Renewable energies and energy efficiency

An important instrument of the energy and climate policy of the Canton of Basel-Stadt is the Cantonal Energy Act. Its main goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency and promote renewable energy.

To achieve these goals, energy-efficient renovations, efficient new buildings and systems for the use of renewable energy have been supported with subsidies since 1984. Since 2009, 100 per cent of the electricity supplied by IWB Industrielle Werke Basel has come from renewable sources. And as an incentive to use energy economically, since 1998 all residents in Basel have been rewarded for savings in electricity consumption with an electricity savings bonus.

The administration of the Canton of Basel-Stadt has been setting a good example for some time now: new buildings in the administrative sector must achieve MINERGIE-P or a comparable building standard. This is one of the measures in the proposal Climate-neutral administration Basel-Stadt: The cantonal administration on the way to the 2000-watt society, which was approved by parliament in 2008. A prime example is the new construction of the Office for Environment and Energy (AUE) on the Schifflände, which is exemplary in terms of energy and construction technology and covers its own electricity needs thanks to a photovoltaic façade and an optimised building concept.

Environmentally-friendly heaters

The cantonal energy law stipulates that whenever a heat generator is replaced, it must be switched to renewable energies. The installation of oil or gas heating systems is only approved in exceptional cases. IWB already operates Switzerland's largest district heating network in Basel, supplying around 45,000 households as well as small and large businesses with heat. By around 2035, climate-friendly district heating is to be greatly expanded, the existing district heating network further consolidated and additional urban areas integrated into the grid-based, CO²-neutral heat supply.

Reduction of CO² emissions

The climate protection targets are reviewed through the cantonal energy statistics. Since 2010, energy consumption, the expansion of renewable energies and CO² emissions have been surveyed and analysed every two years. The results in the period from 2010 to 2018 are positive: CO² emissions per inhabitant and year were reduced from 4.7 tonnes in 2010 to 3.5 tonnes in 2018. By 2040, the government council wants to reduce the CO² emissions per inhabitant and year in Basel to net zero.

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