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KlimaDashboard

Climate change in Xhain

Facts, figures and actions needed - towards a liveable Xhain

10.9°C
Average annual temperaturein Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg by time period

Current weather

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

The climate dashboard provides an insight into current climate data and climate measures in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.

  • Where do greenhouse gas emissions occur in Xhain?
  • Where are we as a district on the road to climate neutrality in Berlin?
  • And where are the impacts of climate change already evident in the district?

This is Xhain

How does Xhain contribute to climate change?

Many greenhouse gas-related emissions are generated directly in our district—for example, through building heating, transportation, or the activities of local businesses. To mitigate climate change at the local level, it is necessary to both reduce energy consumption (efficiency and sufficiency) and transition energy supply to renewable sources (consistency).

With the district's energy and greenhouse gas balance according to the BISKO standardwe illustrate how energy is used, how many emissions are produced in the process, and where significant levers for achieving climate neutrality by 2045 lie.

Development of final energy consumption

in MWh

HeatingElectricityFuels4,000,0002,000,0002013201620192022

Development of final energy consumption

in MWh

The major part of energy consumption is caused by heating, i.e. in particular the heating of buildings and the preparation of hot water. This currently accounts for 56.9% of the district's energy consumption. 32.3 % is accounted for by electricity consumption, e.g. for lighting or technical appliances. The smallest, but still relevant consumption is caused by fuels (10.8 %).
These figures make it clear: the heating sector is where action is needed most. It holds the greatest potential for saving energy. By using energy wisely, we can save costs while simultaneously creating a sustainable and livable Xhain for everyone.
Learn more in the climate strategies

Final energy consumption

by sectors

district buildings
2%

Final energy consumption

by sectors

Private households are the largest energy consumers in our densely populated district, accounting for 50.4% of total energy use. This is partly due to the high number of households and factors such as heat loss from old, unrenovated buildings.
The second-largest share, 36.1%, comes from businesses, including restaurants, hotels, offices, small manufacturing, crafts, the district’s distinctive culture and creative industries, and more. Transportation accounts for 11.6% of energy consumption, while municipal buildings have the smallest share at 1.9%. This highlights the importance of involving all stakeholders—residents, businesses, and public institutions—in the energy transition.
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Heatmix

by energy source in %

In addition to heating-related energy consumption, the energy sources used, as shown in the heat mix, play a key role in determining our climate balance.

Renewable energies2%
Other fossil13%
District heating35%
Natural gas50%

Heatmix

by energy source in %

The heat mix of Xhain shows that, at present, heat supply is primarily provided by natural gas and district heating. Therefore, in addition to reducing heat consumption, decarbonizing the heat supply—i.e., transitioning to a climate-friendly heating system—is an important lever for reducing heating-related emissions.
This means that the natural gas-based supply must be replaced with renewable energy sources, such as solar thermal or ambient heat, and district heating must be made climate-neutral.
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Greenhouse gas emissions

by sector in tons of GHGs

Icon economy
43%
economy
Icon private households
42%
private households
Icon traffic
14%
traffic
Icon district buildings
1%
district buildings

Greenhouse gas emissions

by sector in tons of GHGs

Although households account for a significantly larger share of energy consumption (see final energy consumption by sector), the economy generates slightly more emissions (43%) than private households (42%).
This is due to the different emissions factors of energy sources for electricity and heat. While a large portion of energy consumption in households is used for heating, electricity consumption is more dominant in the economic sector. Electricity has a higher emissions factor due to the current composition of the German electricity mix, as electricity generation in Germany is still largely based on fossil fuels, particularly coal. However, based on current trends and federal goals, a continuous improvement is expected by 2045. As a district, we can make an important contribution through the local expansion of photovoltaics (PV).
Transportation accounts for 14% of emissions. Additionally, despite their small share in emissions, district buildings are of particular relevance as their emissions are directly influenced by the district administration.
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Evolution of greenhouse gas emissions

in tons of CO₂ equivalent

Heating391,475Electricity586,093Fuels123,831

Evolution of greenhouse gas emissions

in tons of CO₂ equivalent

The emissions resulting from energy consumption are calculated using so-called emissions factors. An emissions factor indicates how many greenhouse gases are released when a specific energy source—such as gas, electricity, or oil—is produced, transported, and used. This allows us to assess how harmful the consumption of a particular energy source is to the climate.
The lower the emissions factor, the more climate-friendly the energy source is. For example, electricity from wind power has a very low emissions factor, while electricity from coal power plants has a high factor. This is why it is so important that we make energy generation climate-neutral and switch to energy sources with low emissions factors. At the same time, it remains crucial to reduce overall energy consumption in order to lower total emissions.
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Consumption-related indirect emissions

in 2024

In 2024, Ø 4.1 tons of CO₂ equivalent per year and person were caused by food and consumption. Even if emissions are largely generated outside the district boundaries, they are climate-relevant and can be reduced locally through the behavior of producers and consumers.

