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Will the EEG levy fall as early as summer? Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner spoke out in an interview over the weekend, hinting that due to high energy prices, the EEG could fall as early as the summer. „We have a situation of scarcity, especially with gas, above all this is driving inflation in Germany. I think it is necessary that we organise relief in the short term. In view of the increased prices, I think an earlier abolition (of the EEG. ed.) is necessary. If the coalition agrees on this, then I would make it financially possible for the EEG levy to be abolished in the middle of the year. That would be a relief in the billions for families, the pensioner, the recipient.“   handelsblatt.com , spiegel.de , rnd.de

Supplementary budget passed – billions for climate protection: The passing of the supplementary budget last week gives the traffic light coalition the opportunity to reallocate budget funds and use them for investments in climate protection. Around 60 billion euros are being reorganised; they had already been approved as loans but were no longer needed last year. Federal Finance Minister Lindner and the traffic light coalition want to use the money earmarked for investments in climate protection and the transformation of the economy. This includes, for example, more energy-efficient buildings and CO2-neutral mobility, both of which have a lot of catching up to do in climate protection. The CDU/CSU considers the approach unconstitutional and therefore directly took the first steps towards a lawsuit. n-tv.de

Around 1.7 billion euros

is what German consumers would have paid too much in electricity costs last year if the federal government had already relied on contracts for difference instead of the market premium for onshore wind and photovoltaics in the past.  In December 2021 alone, the savings would have been around 750 million euros. klimareporter.de

USA climate budget exhausted: The USA is the first major industrialised country to have exhausted its per capita budget for climate-damaging emissions, which would prevent global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to 1850 with a 50 percent probability. The CO₂ calculator „showyourbudgets“, which is scientifically accompanied, has calculated this. In 2021, total US emissions would be around 5.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ – but from the end of 2021 they would have to be zero. In order to achieve the 1.5 degree target, the USA, as the historically largest CO₂ polluter, would mathematically have had to stop all climate-damaging emissions from 1 January 2022 in order to make its contribution to the climate target of 1.5 degrees. spiegel.de 

Further criticism of taxonomy also from companies: A group of climate experts and companies has criticised the EU plans to classify gas and nuclear power as climate-friendly. This emerges from a statement of the so-called Platform for Sustainable Finance on a corresponding proposal of the EU Commission. „The Commission needs to listen to the science and drop its proposal,“ said Sebastien Godinot of WWF. „Fossil gas generates a lot of emissions and nuclear power produces highly radioactive waste that we still don’t know how to deal with.“ The platform includes environmental organisations, scientists and companies such as Airbus and E.ON. welt.de

Climate protection is playing an increasingly important role in insurance: German insurance companies pay attention to ecological and social aspects, the so-called ESG criteria, in more than one third of the business they conclude. „The share can rise to more than 60 percent by 2025 if insurers put existing plans into practice,“ said Wolfgang Weiler, President of the German Insurance Association (GDV) . Insurance cover is one of the central issues for companies. Strict conditions imposed by the insurer or the refusal of policies can be an important lever to get them to do more climate protection, because insurance cover is often an important prerequisite for company financing. taz.de

Meat tax demanded: Cheap meat has its price. It is a truism that livestock farming is not only detrimental to the animals, but also has negative consequences for the environment and climate. Expressed in figures, it is impressive: livestock farming is responsible for 13 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, large areas of pastureland cause a decline in biodiversity, and slurry from livestock farming is considered the main cause of high nitrate levels in groundwater. A kilogram of beef, pork, lamb or poultry should therefore actually cost many times more than it does at present. Researchers have now determined how expensive meat would have to be for a balanced climate and environmental balance. At the same time, they argue in their study for a meat tax. This revenue could help livestock farmers to rely less on meat production and more on alternative sources of income. In addition, higher animal welfare standards could be implemented. spiegel.de

BOOK TIP OF THE WEEK:

On evolution, species protection and genetic engineering

The New Genetic Engineering, tools such as the gene scissors CRISPR/Cas and the artificial synthesis of genes open up the possibility for radical changes in genetic material and deep interventions in biological diversity. Parallel to the emergence of new technologies, we also need to rethink our relationship with nature. A key concept for defining a new relationship between humans and nature can become the term „Biological Intelligence“ (BI), which is discussed here in more detail for the first time in the context of evolution, species conservation and genetic engineering.

