Latest News
24.06.2022
Lecture: What we would have to do if we took 1.5 degrees seriously.
The new German government has no plan on how Germany could do its part to meet the 1.5 degree limit. GermanZero e.V. has written a 1.5 degree legislation package that shows the necessary legislative changes.
Who: Lea Nesselhauf, GermanZero and co-author of the 1.5-degree legislative package, Berlin
When: 24.06.2022 – 5:30-7pm
Where: Altes Rathaus, Göttingen
Registration: goettingenzero@posteo.de
25/04/2022
FOSSIL FREE RIDE, April 30, 15:00, Albaniplatz
With every liter of oil and every ton of coal we consume, we fuel the climate crisis and flush money into Putin’s war chests. This cannot and must not go on!
That’s why we, together with Greenpeace Göttingen, are setting a sign against fossil dependency with a big bicycle demonstration on April 30 from 15:00.
Come along, bring your friends and family, and paint your message for peace and independence from fossil fuels on posters on your bikes!
04/04/2022
Cinema Special in cooperation with the Lumiere
Fancy a climate cinema? The Lumière is showing the film “What are we waiting for?” in cooperation with us to illustrate the potential that municipalities have for more sustainability.
In the film, director Marie-Monique Robin accompanies the inhabitants of the Alsatian municipality of Ungersheim, who have been making the village more self-reliant, sustainable, climate-friendly and independent since 2009 with “21 actions for the 21st century”.
After the film, we would like to exchange ideas with you to discuss the possibility of a sustainable future in Göttingen.
The screening starts on 11.04.22 at 19:30. Admission is €8 for working people and €7 reduced.
Advance booking: https://lumiere-melies.de/lumiere-programm/
14/03/2022
Press release: Climate needs peace and peace needs climate!
For over a week now, we have been following the conditions in Ukraine with deep concern. We, GöttingenZero stand in unwavering solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine who are fighting not only for their own freedom and self-determination, but for a world worth living in. Despite the war of aggression in Ukraine, Europe does not dare to sufficiently sanction Russian banks. It is clear that Putin’s war machine is financed, fed and fuelled by the coal, oil and gas industries that are driving both the invasion and the climate crisis.
So we can tackle both intertwined problems with the same measures. The faster we stop burning gas, coal and oil, the more likely we are to preserve our natural livelihoods. The faster the Energiewende progresses, the more confidently Germany can counter Russian aggression. It is imperative that the world does not simply replace fossil fuels produced in Russia with fossil fuels from other countries. Given the emerging priority of becoming independent of Russian oil and gas, fossil fuel expansion must be halted immediately and nations around the world must commit to a swift and just transition away from all fossil fuels. We must take bold steps towards the radical decarbonisation of our societies.
The NGO GermanZero is already presenting a climate plan with a legislative package for the whole of Germany to make the country completely independent of fossil energy imports by 2035. Specifically, residential buildings must be quickly and thoroughly renovated and gas and oil boilers banned for new buildings.
In addition, the expansion paths for wind and solar energy should be accelerated. This requires a solar obligation for public buildings, new buildings and the existing stock. No more gas-fired power plants should be built and district heating should be operated in an emission-neutral manner with alternative energy sources. In addition, there needs to be a change in transport with a move away from the internal combustion engine for cars, more efficient waste utilisation with higher recycling quotas, and ecological agriculture without synthetic fertilisers. “People all over the country are turning off their heaters. It’s a nice sign of solidarity, but we need more than individual solutions. We need to produce much more of our energy in our immediate environment. This requires a political and structural transformation,” says Ines Gütt, Climate Decisions Project Manager at GermanZero. In order to accelerate this Energiewende, it is also necessary to increase the commitment of the regions and municipalities. This is where the more than 70 climate decision teams in their communities come in. Here in Göttingen, too, GöttingenZero will continue to support the city in achieving the set goal of climate neutrality by 2030.
It is everyone’s duty to finally make this a reality if we want to have a liveable and peaceful future!
15/02/2022
Press release: Large discrepancy between decision and planning
Fortunately, the city of Göttingen has presented its climate plan with the ambitious and necessary goal of climate neutrality in 2030. In order to achieve this goal in now 8 years, it is imperative to start implementing the planned measures immediately.
