For many years, the City of Mannheim has been very active in climate protection: a climate protection concept was developed back in 2008 and is currently being updated for the period 2020 to 2030. In contrast to other large cities, however, there is still no long-term climate protection concept in the sense of the "100% climate protection master plans," which illuminates the development perspective until 2050.
Therefore, the Wuppertal Institute is developing an integrated energy framework concept that takes up and supplements the existing urban concepts. It shows long-term developments and, above all, the city's options for action. All sectors – electricity, heat, transport, industry – are examined and their potential for reducing greenhouse gases analysed. The study shows what contribution the already existing energy infrastructures and services can make to the energy transition and climate protection and what new structures are required so that Mannheim can achieve ambitious climate protection goals locally.
The researchers identified reduction potentials and combined these in various scenarios. The guiding principle is climate neutrality by 2050, which is reflected by a reference scenario. By comparing sensitivities, an understanding is created of which fields of action, but also actors, form the most relevant levers for ambitious climate protection. For example, the assumptions on the generation potential of renewable energies in Mannheim and the provision of electricity and gas in Germany are varied for the supply in Mannheim. Like most major German cities, Mannheim will also be dependent on supra-regional energy supplies in the future. Thus, the success of the nationwide energy turnaround is an essential prerequisite for Mannheim's climate neutrality.
The processing took place in the following work packages (WP):
• definition of the spatial, sectoral and content-related scope of the study (WP 1)
• energy and CO2 balance in the status (WP 2)
• potential analyses for the reduction of CO2 emissions (WP 3)
• projection of future developments (scenarios; WP 4)
• conclusions and preparation of results (WP 5)
The energy framework is being developed in close cooperation with and on behalf of MVV Energie AG, which is a key player as the local energy supplier.