Christoph Then informs about the facts and backgrounds and encourages a critical and informed debate on genetic engineering and biotechnology. He pleads for much higher standards of protection in dealing with the foundations of life. In this context, he proposes a new nature treaty that would set clear limits to genetic engineering interventions in biological diversity. oekom.de

Green Party Conference: In search of new leadership and compromises in governing. dlf.de
High costs: Even the railways have to spend more on electricity, which endangers the transport turnaround. welt.de
Environment Ministry: Reparability index planned. spiegel.de
Robert Habeck: Reaffirms in Brussels the No to sustainable nuclear power. welt.de
Bundesverfassungsgericht: New lawsuit by nine young people on climate protection. sueddeutsche.de
Wet moors: Good remedy against climate change. rnd.de
CO2 trap: A new process should make it possible to remove CO2 from the air at low cost. faz.net
After KfW stop: Federal Government comes under pressure near funding stop. zeit.de
Reconstruction: In order to master the energy transition, the electricity grid must be fundamentally reconstructed. Costs 165 billion. handelsblatt.com

The seventeeen goals Magazin tells inspiring stories about how people move the world and shows how everyone can make a contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

PODCAST OF THE WEEK:

How China wants to go from climate polluter to pioneer

China is the world’s largest CO₂ emitter – with a 31 percent share, the country emits more carbon dioxide than all other industrialised countries combined. At the same time, the People’s Republic under President Xi Jinping has set itself ambitious goals and wants to become climate-neutral by 2060. Sinologist Nis Grünberg from the Mercator Institute for China Studies explains whether the world can meet the 1.5 degree target even without the People’s Republic. In addition, China correspondent Fabian Kretschmer reports from Beijing on progress in environmental protection – while his fine dust warning app lights up red in the middle of the conversation. rnd.de

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

Indonesia – Rethinking mangrove forests has begun. With more than 17,000 islands, mangrove forests play an important role for the inhabitants of the islands of Indonesia. They are and have been a source of timber and firewood. Many of the stately trees also fell victim to shrimp and fish ponds. Around 40 percent of Indonesia’s mangrove forests have disappeared in the meantime. Now a rethinking has begun. More and more people are recognising the importance of mangrove forests for biodiversity and protection against erosion. dw.com

MOBILITY:

What driving a car really costs:  A new study shows: Many can only afford their car because society bears the costs of health and environmental damage – at around 5,000 euros per year. zeit.de

Empty flights between Berlin and Bonn: Most of the Air Force flights between the two German government locations of Berlin and Bonn are mostly ghost flights. Since November 2020, 336 flights have taken off without passengers. The new figures bring into focus the damaging carbon footprint of civil servant flights. In the 13 months since November 2020, there have been 336 empty flights on the routes, the Ministry of Defence wrote in response to a question from Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the Left parliamentary group. The share of so-called standby flights without passengers thus amounted to around 78 per cent of a total of 431 flights between the locations. focus.de

Shipping needs e-fuels: In order to achieve the Paris climate goals and limit climate change to an acceptable level, shipping must also be decarbonised. Scientists have therefore modelled the extent to which propulsion systems based on climate-neutral fuels can be realised in cargo shipping. According to the results, fossil diesel and heavy fuel oil can be easily replaced by ammonia, methane or methanol for more than 90 per cent of bulk carrier transports – only hydrogen seems unsuitable as an eco-fuel. scinexx.de

The carbon footprint of e-scooters is poor: studies are increasingly showing that the environmental promises made by the providers are so far not true. The carbon footprint is pretty mediocre, at least for rental e-scooters, which are rented for trips on the street via an app. According to a 2019 study by the University of North Carolina, this is due to the material, production and short service life alone, because the devices are rarely treated with care. According to the study, the greatest negative impact is when the scooters are collected with combustion cars for charging and distributed again in the city. Calculated on kilometres per person, even a diesel bus is more environmentally friendly during rush hour. tagesspiegel.de

More e-cars to meet climate targets: The German government must increase its 2030 target for the number of e-cars by five million if it wants to meet the climate targets for transport. Instead of the 15 million fully electric cars mentioned in the coalition agreement, which are to replace climate-damaging internal combustion engines by 2030, at least 20 million are needed. This is shown by the study „The Five Million Gap“ published today by the Wuppertal Institute on behalf of Greenpeace. greenpeace.de

