Publication
The Andina copper mine in Chile
First page
Due diligence in downstream value chains

This case study of the Andina copper mine in Chile shows how European mining equipment manufacturers maintain close business relationships with the mine, despite the mining activities damaging the surrounding glaciers, massively increasing the water scarcity in the region and local protests against the expansion of the mine. We provide an example of how downstream due diligence obligations of European companies could have been exercised in this case. This is particularly relevant in this sector, where the business relationships between mining equipment manufacturers and their customers involve significant human rights and environmental risks.

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Blogpost
Tipping points and their impact on human security
Fig. 1. Overview of global climate tipping points (Own Illustration, based on PIK 2017).
A blog series on tipping points
Climate tipping points are thresholds in the Earth’s climate system. When passed, this system experiences abrupt and typically irreversible changes. In this blog series, we take a look at four of the most treacherous tipping points: the Amazon rainforest, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, Coral Reefs, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We also provide an overview of their physical nature and their impact on human security, including the important issue of loss and damage, a topic which became a major discussion point at COP27.
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Blogpost
Human security impacts of crossing the Amazon rainforest tipping point
Fig. 4. Amazon drought: Big river boat trapped on a sand bank East of Barreirinha, during one of the worst droughts ever recorded in the Amazon in 2005 (Daniel Beltrá / Greenpeace).
Tipping points blog series #1
In the first blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at the Amazon rainforest. It is considered a climate tipping point because it may shift to a savannah or savannah-like environment given enough tree death. We will discuss the effects of deforestation, climate change, and the potential threat that crossing this climate tipping point will have on the region—and indeed elsewhere—and take a deep dive into the human and socio-economic impacts.
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Blogpost
How the Atlantic Ocean circulation could reach its switch-off tipping point
Fig. 3. Greenland ice sheet with melting ice flow (magnetix / Shutterstock).
Tipping point blog series #2
In the second blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; a phenomenon in the Atlantic Ocean which brings heat from the southern to the northern hemisphere. By discussing how the relative freshening of the waters in the North Atlantic in response to the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet will change this circulation, we will explain the potential threat that crossing this climate tipping point will have on the global distribution of heat and precipitation. Furthermore, we will take a look at the associated human and socio-economic impacts.
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Blogpost
Coral Reefs could pass their point of no return this decade
Fig. 1. Coral Bleaching at Magnetic Island in the Great Coral Reef (Victor Huertas / Greenpeace).
Tipping point blog series #3
In the third blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at Coral Reefs. Often referred to as rainforests of the sea, coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. The rapid demise of many of the world’s coral reefs this past decade is one of the clearest indicators that things are going very wrong. We will take a look at the nature of coral reefs, how and why they are now considered a climate tipping point, and consider many of the human and socio-economic impacts we can anticipate in the decades ahead.
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Blogpost
West Antarctic Ice Sheet tipping point: a risk for millions in coastal regions
Foto von Mohamed Seenen / Climate Visuals
Tipping point blog series #4
In the last blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). It is a portion of the continental ice sheet on Antarctica and acts as a gigantic water storage, keeping sea levels static and coastlines intact. A collapse of the entire ice sheet would result in a global mean sea level rise of approximately 3.3 metres, and in the flooding of coastal areas and cities where hundreds of millions of people live. We will discuss the nature of the WAIS, and the effects its collapse will have on global sea level rise, and the socio-economic and human impacts.
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Publication
Renewables or Coal?
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11 Lessons on Germany's Changing Energy Mix

Last year marked a turning point for the EU’s energy policies. The dependency on Russian fossil fuels—gas in particular—had severe consequences for its member states and resulted in an energy supply crisis across the entire EU. We analysed Germany’s changing energy mix along with the Adelphi Institute and present the 11 identified lessons in this policy brief.

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News
"Together for 1.5"
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Accelerate the Climate Action in Europe
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.
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Publication
Building transformative capacities for climate-friendly rural regions of the Western Balkans and Western Macedonia (Greece)
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For a climate-friendly and sustainable economy in rural regions that is both resilient and adaptable, ecological and social objectives must be pursued from the outset. This is not a contradiction, but an imperative necessity if structurally weak regions are to be fit for the future and not left behind. In this policy brief, we develop and discuss recommendations for rural regions with comparable contexts that are going through similar bottom-up processes.

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Blogpost
The Multilateral Development Banks in the run-up to Paris alignment
©The Marshall Islands are facing the effects of climate change. To support climate transformation at global scale, MDBs need to align their financial flows with the Paris agreement.
Progress, gaps, and unanswered questions

Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement stipulates the goal to align financial flows with climate goals. In 2017, the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) committed to supporting these efforts by aligning their financial flows with the Paris Agreement, i.e.

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