Leipzig unveils its 2027/2028 climate action plan: per capita CO₂ emissions are set to fall dramatically

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Leipzig has set itself a massive challenge: With the 2027/2028 implementation programme as part of the 2030 Energy and Climate Protection Programme, the Mayor’s Advisory Service reaffirmed on Monday, 12 October, the continuation of the city’s roadmap to combat climate change.

By the end of 2028, CO₂ emissions per inhabitant within the city limits are set to fall dramatically from 4.51 to 2.44 tonnes, in order to secure the long-term goal of city-wide carbon neutrality by 2040. That would be an impressive leap.

It is true that the city’s calculated CO₂ emissions have been falling for years. However, they are also directly linked to external factors such as the weather and energy prices, which have a significantly greater impact on fossil fuel consumption than energy-saving programmes or home insulation. In particular, the significantly warmer years from 2018 onwards have, quite simply, also reduced the consumption of fossil fuels.

For example, in 2017, Leipzig’s calculated CO₂ emissions stood at 3.37 million tonnes, a figure that fell in subsequent years to 2.74 million tonnes in 2023.

The city aims to make this significant leap through 82 specific measures implemented by the city and its municipal enterprises across the entire Leipzig region.

“With this implementation programme, we in the city administration are making an active and important contribution to achieving Leipzig’s climate neutrality target,” said Heiko Rosenthal, Councillor for the Environment, on Monday.

“However, climate protection is a task for society as a whole, requiring a collective commitment from all political levels, economic stakeholders and the people of Leipzig.”

Climate-friendly renovation and expansion of renewables

A key focus for the next two years is climate-just refurbishment: this applies to urban neighbourhoods – through the development of energy concepts for new-build projects or the climate-just development of commercial spaces – but also to energy-efficient refurbishments such as that of the Quarterback Immobilien Arena.

At the same time, the city intends to push ahead with the accelerated expansion of renewable energy to ensure a climate-neutral energy and heating supply. Through highly efficient solar and wind power plants, the aim is to achieve an installed capacity of around 400 megawatts by 2030.

Simone Ariane Pflaum, Head of the Sustainable Development and Climate Protection Department, comments: “Closely linked to this is the implementation of the city of Leipzig’s statutory municipal heating plan. The aim is to gradually switch the heating supply to fossil-free sources and to drive forward the expansion of district heating.”

In the mobility sector, the ‘Main Axes’ basic module is intended to create an infrastructure programme that combines the complex construction needs of the City of Leipzig with those of the various companies in the L-Group. Another pillar is the wide-ranging climate protection campaign designed to engage Leipzig’s urban community: citizens and institutional stakeholders are specifically encouraged to get involved and take their own measures.

This includes providing the city’s specialist subsidy programme for private balcony solar panels for recipients of the Leipzig Pass, as well as supporting the energy efficiency and climate protection network for local businesses.

The city emphasises that the necessary funds have been firmly earmarked in the current two-year budget to ensure reliable financing for all projects. In addition, the City of Leipzig carries out continuous climate monitoring and publishes the latest data, along with detailed analyses of trends in greenhouse gas emissions and other climate indicators, transparently on the climate protection dashboard directly at www.leipzig.de/klimaschutz.