Entrepreneurial planning and intuition appear to influence some of the acceptance factors. The results suggest a wide range of implications for policy makers, advocacy groups, and farmers, proposing a focus on creating favorable conditions and positive attitudes among farmers in order to increase agroforestry dissemination.

Development of scientific requirements for climate-neutral buildings and sustainable funding schemes in Germany

The German Climate Protection Plan 2050 describes interim targets and measures for the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, including the building sector. With the “New European Bauhaus”, the EU Commission has currently initiated an ambitious process. While new construction has been in the foreground up to now, the existing building stock must make a significant contribution to achieving the climate protection goals in the future. Robust building technology and a high degree of adaptability lead to a longer useful life and are thus more sustainable, both economically and in terms of ecological balance. Resilience to the consequences of climate change is gaining in importance.The main goal of this contribution is to inform about the latest developments in governmental policies and subsidy schemes. As part of the National Climate Protection Programme 2030, the new “Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG)” was introduced in 2021. Research projects investigated how, with the introduction of efficiency house classes, funding can take greater account of the life cycle approach and other aspects of sustainability. At the same time, general and special requirements for the ecological, socio-cultural and economic quality were developed as a supplement to the existing certification systems and introduced by the Federal Building Ministry as “Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings” (QNG).