Icon Emission
4.1Tons CO₂

To offset this amount, many trees must grow for a year

Icon Emission

Consumption-related indirect emissions

in 2024

ndirect emissions arise from the consumption of goods and services whose production and transportation takes place outside the district boundaries. These include, for example
  • Production and transportation of food
  • Production of furniture, household appliances or clothing
  • Production of electronic devices
  • Services such as online shopping
Resource- efficient and local provision as well as the sustainable consumption of goods help to reduce emissions - for example through reusable packaging, second-hand offers and the repair of goods.

Excerpt from

Umweltbundesamt
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Modal Split

by sector in %

The modal split describes the distribution of the transportation demand across the different means of transportation.

Icon Motorized individual transport
14%
Motorized individual transport
Icon Public Transport
26%
Public Transport
Icon Foot
33%
Foot
Icon Bike
28%
Bike

Comparison with Berlin's Modalsplit

Modal Split

by sector in %

The so-called “ Umweltverbund”, i.e. the combination of public transport, cycling and walking, already accounts for a high proportion in Berlin. The figures show that we as a district are leading by example, with 86.5% of journeys already being made by environmentally friendly means of transport. Nevertheless, the transport sector continues to have a significant impact on our climate. Despite the low proportion of 13.5 % accounted for by MIT, transport causes emissions of 153,000 tons of CO₂ equivalents per year and thus accounts for around 13.6 % of the district's total emissions in 2021.
Further efforts to reduce traffic emissions are important not only for climate protection, but also for air and noise pollution in our neighborhoods.
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Transport related emissions

by sector in %

private transport
59%

Transport related emissions

by sector in %

All journeys that start or end in Xhain or for which both the start and destination are in the district have been taken into account in the carbon balance. This includes public transport and a small proportion of inland waterway transport. Air travel by residents or tourists, for example, is not included, as the airport is located outside the district boundary.
Accordingly, the aim is to reduce and electrify motorized private transport and increase the use of eco-mobility.
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How can Xhain achieve its climate protection goals in the future?

A glimpse into the future: what will happen if we carry on like this and what needs to change in order to achieve the climate protection targets?

Remaining local carbon budget

according to the 1,75-degree target

Xhain's remaining CO₂ budget is only 12.2 million tons in total to keep global warming below 1.75°C.
If Xhain continues as before, this local budget will be used up by 2032—meaning the bucket would overflow, leading to dramatically increased risks for people, ecosystems, and infrastructure.
This target sets the limit beyond which these risks grow significantly.
To prevent this, we need to act more ambitiously and much faster—starting now.

Icon Remaining local carbon budget

12.2 M. tons

Remaining budget until 2032

2022
1,101,399 t
2021
1,124,538 t
2020
1,027,014 t
2019
1,105,841 t
2018
1,207,306 t

Remaining local carbon budget

according to the 1,75-degree target

The Paris Agreement provides the international framework to limit global warming to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C. At the national level, these goals are supported by the Berlin Energy Transition Act (EWG Bln), which aims for climate neutrality by 2045.
Xhain's climate protection strategy follows the 1.75°C target as an ambitious yet realistic guideline, since forecasts and emission trends show that achieving the 1.5°C target is becoming increasingly difficult.
To implement the Paris goals locally, Xhain uses the "remaining budget" approach. This highlights that not only the annual CO₂ emissions matter, but also the total amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere over time.
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Climate protection scenario

(1.75 degrees, 67 % probability) in tonnes of GHG

The climate protection scenario shows how Xhain can become climate neutral by 2045 without exceeding the local carbon budget. To make this happen, we need to move forward together with innovation and ambition.

