The German island of Helgoland, after implementing various sustainable projects, is looking to take a big role in pioneering new innovative solutions in green energy, water desalination and reuse, and in electric shipping to reach its ambition of total decarbonisation. But it needs legislative and regulatory obstacles to be removed.
The island’s small size and remote location – 70 km off the German coast in the North Sea – aren’t a barrier to its ambitions when it comes to adopting green solutions. On the contrary, the island, which already hosts two important research centres, is ready to act as a “laboratory” for innovative technologies that could then be adopted on a wider scale. Unfortunately, national legislation represents the main obstacle to its ambition to become a zero-emission island as it looks to burnish its reputation as a sustainable destination.
At a two-day event organised in collaboration with the Municipality of Helgoland and the Greening the Islands Observatory, key local stakeholders came together to analyse the island’s situation and come up with sustainable solutions. The Observatory is actively helping a number of islands around the world not only to identify and implement green solutions but also to help develop the right regulatory framework.
“Even if we came far already with our green initiatives, the workshop helped us to share a global vision, exchange on best practices and solutions with the experts from the GTI Team,” said Jörg Singer, Helgoland’s mayor. “I am very glad that we are part of a strong and forward-moving community of Greening Islands.”
The results of the GTI Observatory were presented also during the first Conference of German Islands, where over 100 participants exchanged their initiatives and solutions for Islands (www.greenicon.de).
You can see full information about the meeting here.
