Publications

Although international climate negotiations have made little progress since the largely failed talks of Copenhagen in 2009, especially developing countries have started the race towards low-carbon development. Low-Carbon Development Plans (LCDPs) have been developed that describe goals and measures of the respective nation's climate change efforts and lay a foundation for overall development planning.

One can perhaps say that, with Cancún, the major emerging economies have, to some extent, assumed the lead in the global negotiation process. After Mexico, namely South Africa (next Climate summit in 2011) and Brazil (Rio-plus-20 summit 2012) carry the central responsibility as the hosts of the next major summits.

Up to the climate summit in Copenhagen, international climate policy followed the strategy to achieve a "big bang" in the form of an international climate agreement covering the commitment period until 2020. At least for the time being, the window of opportunity for such an approach has closed after the moderate results of Copenhagen and the recent political developments in the US.

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an innovative instrument that enhances transparency in international climate politics. On the basis of standardised criteria the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performances of the 57 countries that, together, are responsible for more than 90 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions.

This paper provides a general overview of climate litigation risks in the US and Europe; considers the main legal issues and implications that arise for various actors; and makes recommendations.

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an innovative instrument that enhances transparency in international climate politics. On the basis of standardised criteria the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performances of the 57 countries that, together, are responsible for more than 90 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions.

This paper assesses potential impacts of the current financial crisis on the investment industry's efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in general, and climate change issues in particular, in its products and processes.