Perspektiven für Rheinland-Pfalz – Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie des Landes: Fortschreibung 2015

The Rhineland-Palatinate sustainability strategy takes "sustainable development" to mean development that meets and safeguards all the economic or social needs subject to the capacity of the ecosystem, so that the consumption of natural resources focuses on the availability of renewable resources.

The core content of the Rhineland-Palatinate sustainability strategy covers :

• climate protection
• the implementation of the energy transition
• the preservation of biological diversity,
• sustainable economic activities and
• education for sustainable development.

These highlight, so to speak, the central challenges in implementing sustainable development in the state. Concrete goals are set for sustainable development in these core areas.

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and the ensuing global warming demand action. Even if Germany could achieve a 27% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2014, there still remains much to be done. On climate protection, the sustainability strategy sets three sustainability goals. According to them greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 compared to 1990 should be reduced by 90%. In addition the aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; for the state government the target year is even 2030. These goals are enshrined as binding targets in the state's climate protection law, which constitutes an important contribution to sustainable development. To reach these targets, there is also a climate protection concept dating from 2015. It lists concrete measures that should contribute to the implementation of the sustainability targets set for climate protection.

The energy transition is seen as an essential instrument of climate protection. Therefore to contribute to climate protection power generation from fossil fuels must be reduced to a minimum and replaced by renewable energy sources. This can counteract emissions due to fossil fuel-fired power plants. Against this background the sustainability strategy includes a sustainability goal for Rhineland-Palatinate which envisages power consumption being covered by renewable energies by 2030.

Biological diversity represents the basis of nutrition. Furthermore, biodiversity also affects industry, which processes renewable raw materials. An enormous amount of importance is also attached to biological diversity on the basis of aesthetic and emotional aspects. It is therefore necessary to counteract the global decline in biodiversity. To safeguard biodiversity in Rhineland-Palatinate targets are set to reduce the proportion of endangered and critically endangered species. In addition the prevention of the fragmentation of the landscape should contribute to maintaining biodiversity. Other goals in the biological diversity area include the improvement of the ecological status of water bodies and the development of nature parks into pilot sustainable regions. A state-wide strategic approach to biological diversity is guaranteed in Rhineland-Palatinate by the state's Biodiversity Strategy. In addition to the targets on biodiversity, this also contains specific measures to be implemented.

Sustainability in the economy means that consumption of resources must not exceed the earth's capacity. To make the economy of Rhineland-Palatinate more sustainable, energy productivity and the efficient use of resources must be increased and new land consumption reduced to below one hectare a day.  Other sustainability goals in the "sustainable economy" area provide among other things for a reduction in air pollution and an increase in the amount of land used for organic farming to 20%.

To be able to achieve sustainable development in all areas of life and the economy a change in awareness in society and an understanding of the challenges we face, which will involve shortages of natural resources, as well as of the necessity of and rationale behind sustainable development are essential. As a result in Rhineland-Palatinate education on sustainable development is being accelerated. Education providers are therefore required for such awareness raising.  The goal is to increase the number of institutions teaching sustainable development.
In addition to the description of the areas concerned by sustainability and the existing challenges and instruments, the Rhineland-Palatinate sustainability strategy also includes an indicator report. The purpose of this report to make clear to politicians and society, by means of statistical indicators, the fields of action that are vital to the transition towards sustainability.

• central places,
• settlement axes in spatial planning
• spatial categories and
• residential settlements.

Furthermore target figures for housing demand aims and principles for the location, expansion and modification of large-scale retail facilities are also defined. The aims and principles set out in the regional development are to be respected (goals) or taken into account (principles) in urban land use planning at municipal level.

The provisions on central places are intended to guarantee the supply of goods and services to the population and spatially concentrate settlement development. Settlement axes in spatial planning provide for settlement development along significant transport axes. The central place and settlement axes provisions serve the carrying capacity and capacity utilisation of the existing infrastructure. The spatial category provisions allow the specific targeting of structurally homogeneous or similar characterised spaces within the state. Further goals and principles concerning residential development target a decentralised settlement structure, which contribute in turn to the protection of open spaces, the protection of ecological functions as well as traffic minimisation or reduction. Binding, quantitative targets for housing demand guarantee careful use of natural resources and thanks to the goals and principles on large-scale retail facilities a balanced and demand-based retail infrastructure is provided, which is oriented towards the central place-based classification of districts.

The "Settlements" regional development plan is harmonised with the German, French and Luxembourg regions bordering Saarland and their planning. In addition there is also cooperation on the cross-border coordination of settlement structure development, that is coordination of the essential spatial planning guidelines.

This cooperation takes place through the Saarland-Lorraine-Luxembourg-Trier/Western Palatinate Regional Commission and the interregional SaarLorLux Summit, a political entity consisting of the Prime Ministers and Presidents of the member States, Regions and Departments. In addition municipal authorities, economic actors and representatives of civil society are also consulted, to level out the differences that exist between the economic, social and legal systems in a cross-border context through internal cooperation. During the drawing up of the "Settlements" section of the regional development plan the "SaarLorLux-Plus" spatial development concept and the "Future Vision 2020“ of the 7th SaarLorLux Summit Conference in 2003 formed a joint strategic basis for inter-regional and cross-border collaboration. Furthermore, the Interreg Programmes already implemented are particularly noteworthy, as among other things they allowed the creation of the "SaarLorLux area" to synchronise the basic cross-border planning arrangements. Also Saarland's formal "settlements" regional development plan, by providing for "action spaces" creates a basis for the establishment of cross-border regional managements and in doing so facilitates informal approaches to spatial or regional development.