Unfortunately, we see a large discrepancy between the words written and spoken and the actions taken and planned. The city’s allegedly generous climate protection budget turns out to be a sham on closer inspection, where, for example, measures such as the redesign of Cheltenham Park with the Schwänchenteich pond are dubbed one hundred percent climate protection expenditure, although zero CO² emission savings are achieved as a result. One could continue this list of “extrapolating climate protection expenditures”. It is a fact that the climate goal of “climate neutrality” in 2030 cannot be achieved with these measures.
The Göttingen climate groups Göttingen Zero, Greenpeace Göttingen, Health for Future Göttingen, Students for Future, Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion and Parents for Future want to point out this problem with a rally on Friday, 18.2. at 15h at the Gänseliesel and inform the population about the insufficiency of the climate measures planned so far and the necessity of a speedy implementation of the climate protection plan of the city of Göttingen.
The immediate action programme “Climate Protection in Göttingen Now”, which has been submitted to the Göttingen City Council, shows a possible way forward.
07/02/2022
Entry evening on 09.02.2021 at 18:00 online
Would you like to join us and learn more about how you can best get involved? Then feel free to come to our introductory evening on Wednesday at 18:00! The meeting will take place online.
26/01/2022
Open Letter About The Planned Budget for Climate Protection Measures
The way climate protection will be handled in the comming months and years isn’t just dependend on the political will but also majorly depends on the amount of money we are willing and able to put into necessary projects. We have analyzed the planned budget for climate protection measures and have sent the analysis to the Göttinger council members. You can find the open letter here .
27/12/2021
City Council adopts declaration of intent for climate neutrality 2030
In its meeting on 17 December 2021, the Göttingen City Council adopted a “Declaration of Intent for Climate Neutrality 2030”. You can find our statement on the resolution here.
16/12/2021
Rally tomorrow at 2 pm at Gänseliesel
On the occasion of tomorrow’s meeting of the city council, in which “climate neutrality to a large extent by 2030” is to be decided, we are planning a rally at 2pm at the Gänseliesel. We are excited to see you there!
06/12/2021
Immediate action programme “Climate protection in Göttingen now”
After the local elections, we drew up an immediate action programme for quickly realisable climate protection measures in the city of Göttingen. The programme was handed over to the city council last week and sent to all new members of the city council. You can find the PM about the programme here.
The program is supported by the following groups:
24/09/2021
Beginners’ evening on 25/09/2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Would you like to join us and learn more about how you can best get involved? Then come to our beginners’ evening tomorrow at 7:30 pm! The meeting will take place in the camp for climate action on Bürgerstraße, diagonally across from the city hall.
19/09/2021
Call for the OB run-off election
Dear supporters,
Since last Thursday it is official: The run-off election for the position of Mayor will be held between Ms Broistedt (SPD) and Ms Fragel (independent, nominated by the Greens)!
The new administration will then have it in its hands to accelerate climate protection in Göttingen and to comply with the 1.5 degree target locally. Therefore, everything is at stake for Göttingen in terms of climate protection.
It is worth taking a look at the statements of both candidates on precisely this issue, because they clearly positioned themselves in the election campaign. When asked at the event in the DT on 17 June 2021 whether they wanted to strive for climate neutrality by 2030, all the mayoral candidates answered YES, while Ms Broistedt answered NO.
DT event of 17.06.2021: flnr Mathias Rheinländer (Die Partei), Edgar Schu (Die Linken), Ehsan Kangarani (CDU), Doreen Fragel (no party, nominated by the Greens), Petra Broistedt (SPD). Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR9W_hfR_dE Minute 31:41
Ms Broistedt repeated this assessment on other occasions, for example on the market square at an election event with Mr Weil. Each of the two candidates will in any case have to deal with the fact that there is a broad alliance of organisations, associations and private individuals here in Göttingen that considers khan neutrality by 2045 to be far too late and also considers this to be non-negotiable from a scientific point of view. GöttingenZero will continue to make its presence felt here, that is clear.
But it will be decisive whether the elected mayor sees the Göttingen climate movement as a helpful tailwind or as a disruptive fringe group. As an initiative working across party lines, we at GöttingenZero, and I’m sure many of you as well, have learned in the course of the past weeks that there are clear differences here. For the necessary policy change towards a party-compliant and energetic Göttingen climate policy, the upcoming run-off election is significant in every respect.
run-off election is significant in every respect.