Lynk & Co: The carmaker that wants to sell mobility instead of vehicles: Moving cars instead of owning cars – this is roughly how the business idea of Lynk & Co could be described.The Swedish-Chinese company offers a car – for hourly, monthly or permanent use and for optional purchase. rnd.de

Sixt: Alexander Sixt has been running the company with his brother since June. In the interview, he talks about electromobility, robotaxis and the biggest challenge for a car rental company. handelsblatt.com

Attack target e-mobility: In view of the increasing software orientation of control systems ­and the growing popularity of over-the-air updates, the risk of cyber attacks on vehicles and – in the case of e-cars – also on the charging infrastructure is rising. And this is alarming, because the automotive industry is still paying far too little attention to the threat situation. There is an urgent need for concepts to contain this risk. security-insinder.de

HYDROGEN:

Fast photopyrolysis: Generating hydrogen in a flash: What sounds like science fiction from the distant future has now been achieved by researchers from Switzerland: According to their own information, within milliseconds they turn organic waste into hydrogen gas on the one hand and conductive carbon on the other using the technology of fast photopyrolysis.

The forgotten ones of the hydrogen strategy: Hydrogen is considered the saviour for the transformation of industry into a low-CO2 world. Politicians are subsidising the technology with billions. But innovative SMEs, of all people, feel left out. „Only the fat companies get the meat pots, but the innovative SMEs often go away empty-handed.“ wiwo.de

Raw materials for electrolysis could become more expensive: The German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) has warned that important raw materials needed for most types of clean hydrogen production could become scarce and significantly more expensive. „We see the greatest supply risks for iridium and scandium – due to the very high demand on the raw materials markets for water electrolysis alone,“ said the German Raw Materials Agency in the BGR (DERA). deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de

Hydrogen shares as an investment: A new study describes how hydrogen will change the global energy market. It may therefore be worthwhile for investors to take a closer look at raw material suppliers instead of fuel cell and electrolyser suppliers. According to IRENA, the capacity of plants that split water into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electricity must be increased globally from currently 0.3 to 5,000 gigawatts. Various raw materials are needed for the electrodes of the electrolysers: rare earths, nickel, cobalt, but above all platinum. boerse-online.de

New EU Energy Statistics: The European Commission has adopted one of the most comprehensive changes ever made to the Energy Statistics Regulation. This change, which will come into force in February, will provide statistics to monitor a range of policy initiatives to decarbonise the European economy, including the Energy Union and the Fit for 55 package, as well as the Hydrogen Strategy and the Batteries Initiative. The new statistics will be available for the first time for 2022. ec.europe.eu

Questionable Hyundai hydrogen deal: The state transfers 14,300 euros per car to a leasing company from the Hyundai group to promote hydrogen mobility. The company invests the money – in Hyundai cars. wiwo.de

60 per cent of all flights could be converted to hydrogen: Hydrogen could well play a more significant role in reducing CO₂ emissions in aviation in the future, according to a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation ICCT. However, this would require political support for the new technology. aerotelegraph.com

LAST WEEK IN THE BUNDESTAG:

Climate protection is a cross-sectional task: According to the Federal Government, climate protection is a priority field of action for the entire Federal Government. In the coalition agreement, the governing parties have made climate protection a cross-sectional task for the 20th legislative period, which will be tackled jointly. This is the result of an answer by the federal government (20/462) to a small question (20/339) by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The federal government, consisting of the parties SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP, is now intensively dealing with the implementation of the guidelines of the coalition agreement into government action. The reduction of Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions is now also an interdepartmental task.

Vaccines for developing and emerging countries: The Federal Government has transferred about 95.4 million vaccine doses from German supply contracts to the global initiative COVAX (Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access) for equitable access to anti-corona vaccines. This is stated in the answer (20/454) of the Federal Government to a small question (20/346) of the Left Party. By 6 January 2022, about 84 million of these vaccine doses had been delivered to developing countries. The remaining quantity will be delivered to the recipient countries by COVAX in the coming weeks. In addition, vaccine doses were reportedly delivered free of charge to the governments of Namibia (201,600 doses), Ukraine (about 1.51 million), Egypt (1.5 million), Ghana (1.5 million), Vietnam (2.6 million) and Thailand (347,100), according to bilateral agreements.

