to the German edition
Controversial fuel rebate: In view of rising petrol prices, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner had proposed to temporarily grant a state crisis rebate on fuel prices. The rebate plan met with little approval, not only from the Green coalition partner. On Monday, the climate movement then hailed criticism. „A blanket fuel rebate would be harmful to the climate and anti-social, the completely wrong way to go,“ Christiane Averbeck of the Climate Alliance told. „Rich people with fat cars that use a lot of fuel would particularly benefit from it. Poor people don’t have cars at all.“ Instead, the federal government must provide targeted relief for those who are in need due to the current energy prices. This could be done, for example, by means of an energy subsidy and an increase in social benefits to ensure people’s livelihoods. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil also rejected the finance minister’s proposal during the week. „It is important that we do not pour the money out with a watering can, but that we relieve those with small and medium incomes in a targeted way, because they are the ones most affected now.“ CDU leader Friedrich Merz favours a tax cut on diesel and petrol. „I must say I am somewhat surprised, to say the least, that this is now coming from the FDP of all parties,“ said the opposition leader. The head of the DGB, ReinerHoffmann, spoke out against a fuel rebate. A fuel rebate, as proposed by Finance Minister Lindner, would help the petroleum industry, but not commuters. Hoffmann proposed a „mobility allowance“ that would be socially oriented and replace the commuter allowance. In addition, he demanded heating subsidies that would go far beyond what had been agreed upon, and a temporary reduction of VAT on gas and electricity. In view of the high fuel prices, the traffic light coalition is discussing the proposal of a so-called mobility allowance. Referring to negotiating circles, it is said that a relief graduated according to income is planned. deutschlandfunk.de , klimareporter.de, tagesschau.de
Gas import gap cannot be completely covered: Even if Germany could save a large part of the gas imports from Russia in the short term, the Federal Republic cannot completely make up for it. This is the result of a study by Agora Energiewende. The calculations show that a certain gap remains that could not be covered. Factories would have to shut down, they would receive billions of euros in compensation from the state and unemployment would grow – effects that Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants to avoid. The dimension of the gap also depends on the outside temperatures, i.e. the coming winter. If it is cold, the demand will grow, which cannot be met without Russia. The result supports the German government’s strategy of maintaining gas supplies despite the Russian war in Ukraine. In addition, Habeck was in Qatar at the weekend to open the door for German companies to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG). taz.de , agora-energiewende.de (original paper), tagesschau.de
By 1.2 percentage points
the gross domestic product (GDP) will be higher in 2030 if the climate protection measures agreed in the coalition agreement take effect. Moreover, about 400,000 additional workers will be needed from 2025 onwards. Climate protection therefore creates jobs and does not destroy them. According to the coalition agreement, for example, around 100,000 more dwellings are to be completed per year between 2022 and 2030. Already today, bottlenecks are noticeable in professions in the fields of construction, crafts and energy technology. doku.iab.de
European Council agrees on strict limit values: The governments of the EU member states have agreed on stricter limit values for so-called persistent organic pollutants. These are chemical substances that pose a particular danger to the environment and humans. Now a final compromise on the plan must be found together with the EU Parliament. The aim is to avoid the release of the substances from waste altogether or to reduce it to a minimum. zeit.de
Greenhouse gas emissions have increased: Around 762 million tonnes of greenhouse gases were released in Germany in 2021. As the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection announced last week, this is a good 33 million tonnes or 4.5 percent more than in the previous year. The highest increase rates, namely 12.5 percent, are in the sector that is also responsible for the largest volume, that is the energy sector. One reason, according to UBA President Dirk Messner: „We have added too little renewables. And the second reason is that we have burned more coal than we could afford. We want to get out of coal, so we have to change that now.“ fair-economics.com
Fukushima – Reactor cooling system temporarily down: A violent earthquake struck Japan in the night from Wednesday to Thursday last week. It put observers at the shutdown Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on alert. So far, nothing is known about serious damage. However, the Japanese television station NHK reported that the pressure in the containment vessel of reactor unit 1 in the ruins of Fukushima rose immediately after the quake and then dropped to a lower level than before the quake. There is still molten fuel in this reactor block. spiegel.de
Environmental taxes continue to lose importance: their share in financing the state budget fell again and continued to be at the historic low of 3.7 percent in 2021. The departure to a social-ecological market economy needs clear fiscal policy signals. This is shown in a background paper by the Stiftung ökologische Marktwirtschaft Forum Ökologische Marktwirtschaft on the development of revenues from environmental taxes and other environment-related economic instruments. foes.de
BOOK TIP OF THE WEEK:
Zeitenbruch – Klimawandel und die Neuausrichtung der Weltpolitik
The reinvention of world politics.