Therefore we ask all supporting groups:
Please discuss the mayoral election in your associations, in your private and professional contexts. Point out that this election is crucial for our path towards climate neutrality. It can make a decisive difference if everyone finds someone and encourages them to vote who would otherwise not have taken part in the election. Or by finding someone per association who makes direct postal voting possible on the spot through a driving service.
Every coffee chat, every jog, every opportunity offers a chance to address the different ideas of the two candidates on the central issue of climate policy. We have all invested a lot of time and energy for our goal of aiming for climate neutrality in Göttingen as quickly as possible. 9600 signatures, which unfortunately have still not been verified and counted, have been obtained. Now we have the chance for a change in
policy change that actually focuses on this goal!
Only if we mobilise to the maximum here is there a chance for a change in Göttingen’s climate policy. So let’s aim for the highest possible turnout, let’s seize the chance for policy change!
Your GöttingenZero Team
08/09/2021
Open letter on the new UMG building
Today, an open letter was handed over to the management of the University Medical Centre Göttingen on behalf of all the climate groups listed.
The new building planned for Göttingen University Hospital is, together with that of the Hannover Medical School, the largest hospital construction project in Lower Saxony. We see immense potential in the planned new building to positively influence the greenhouse gas balance in Göttingen for decades. For this reason, we consider it imperative that the new university hospital be built and, in particular, operated in a sustainable, resource- and climate-friendly manner, from the energy supply to the convenient connection to public transport. In our eyes, this makes sense both ecologically and economically. In Göttingen, a broad alliance of participants has formed, who are intensively examining the topic from all sides in working groups and are seeking dialogue with those responsible at the University Medical Centre, the university and with the city’s politicians and administration. In our eyes, such a sustainable new building as a lighthouse project in southern Lower Saxony reflects the responsible implementation of the current ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court at the local level. Commitment to climate protection here is unavoidable in light of the increasing dynamics of climate change and means living up to our responsibility for ourselves and future generations.
20/07/2021
Lecture by Federal Constitutional Judge Prof. Dr. Paulus
We have something rather exciting for you people! This friday there will be a lecture by federal constitutional judge Prof. Dr. Paulus on climate protection and liberty rights.
The lecture will be a hybride event, so you can watch from the comfort of your own home or come by. It will be held in german only though. Any more information can be found via the invite (german).
13/07/2021
Handing over the signatures
During the city council meeting on 16.07. we will hand over the 9500 signatures collected for the citizens’ petition to the city council. There will also be a vote on the new climate plan of the city. At 15:30 there will be a rally at the Sparkassenarena, to which we would like to invite all interested parties.
29/06/2021
Climate plan of the city and climate protection statement of the university and UMG
At today’s meeting of the environmental committee, the Göttingen 2030 climate plan prepared by the administration was presented. So that you can get an idea of this plan for yourself, we present here both the Conceptual volume as well as the Volume of measures.
Also published was the Climate protection statement of the Georg-August University.
22/06/2021
Support of Heinrich Detering for the petition
This week Heinrich Detering, professor at the University of Göttingen, signed our citizens’ petition. The literary scholar emphasizes the urgency of making our city climate neutral as soon as possible. In his justification, he cites an interesting, technical background to the realization of global climate change – see for yourself
09/06/2021
GermanZero presents legislative package
Today, our Germany-wide “sister organization” GermanZero published its catalog of measures for the 1.5-degree legislative package. If you want to be there, you can watch the press conference in a live stream on YouTube and Facebook from 10 am, and the evening event from 6 pm. The program for the evening can be found here.
02/06/2021
The alliance grows
With the Deutscher Kinderschutzbund Göttingen e.V., almost 50 organisations now support the climate decision in Göttingen. They justify their decision as follows:
Climate neutrality and children’s rights belong together. Growing up in a healthy environment is a child’s right enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Compared to their predecessor generations, children and young people today are less confident about the future because of increasing climate change. We at the Kinderschutzbund Göttingen see it as our task to make sure that we leave these young people not just a ruin, but a habitable house. However, the political course set in the area of climate and environmental protection has so far been oriented more towards a profit- and consumption-oriented economy than towards the preservation of an environment worth living in. Minimising this man-made negative influence on the climate is a goal that the Kinderschutzbund Göttingen supports together with the initiative / citizens’ petition “Göttingen climate neutral by 2030”.
