With a “Power Plant Security Act” (KWSG), the Ministry for Economic Affairs aims to implement the construction of new climate-friendly power plants in several phases to ensure supply security. Overall, the government, with EU approval, can subsidize the construction of 12.5 GW of power plant capacity. This was announced by Economy Minister Robert Habeck following […]
Emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil are contributing significantly more to the international financing of climate action measures than generally assumed. For example, a study shows that in 2020, China paid more than two billion US dollars in climate aid to other countries in the Global South, both directly and indirectly. Other G77 […]
Following the strong growth in solar energy in Germany, the expansion of onshore wind energy is now apparently also picking up significantly. According to figures from the German Federal Network Agency, almost 2.4 gigawatts of new capacity had been approved by May 1 this year. This means that the target of 2.5 GW set by […]
In a far-reaching decision, the US Supreme Court has restricted the jurisdiction of authorities to decide on the interpretation of laws and regulations, including in the climate and environmental sectors. With a conservative majority of six votes to three, the Supreme Court ended the 40-year practice of the so-called “Chevron doctrine” last Friday. Experts and […]
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) is working on a “climate check” to examine the climate impact of all new federal laws. According to the current plans of a working group, laws are to be examined for their climate impact by the responsible ministries and external experts while they are still being […]
Today, we are focusing on a different kind of climate finance: Instead of the usual aid for climate action and adaptation, we look at a billionaire tax for the super-rich, for example. It has been discussed for a long time, and now the Brazilian G20 presidency has presented the first details – with some surprises. […]
The energy transition in Germany is only making good progress in one area: The expansion of electricity from renewable energies, which accounted for 51.6 percent of German consumption last year (green symbol in the graphic). The Expert Commission on Energy Transition Monitoring warned in its report presented on Wednesday that it is uncertain in all […]
Today, we’re doing what we love most: delving into topics that don’t always take center stage but are nonetheless highly relevant. For instance, during Economy Minister Habeck’s trip to China, everyone talked about the trade conflict between the EU and China over electric vehicles and solar technology. However, Nico Beckert analyzes the previously overlooked risk […]
The SB60 interim conference in Bonn concluded late on Friday without much drama. The expected tough negotiations produced small steps towards preparing for COP29 in Baku in November, but no major breakthroughs. At least the almost 6,000 participants avoided an agonizingly long dispute over the agenda like last year.In detail and measured against expectations, the […]
The air is getting thicker and thicker at the conference in Bonn. SB60 is supposed to end on Thursday and so far not much progress has been made, people are getting nervous. The debate about money is deadlocked without any vision, and many other issues are stalled. There are other problems, too: Activists and delegations […]