Colombia is one of the countries categorised as a conflict region by the EU Regulation on Responsible Sourcing. This paper will take a closer look at gold extraction in Colombia in the context of the violent conflict and human rights abuses taking place there. From there, the paper will present recommendations directed towards the implementation of Accompanying Measures of the EU Regulation on Responsible Sourcing in Colombia, as well as additional measures needed to diminish the levels of conflict and human rights violations in this sector.

With the Paris Agreement, country governments have agreed to hold the increase in the global aver¬age temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have a critical role to play in helping countries meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement: MDBs are major finance providers to developing countries, including for infrastructure, much of which will be around for decades and therefore have a long-term effect on countries’ development trajectories, resilience, and future carbon emissions. The banks also directly or indirectly mobilize additional finance by acting as lead investors and attracting others to invest alongside them.

Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 57 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.

The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent data available — for 2018 and from 1999 to 2018 — were taken into account. The countries and territories affected most in 2018 were Japan, the Philippines as well as Germany. For the period from 1999 to 2018 Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti rank highest.

This paper emphasizes the urgency for tangible action in dealing with Loss&Damage (L&D) and highlights, that in 2019 we still face a lack of adequate action and support for L&D under the UNFCCC. Seven technical and political challenges with regard to climate finance for L&D are identified.

By the end of the year, EU countries will have to submit their final National Energy and Climate Plans to present how they will contribute to the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets.

In this paper young Arab authors from the MENA region (Middle East/North Africa) outline their vision for the future development of the energy sector in their countries. The energy sector is the world’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. However, as technologies rapidly improve and prices drop, many renewable energy options have emerged. The MENA region possesses large natural potential for solar and wind energy. Moreover, the region has another important resource: its youth. In order to achieve a successful energy transition, all countries need agents of change, who bring along innovation and motivation – exactly what young people can achieve.

Under the motto "Time to act", the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place from 2 to 13 December 2019 in Madrid, Spain, under Chile's presidency. After all, it is finally time for action in the logic of the UN negotiations. Following the decisions of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and its implementation rules last year, nothing stands in the way of decisive action.