28/05/2021
Climate decision enters the final spurt!
As the deadline approaches, the citizens’ petition is gaining momentum. In the meantime, more than 6,000 Göttingen citizens have signed a petition calling for climate neutrality by 2030. More than half of the signatures were added in May alone. This means that we would very likely reach our goal of ten percent of eligible voters by 8 June, despite the difficult conditions. However, due to the pandemic, we were able to apply for an extension of the deadline, which was approved by the city administration. To be on the safe side with the number of votes, we decided to accept this extension. Since every day counts in the climate crisis, we still want to try to collect the necessary signatures by 8 June or as soon as possible. So let’s all go for the final spurt. Together we can do it!
19/05/2021
Open Letter to Prof. Dr. Metin Tolan President of the University of Göttingen
In light of the senate meeting on the 19th of May, we have sent an open letter (german) adressed to Prof. Dr. Metin Tolan President of the University of Göttingen. Topic of discussion at said senate meeting was the current discussion on the university’s contribution to the city’s climate plan 2030 and its own goals of climate neutrality. In our letter we advocate for a climate neutrale university.
09/05/2021
Climate crisis – citizens tell their stories
From monday may 10th 2021 on the radio Leinewelle will broadcast stories of citizens on how they are affected by the climate crisis or will be affected in the future. The broadcast will be during the next two weeks at 8.30 am.
You can listen to the broadcast on: https://radioleinewelle.de
Afterwards the stories can be heard as podcasts.
30/04/2021
Order the list for the petition with an envelope to send it back – citizens petition now on innn.it
Or petition is now on innn.it. Innn.it supports democratic participation, you can order lists for the petition there and get an envelope with it to send it back to us – the postage is payed by innn.it.
30/04/2021
Bicycledemonstration on friday 30th of April at 3 pm
We organize a demonstration with bicycles with the slogan #Gömeinsam2030 (together for a climate neutral Göttingen until 2030) together with fridays for future and look forward to see you there with you bikes. We start at 3 pm at the Auditorium.
16/04/2021
Announcement of infosession on the citizens’ petition on 17/04/2021 at 4 p.m.
If you have questions or suggestions about the citizens’ petition, then come to our online Q&A session on 17th of April. We look forward to seeing you!
31/03/2021
Easter break office
From 29th of march until 11th of april we take an eastern break to be back after that with new energy 🙂
29/03/2021
Current Newsletter
And now onto the second edition of our very own Newsletter (German).
There is so much to tell you. We want to talk about what’s actually going on with our motion, how the meeting of the environmental comitee went, our new Telegram group and so much more!
25/03/2021
Announcement of infosession on the citizens’ petition on 27/03/2021 at 4 p.m.
If you have questions or suggestions about the citizens’ petition, then come to our online Q&A session on 27th of march. We look forward to seeing you!
15/03/2021
Telegram-group for collecting signatures for the citizens petition
We have a new Telegram-group mainly for the collection of signatures for the citizens petition “Göttingen climate neutral 2030”. The goal is to have a platform for individuals as well as groups to share information about:
- experience with collecting
- initiating and planning collecting-events
- announcing of smaller and bigger events
Here you can join: https://t.me/goemeinsam2030
15/03/2021
Challenge: “Gömeinsam 2030 – reaching our goal week after week”
Together we make Göttingen climateneutral until 2030 and therefore we all have to collect signatures. Who reaches their own goal – alone or as a group?
Here find the instructions for collecting signatures and a description of the challenge. Unfortunately both documents are on German, but we are working on the translations.
Do you accept the challenge? Then sign up to it via email and get started 🙂
14/03/2021
We have our own newsletter now!
To give you all a regular update, we came up with the idea of a newsletter.
In the most recent newsletter, we present the project “Gömeinsam 2030 – reaching the goal week after week “, inform you about the beginners evening, the upcoming climate protest and much more.
04/03/2021
Announcement of infosession on the citizens’ petition on 13/03/2021 at 4 p.m.