Joschka Fischer has written a new book to be published next week. The age of carbon-based energy production is coming to an end. A comparable caesura is also to be expected for the global political system. Humans are creatures of habit and are only too happy to imagine the future as a continuation of the present; this was true even after such major upheavals as the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. And it is true again today, in times of a triple world shock – the pandemic, galloping global warming and the digital revolution. But what if the usual daily routine does not return? Humanity around the globe is witnessing in real time how the traditional institutions, especially the nation states, are proving incapable of responding adequately to the planetary threats and challenges. The answer is obvious: global cooperation instead of national competition. The age-old power-political hegemonic striving of all human societies from the very beginning is reaching its limits; the planetary threats urgently require joint action by the world community as never before. In his new book, Joschka Fischer shows that the global economy is embracing, albeit too slowly, the decarbonisation of energy production to preserve our livelihoods. And he examines why and where international politics has failed so far, despite the Paris Climate Agreement, and where departures towards new horizons are emerging. kiwi-verlag.de
Ukraine: Food crisis requires action and greener agricultural policy. fair-economics.de
LED: How economical are LED bulbs really. sueddeutsche.de
European birds of prey: Threatened by lead poisoning. spektrum.de
Methane emission: Comes from tropical wetlands. spiegel.de
Belgium: Postpones its nuclear phase-out by ten years. srf.ch
Germany: Water is becoming scarce. dw.com
Energy price hikes: Taxing high-frequency trading of oil and gas would curb speculation, prevent price spikes and secure social peace. tagesspiegel.de
The seventeeen goals magazine 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:
„Please don’t put a brake on the price of schnitzel now“.
Agricultural turnaround in danger? What scarce wheat, expensive fertiliser and climate-friendly field work have to do with our security and the war in Ukraine. Until recently, Ukraine and Russia accounted for about 30 percent of global wheat exports. That is now over. The prices for fertiliser, which Russia also exports to a large extent, are also going through the roof. This has massive consequences worldwide, and Europe will also feel them. They are already being used in the political debate: Opponents of the EU’s agricultural turnaround towards organic farming, away from industrial animal husbandry and agriculture, would rather stop it now, ostensibly because of the war. Kai Niebert tells us in the podcast whether this makes sense and what climate-friendly field work has to do with our security. tagesspiegel.de
MOBILITY:
CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group: Climate targets cannot be achieved with e-mobility alone. Technological leadership in automobile manufacturing should not be put at risk. In a motion entitled „Accelerating the transformation of the automotive industry and achieving climate protection targets through technological openness“, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group advocates a technology-open and ideology-free strategy for achieving ambitious CO2 reduction targets in individual transport. The „Fit for 55“ package of measures as part of the European Climate Change Act provides for a 55 per cent reduction in road transport emissions by 2030 compared to 2021. At the moment, electric mobility is the first thing on the agenda. The MEPs would like to change that. In addition to e-mobility, it is equally important to examine the extent to which other drive systems and fuels can also reduce emissions in motorised private transport in the short term. Plug-in hybrids, hydrogen cars and cars powered by renewable fuels (biofuels and electricity-based, synthetic liquid fuels based on renewable energies) could be considered as alternatives. Instead of only looking at the exhaust gases at the tailpipe, the entire life cycle of a vehicle and its CO2 footprint must be considered, the MEPs emphasise. For Germany as the leading automotive location in Europe, it is also important to involve the industry in the transformation process. The private car will remain the most popular means of transport in Germany. Therefore, the MPs call on the Federal Government to clearly commit to technological openness in motorised individual transport and to all available instruments and technologies in order to quickly achieve the climate protection targets and to sustainably shape the national transformation process against the background of the „Fit for 55“ package of measures. cducsu.de , bundestag.de
Public transport: A competence centre for digitalisation is launched to support transport companies and associations in the expansion of digital services in public transport. behoerden-spiegel.de
100 on motorways, 30 in the city: DGB leader Reiner Hoffmann in favour of new speed limits due to high fuel prices. It is right to save every drop of petrol that can be saved, he said, adding that a fuel rebate does not help. tagesspiegel.de