The CDU/CSU wants to strengthen the Global Crop Diversity Trust Fund: The CDU/CSU parliamentary group advocates strengthening the Global Trust Fund for Crop Diversity (GCDT). The German government should continue to support it – also financially – in building up an endowment in order to „secure the biodiversity of crops in the future and thus be able to achieve good breeding successes even under climatically changed conditions“, write the members of parliament in a motion (20/489). The German government should also work intensively with international partners and donors to assume responsibility for the GCDT and provide funds for its work. The GCDT finances the work of eleven seed banks from the income generated by its foundation assets, the motion states. Furthermore, the GCDT maintains three storage facilities for a total of 4.5 million seed varieties in Spitsbergen, Norway. These seed banks could be the starting point for future agricultural development, not least in the global South, the MEPs emphasise. The GCDT thus secures an important part of humanity’s natural heritage and contributes to improving the world’s food supply. The GCDT currently has an endowment capital of 380 million US dollars, the MEPs write. In order to be able to fully fulfil its mission, the Trust would need an estimated 500 million more US dollars. This would enable it to finance its work from interest income.

285 million people are starving worldwide: The Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, warned the Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid Committee on Wednesday of famine in several countries. The Corona pandemic and its economic consequences had drastically worsened the hunger situation. The number of people acutely affected by hunger has risen massively in the last two years. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, 135 million people worldwide were suffering from hunger; now it was 285 million people, Beasly reported in the committee meeting chaired by Renata Alt (FDP). 45 million of them were even suffering from extreme hunger. In 43 countries around the world, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen and countries in the Sahel region such as Niger and Burkina Faso, there is a threat of famine and thus also a new mass migration, Beasly warned. According to the WFP director, the current situation is not only due to the Corona virus and the economic consequences of the pandemic, such as the collapse of supply chains, but also to the increasing number of conflicts, crises and climate disasters worldwide. But the pandemic had undoubtedly set the United Nations back in achieving development aid goals and undone successes in the fight against hunger. more beiibundestag.de

Wolf development in Germany: In Germany, a total of 157 wolf packs, 27 pairs and 19 individual animals were recorded in the monitoring year 2020/2021. This is the result of the Federal Government’s answer (20/468) to a small question of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group (20/344). The Federal Government refers to figures of the Documentation and Advisory Centre of the Federal Government on the subject of wolves, which are based on the annually compiled results of the wolf monitoring of the Federal States. According to its knowledge, wolves were taken in seven cases between 2010 and 2021, the Federal Government writes further. In its question, the CDU/CSU asked for information on the development of wolves, wolf killings, protection against wolves and wolf hunting.

Animal welfare is to take centre stage: This year, the federal government wants to implement, among other things, a binding animal husbandry label. This is stated in the motion (20/491), which is entitled „Agriculture and education policy on the move“ and will be discussed in the plenary session on Thursday. This legislative period should be used to make the transition to a climate-, environmentally- and animal-friendly and economically viable agriculture as well as a sustainable and healthy nutrition policy. According to the motion, a binding animal husbandry labelling system is to be introduced as early as 2022, which also includes transport and slaughter. Farmers are to be supported in converting livestock farming to animal-friendly practices. By 2030, organic farming should have reached a share of 30 percent and the use of pesticides should be reduced or banned; the weed killer glyphosate should be taken off the market by 2023. The programme „Sustainable agriculture“ is to support the breeding of climate-robust plant species and promote digitalisation. In addition, according to the motion, a sustainable nutrition strategy for children should be adopted, advertising for food with high sugar, fat and salt content aimed at under 14-year-olds should be stopped, food waste should be reduced in a binding and sector-specific manner, and questions of liability law should be clarified. According to the bill, fair competition with fair pricing in the food market is to be supported, the antitrust abuse supervision and merger control in the Federal Cartel Office is to be strengthened and action is to be taken against unfair trade practices. Furthermore, it is to be examined whether the sale of food below production costs can be prevented.

LITERALLY:

There is a long chapter in the coalition agreement on „Climate, Energy, Transformation“, a sub-chapter on „Natural Climate Protection“ as well as short passages on marine protection, water protection and soil protection. The chapter on climate is full of technical projects and measures, but basically does not go beyond what has been discussed for some time. The subchapter, on the other hand, approaches the topic of re-naturalisation with quite strong declarations of intent. Some interesting nature-based policy elements emerge here, which would now have to be incorporated into a convincing concept of a dual climate policy strategy that then proves: To actively protect the climate, there is the technical option, the „de-carbonisation“ of the economy and society, and there is the natural option, the multifaceted „re-naturalisation“ of the planet. There is no need for geoengineering.

