Municipal climate protection managers’ knowledge of embodied emissions in construction

The German Federal Climate Action Act targets greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. To this end, the German government has established a comprehensive system to support municipal authorities with the National Climate Initiative. This initiative is responsible for 1,300 subsidized positions for municipal climate protection managers. The paper explores the current knowledge and practices on embodied emissions among German climate protection managers. The research hypothesizes that while municipal authorities increasingly focus on reducing operational emissions in the building sector, they often overlook the impact of embodied emissions. A survey was conducted with 126 municipal climate protection managers in Germany. It examined their role within the administration, their efforts in implementing the climate protection plans, their involvement in construction projects, and their knowledge of Life Cycle Assessment. On average, climate protection managers spend 15% of their weekly working time collaborating with the building department. 39% think they have a significant influence on decision-making within construction. 79% rate the competencies in their department in Life Cycle Assessment as inadequate. 85% of the participants call for stricter measures in their municipality’s climate protection master plan. The paper’s results emphasize the need to bring embodied emissions from the building sector into focus for municipal climate protection managers.     «

The German Federal Climate Action Act targets greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. To this end, the German government has established a comprehensive system to support municipal authorities with the National Climate Initiative. This initiative is responsible for 1,300 subsidized positions for municipal climate protection managers. The paper explores the current knowledge and practices on embodied emissions among German climate protection managers. The research hypothesizes that while municipal aut...     »