tudents discussed regional climate protection strategies with experts

Students at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences studied the report of the Bremen Commission of Inquiry on Achieving Climate Neutrality in the State of Bremen as part of an elective course. In a workshop followed by a panel discussion, they discussed with experts the implementation of regional climate protection strategies in the areas of mobility and housing.

The panel was made up of top-class regional experts: Martin Michalik, Head of the Enquete Commission "Climate Protection Strategy for the State of Bremen" and climate policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Michael Labetzke, Member of the Bremen Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Till Scherzinger, Head of the Climate City Office of the Bremerhaven Environmental Protection Agency, and Sieghard Lückehe, Managing Director of STÄWOG Bremerhaven, had accepted the students' invitation. "During the discussion it once again became clear that the completion of the Enquete Report was a great political achievement of the Bremen Parliament. The questions in the implementation now underway are of course no less great," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Ritzenhoff, who as a lecturer organised the event together with the students. 

The implementation of the measures developed in the Commission of Inquiry can only succeed if they are supported by the population. Therefore, it is important to keep the acceptance of the citizens in mind. Otherwise, according to the panelists, the achievement of climate neutrality within the set time frame could be jeopardised. It also became clear in the discussion how important skilled workers are for the success of the measures. "The necessary transformations in the near future need many engineers. That is precisely why the experts were happy to come to the event and addressed the importance of creative co-design directly to the student group," says Prof. Ritzenhoff.

Prior to the panel discussion, the participants dealt with the thematic focal points of the event - housing and mobility - in workshops. They were supported by Heinfried Becker, who heads the Bremerhaven office of Bremer Energie-Konsens GmbH.

Various public transport models were discussed, such as hydrogen or electric propulsion and the reactivation of the tram. The experts agreed that the parallel operation of E-buses in Bremen and hydrogen buses in Bremerhaven will lead to interesting findings and comparisons of the approaches in the immediate vicinity in a few years' time. In contrast, the reactivation of the tram in Bremerhaven is not a good option.

It became clear that hydrogen is a necessary but also very precious energy carrier that should primarily be used for special applications. What these are and under what conditions the climate-friendly gas could also be useful for heating, developments will show. 
The organisational team was very satisfied afterwards. "It was a successful event all round. A big thank you therefore goes to all the participants, the external supporters as well as the students and the colleagues involved at the university," Prof. Ritzenhoff concluded.