These days we are overwhelmed with bad news. Whether we turn on the TV, scroll Instagram, or listen to news podcasts, bad news seems to consume us. Temperature, drought and flood records are being broken again and again; things are getting hotter, colder, wetter and drier.
But what we don't realize with all the bad news is that there is also a lot of good happening in this world! We are also developing further when it comes to sustainability: new ideas are being born, new innovations are being developed and tested. Most of the time it is reported less.
No more bad news! In this blog article we will look at some of the better climate news from the last few months.
Sustainable district cooling: Cooling cities with water
Let's start in GREENFORCE 's hometown: Munich. An innovative system is being developed and used here. This will serve as a more sustainable alternative to traditional air conditioning in the future.
According to the Tagesschau, this development is called ' district cooling ' and uses cold water from a city stream. This is pumped through large pipes around the city. Compared to air conditioning systems, which often have to cool down very hot air and require a lot of energy to do so, the district cooling water is already cool.
The network is approximately 28 kilometers long and cools around 100 large buildings in the city center. This new system is expected to save 25,000 tons of CO₂ per year. There are already plans to use district cooling in other German cities.
9 euro ticket: A success for climate protection
We also have good news across Germany: balance sheets after the three months of the 9 euro ticket show: the test was successful for both the environment and the economy.
According to Deutsche Bahn, around 52 million tickets were sold during that time. This resulted in an estimated CO₂ saving of 1.8 million tonnes . Let's assume that we could save around 7.2 million tons of CO₂ every year. If we extended the 9 euro ticket, we could save almost twice as much emissions as the city of Stuttgart would produce annually.
Eco-fuel: Trains test biofuel & hydrogen
The trains themselves are also becoming more sustainable! Although trains are much better for the environment than cars and planes, they still require fuel - usually in the form of diesel fuel. New train lines in Germany aim to avoid this and therefore use other, more sustainable methods.
There are two rail innovations this year that use fairly different fuels: biofuel and hydrogen.
The first biofuel train is already running in Upper Swabia and saves around 90 percent of the CO₂ emissions of a diesel train.
There is also a hydrogen train in Lower Saxony. This has already saved 1.6 million liters of diesel and 4,400 tons of CO₂ over its currently small route. Hopefully many more of these trains will be put into operation in the coming years so that we can finally say goodbye to diesel throughout Germany.
Expansion of offshore wind energy planned
The German government is also part of an agreement that wants to expand offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea. According to Spiegel, we already have 2.8 gigawatts of wind power in the Baltic Sea: this agreement is intended to increase the capacity to 19 gigawatts by 2030. With 19 gigawatt hours of wind energy, around 20 million households can be supplied with electricity .
It's not just the Baltic Sea states that want to expand their wind power supply. China is one of the pioneers in the field of renewable energy. More and more wind and solar power plants are being built there.
According to Spiegel, a capacity of 140 to 154 gigawatts will be installed in the country this year alone. In comparison, Germany currently only has a third of this capacity available. If China continues like this, the country's total emissions can be drastically reduced in the coming years.
Conclusion: Good news for sustainability
We think the positive needs to be reported more often. Not only negative things are happening in the world, many new innovations are also being researched every year that can stop climate change.
In the fight against global warming, we as individuals often feel powerless. It feels like a drop in the ocean. But the impact of YOU and all of us is so important in the grand scheme of things. Only together can we make a difference. And if we all stick together, we will save the future. What can you do for climate protection? Read our tips for you here.
