Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection

The Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection is the home to the Division for the European Union and International Affairs, a long-time partner in the Circles Project. The City of Berlin aims to be carbon-natural by the year 2050. The Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection steers this process and has bundled the scope of climate-protection and energy-usage tasks in a dedicated unit. The work program of this unit entails the implementation of an integrated energy and climate-protection concept as well as preparations for an energy-turnaround policy for the city of Berlin. The basis used for the above is the feasibility analysis “Klimaneutrales Berlin 2050”. This Department also leads the international engagement of Berlin, and the Circles Project is part of that engagement.

Berlin is  an active member of a number of climate change and sustainability groups, including: C40 Climate Leadership Group, Climate Alliance, Covenant of Mayors, ICLEI, Metropolis, and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change.

Projects in the Field of Climate Change

Climate-neutral Berlin 2050

Berlin is already one of the most climate-friendly cities in Germany. Thanks to the Senate’s targeted energy and climate protection policies, energy generation has been modernised, heat provision converted from coal to natural gas, buildings refurbished and the proportion of bicycle, bus and rail journeys increased. The aim now is to make Berlin climate-neutral by 2050.

Click here to download Climate-neutral Berlin 2050.

Europacity Heidestraße: A Sustainable District near the Hauptbahnhof station

In the heart of the city, directly next to Berlin’s main railway station, a new kind of mixed urban quarter is gradually taking shape called Europacity. Its inspiration is the climate-friendly city of the future, and particular consideration is given to exemplary, holistically applied climate protection.

Berlin as a Cycle City

Berliners get on their bikes 1.5 million times a day and this figure is growing. That is good for the city. Cycle traffic is quiet, environmentally friendly and healthy. It requires neither considerable space nor expensive infrastructure and helps to reduce motor traffic. That makes the streets and squares more attractive. In order to make Berlin even more cycle-friendly, the Senate updated its cycling strategy in 2013.