Human-induced climate change is driven primarily by global emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), leading to rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and changes in ecosystems.

To counter the advance of climate change, the United Nations decided in 2015 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris to limit global warming to a temperature increase of 1.5 °C. Under the Paris Agreement, participating countries committed to developing and implementing national climate action plans to achieve this goal. These plans include, among other things, the expansion of renewable energy, the promotion of energy-efficient technologies, and the protection of forests as natural carbon stores and sinks.

As early as 1993, an energy plan was drawn up for the state capital of Mainz for the first time, which was updated in 2008 as an integrated climate protection plan. Over the years, climate protection strategies have been continuously refined, and numerous projects have been successfully implemented. Mainz’s climate protection policy was further advanced in 2016 through its participation in the “Master Plan 100% Climate Protection” funding program, an initiative of excellence launched by the Federal Ministry for the Environment. Through this initiative, Mainz, along with 21 other municipalities, aligned itself with the federal government’s ambitious climate protection policy.

The state capital of Mainz has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2035 and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 95% and its final energy consumption by 50% compared to 1990 levels. Based on the city council resolutions “Climate Emergency” (2019) and “Consistent Climate Protection” (2021), the “100% Climate Protection 2022” master planmaster plan was updated, and a set of measures was developed in collaboration with Mainz’s civil society to achieve the goal of climate neutrality.