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The Stability and Growth Pact is unfit to deal with the climate and biodiversity crisis and to deliver the European Green Deal. It does not take into account the risks and the impacts of climate change, and they do not promote investments in favour of the green and just transition, as they only focus on economic growth. The European fiscal and budgetary rules must be adjusted. For that, a Green Golden Rule securing green spending and incentivising Member States to invest heavily in the green transition must find a way into the fiscal and budgetary rules.

The leading industrialised countries have a particular responsibility to address the climate crisis – but they failed to meet their former commitments. The German G7 presidency now offers the opportunity to take important steps towards a new paradigm for climate finance. Against that backdrop, this policy brief formulates five key asks to the G7 governments.

In this publication, we have analysed, compared and evaluated five different approaches to halt deforestation in EU supply chains. To identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of each approach, we have conducted expert interviews as well as an extensive literature review.

Just weeks after the new coalition government took office, Germany took over the Presidency of the G7. The G7 Presidency provides the new federal government an opportunity to demonstrate the importance it attaches to international climate policy and ambitious climate protection. The coalition agreement lays out the government’s course. This briefing paper identifies issues on which the new federal government is already sending strong signals, as well as opportunities and gaps.

The African continent is facing severe impacts of climate change while simultaneously struggling to address universal electricity access. This position paper analyses opportunities and risks associated with the development of green hydrogen and Power-to-X as well as the continent's readiness and trends. The paper closes with a position statement, recommending measures to minimise the risks of injustice and adverse impacts and maximise the benefits for the continent's green, socio-economic development.

In July 2021, the European Commission proposed introducing an emissions trading system for transport and buildings. Does the proposal meet the requirements of effective climate action and social compatibility? Where should improvements be made? These questions are answered by the study “Criteria for an effective and socially just EU ETS 2 – Assessment of the EU Commission’s Proposal on an EU ETS for buildings & road transport (EU ETS 2)”, which was prepared by the Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft and the Forschungsstätte der Evangelischen Studiengemeinschaft on behalf of Germanwatch, Klima-Allianz Deutschland, WWF Deutschland and CAN Europe.

Last April, the European Commission published a new draft of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which is intended to provide companies with clarity on what and how they need to report and reduce administrative burden. The goal is to remove barriers and to leverage financing the transformation to climate neutrality. This briefing paper provides a brief overview of the ongoing processes around the CSRD and the standard-setting and then takes a first summarizing look at the new European corporate reporting standards.

This year’s COP results have been heavily debated. Along with the negotiations, various initiatives were launched, and these received considerable attention. Examples are an initiative to end international fossil fuel finance, a partnership with South Africa to support the country’s just transition, and a pledge to reduce methane emissions. The G7 should build on the COP’s positive dynamics and support a strategy to avoid greenwashing of the announcements, and provide alternative solutions where the COP process could not deliver.

Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 60 countries and the EU. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.