Support for the project “Resource Conservation and Climate Neutrality in Germany”

Climate change and resource conservation represent two of the greatest challenges of this century. As an industrial nation, Germany has a special responsibility and functions as a role model: on the one hand, it has historically consumed a lot of resources, which has contributed to the current situation.  On the other, it has a lot of leeway, thanks to its economic power. The German Environment Agency launched the project “Resource Conservation and Climate Neutrality in Germany (RTD)” to examine how the country can simultaneously achieve the goals of climate protection and conservation.

The RTD project was dedicated to achieving ambitious goals in the areas of climate protection and resource conservation at the same time. In this context, the project examined technical and sociological developments based on five scenarios for the transformation process in Germany up to 2050. The support work for the RTD project brought together participants from science, politics, administration and business. It also specified selected measures (packages), developed roadmaps for their implementation in a participatory manner, and helped organise an international conference.

Roadmaps were developed for the following transformation topics:

• The use of wood in the construction sector
• The recycling of lithium-ion batteries
• The growth of post-lithium-ion batteries
• The forest as a natural carbon sink
• Reduced meat consumption for climate protection by 2050

adelphi led the support work for the project. In cooperation with the Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit) and the Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie GmbH, adelphi organised roadmapping workshops in which participants indentified ways to achieve the ambitious climate and conservation goals of the RTD project. This provided qualitative support for the existing quantitative modelling.  Results from the RTD research project were also shared and discussed at a 1.5-day international conference with some 150 participants from science, politics, administration and business. adelphi helped organise the conference by taking on logistical tasks, supporting moderators and speakers, and documenting the conference results.