Udo E. Simonis is Professor Emeritus of Environmental Policy at the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB)… the technology-based solutions to climate policy currently under discussion in Germany are few in number: essentially, they involve wind power, photovoltaics and (green) hydrogen. In contrast, he could list at least a dozen relevant nature-based solutions: besides forests and moors, the oceans, the steppes, organic farming, agroforestry, urban nature, forest gardens, sea grass meadows, mangroves and others. There has been a lot of discussion about wind power, photovoltaics and hydrogen – and we now know a lot about them. Although the discussion about nature-based solutions is relatively advanced internationally, it is still rather underdeveloped in Germany. In China, a lot has happened in the meantime. Here, forest growth has always been a big issue, but against desertification, not climate change. An analysis of the „Sustainable Development Index“ (SDI) shows the ranking of countries when it comes to „sustainability“ in the strict sense. At the top of this list are not Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, as is usual in traditional global indices. But rather: Cuba, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka. fr.de

AFRICA:

Burkina Faso: In Burkina Faso, a group of soldiers announced their seizure of power on national television on Monday evening. The military junta organised in the „Patriotic Movement for Protection and Restoration“ („Mouvement Patriotique pour la Sauvegarde et la Restauration“, MPSR), led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, overthrew President Marc Christian Roch Kaboré, suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. A curfew was also imposed and the country’s borders were closed.l The reason for the coup is considered to be the failure of the state to fight jihadist militias, whose attacks have been responsible for over 2,000 deaths and around 1.5 million displaced people since 2015. The deposed President Kaboré promised at his re-election in late November 2020 to prioritise this fight. However, the security situation has deteriorated drastically since then: while Burkina Faso counted 500 attacks by jihadist militias in 2020, last year there were 1,150 – almost twice as many as in neighbouring Mali. According to reports, the government has lost control over almost two-thirds of the country, and the army regularly complains about insufficient equipment, supplies and pay. After a massacre of 50 soldiers in November 2021, popular discontent with the government continued to grow. faz.net

Domino effect in West Africa: First Mali, then Guinea, now Burkina Faso: West Africa is experiencing a new wave of instability. It is also linked to Europe’s Sahel IS policy. taz.de

Ethiopia: First aid in months reaches Tigray. For more than a year, the parties to the conflict have been irreconcilably opposed to each other. If mediation is out of the question, then at least aid for the people in northern Ethiopia is now back on the table. dw.com

Cameroon: Mass panic overshadows Africa Cup match. To watch the round of 16 match between hosts Cameroon and the Comoros, more football fans wanted to enter the Olembé stadium than allowed. This had tragic consequences. dw.com

Kenya: How the need grows. Parched soils, animal carcasses, hunger: Kenya is suffering from a severe drought. Almost three million people need help. The need is likely to grow in the coming months – and it looks bad in the long term as well. Droughts are common in many regions of Kenya. But aid agencies are calling this one historic: the past three rainy seasons have been virtually non-existent or far below target in many places. In some regions, 80 to 90 percent of all dams and water holes had dried up by December. dw.com

Kenyan traditional food under UNESCO protection: Thanks to the efforts of Kenyan farmers to improve food knowledge, Kenya has been selected for inclusion in the Register of Good Conservation Practices. Inclusion in the register aims to protect intangible cultural heritage, which UNESCO says makes people and communities distinct in terms of their histories, nationalities, languages, ideologies and values. For fifteen years, scholars and communities, including school children, worked together to achieve this distinction. allafricanews.com

Namibia: Agreement on genocide in Namibia to be renegotiated „We will never accept this agreement“. With this sentence, representatives of Namibian ethnic groups have demanded that Germany renegotiate the agreement. Will the new German government meet them halfway? dw.com

The fight for Africa’s rhinos is also a fight against poverty: there is a war in the bush. Anti-poaching units are arming themselves with night-vision devices, drones and thermal imaging cameras. Although there are isolated successes, overall the number of rhinos is going down. What has to happen for the grey giants to survive? The Kruger National Park in north-eastern South Africa is one of the largest game reserves in Africa, covering an area of around 20,000 square kilometres. It is the place in South Africa where most white rhinos live in the wild – and the place where most rhinos are slaughtered by poachers. The problem is obvious: the area is huge, the number of rangers relatively small. Added to this is the poverty in the many villages bordering the park. If you want to win the battle to save the rhinos, you have to win it here. youTube.com

