FAIReconomics Newsletter week 02/20
Climate change can be proven for the first time in daily weather: Science has always maintained that weather is not climate. Now scientists at ETH Zurich have shaken this theorem for the first time. They have proven the human influence of climate change in daily weather reports. When looking at the daily global weather report, the long-term trend towards global warming becomes apparent. It is possible to trace the trend back to 1999. spiegel.de, nature.com
SPD wants to make wind energy more palatable: In order to reduce resistance against wind energy, the SPD leadership wants to introduce a so-called wind citizen’s fund. Those who do not resist the construction of wind turbines and allow the expansion of renewable energy should be financially rewarded, according to the Social Democrats‘ plan. With the introduction of these benefits, in return, legal action against the construction of wind turbines will be taken. At present, various concepts are being examined in a federal-state working group. SPD faction vice chairman Matthias Miersch said „This ranges from the participation of municipalities in the turnover of wind farms to a ‚Windbürgergeld‘, i.e. direct cash flows for all affected residents“. Miersch described the planned offensive in the renewables sector as the „next big test for the grand coalition“. Miersch can also imagine a photovoltaic obligation for new buildings. „We must ensure that photovoltaics is used on and around our buildings across the board. There are currently too many bureaucratic hurdles here. We have to review the entire subsidy system. A first step is the removal of the expansion cap, which we have firmly agreed. I could also imagine the obligation to use photovoltaics in new buildings.“ zdf.de , faz.net , pv-magazine.de (Photovoltaik)
In almost every sixth edition of a major TV talk show on ARD and ZDF in the past year 2019, the topics of environment or climate were the focus of attention. Global warming and climate policy, Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future – these topics moved to the center of political and social attention in Germany. In Switzerland and Austria the situation is different. klimafakten.de
2019 the third warmest year since weather recordings: Since the beginning of weather recordings in 1881, the past year was the third warmest. An above-average number of sunshine hours and too little precipitation, that is what the evaluations of the German Weather Service showed. The average temperature of 10.2 degrees Celsius is two degrees higher than the comparative value for the internationally valid reference period between 1961 and 1990, making the years 2019, 2018 and 2014 one of the three warmest years since regular weather measurements began. zeit.de , dwd.de
The plants and animals of the year 2020: They are threatened with extinction, mostly because their habitats are in danger. There are trees and animals of the year 2020: For example, the robinia was chosen for 2020 because its legumes are a delicacy for bees, for example. In the meantime, there are a whole range of very different plants, animals and fungi that are the focus of attention in 2020. nabu.de
Fire in Australia: Down Under is currently experiencing the worst fire season in its history. The government is coming under pressure. The worst thing about bush fires is that they can create their own weather, as the heat of the fire causes large amounts of air to be torn up in the atmosphere within a very short time. They carry away water vapour, soot and ash. This can create huge thunderclouds, but these are accompanied by strong winds, which in turn allow the fires to spread further. Australia has the largest per capita emission of greenhouse gases and electricity production is based on coal. This is a billion dollar business and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake. Politicians are therefore relativising the forest fires, although no industrialised country is feeling the consequences of climate change as strongly as Australia. spiegel.de, diepresse.com
Volkswagen enters into negotiations on diesel comparison: The Volkswagen Group has started talks with the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) about a possible settlement. However, the talks are still at a very early stage. „Whether a settlement can be reached is open.“ Volkswagen has so far not been prepared to pay compensation in Germany, while it has already made billions in payments in the USA. The consumer association therefore sued in court on behalf of at least 400,000 buyers of manipulated vehicles of the group taz.de
BOOK TIP OF THE WEEK:
Es gibt ein Genug – Lebensqualität, Enkelgerechtigkeit und die kulturellen Dimensionen zukunftsfähigen Lebens——————————————————–
Cancer researcher: Fines for experiments on animals. spiegel.de
FDP: More kerosene from green electricity demanded. wiwo.de
Speed 30 km/h: Can reduce pollutants. sueddeutsche.de
Chimneys: Federal government plans new regulations because of fine particulate matter. zeit.de
Hacker attacks: Security gap in German power plants. welt.de
Sand: Not an infinite resource any more. deutschlandfunk.de
MOBILITÄT:
Parking will become more expensive: The German Association of the Automotive Industry has proposed a fundamental reform of residents‘ parking cards, so that higher earners should pay more for parking for residents, there should be more special parking spaces for electric cars and cities should be able to raise or lower the price of parking more flexibly. sueddeutsche.de
Mobility and cars: The true costs. tagesspiegel.de
Electric cars and SUVs: driving up new car prices. welt.de
Police union: Proposes study on speed limits. zeit.de
Norway: Almost every second car is electric..tn3.de
CES: Automobiles and driving of tomorrow. welt.de
From Berlin: Electric trucks. berliner-zeitung.de
LAST WEEK IN THE BUNDESTAG
Government saw only a low risk: The risk of a negative decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the car toll has been assessed as low according to the German government. In an answer (19/15386) to a minor question by the FDP parliamentary group (19/14814), the German government refers to the results of a risk workshop. „This assessment was taken into account when drawing up the federal budget for 2020, which assumed that the infrastructure charge would be introduced on schedule on 1 October 2020. Revenues from the infrastructure levy as well as personnel and material expenses were spent accordingly, the answer goes on to say. The ECJ had overturned the toll project in June 2019.
