The city’s carbon footprint for 2018 shows: Dortmund’s CO2 emissions are falling – also because private households use less electricity. In the private and commercial sector, the burden on the climate is falling steadily. In the transport sector, however, it remains the same. The city is tackling this area with the Mobility Master Plan.
With the climate protection action program, the city of Dortmund has set itself the goal of reducing its CO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. In order to check to what extent the city is getting closer to its goal, CO2 balances are drawn up every two years.
Without additional heating energy requirements: 36 percent reduction
The balance sheet presented for 2018 shows: CO2 emissions have decreased by 32 percent compared to 1990. When looking at weather-adjusted emissions, the decrease is even 36 percent. The additional heating energy requirement in colder years is factored in here. “Unfortunately, the processing of the data is only possible with a delay, so we are always two years behind in terms of statistics,” explains Ludger Wilde, head of the environment.
Traffic emits the most CO2
Wilde explains: “In percentage terms, traffic is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. This area accounts 35 percent of total CO2 emissions, private households for 34 percent and 29 percent for the local economy.” Unfortunately, the number of cars on the roads has continued to increase in recent years. “We will be paying particular attention to the transport sector in the next few years. The mobility master plan is an important factor here,” said Wilde. The city has set several goals in the master plan. This includes reducing the negative environmental impact of traffic and promoting pedestrian traffic, cycling and public transport.