If you have questions or suggestions about the citizens’ petition, then come to our online Q&A session on 13th of march. We look forward to seeing you!
20/02/2021
Announcement of 2nd beginners’ evening on 07/03/2021 at 4 p.m.
Would you like to join us and learn more about how you can best get involved? Then come to our second beginners’ evening on 7 March! The meeting will take place online under this link.
20/02/2021
Announcement of question and answer session on the citizens’ petition on 27/02/2021 at 4 p.m.
If you have questions or suggestions about the citizens’ petition, then come to our online Q&A session on 27 February. We look forward to seeing you!
18/02/2021
Our response to the Climate Protection Advisory Council on the topic “Application to the EU funding programme for the Environment Committee”
Here is our response to Ms Fragel’s request to the Environment Committee to co-sign the “100 climate-neutral cities” appeal.
18/02/2021
Press conference on 16/02/2021
We held a press conference online at 10:30am on 16/02/2021, thank you to everyone who attended. For those who did not have time, we will make recordings of the contributions available here shortly.
Video of the beginners’ evening
On 16.01.2021 we held a newcomers’ evening online. You can watch the recording here to learn a bit more about us:
04/02/2021
Turmoil in the City Council
As already reported, there will be a council meeting on 12 February at which the GöLinke/ALG council group and councillor Dr. Francisco Welter-Schultes (Pirates) (PDF) will introduce a climate policy motion based on the motion we have prepared. However, this will not be the only climate policy motion of the session; in fact, three more have been registered: An intergroup motion by the B’90/Greens, the FDP and the PARTEI (PDF); a second by the SPD council group (PDF) and a third by the CDU council group (PDF).
Here you can find information on all public meetings of the city council, including the agendas and registered motions.
03/02/2021
Our Plan for 2030 – The Climate City Plan and how to understand it
Wir haben etwas Interessantes für alle, die sich fragen: “Klimaneutralität bis 2030 schön und gut, aber geht das überhaupt?” Unser Klimastadtplan (PDF) ist nämlich fertig! Darin könnt ihr jetzt nachlesen, wo was in welchen Sektoren gespart werden kann, inklusive Erklärungen (PDF), wie die Zahlen zustande gekommen sind.
We have something interesting for all those who are wondering: “Climate neutrality by 2030 is all well and good, but is it even possible?” Our climate city plan (PDF) is ready! You can now read where what can be saved in which sectors, including explanations (PDF) of how the figures were arrived at.
01/02/2021
Answers to urgent questions
A few days ago, on the occasion of the EU programme “100 Climate-neutral Cities by 2030 – by and for the Citizens”, we sent an open letter to the local politicians in Göttingen and asked them to take a stand. Of course we don’t want to withhold the answers from you!
Dr. Francisco Welter-Schultes of the Pirates (PDF), Dr. Ehsan Kangarani, the CDU candidate for mayor (PDF) and Doreen Fragel, the Green candidate for mayor (PDF) have replied individually.
The FDP parliamentary group (PDF) and the Greens parliamentary group (PDF) also replied.
31/01/2021
Music video “Don’t wait for tomorrow” by Patricia Loyal
The Göttingen musician Patricia Loyal has composed a song for us. You can find it on Youtube, listen to it and let the music inspire you.
24/01/2020
Emails to the MPs!
We want to show the city council members that there is broad support for climate neutrality by 2030 – and thus for the motion – among the Göttingen population. Therefore, we have started a campaign where YOU can write them emails! From now on you can download email templates.
Here for individuals who want to write to MPs.
And here for organisations who want to tell their members about it.
21/01/2021
Open letter to local politicians in Göttingen
On the occasion of the EU programme “100 Climate-neutral Cities by 2030 – by and for the Citizens” we have sent an open letter to the local politicians of Göttingen. The aim of this funding programme will be to support selected European municipalities within the framework of the EU Green Deal and the European Union’s NextGenerationEU stimulus programme. The selected cities will be supported (including financially) to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The prerequisite for this, however, is that the cities already have their own plans to achieve climate neutrality by that time.
We have asked the politicians to take a position on this and will keep you informed.
Further information on the EU programme “100 Climate-neutral Cities by 2030 – by and for the Citizens” can be found here.