Germany has the potential to install photovoltaic systems on bodies of water with a maximum output of at least between 1.8 gigawatts (with south-facing modules) and 2.5 gigawatts (with east-west orientation). This potential is largely untapped: Only 21 megawatts (i.e. 0.021 gigawatts) of floating solar systems – so-called floating PV – are currently installed, with […]
The EU Commission is currently planning to exclude long-haul flights from the monitoring regulations for non-CO2 emissions. In a recent analysis, the think tank Transport & Environment (T&E) criticizes that this would ignore 67 percent of the climate impact of air traffic caused by contrails.From 2025, airlines in Europe will have to record and report […]
The German government is not sending a positive climate signal to the world with its new national budget. The latest budget plan is one billion euros short of international climate financing, as Bernhard Pötter analyzes. Chancellor Scholz’s six billion pledge is in serious jeopardy – a bad omen for the financial negotiations at COP29. Moreover, […]
Heavy wildfires in Russia, including within the Arctic Circle, are currently causing high carbon emissions. Emissions are particularly high in the Russian region of Amur Oblast, according to a recent analysis by the EU’s Copernicus Earth Observation Program. Above-average temperatures and low precipitation caused the fires to spread rapidly, which resulted in Russian regions declaring […]
Following indications of possible fraud in climate action projects (Upstream Emissions Reductions, UER), with which mineral oil companies want to improve their carbon footprint, police have searched companies in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria. Numerous documents were confiscated from the premises of companies in Kerpen, Cologne and Langenbach last Friday, according to the Berlin public prosecutor’s […]
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed the amendment to the Climate Protection Act (KSG) on Monday. As announced, five German environmental associations are now responding by filing a total of three constitutional complaints against the new version of the KSG. The Bundestag had already passed the amendment to the Act at the end of April. The examination […]
The fire department in California has already had to fight more than 3,500 forest fires this year up to mid-July. Together, they have burned around 220,000 hectares of land. That is more than five times the usual amount for this period. Last weekend alone, around 20,000 hectares fell victim to the fires. As it is […]
In 2023, there were seven percent fewer cars on German highways compared to 2019, a trend observed in many major cities as well. Additionally, the traffic volume of long-distance trains increased by six percent. These findings are from an analysis conducted by the think tank Agora Verkehrswende, based on a report by the consulting firm […]