Faced with climate change, the main environmental challenges for local government lie in climate protection; dense concentrations of climate-altering emissions in towns and cities mean that a significant contribution can be made at local level to meeting national and global climate protection targets.

Among the most important fields of local climate protection is, along with environmentally friendly transport policies and the use of renewable energy sources, energy saving strategies. Here, energy-efficient retrofitting and optimisation of older buildings is becoming increasingly important.

Hannover has joined with neighbouring towns and communities to establish the ‘Hannover Climate Protection Region’, promoting sustainable energy retrofitting of residential buildings, exceptionally energy-efficient new buildings, expansion of solar thermal capacity, biogas and biomass uses, electricity saving, eco-friendly mobility, subsidy programmes, skilling and qualification measures and climate protection events.

Motorised private transport and road freight not only damage the climate but also cause noise and air pollution, but mobility is crucial to the functioning of any city, and so promotion of environmentally-friendly transport and networking the various operators must be at the centre of municipal transport policy. A key role is played by the Hannover association of environmental transport operators (rail, bus, taxi, car-sharing, cyclists association).