This policy brief analyzes Morocco’s governmental approaches to creating a decentralized management system, particularly as it may impact, and in turn be shaped by, community-based renewable energy and development. Decentralization is discussed in regard to how it may be built alongside the fulfillment of Morocco‘s Municipal Charter and its commitment to ensure the community planning of projects, as well as with an enhanced National Initiative for Human Development, the government’s flagship funding program for local sustainability. Recommendations are given as to how Morocco may accelerate community-managed RE by achieving decentralization assisted by effectively implementing existing national structures for the people’s development.

No company can afford to ignore the financial risks of climate change. This also applies to small and medium-sized enterprises. To reduce these financial risks for companies and investors, it is crucial to be transparent. In the fifth article of our briefing series “Full Disclosure” we examine how small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from forward-looking reporting requirements.

Climate change is already a reality. At the same time, there is a gap regarding measures to manage climate risks and impacts in vulnerable developing countries. This study analyses existing and planned financial instruments and mechanisms in countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). Based on six key findings, a set of conclusions on knowledge gaps and open research questions, the necessary support from the international community as well as strenghened cooperation through partnerships are presented.

Development finance institutions (DFIs) play a key role in aligning financial flows with low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways. Many have committed to support the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In this working paper Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the World Resources Institute take a closer look at financial intermediary lending by DFIs, proposing a phased approach for aligning indirect investments.

This Germanwatch study analyses CBAM perceptions in major EU trading partners and provides recommendations on how to increase their acceptability of the instrument. The study reveals that one of the keys for international acceptance of an EU CBAM is revenue recycling. The EU should use CBAM revenues to support the green transition of trading partners affected by the CBAM. We show that through a smart CBAM, complemented by offers of climate partnerships, the EU can set new standards of global climate cooperation.

This year will be key for future climate policy and especially for sustainable finance in Germany and Europe. Sustainable finance plays a crucial role in improving climate protection and sustainable growth. To this end, Germanwatch joined forces with the Alliance for Corporate Transparency in order to push towards greater corporate responsibility and disclosure requirements to meet the EU and Paris climate targets.
This is the fourth article of our briefing series “Full Disclosure: Monthly Briefing on EU Corporate Transparency Regulation”, in which we aim to shed light on the need for and benefits of forward-looking reporting requirements in a changing EU regulatory environment.

Global efforts to realise rapid emission reductions and build resilience must be ramped up without further delay to meet the 1.5 °C Paris target and enable vulnerable communities to deal with climate impacts. Where individual states reach their limits in implementing the SDGs and Paris objectives, bilateral or multilateral partnerships can provide support for the necessary transformation to net-zero-emission and resilient societies. Partnerships are indispensable to achieve whole-societal transformation, as they enable countries to share knowledge, experience and resources. Germany entertains solid climate cooperation with several countries in the Global South. In this study, PAREMIA - Partnerships for ambitious resilience and mitigation action, we analyse preconditions for such partnerships with 13 countries and suggest thematic starting points for three of them – Chile, India and South Africa.

​​​​​​​In the light of the upcoming EU summit on 24 and 25 May and the publication of the European Commission's "Fit for 55" package, leading environmental NGOs from Poland, France and Germany joined together for the first time to challenge their governments and the EU. They are calling for more climate ambition, more solidarity among member states and responsibility of the member states for adopting the targets.

Germanwatch together with 35 European environmental NGOs ask EU transport ministers to shift international passenger rail trips to rail. In an open letter, published on 10 May 2021, the NGOs request ministers to take five measures at the June 2021 Transport Council, which are mentioned in the open letter.

Raising the ambition of EU’climate policy can only succeed by strengthening cooperation between the EU-member states. Poland and Germany have always played an important role in shaping the EU’s climate and energy policies, but they have never sufficiently exploited the potential of their cooperation opportunities. This was partly due to very different political goals, but also to the lack of established bilateral exchange formats between policy makers. In this paper, prepared for Germanwatch and DNR, the Polish-German researcher and energy transition expert Andrzej Ceglarz describes how the European Green Deal and the European Commission's “Fit for 55” package offer the two countries a wide range of opportunities to strengthen their climate and energy cooperation. Ceglarz presented concrete proposals for German-Polish climate policy cooperation.