Climate protection scenario Xhain
Climate targets for Berlin
1,000,000500,0002018202720362045

Climate protection scenario

(1.75 degrees, 67 % probability) in tonnes of GHG

In recent years, we have fallen short when it comes to Berlin's climate protection targets. In order to return to the target path by 2030, we need to reduce emissions more significantly and act more decisively.
The chart illustrates how important it is to enter the phase of strong reduction as quickly as possible in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2045 at the latest, because the earlier possible emission reductions are implemented, the less the remaining budget is burdened and the more time there is to implement the necessary changes. Accordingly, the climate protection scenario shows a continuous and realistic reduction path.
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How does climate change affect Xhain?

When analyzing climate impacts in Xhain, a distinction is made between climate trends and the extent to which people are affected. Climate trends describe how the climate has changed so far and what future changes are to be expected. The impact of these climate developments, i.e. the degree to which they are affected, depends on socio-demographic and environmental factors. These include, for example, population density, the proportion of vulnerable groups or the degree of sealing.

How is the climate changing?

Hot days

per year

A ‘hot day’ is any day with a maximum temperature of 30 °C or higher.

Icon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot daysIcon Hot days

16.5

Hot days

Hot days

per year

In the 1950s, there was an average of 5.5 hot days per year in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. By the 2010s, the number had tripled - it is now 16.5 days per year.
Projections for the future are more difficult to determine and depend on climate mitigation measures. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise steadily (RCP 8.5 scenario), the number of hot days is expected to increase to around 28 days by the end of the century. If we assume that greenhouse gas emissions fall from the middle of the century (RCP 4.5 scenario), the number of hot days could be limited to around 21 days per year.

Source:

DWD ,  Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS)
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Average annual temperature

in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg by phases

The mean annual temperature refers to the average temperature over a period of 10 years.

10.9°C

Average annual temperature

in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg by phases

The average temperature values over 10 years help to recognise long-term temperature changes. They are more comparable than individual years, as they compensate for particularly warm or cold years. In the period from 2011-2020, the average annual temperature was 10.9 °C. This is 1.7 °C higher than in the 1950s. Projections for the future are more difficult to determine and depend on climate mitigation measures.
If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise steadily (RCP 8.5 scenario), the average annual temperature is expected to rise to around 13.2 °C by the end of the century. If we assume that greenhouse gas emissions fall from the middle of the century (RCP 4.5 scenario), the average annual temperature could be limited to 12 °C.

Source:

DWD ,  Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS)
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Rainfall

in milliliters

So far, there is no clear trend for precipitation in Xhain. The graph shows, as an example, the summer precipitation in the district.

20040019511969198720052023

Rainfall

in milliliters

So far, no clear trend can be identified for annual and seasonal precipitation in Xhain. There are very strong fluctuations between years, particularly in terms of precipitation in summer. In the summer of 2018, for example, there was only a quarter of the precipitation (100mm) compared to the previous year (400mm). The projections for the future are also very uncertain in some cases, although an increase in precipitation is expected over the year as a whole. With regard to the number of heavy rainfall days, there is no clear trend so far, but the intensity of heavy rainfall events has increased over the last 30 years.
For example, heavy rainfall events in June 2017 and July 2018 caused severe flooding. If it has been dry for a long time beforehand, the soil can also absorb the rain poorly. Both the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events are expected to increase in the future.

Source:

DWD ,  Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS)
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What are climate impacts in Xhain?

Heat impact index

Combination of surface temperature, environmental and human sensitivity

The changing climate has an impact on the environment and the people in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. The 'Hitzebetroffenheitsindex' (HBI) (engl: heat impact index) shows which areas in the district are particularly affected by heat. The HBI takes into account not only the temperature, but also socio-demographic and environmental factors in the areas.

Heat impact related to the district average
very low
low
middle
high
very high

Heat impact index

Indicators of the heat impact index (HBI):
Heat impact index
Exposition
Surface temperature
Human Sensitivity
Population density
Density of inhabitants < 10 years
Density of inhabitants > 65 years
Workers
Social and economic disadvantage
Environmental Sensitivity
Green volume
Sealing of soil surface

Source:

Geoportal MeinXhain, Climate Adaptation Strategy Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (only available in German)
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Image of the featured project

What is already happening in Xhain?

Numerous projects are already being implemented in Xhain to meet these challenges. Here we give you an insight into some of the existing projects.

Current projects