Can the power grids cope with e-mobility? The fear that the power grids in Germany will not be able to cope with the rise of e-mobility is not made up out of thin air. What is needed is a smart restructuring of the energy sector. automobil-produktion.de
The carmakers‘ e-car plans: Even if there is no official date for a phase-out of the combustion engine: By the end of the decade, it will hardly be possible to get new cars with diesel or petrol engines in Europe. At least that is what the most recently published sales plans of car manufacturers suggest. wiwo.de
„Scooter sharing is not a concept for the countryside“: The sharing market will continue to grow in the cities. That is what the founder of the service provider Wunder predicts. But the development is not a foregone conclusion. tagesspiegel.de
55,205 publicly accessible charging points for e-vehicles: According to the Federal Government, 55,205 publicly accessible charging points for electric vehicles are currently registered with the Federal Network Agency (as of 1 February 2022). This is stated in the government’s answer (20/928) to a minor question by the parliamentary group Die Linke (20/809). The expansion of the charging infrastructure is a dynamic process that requires continuous assessment, the answer says. The Federal Government is working on accelerating the expansion of the charging infrastructure ahead of time and is mainly guided by the expected vehicle ramp-up. In addition, factors such as the availability of private charging points or the charging capacity must be taken into account when assessing the need for publicly accessible charging infrastructure. „The scope of public funding depends largely on the further development of the market and other general conditions,“ the answer states. It also points out that the charging infrastructure is built by private companies. The construction and operation of charging points by the Federal Government is not planned.
HYDROGEN:
Green hydrogen is cheaper than grey hydrogen: Ecologically produced, i.e. „green“ hydrogen is currently cheaper than „grey“ hydrogen, the chemically-industrially produced counterpart to green H2. The reason for this is the price explosion of fossil fuels and energy sources due to the Ukraine war. This is a great opportunity for the hydrogen industry. So-called „green“ hydrogen is produced using energy from sustainable and environmentally friendly sources, unlike „grey“ hydrogen, which is produced using fossil fuels. The war in Ukraine has caused natural gas prices to skyrocket so much that green hydrogen is currently cheaper to buy in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and China than polluting grey hydrogen. efahrer.chip.de
Cooperation: Germany and Norway agree on cooperation for hydrogen imports. bmwk.de
Increasing efficiency: The Australian hydrogen company Hysata says it has developed an electrolyser with extremely high efficiency. The technology could be a breakthrough, as it should help produce a kilogram of hydrogen for less than 1.50 euros. efahrer.chip.de
Habeck’s trip to Qatar: This weekend, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Robert Habeck and a business delegation in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates explored possibilities for sourcing hydrogen and liquefied natural gas (LNG). „The aim of the trip is to establish a hydrogen partnership in the medium term, which means flanking it politically,“ said the Green politician before departing Berlin. faz.net
EU Commission questions blue hydrogen: In view of the war in Ukraine, the EU Commission sees the chances for blue hydrogen dwindling. This became clear recently at a hearing of Mechthild Wörsdörfer, deputy director-general of the EU Commission’s energy department, before the EU Parliament’s energy committee. The new Gas Regulation and Directive had been presented by the EU Commission in December; it includes, among other things, a European market for hydrogen, but also unbundling regulations for hydrogen networks. „The role of natural gas must become smaller,“ Wörsdörfer emphasised. This will probably be accelerated solely because of the high natural gas prices. In her eyes, blue hydrogen will no longer have much significance in the decarbonisation of the gas market. energate-messenger.de
Hydrogen trucks prove themselves: Hydrogen trucks are seen as a means of transport for a climate-friendly future. In Switzerland, they are already successfully in live operation at the grocers Migros and Coop. The Swiss are encouraging German retailers to be part of the technology launch. lebensmittelzeitung.net
Bavaria: Gets first hydrogen train. From mid-2023, the first hydrogen train is to roll through Bavaria – on a test route between Augsburg and Füssen. Siemens Mobility and Bayerische Regiobahn have now signed a contract for the project. The Free State of Bavaria is funding the project. br.de
LAST WEEK IN THE BUNDESTAG:
