German climate policy and energy transition Posts

Image of open letter

Report | 22.04.2024

Germany, Poland, and France: The Weimar Triangle needs to turn green

The EU’s ability to enact ambitious climate policies relies on effective leadership and demonstrated commitment from influential Member States. Representatives from leading think tanks, environmental NGOs, businesses, and scientific institutions in France, Germany, and Poland, are calling for the establishment of a 'Green Weimar Triangle' to renew trilateral climate dialogue among the three countries.

Report | 10.07.2023

We call for improvements to the National Energy and Climate Plan

Deutschland überarbeitet derzeit seinen Nationalen Energie- und Klimaplan (NECP) für 2030. Darin werden Maßnahmen festgelegt, um die Klimaziele zu erreichen. Doch der Plan wird nicht allein von Politiker:innen bestimmt, sondern auch von der Zivilgesellschaft mitgestaltet. Sylwia Andralojc-Bodych und Charly Heberer von Germanwatch erklären in einem kurzen Video, wo noch Verbesserungspotenzial besteht, damit Deutschland seine Klimaziele tatsächlich erreicht.

Report | 15.02.2023

"Together for 1.5"

The LIFE TogetherFor1.5 project aims to align the EU’s climate action with the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement. 13 national CSOs and CAN Europe (the leading climate NGO coalition in Europe) have been building on climate and energy policy revision opportunities, such as the finalisation of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package, national energy and climate plans (NECPs), and the revision of national long-term strategies.

Logoteppich

Report | 25.11.2022

EU Commission’s advisory group publishes the first set of sustainability reporting standards

Together with the Alliance for Corporate Transparency and a number of other NGOs and think tanks, Germanwatch has commented on the proposals of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) in a press release. Germanwatch welcomes the adoption of the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which EFRAG submitted to the European Commission this week. Although the ambition of the standards remains limited in some areas, they represent a significant improvement for companies and users of sustainability information and address the biggest issues in the quality and reliability of corporate reporting. Please find the press release below:

German climate policy and energy transition Blog post | 31.10.2022

German support for gas investments abroad is mostly not compatible with the Paris Agreement

Since 2015, Germanwatch and NewClimate have collaborated in developing criteria to assess the compatibility of investments with global climate goals. This blog summarises some of our ideas and explains to what extent support for fossil fuels abroad jeopardises Germany's climate commitments and the Paris Agreement.

Logoteppich: NGOs, die den Brief unterzeichnet haben

Report | 11.10.2022

Open letter: A bold and transformative Social Climate Fund is needed, now more than ever

A reform of the emissions trading system (ETS) is currently being discussed at EU level. Proposed by the European Commission, this includes the extension of carbon pricing to the sectors of road transport and buildings, as well as the supplementary launch of a Social Climate Fund (SCF) for social compensation. In an open letter, Germanwatch, together with 37 other organizations, calls for the new ETS not to be seen as a further burden for Europeans, but as an effective response to the energy and climate crisis.

German climate policy and energy transition Blog post | 10.06.2022

What does 70 GW of offshore wind energy mean for energy infrastructure? - Germanwatch & Öko-Institut for Amprion's "Systemvision 2050"

In its coalition agreement, the German government has set itself the goal of expanding offshore wind energy to 70 GW by 2045. This target is polarising.

Joint statement new EU Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive

Report | 21.04.2021

EU Commission presents proposal for new EU Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive

On 21 April 2021, the European Commission published its proposal for a new EU Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive (CSRD). In a joint public statement, Germanwatch and other NGOs associated with the Alliance for Corporate Transparency welcome many aspects of the proposal, including the development of mandatory sector-specific EU sustainability reporting standards.

Blogbeitrag: Wasserstoff 2021-01-15

German climate policy and energy transition Industrial transformation Blog post | 14.01.2021

Hydrogen: A Future Cornerstone of EU-Russia Energy Relations?

The European Commission is focusing on hydrogen from renewable electricity, to accelerate the decarbonization of the various sectors and to achieve climate neutrality in 2050. What does this mean for the future of energy imports from Russia, currently the largest supplier of natural gas to the European Union? A chance, the authors of this background article find, and elaborate on challenges and first steps on how to leverage this opportunity.

Lüke Recktenwald auf Langeoog

Report | 22.07.2020

„It is important that we do something now to protect our future"

Lüke Recktenwald is a real "islander". His family has been living on the North Sea island of Langeoog for four generations and runs a hotel and restaurant. Whether Lüke will be able to live and work on the island in the future like his parents is uncertain, as Langeoog is increasingly threatened by the climate crisis. In this interview he tells how he experiences the climate and health crisis on the island and why he decided to go to court to demand climate protection.

ClimateActionCall!

Report | 08.05.2019

Climate Action Call

In regards to the informal summit of the European Council in Sibiu, Romania, on 9th of May and the European elections, a major European alliance of cities, regions, businesses, civil society organizations, sports and youth associations urge the EU decision makers to take decisive action to respond to the climate emergency. Germanwatch supports the Climate Action Call.

Cover_assessment of coal commission oucome

Report | 01.02.2019

Germanwatch assessment of the coal commission outcome of 26 January 2019

In its final report, the German coal commission recommends the last coal power plant of Germany to shut down in the corridor 2035 to 2038. This is an important step towards reaching Germany's 2030 climate target. Nevertheless, it is not enough to bring the energy sector on a path to comply with the 1.5°C-limit of the Paris Agreement. In this short position paper, Germanwatch asesses the most important outcomes of the coal commission's final report of 26 January 2019.

German climate policy and energy transition Blog post | 19.04.2017

A Low-Hanging Fruit for Financing and Implementing SDGs: End Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Phase-out and reallocation of fossil fuel subsidies (FFS) is a low-hanging fruit for financing and implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). FFS reform has been included in the SDG architecture as a means of implementation for SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production, but its linkages with other Goals should be taken into account to catalyze action on multiple issue areas.

Foto: Pressekonferenz in der Ukraine

Report | 02.08.2016

Germanwatch Visits Conflict and Coal Region of Donbas, Ukraine

The Donbas is extremely important now and in upcoming decades for two things: securing peace in Europe and the energy transition from oil, gas and coal to energy efficiency and renewable energy. In order to improve a solution to the current conflict in the Donbas through new economic perspectives, Ukraine and Germany/the EU should urgently and significantly enhance cooperation on the low-carbon transition of the Donbas. The Germanwatch conclusions in detail here.

Unternehmenserklärung, B.A.U.M. Germanwatch Stiftung 2°

Report | 09.12.2015

Paris is the global decarbonisation turning point

[Unauthorised translation of the German original: http://germanwatch.org/de/11433] The conference in Paris has impressively confirmed the growing international consensus that was last demonstrated at the 2015 G7 summit in Germany. Governments around the world are now serious about taking decisive action well before the end of the century to phase out fossil fuels in accordance with the findings of climate science. We welcome the clear commitment made by large industrial countries to undertake the necessary transformation of their energy systems by the middle of the century. This undertaking is now more feasible than ever thanks to declining costs for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

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German climate policy and energy transition Blog post | 05.01.2015

The German Energiewende under lobby pressure

Germany currently faces a political challenge towards the transformation of its energy system, known as "Energiewende." Many people associate the "Energiewende" in Germany with the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima 2011. However, the starting point for the German "Energiewende" is rooted in the increasing environmental awareness and the anti-nuclear movement of the 70s. In the 70s, the term "Energiewende" had already been coined and was used by nuclear opponents, who searched for alternative forms of energy supply...