NRW.Energy4Climate is the new state-based agency for energy and climate protection. Our goal: NRW plans to become 100 per cent climate neutral and a pioneer of the energy transition while still remaining Germany’s leading industrial state. In order to achieve this goal as quickly as possible, NRW.Energy4Climate, as a key driving force in the process, draws together NRW’s activities in the fields of climate protection and the energy transition and is thus accelerating the transition across different sectors.
Our Mission
NRW.Energy4Climate’s goals and responsibilities
Today, specific and decisive action is more important than ever. NRW.Energy4Climate therefore sets out the following areas as the agency’s goals and responsibilities:
- Identifying the required innovation and policy frameworks: innovative approaches and new technologies are indispensable to ensure success in the areas of energy transition and climate neutrality.A whole range of production processes need to be rethought, infrastructures need to be rebuilt and legal frameworks need to be adjusted. Alongside all those involved in the economy, political policy-making, scientific research and society as a whole, we will identify weak spots and areas needing action across all four sectors, as well as deciding on and supporting the appropriate measures required to tackle these.
- Recognising investment and development needs: the transition to climate neutrality involves drastically increasing investment in all sectors. This is why we will be providing support to attract funding and investment. Through our interface with state government, we are also able to submit requests for prospective funding programmes to the federal government and the EU in as customised a way as possible and co-design them in line with the priorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Networking and initiating projects: as a key contact agency, we would like to promote your climate protection projects in collaboration with you and initiate exemplary pilot projects that have a leveraging effect in terms of emissions reduction – whether in the energy industry, manufacturing sector, the construction or heating industries, in the transport sector, at companies or in the community. We would like to provide assistance to all those involved in implementing the measures required by organising support services, workshops and online tools and by offering specific advice and showcasing projects that demonstrate best practice.
- Supporting municipal activity: fundamental decisions concerning climate policy are usually taken at the international, national or state level. However, municipalities are especially pivotal at the implementation stage. This is why we will have local representatives in place to support those at the community level to take advantage of offers of sponsorship and to promote ideas for projects.
“Becoming climate neutral means change, change in the way we get around, in the way we produce goods, the way we generate electricity, and in the way we construct buildings and live – in short: it involves our entire existence. At the same time, these changes offer countless opportunities. New sectors with sustainable jobs emerge, the risk of uncontrollable consequences of climate change declines, innovations ensure that society prospers and the quality of our everyday life improves,” says Samir Khayat, Managing Director of NRW.Energy4Climate.