Water wars loom in Africa: In terms of water supply, Africa is extremely vulnerable – while the continent has considerable, as yet unused reserves, they are very unevenly distributed. More than a third of Africans live in regions at risk of drought. Against the backdrop of the prospect of „water wars“, an interdisciplinary research landscape on water security in Africa has emerged and is now presented in the journal „Daedalus“. As historians Allen Isaacman and Muchaparara Musemwa introduce, the research highlights four aspects of the water crisis: the increasing scarcity, privatisation as well as commodification of water in urban centres; the impact of large dams on rural regions; the health consequences of water scarcity; and finally water governance and water policy at local, national and international levels. faz.net

A lake could explode: The densely populated city of Goma lies on the shores of Lake Kivu, which is a geological oddity: It contains 300 cubic kilometres of dissolved carbon dioxide, 60 cubic kilometres of methane and toxic hydrogen sulphide to boot. The picturesque lake, which lies between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Rwanda, could release these gases explosively in a so-called limnic eruption, a rare phenomenon. This would suddenly release a huge amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere: The lake contains the equivalent of 2.6 gigatonnes of CO₂, which corresponds to about five percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. But there is a direct threat of an even greater disaster: if the surrounding valley is flooded with the suffocating, toxic gases, millions of people could die as a result. Whether the risk will increase is still unclear. spektrum.de

Uganda: Schools in Uganda were closed for 660 days because of the Corona pandemic – longer than anywhere else in the world. The radical measure has taken a heavy toll, as can be seen on the day of reopening. nzz.ch

MORE KNOWLEDGE:

More environmentally friendly: plastic or paper bag? The plastic bag has the worst image imaginable, and since the beginning of January most disposable plastic bags have been banned in shops. However, the thin „shirt bags“ that are available at the fruit and vegetable shelves, for example, are still allowed. Many consumers are now increasingly turning to paper bags. But is paper really always more environmentally friendly than plastic? A study by the ifeu Institute on behalf of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union Germany (Nabu) comes to a different conclusion. According to the study, a disposable paper bag at the fruit and vegetable counter has a worse eco-balance than a disposable plastic bag. The climate and pollutant load is significantly higher – because of the eight times higher weight of the paper bag, nationalgeographic.de.

The melting season on the glacier is getting longer and longer: Glaciers worldwide are melting faster and faster. This also means that melt water is missing from the water supply. What can still be compensated with rain in the Alps leads to problems in dry regions such as the Himalayas or the Andes. deutschlandfunk.de

Climate change alters cultivation regions:  Coffee from New Zealand, cashews from the USA and avocados from China: in as little as 30 years, the cultivation of these three crops could also begin to pay off in regions where these plants have hardly thrived so far. In the traditional tropical growing countries, on the other hand, the harvest is likely to deteriorate more and more due to rising temperatures. „The expansion of suitable cultivation areas tends to shift towards the north and south,“ says Roman Grüter from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). sueddeutsche.de

Japan: Wants to automate plastic search in the sea. heise.de
Sustainability: For German managers it is a marketing issue, but they do not perceive it as an asset for production. handelsblatt.com
China: A study estimates that China processes almost three quarters of its imported fish and seafood and then exports it again. this is harmful to the climate. science.org
Sweets: Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in the confectionery industry too. zeit.de
Peru: Oil spill off coast twice as big as previously assumed. derstandard.at

THE LAST:

New doomsday scenario by Roland Emmerich: Hollywood director and producer Roland Emmerich is planning a new film about climate catastrophe. When he made „The Day After Tomorrow“ in 2004 about the consequences of climate change, „many laughed at the film“, Emmerich said. „Today, no one is laughing.“ Now, he said, he is working on a sequel in which he wants viewers to imagine what the globe will be like in the near future. „America has turned its back on the world. Europe is in chaos,“ the German director said. „200 million people are pushing into Europe looking for food.“ The film is „partly set in Africa, takes place 20 years from now“ and focuses on the aid organisation Doctors Without Borders. n-tv.de

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