Coalition draft to abolish the EEG: The coalition parliamentary groups of SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP have presented a draft bill (20/1025) to reduce the cost burdens of the EEG levy and to pass on this reduction to the final consumers. According to the parliamentary groups, the bill is intended to provide noticeable relief for consumers in terms of electricity costs. To this end, the EEG levy is to be reduced to zero on 1 July 2022, earlier than initially planned. This is the first step towards full financing of the subsidies under the Renewable Energy Sources Act through the Energy and Climate Fund. This will take place in a second step through the upcoming amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act as part of the emergency programme, for which the German government will present a draft bill in spring 2022. In order to ensure that the relief is actually passed on to consumers during the year as of 1 July 2022, amendments are to be made to the Energy Industry Act that take appropriate account of the various contractual relationships, the draft states.
Fossil gas still necessary for a transitional period: In order to achieve the climate targets, the German government wants to push ahead with the phase-out of all fossil fuels. Natural gas is not a sustainable energy source in the long term; nevertheless, until the transition to an energy sector based on renewable energies, fossil gas in ultra-modern and efficient gas-fired power plants is still necessary for a limited transitional period. This is stated in an answer of the federal government (20/924) to a small question of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group (20/633) on „Gas-fired power plants in Germany – status quo and planned expansion“. The decisive factor for the classification of natural gas as a transitional technology is that gas-fired power plants support the rapid conversion to renewable energies and the reduction of emissions in the energy sector as a whole, and that they convert their operation to hydrogen in good time. New gas-fired power plants that are hydrogen-capable („H2-ready“) and can run fully on hydrogen could then be converted to CO2-free sustainable energy production based on green hydrogen in the short term.
Over 9,000 applications for sustainable forest management approved: A total of 9,088 applications for sustainable forest management were approved under the funding initiatives „Forest Investment Programme“ and „Investment Grants on Digitisation and Technology for Sustainable Forest Management“. This is according to an answer (20/930) from the federal government. The AfD parliamentary group had inquired in a small question (20/794) about the extent to which federal funding for forestry and forestry management is used. In the funding programme „Investment grants for digitalisation and technology for sustainable forestry“, 5,868 applications had been received by Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank (LR). The share of forest owners in the approvals is about 90 per cent. In the case of rejections, the LR did not record the type of applicant, so that this data was not available in the LR database. Within the framework of the funding initiative „Forest Investment Programme“, 3,220 applications had been approved.
The background to the funding is the increase in drought, storms and pest infestation, which have severely affected forest owners‘ stands in recent years. In addition, slumps on the timber markets have led to massive financial problems for more and more commercial forestry operations. These difficulties had been exacerbated by the Corona pandemic and by the temporary interruption of value chains in these areas. The federal support for forestry, the „Forest Investment Programme“, was reportedly launched in November 2020. Among other things, the aim had been to advance digitalisation and technology in forestry and thus intensify sustainability in this sector. The initial funding of 50 million euros from the Corona stimulus package was exhausted within a very short time, which is why the programme was increased by 15 million euros.
Draft bill on minimum filling of gas storage facilities presented: The coalition parliamentary groups of SPD; Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP have presented a draft bill (20/1024) to amend the Energy Industry Act to introduce filling level requirements for gas storage facilities. According to the coalition factions, the law is intended to ensure security of supply in Germany. It aims to avoid an undersupply while taking into account the current supply structures and supply impairments. For this purpose and in order to compensate for price peaks, certain storage levels are to be specified. The operators of gas storage facilities operating in Germany must ensure and monitor compliance with these requirements. The users of gas storage facilities must fill the storage capacities they have booked, otherwise they will be withdrawn and made available to the market area manager. The market area manager either has them filled by market players by means of a special tender or buys gas himself. The provision mechanism is intended to prevent hoarding of storage capacities on the one hand and to encourage the filling of booked storage capacities on the other, according to the draft.
