Entscheider

In August 2016, the Adaptation Fund has recorded its second largest number of proposals in its history. A number of 31 concept and project proposals have been received to be considered by the Adaptation Fund Board at its 28th Meeting scheduled in October 2016 in Bonn, Germany. This request amounts to US$ 208.6 million from various types of accredited implementing entities wishing to access the funds. It is obvious that the Fund provides an important function to assist developing countries in their efforts towards concrete local measures against climate impacts. Developed through a civil society lens, this briefing outlines selected talking points on agenda items that are to be discussed at the 28th meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board, and suggests some key recommendations as well.

Global decarbonisation will stem from a wide array of policy instruments: regulatory frameworks, long-term low-carbon strategies, technology development and transfer and fiscal and market incentives. As long as the prices of established fossil fuel technologies remain far below their true cost to society, it will be difficult to push them out of the market. A coordinated effort to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and establish carbon pricing schemes and domestic floor prices throughout the G20 would be a major step forward.

The report, “Brown to Green: Assessing the G20 transition to a low-carbon economy” has been produced by Climate Transparency, and written by a range of international experts and was launched at a press conference in Beijing. With climate change high on this year’s G20 agenda, along with green finance, the assessment looks at a range of indicators on climate action, including investment attractiveness, investment in renewable energy, climate policy, the carbon intensity of both the energy and electricity sectors of the G20 economies, of their fossil fuel subsidies and their contributions to climate finance.

The landmark Paris Agreement and the Agenda 2030 provide a new framework for global decarbonization and sustainable, climate-resilient development. Multilateral bodies like the G20 provide a natural focus point for governments of the leading industrial nations and emerging economies to take common action towards the achievement of these global goals. The mobilization of finance for sustainable investment, in particular the transition to a renewable energy system, is one of the most urgent but also promising tasks ahead.

This background paper explores the potential relevance within a pluralistic society of the important encyclical Laudato Si’ issued by Pope Francis in June 2015. It considers whether the encyclical documents a reflected faith that accepts the primacy of science in secular knowledge as well as the primacy of democratically elected governments, human dignity, and human rights in the political sphere. Laudato Si’ presents a paradigm shift from the image of the dominion of mankind over the rest of creation to universal fraternity with even weak and marginalised people as well as fellow beings threatened with mass extinction.

The Paris Agreement which was adopted in December 2015 sets the pace for global action against climate change for the coming years and decades. In its preamble it underlines the importance of all levels of government engaging in and contributing to tackling the climate challenge. Given the significance of cities in emitting greenhouse gases as well as their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, their role in advancing a low-carbon and climateresilient development should not be underestimated. An urban transformation is key as it will decisively shape the functionality of cities for the next 50 to 100 years.

Indo-German cooperation on low-carbon development can reach far beyond should dialogue on and provision of German support for an Indian low-carbon energy mix. Germany, in turn, should seek inspiration from India as well. An Indo-German dialogue on low-carbon development should therefore allow exchange in partnership on more fundamental aspects of a low-carbon development such as sustainable guiding principles, lifestyles, sustainable business concepts and economic and governance structures.

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.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are a centrepiece of the new global climate regime which was agreed at COP21 in Paris and form the foundation for the pathway towards a low-carbon and climate resilient development. This paper analyses specifically the financial aspects included in the INDCs and aims to contribute towards a definition of comprehensive financing strategies for implementing NDCs. It provides an analytical overview of the financial aspects that have been included in the INDCs submitted so far and provides a discussion of options for financing NDC implementation.

The 2015 G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau was ground-breaking in that G7 leaders for the first time discussed such supply chain responsibility. They pledged to promote “responsible supply chains”, and strongly supported the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The G7 leaders also stressed the need to increase transparency, the identification and prevention of human rights risks, and the strengthening of grievance mechanisms to promote better working conditions, and urged the private sector to implement human rights due diligence. These commitments were made under the leadership of Japan and Germany, as current and preceding G7 chair.