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State capital Stuttgart

Climate protection

Stuttgart climate neutral: OB Nopper in exchange with Fridays For Future

Lord Mayor Dr. Frank Nopper welcomed delegates of the climate strike movement Fridays for Future Stuttgart to the city hall on Friday, December 10.

The activists warned that faster progress must be made in climate protection - OB Nopper agreed in principle: The state capital should become emission-free and climate-neutral as soon as possible.

Fridays For Future expressed the wish for Stuttgart to become one of the pioneer cities implementing the European Green Deal and aiming for climate neutrality by 2030. OB Nopper explained: “We want to take on a pioneering role and are currently examining whether and how Stuttgart could become a pioneering city in climate protection in 2030”. This requires sustainability in all areas: ecological, economic and social. Nopper continues: “We have to keep an eye on things: Can we do it? What does that mean for the city, can we do it? Cooperation with urban society, science and business is elementary for achieving the goals.”

The mayor explained why he had not taken over the chairmanship of the supervisory board of the municipal utility - a point criticized by Fridays for Future. Nopper said, “I hold the chairmanship of the supervisory board of both SSB and the airport and can advance important climate policy developments here.” With Mayor Thomas Fuhrman (Department of Economics, Finance and Participations) and Mayor Peter Pätzold (Department of Urban Development, Housing and Environment), the administration is well represented at the municipal utilities, he added.

The same applies to the Climate and Environment Committee, which has been successfully chaired by Mayor Peter Pätzold for years. Nopper emphasized that he respects and wants to maintain the tried and tested distribution of responsibilities in the top management of the administration. The top management is a good team and coordinates with each other on key issues in such a way that his personal participation is only required in exceptional cases.

Solar offensive to be accelerated further

Fridays For Future also addressed the expansion of photovoltaics in Stuttgart. For this purpose, the group visited the solar plant on the roof of the city hall together with the mayor. Mayor Nopper emphasized that Stuttgart is very committed and takes an exemplary approach to its own properties. As part of the Climate Action Program, he said, the city is investing more than 30 million euros in accelerating the expansion of solar energy on private, commercial and municipal roofs. “I’m a guy who always asks, ‘Can we go even faster and better?’ That’s why we’re continuing to develop the Climate Action Program, adding more agencies, and we also want to go more public for the issue.”

Other topics of discussion included climate protection in public transport and individual mobility.

OB Nopper: “No more talking past each other in the future”.

Mayor Nopper and Fridays For Future agreed to continue the exchange in the coming year. Nopper: “It’s important that we don’t talk about each other, but with each other. We want to learn from each other and exchange information.”

Ulrich Schmidt of Parents for Future Stuttgart appealed to the mayor: “Become the face of climate protection in Stuttgart!”

(Note: Press release updated 12/15/2021).

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