Leuphana has examined the sustainability of Lower Saxony's municipalities

2025-01-23 Lüneburg/Hannover. A team from Leuphana University Lüneburg, led by Prof. Dr. Harald Heinrichs, has been commissioned by the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment to research the sustainability of cities, towns and rural districts in Lower Saxony. The recently published sustainability barometer summarizes the results. The scientists were able to determine that many municipalities are committed to sustainable development despite difficult conditions.

One of the key findings of the study is that the implementation of climate protection measures has gained in importance in Lower Saxony's municipalities. However, climate protection goals have so far only been insufficiently established in the opinion of those surveyed. Municipal measures planned to date to achieve the United Nations' 1.5 degree target are considered insufficient. Measures to strengthen biodiversity have also hardly been implemented to date.

Although almost all municipalities report that they have specialist staff or plan to hire them in the near future, the study also shows that, in the view of the respondents, human resources need to be increased. In this context, the prevailing shortage of skilled workers is seen by many municipalities as an obstacle.

"The Lower Saxony Municipal Sustainability Barometer provides us with a helpful and important insight into what moves municipalities – and what is currently hindering them on the road to municipal sustainability," says Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Christian Meyer. He views it as a positive sign that a large proportion of municipalities see the state government as a driver of sustainability transformation and adds, "that municipalities are facing major challenges due to climate adaptation and sustainability requirements and need financial and personnel support."

Dr. Marco Trips, President of the Lower Saxony Association of Towns and Municipalities, also views the study positively: "The results help us to better assess our own contribution and to continue working on this basis."

"Despite difficult conditions, many cities, municipalities and districts in Lower Saxony are committed to sustainable development," comments Professor Heinrichs on the study results. He advises the municipalities to make greater use of available approaches and instruments, such as sustainability assessments or digital data, and to take a more systematic look at areas relevant to sustainability that have received less attention so far, such as culture or health.

For the municipal sustainability barometer of Lower Saxony, the scientists conducted a standardized online survey of the people responsible for sustainability and climate protection in their municipalities. Almost 30 percent of Lower Saxony's municipalities participated.

The full report is available for download here:
pubdata.leuphana.de/handle/20.500.14123/1623