In the winter of 2021/22, an unprecedented situation arose, the draft states: the gas storage facilities in Germany showed the lowest filling levels of the past 15 years, which subsequently led to strong price increases on the spot market for gas.
Reprogramming of development aid: Government consultations and intergovernmental negotiations on development cooperation in 2021 are listed in tabular form by the Federal Government in an answer (20/868) to a minor interpellation (20/457) by the AfD parliamentary group. It also comments on the reprogramming of already committed Technical and Financial Cooperation funds in 2020 and 2021, stating that this had in principle not been possible since 1 January 2020. However, due to the exceptional global pandemic situation since March 2020, reprogramming had been temporarily permitted again until 31 December 2021 for commitments that had not yet lapsed and had benefited measures in connection with the Corona pandemic. Information on the amount of funds already committed for which development policy measures and projects in which partner state were reprogrammed is submitted by the Federal Government to the Bundestag as classified information. After „careful consideration of the parliamentary demand for information with the interest of the Federal Government in the functional and adequate performance of its tasks“, the question cannot be answered openly, it says in the explanatory memorandum.
Ban on chick-killing does not threaten farms: In an answer (20/942) to a minor question by the AfD parliamentary group (20/842), the federal government presents a table showing how many hatcheries are currently operating in Germany and applying the ban on chick-killing that was passed in 2021. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the hatcheries do not incur any costs through the use of the procedure for checking the sex determination, as the provider of the procedure collects licence fees from the egg packing centres.
Federal government to present nutrition strategy for 2023: The Federal Government wants to develop a nutrition strategy by 2023 under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). This is stated in an answer (20/935) to a small question (20/793) of the AfD parliamentary group. According to the answer, the strategy is to initiate projects for a healthy environment for nutrition and exercise, „especially with regard to children“, in cooperation with stakeholders from the fields of health, consumer protection, environmental protection, economy and science, from the federal states as well as from the ministry and the BMEL’s portfolio. Central goals are a further reduction of sugar, fats, salt and calories in processed foods, the reduction of food waste and the promotion of healthy and sustainable communal catering with an increased share of seasonal, regional and organically produced foods.
LITERALLY
„In view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting need to halt imports of Russian energy supplies, the question of how to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies in the short term is more relevant than ever. The energy crisis exacerbated by the war also requires high investments in all types of renewable energies (solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, marine energies) in this summer of 2022 in order to make a substantial contribution to creating independence from Russian energy supplies and at the same time to climate protection. What is needed now for this is a new EEG levy II“.
Hans-Josef Fell, President of the Energy Watch Group (EWG), all new plants built this summer and autumn 2022 would substantially counteract an undersupply of energy in Germany, which would be accompanied by a further substantial increase in energy prices. The danger of an energy undersupply in Germany exists above all if Russia itself stops or reduces the energy supply to Germany for tactical war considerations. Therefore, all possibilities to increase domestic energy production as well as energy saving potentials that could be created quickly would have to be implemented. New contributions from other fossil and nuclear sources are not acceptable for reasons of climate protection and nuclear dangers. pv-magazine.de
AFRICA
Senegal launches military offensive against Casamance rebels: The Senegalese army launched a military offensive against rebels of the separatist group Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) in the southern Casamance region on Sunday. According to Chief of General Staff Cheikh Wade, this was pursuing three goals: The dismantling of the bases of the MFDC movement of rebel leaders under Salif Sadio, the elimination of all gangs involved in criminal activities and armed in the region, and the preservation of the territorial integrity of the country. The conflict with the MFDC separatists dates back to 1982, when initially peaceful demonstrations for freedom turned into a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence with the imprisonment of the organisation’s then leader. Since then, the conflict has claimed several thousand lives. The rebels benefit from the perceived marginalisation in the region, which was once Portuguese and later French until it became part of the country after Senegal’s independence in 1960. Not only geographically by Gambia, but also culturally and linguistically, the region is largely isolated from the rest of the country. In recent years, the Senegalese authorities have made efforts to resettle those displaced by the conflict. The resolution of the conflict and the achievement of a final peace in Casamance has been declared by Senegalese President Macky Sall as a priority for his second term.
