Local district and EWE initiate a national pilot project
Emsland starts emissions trading for private homes
Oldenburg, August 15, 2006. Private households will soon be able to trade in CO² certificates in Emsland local district. This provides incentives to save energy and protect the climate. The local district and the energy supplier EWE are making supplements available for energy consultancy to 150 private households in Sögel and Werlte as well as to public buildings in Haselünne. Energy saving measures will then be rewarded with a CO² credit which can be paid out to the holders from a fund.
The basis for CO² certificate trading is the climatic protection protocol signed by many states in Kyoto (Japan) in 1997. The international trading of industrial CO² has been well underway since early 2005. The system will probably be introduced comprehensively for households and traffic in the next few years. It is already being tested as part of a pilot project in the local district of Emsland.
Chief councilor Hermann Bröring and the managing director of EWE Dr. Werner Brinker both presented the project in Werlte today. Bröring reminded those present that the idea of incorporating private households in CO² certificate trading came from the future forum in Emsland, where regional proponents had thought about future development in 2005. The project has found a competent partner in EWE AG.
“CO² certificate trading is already a widespread phenomenon in industry. We now want to give private households the opportunity to profit from climatic protection”, said Bröring. The nationally unique pilot project is designed to demonstrate that corresponding incentives can help reduce the energy consumption of private households and thus generate tradable CO² certificates. The desired investment in building insulation or the heating and energy technologies simultaneously represent a business boost for regional companies, said Bröring.
Brinker also welcomed the cooperation of EWE AG as an energy supplier in the region. “Innovative, energy-saving projects are also in the interest of energy companies”, stated Brinker.
The participating households would first receive a supplement for energy consultancy worth 300 euros for a detached house that would have to have been built before 1990 in order to be able to achieve greater savings. Afterwards a CO² credit would be granted for the reductions achieved by this totaling 20 euros per ton of CO² per year. The project has been initially planned to run for three years and the roll-out is scheduled for this year.
A budget of 300,000 euros, to which the local district of Emsland and EWE are each contributing half, has been made available. The project office is to be set up at the competence centre of Lower Saxony - network for regenerative resources (3N) in Werlte. If the feedback is positive the pilot project could be extended to the entire district of Emsland by the end of 2007.
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