Climate protection in Koblenz: Students uncover deficiencies in the concept!

Climate protection in Koblenz: Students uncover deficiencies in the concept!

In times when climate protection is more in focus than ever, three committed students from the University of Social Design in Koblenz set the task of taking a close look at the current status of climate protection in their city. Based on the climate check by the “Stadt.Land.Klima!” association, which was launched in 2022, they achieved comprehensive results and reached 16th place out of 32 tested municipalities in the climate check ranking.

The climate check evaluates the implementation of 35 climate protection measures in six key areas such as energy, transport and agriculture. This shows that although concepts exist, many measures have not been implemented or have only been partially implemented. Particularly in the “Buildings and Heat” sector, there is a lack of energy-related renovations and corresponding plans to reduce fossil energy in the district heating networks. News Koblenz reports that the climate check aims to provide an overview of measures that have already been implemented and to show the need to catch up.

Critical points and positive approaches

Despite the mixed results, there are also encouraging developments. In the area of ​​“industry, economy and consumption” there are already positive approaches such as the efforts to create an energy-autonomous large-scale sewage treatment plant and the initiative of three repair cafés in the city. But here too it becomes clear that a round table for energy transition and climate protection is urgently needed in Koblenz so that the various actors can work together.

The climate check can be viewed as a snapshot and serves as inspiration to improve the situation. The city administration has been informed of the results, but a response is still pending. The students emphasize the transparency of the city administration, which is of great importance in times of increasing skepticism towards political decisions.

Invitation to discussion

The results of the climate check will be presented on Tuesday, July 8th, 2025, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the University of Social Design. The event is open to the public and no pre-registration is required. Afterwards, participants can look forward to an exciting panel discussion with guests from politics, city administration and civil society, in which topics such as the potential for climate protection projects and concrete measures for the coming years will be discussed. The discussion guests include representatives such as Alexandra Kraatz from the Green Party in the city council and Astrid Fries, who heads the city center management of the city of Koblenz.

The development of effective climate protection is of central importance not only for Koblenz, but for all around 11,000 German municipalities in order to achieve national climate goals. The Practical guide “Climate protection in municipalities” offers comprehensive information and support for the implementation of municipal climate protection measures and will certainly also be a valuable resource in Koblenz.

Nevertheless, it remains to be hoped that the results of the climate check will lead to concrete steps so that climate protection in Koblenz moves from theory to practical results.