At a half-year meeting in Dresden on Saturday, the environmental network GRÜNE LIGA looked at how energy consumption can be limited in the long term beyond the current crisis. At the meeting, representatives of member groups from Berlin, Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony discussed with several speakers.
Dr. Lars-Arvid Brischke from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg presented the results of the "Living Spaces" research project, which has been running for several years.

"In many owner-occupied housing estates in Germany, single-family and two-family houses are only occupied by one or two people, and often complete flats in two-family houses are empty. At the same time, many older people feel overwhelmed and lonely in such living situations. They would like to see downsizing, barrier-free design and a mixed-generation house community." Dr Brischke summarises the results of a survey conducted in the project.

His conclusion: "In order to successfully implement the energy turnaround in the building sector, the federal government and local authorities should develop strategies to help these people renovate the unused or underused living space in a sustainable and needs-oriented way and make it available for people looking for housing."

The half-year meeting also included discussions with Michael Reckordt from PowerShift on the raw material requirements of the energy transition and with GRÜNE LIGA water expert Michael Bender on the conflicts between hydropower use and water protection. Moderated by Ute Bortlik, a discussion took place on the positions and focal points of the environmental network on the topic of energy.

Half-year meetings of the GRÜNEN LIGA traditionally serve the exchange of content without having to decide on positions immediately. René Schuster, national chair of the Green League: "The meeting has given many new impulses for the work of the groups and the national association - both in terms of content and networking among themselves. We will continue to work on the topics discussed. The fact that the consumption of energy and raw materials in our society must be reduced is an essential question for the future."

Internet presence of the presented project "Living Spaces":
https://www.ifeu.de/projekt/lebensraeume-instrumente-zur-beduerfnisorientierten-wohnraumnutzung-in-kommunen/