Herbstforum Altbau 2025: Christian Stöcker – Mit Lösungen für Erneuerbare und Effizienz gewinnen

Christian Stöcker, Professor of Digital Communication at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and a well-known columnist for Der Spiegel, demonstrated at the 27th Autumn Forum on Old Buildings how effective communication can win people over to renewable energies. Stöcker exemplifies this in his book "Men Who Are Burning the World." There, he explained, for example, that fossil fuels receive more subsidies than they generate in profit. Globally, fossil fuels generate around one trillion US dollars in profit annually – yet they receive approximately 1.3 trillion euros in direct subsidies during the same period. In contrast, the advantages of renewable energies are often still unknown – as is their massive global expansion. Nothing in history has grown as rapidly as the installed capacity of solar and wind power plants. The global market has long since decided the competition between fossil fuels and renewable energy sources; the future lies with renewables – despite the higher subsidies for fossil fuels. The world is currently experiencing a global energy revolution, according to Stöcker. In Germany, too, the future of households and industry lies in renewable energies. Two examples illustrate the opportunities in Germany: Over the past ten years, solar power systems have become 80 percent cheaper. This process is not yet complete. China is demonstrating how this affordable electricity generation technology can be used on a large scale. In the first six months of 2025, the country installed roughly twice as many photovoltaic systems as Germany has installed in the entire previous 25 years. Stöcker firmly believes that enthusiasm for wind and solar energy can be generated by emphasizing the outdatedness of fossil fuels and the successes of renewable energy expansion. Further information about the event and the speakers' presentations can be found here: www.zukunftaltbau.de/herbstforum