Rapid expansion of settlements and related infrastructures is a global trend that comes with severe environmental, economic, and social costs. Steering urbanization toward well-balanced compactness is thus acknowledged as an important strategic orientation in UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG-11) via the SDG-indicator “Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.” The EU’s simultaneous commitment to being “a frontrunner in implementing […] the SDGs” and to striving for “no net land take until 2050” calls for relating the concepts of land consumption and land take to each other. Drawing on an EU-centred questionnaire study, a focus group and a literature review, we scrutinize definitions of land consumption and land take, seeking to show how they are interrelated, and questioning the comparability of respective indicators. We argue that conceptual clarifications and a bridging of the two notions are much needed, and that the precision required for definitions and applications is context-dependent. While approximate understandings may suffice for general communication and dissemination objectives, accurate and consistent interpretations of the discussed concepts seem indispensable for monitoring and reporting purposes. We propose ways of addressing existing ambiguities and suggest prioritizing the term land take in the EU context. Thereby, we aim to enhance conceptual clarity around land consumption and land take—a precondition for solidly informing respective policies and decisions.

Der Band vereint die wichtigsten Forschungsergebnisse der Helmholtz-Allianz ENERGY-TRANS zur Energiewende aus dem Blickwinkel unterschiedlicher Fachbereiche: u.a. der Soziologie, der Psychologie, der Politikwissenschaft und der Wirtschaftswissenschaften. This book collates the most significant findings of the research into changes in energy policy from the perspectives of different fields, including sociology, psychology, politics and economics, which has been conducted by the Helmholtz-Allianz ENERGY-TRANS group.

For more than 15 years now, researchers and policy makers have been discussing the transfer of trading programs from the regulation of emissions to the regulation of land development. However, the debate remained limited to researchers for a long time, until the German government initiated preparation of a nationwide “pilot project” in 2009. This paper reports on the results of the preliminary project funded by the Federal Environment Agency. An interdisciplinary team developed an outline proposal for the “pilot project”. After a summary of the consequences, benefits and cost of tradable planning permits in general, the paper presents and discusses how the project should be organized in detail. The proposal suggests a controlled field experiment in combination with extensive municipal case studies. The paper concludes with a perspective of the expected outcome of the “pilot project” which has started in 2012.

Zusammenfassung Die negativen Folgen des Klimawandels sind wissenschaftlich erwiesen. Der weitere Ausstoß von klimaschädlichen Gasen muss dringend stärker unterbunden werden. Das von der Bundesregierung beschlossene Klimaschutzprogramm ist ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung. Es ist aber zu wenig ambitioniert, um tatsächlich das von der Klimakonferenz in Paris avisierte Ziel, die Klimaerwärmung auf 1,5°C zu begrenzen, erreichen zu können. Die Autorinnen und Autoren untersuchen in den Bereichen Windkraft, Wohngebäude, Luft- und Straßenverkehr, welche Maßnahmen erforderlich sind und wie die gesetzten Ziele effizienter erreicht werden können. Sie sprechen sich vor allem für eine höhere Bepreisung der CO₂-Emissionen aus.