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Bernhard Pötter

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 8th, 2023

Study warns of failing COP28

With an urgent plea to change course and sharp criticism of the countries with fossil raw materials, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) spoke out at the Bonn Climate Change Conference on the debate about phasing out oil, gas and coal. The CAT is a project of the think tanks Climate Analytics and New Climate Institute, […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 8th, 2023

UN Climate Change Secretariat is 30 million euros short

There is a big hole in the budget of the UNFCCC’s Climate Secretariat: the UN agency is currently short about 30 million euros, Executive Director Simon Stiell said at the opening of the SB58 climate conference on Monday. The two-year budget for 2024 and 2025 is to be discussed and adopted at the meeting in […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 7th, 2023

Destroyed dam: risks for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

What is the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex after the Kakhovka dam was blown up?Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been occupied by Russian troops almost since the beginning of the war, and technical supplies continue to be provided by Ukrainian personnel. The risk of accidents increases after the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 5th, 2023

How fast half a year goes by: It feels like COP27 in Egypt has only just ended, and now it is already time for the interim conference SB58 in Bonn. Delegations, experts and lobbyists from different sides have been meeting, emailing, zooming and negotiating almost constantly since Sharm el-Sheikh. Now they have come together again […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 5th, 2023

‘CCS can not be a loophole for the future of fossil fuels’

Mr. Messner, a big topic at SB58 in Bonn and at the COP in Dubai will be the global stocktake. But what does this stocktake bring other than the realization we already have – that we are not on the right path?Basically, we have a global stocktake every year – the UNEP Emissions Gap Report. […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 1st, 2023

For a long time now, one thing has been clear in the climate debate: The only certainty is uncertainty. This also becomes apparent when taking a closer look at the most essential data for climate action: Information about CO2 emissions. And this data has always been, and still is, riddled with uncertainty, especially when it […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 1st, 2023

Climate in Numbers: How well houses stay warm

For weeks, Germany has been engaged in heated debates about the “heating transition” and the ban on fossil energy for heating buildings. However, the better buildings are insulated, the less energy is needed to keep the heat inside (or outside). So it’s interesting to take a look at other European countries: How quickly is energy […]

Bernhard Pötter Published: June 1st, 2023

USA: How the EPA implements the government’s climate program

The current compromise in the US budget dispute also impacts the country’s climate policy: Environmentalists are outraged that the proposal includes the approval of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) gas pipeline in West Virginia as well as faster planning processes for infrastructure projects. The White House, however, defends the deal because it leaves large […]