The city is focusing on events, networking, advice and financial support, among other things. The climate districts are coordinated by the Citizen Participation Office and are linked to existing structures in the districts.
The administration has already submitted concrete implementation plans for the first two climate districts - Beuel-Mitte and Godesberg-Nord. In Beuel-Mitte, the aim is to cooperate with a civil society consortium around the Brotfabrik cultural center. In Godesberg-Nord, synergies are to be exploited with the recently adopted impulse district management. The detailed concepts for climate districts three and four are currently being developed. It is certain that a climate district will be established in each district.
Achieving transformation together
"I am delighted that we are creating spaces in which civil society actors can work together on projects on the way to a climate-neutral city worth living in and contribute their ideas. I invite all Bonn residents to get involved in the participatory centers," says Mayor Katja Dörner. The measures in the districts are to be designed as inclusive and participatory processes in which groups that are otherwise often underrepresented can participate on an equal footing.
Recommendations from the "Bonn4Future - Wir fürs Klima" (Bonn4Future - We for the Climate) participatory process have been incorporated into the design of the climate districts. Among other things, it was recommended that Bonn residents should be given the opportunity to help shape change on their own doorstep. A central format of the planned climate districts - "future forums" in all four districts - has already been tested in a similar form in Bonn4Future.
Participation centers: spaces for innovation, networking and new action
At the heart of each climate district is the establishment of a hands-on center. The participatory centers are coordinated and staffed by cooperation partners in close consultation with the Citizen Participation Unit. They are characterized by an affiliation to existing structures and low-threshold access for people. Events and activities are to be planned and implemented by the city, but also by organized civil society and committed citizens. Workshops, lectures, cultural events and networking meetings will take place at the interactive center, always with a focus on sustainability and neighborhood engagement. In addition, civil society structures such as neighborhood associations and sustainability initiatives are to be strengthened and networked with resources and training opportunities. This includes, for example, the ongoing solar advisory service for citizens, a multi-day training course for volunteer solar advisors run by the Metropol-Solar association.
There is a particular focus on the perspective of children and young people: the concept of climate districts is one of the first draft resolutions that the recently established Children's and Youth Advisory Board is dealing with. Its recommendations are intended to ensure that the interests of children and young people are adequately taken into account from the outset.
The selection of climate districts now proposed is the result of a systematic analysis and discussions with stakeholders in Bonn's districts. A separate concept with a specific profile will be drawn up for each of the four districts, taking into account the respective conditions in the district. The climate districts are model districts in which offers are tested that can gradually be transferred to other districts.
A new "Working Group on Participation for a Climate-Neutral Bonn" is planned in order to bundle the diverse activities involved in the cooperative implementation of the climate plan and to create a permanent interface between the administration and civil society. The working group will be made up of the administration, representatives of the climate districts and other civil society actors.
The climate districts are part of Bonn Climate Plan 2035
The climate districts are part of the work program of the Bonn Climate Plan 2035 and their concept incorporates recommendations from the "Bonn4Future - Wir fürs Klima" (Bonn4Future - We for the Climate) participatory process. The two-year process was carried out in cooperation with the Bonn im Wandel association. The Climate Plan was adopted by the City Council in March 2023 as a roadmap for a climate-neutral and liveable city of Bonn. As a climate neutrality strategy, the climate plan defines targets and development paths for the period up to 2035 and contains a "Climate Action Program 2023-2035" for the city administration, which will be implemented and continuously updated over the coming years. Further information on the Bonn Climate Plan 2035 can be found at this site.