The launch of China’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) in the summer of 2021 started off with high hopes. It is the largest ETS in the world and covers 40 percent of all Chinese emissions – 4.5 billion tonnes of carbon per year. Unfortunately, however, the system is plagued by design flaws that at best improve […]
Mankind – and especially the rich parts of society in the Global North – are still living too grand. We are still a long way from a circular economy. Only 7.2 percent of the goods and raw materials extracted from the ground and produced worldwide are actually recycled. This is revealed by the Circularity Gap […]
It is a minor announcement that could have a major impact: China wants to place an export ban on important technologies for the production of solar systems. A final decision on this is still pending. A public consultation was open until the end of January. But all China experts consulted are certain that the export […]
It is a minor announcement that could have a major impact: China wants to place an export ban on important technologies for the production of solar systems. A final decision on this is still pending. A public consultation was open until the end of January. But all China experts consulted are certain that the export […]
Sea ice in the polar regions is melting faster and faster because of climate change. In Antarctica, a new minimum value could be reached in the second half of February 2023, reports the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in its fully revamped sea ice portal. At the turn of the year, the Antarctic sea ice cover […]
A speed limit of 120 km/h on highways and 80 km/h on country roads could save around 47 million metric tons of CO2 by 2030, according to new calculations by the German Environment Agency. This means that the climate mitigation effect of limiting the maximum permitted speed would be much more effective than previously thought. […]
A field experiment conducted by three universities shows that CO2 labels on food prompted consumers to make more sustainable choices. Information regarding the carbon footprint of meals was displayed on menu displays to more than 8,000 cafeteria visitors. According to the scientists, the greatest effect was achieved when visitors were given information about the environmental […]
According to a report commissioned by Environmental Action Germany (DUH), the climate damage caused by imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is massively underestimated. LNG imports from the USA fare particularly poorly. Here, methane leaks from fracking are particularly high. In some cases, methane losses of over ten percent occur. Gas production in Algeria and […]
The images from Lützerath protests not only weigh heavily on German politics, but also on Germany’s global climate image. On the one hand promoting coal and clearing protests, in some cases by force, on the other hand pleading for more ambition at COP conferences? This is seen as hypocrisy. Germany is still stuck in the […]
Banks of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) continue to lend billions to companies involved in the expansion of fossil fuels. This is the result of a study published on Tuesday by the French NGO Reclaim Finance. The NZBA is part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) – a coalition of financial institutions […]