"northwest2050": Finalists have been announced

Ten innovative projects in the final round of the 'Fit for Climate Change' 2014 climate adaptation competition

Who will win the 'Fit for Climate Change' 2014 competition? Ten projects from Bremen, Bremerhaven, Verden, Großenkneten, Wildeshausen, Garrel, Emtinghausen and Meerbusch have been nominated for the final round of the competition, which is worth 30,000 euros. In the two categories "Implemented Project" and "Idea", the topics range from adapted energy supply in the food industry and cities to innovations in construction, agriculture and the harbour industry to sustainable knowledge transfer and intelligent networking. On 24 February 2014, the winners will be announced at the award ceremony as part of the international 'nordwest2050' final conference in Bremen City Hall.

The competition was looking for innovative climate adaptation measures for north-west Germany - from companies, start-ups, students and other creative minds. You could enter with climate adaptation measures that have already been implemented or are in the process of being implemented. Or apply with ideas that can overcome future climate change and energy transition-related challenges in the energy sector. An independent national committee of experts from business and science assessed the submitted projects in an online evaluation process. The applications from student Thomas Hoffmann, Kornkraft Naturkost GmbH, D. Meyer Kühlanlagen GmbH, Architekturbüro Dechantsreiter, Onlyglass GmbH, Biohof Bakenhus, bremenports GmbH & Co KG, Protea - Datenbankentwicklung und GIS-Service, Wilhelms GmbH and Radeke Energie GbR prevailed against the competition and will now go through to the final.

"We are delighted with the high quality of the applications, as it shows how diverse and innovative the topic of climate change is already being dealt with in the region. Dealing with the possible consequences of climate change right now demonstrates a high level of awareness of the opportunities and problems and encourages us in our research work," explains Prof Dr Bernd Siebenhüner, Vice President for Young Researchers and Quality Management at the University of Oldenburg and Scientific Director of the 'nordwest2050' research project, which is organising the competition for the second time in 2014.

'nordwest2050' is one of seven model projects in Germany that the BMBF is funding with around ten million euros as part of the KLIMZUG (Climate Change in Regions for a Sustainable Future) funding programme. KLIMZUG is part of the German government's high-tech strategy for climate protection. Since 2009, 'nordwest2050' has been working on preparing the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan region in the north-west for the consequences of climate change at an early stage and is currently on the home straight. The scientific and practical results will be discussed at the final international conference of the climate adaptation network on 24 and 25 February 2014 in Bremen - and compared with adaptation strategies from South Africa, the USA, the EU, Australia and Asia, among others. Registrations for this are still possible until 10 February.

Further information on the nominated projects and the international final conference can be found at www.nordwest2050.de.