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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.

One of the challenges many African countries are facing is the lack of access to electricity. Addressing this difficulty is particularly complicated in rural areas where a connection to the national grid would require a big and often not feasible infrastructure expansion. This factsheet offers an overview of alternative solutions to grid-connected electricity, namely decentralised renewable energy (DRE) systems. The factsheet analyses advantages and challenges of these systems, informs about technical specifications, and gives an overview of the various ownership models of DRE systems. Finally, the factsheet gives recommendations for an enabling national policy on decentralised renewable energy.

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.

In the context of several European legislative processes on supply chains this study emphasizes the importance of binding legislation for companies to comply with environmental aspects in addition to human rights along their supply chains.