Nuclear transports: The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) will continue to manually record transports of radioactive waste or spent fuel elements in accordance with the „Nuclear Waste Shipment Ordinance“ (AtAV). A transfer of the procedure to electronic recording is not planned at present due to the low number of permits to be issued, writes the Federal Government in a reply (19/15685) to a minor question from the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group (19/15215).
Sustainability of nuclear energy: The German government welcomes the fact that the EU Commission’s technical expert group on sustainable finance has refrained from including nuclear energy in the taxonomy. This is stated by the government in its answer (19/15635) to a minor question from the FDP parliamentary group (19/15201), which had enquired after the negotiations on the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation to create a taxonomy. The government regards as problematic the fact that the technical group of experts had called for further investigations into the sustainability of nuclear energy in groups yet to be set up. The German government shares the view of the European Parliament that a credible taxonomy must already in the text of the regulation exclude a possible assessment of nuclear energy as sustainable.
Oil and gas heating systems dominate: In the area of uniform property management, the energy sources natural gas, district heating and heating oil dominate the supply of thermal energy to the federal government’s service properties. Other energy sources such as wood chips and wood pellets would have a comparatively small share of the heat supply, the federal government states in its answer (19/14996) to a minor question from the FDP parliamentary group (19/14477). An overview of 2,264 plants contained in the reply shows that 934 plants generate heat with gas and another 873 plants with fuel oil.
TAKEN LITERALLY
„On the other hand, nuclear power cannot be the answer despite climate protection. Because if there are not even enough landfills for the low-level radiation debris from decommissioning, how can this be achieved with highly radioactive waste from ongoing operations? „
Burkhard Ewert, deputy editor-in-chief of the „Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung“, was therefore not paying enough attention to the option of waiver. The environmental sow grannies recently criticised had in any case lived more sustainably in their childhood than today’s youth. And even today, they would probably not have a bad eco-balance just because they have trained themselves to be economical and careful, even if they would choose a slightly higher model for the car and the sofa in their old age because it is easier to get into. Should the electricity consumption of the grandchild really be taken into account, the holiday behaviour or the ubiquitous poisonous batteries and decorative and play elements made of plastic scrap with welded-in LEDs instead of wax candles and homemade straw stars?deutschlandfunk.de
„While it may still be okay when comparing product prices if we know exactly why we need this product, it is already more difficult when deciding on a further training course: Because the previously programmed algorithms do not tailor the offers exactly to us, but rather orient themselves to what is appropriate for an average person.“
Professor Dr. Ingo Rollwagen, futurologist, and even more important is the transparency of the quantity and quality of existing data and the knowledge of the rules of algorithms and the knowledge on which the support provided by algorithms is based when it comes to new acquaintances or personal relationships. To illustrate this: Up until a few years ago we could have previously traced who or what source knowledge came from and what tradition created it. In his opinion, this was indispensable. Today, however, we often no longer know who has processed which knowledge and information for us according to which rules. fair-economics.de
MORE KNOWLEDGE
Climate change threatens navigability of the Panama Canal: The Panama Canal is increasingly threatened by climate change. „Climate change is sufficiently proven along the Panama Canal,“ says economist Ricaurte Vásquez, who now manages the canal. A negative record for rainfall has created a „considerable water deficit“ in the lakes that supply the route with water. In the future, the canal operators will have to find a solution to meet the water demand for the canal. This year’s rainfall was 27 percent below average. Moreover, the temperature of Lake Gatún, the main tributary of the waterway, has risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius in the past decade, which has led to considerable water losses through evaporation. spiegel.de
Sustainable travel: Climate-damaging long-distance travel should soon be a thing of the past, according to activist Elias Bohun. The train should make long-distance travel possible, at least to Asia and North Africa this should work. A corresponding travel agency has just opened. From Vienna, for example, the office offers train trips to Vietnam for 650 euros, travel time eight days. taz.de
Disposal of mobile phones, but right: All electrical appliances have no place in household waste. The major mobile phone providers, but also electrical retailers take back old devices free of charge. High-quality mobile phones are too good for the bin anyway, they can be used as replacement devices or – with some providers – old devices can be exchanged for new ones. heute.de
Germans on vacation: Only one in eight Germans is interested in environmental protection. waz.de
Gentrification or Sustainability: Culture Battle for an Aldi. berliner-zeitung.de
Research and plastics: Scientists produce millions of tons of plastic waste. sueddeutsche.de
LAST WORDS:
Amazon puts pressure on employees: According to reports, Amazon, the US mail-order wholesaler, is putting pressure on employees who have publicly lobbied to make the company greener. In internal e-mails, the human resources and legal departments are to threaten employees who have spoken out in favor of more climate efforts by the Group with sanctions, including dismissal, if such statements are made in the future. theguardian.com
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