UN wants more women at the levers in the fight against climate change: At the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the focus was on gender equality in the context of global warming. More women at the levers are needed to successfully combat climate change, was the tenor at the start of the 66th annual session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. The conference, which was also attended by Women’s Minister Susanne Raab (Austrian People’s Party), was supposed to focus on gender equality in the context of climate change and environmental disasters, but was largely overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. derstandard.at
With the electric boat on Lake Victoria: The fisherman Jared Otieno in Kenya is on the move on Lake Victoria every day – recently electrically. The Dutch start-up Asobo is behind it. The business model: E-motors are lent to local fishermen for a fee. He thinks that’s great, because now he and his colleagues don’t have to breathe in exhaust fumes and it’s no longer so noisy. At the same time, the e-boats protect the strained ecosystem, are cheaper to maintain and much easier to handle than those with combustion engines – because you have to pay attention to the gear shift. dw.com
Namibia auctions off elephants: The population of African elephants in Namibia has increased by 60 per cent within the last 30 years. The local government feels that the numbers are too high. Namibia recently ordered the capture of 35 elephants – to be auctioned off. Questionable and lucrative resales to the Al Ain Zoo in Abu Dhabi and a safari park near Dubai seal the end of a free life for the pachyderms. Animal rights activists are alarmed: „The capture of wild elephants for lifelong captivity in amusement parks and zoos is not only cruel, the export also violates international species protection regulations,“ says biologist Daniela Freyer of Pro Wildlife. For example, against the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Its guidelines stipulate that Namibian elephants may only be exported to other African countries and only for the purpose of species conservation. nationalgeographic.de
Kenya: Joseph Kitonga, a US software developer originally from Kenya, was named to Forbes magazine’s „Top 30 under 30“ list for creating a digital health insurance service that has so far reached some 10 000 members who could not afford health insurance. Kitonga’s digital platform, Vitable Health, provides health insurance to millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans who do not have health insurance coverage. iol.co.za
The high price of truth: Africa’s whistleblowers: They uncover corruption and bring the truth to light: whistleblowers. Without legal protection, they face dismissal, violence and murder in many African countries. But even extensive legislation often does not protect them. In many African countries, legislation to protect whistleblowers is abysmal: only seven of 54 African countries have passed any laws at all, according to the UN Organisation on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – but even these often exist only on paper. Ghana’s whistleblower law is among the strongest in Africa and provides legal protection, but it lacks provisions for anonymous reporting or for punishing whistleblowers for retaliation. And in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, there is virtually no law protecting whistleblowers. Only state officials are covered, according to the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF). dw.com
MORE KNOWLEDGE
Little hope for the permafrost: Large parts of the permafrost landscape will disappear and this will not be stopped. The reason is climate change, which brings rising temperatures and more rain to these areas. As a result, the organic material decomposes and large amounts of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane are released, which in turn drive climate change. This is the result of studies by a group of researchers led by Richard Fewster from the University of Leeds. In none of the scenarios they calculated, they conclude, will climatic conditions prevail in northern Scandinavia and Finland from 2040 onwards under which permafrost soils can persist. spektrum.de
Solar cell development: But the photovoltaic industry is working on a leap in efficiency – tandem cells made of silicon and perovskite are supposed to convert more than 30 percent light energy into electricity. Now the start-up Oxford PV is planning to bring modules made of such cells to market in 2022. „Our volumes are limited to begin with. We plan to start with about 100 megawatts of annual production capacity. And that means we will distribute initially and pretty much predominantly in Europe,“ explains managing director Frank Averdung. The start-up company has a production line in Brandenburg and is concentrating its sales channel on Europe. Reason – the life span of the cells depends on the climate. deutschlandfunk.de
Potatoes and the climate crisis: Potatoes have a highly complex genome. After years of effort, this has been completely decoded for the first time. With the help of sequencing, it is possible to advance the breeding of more robust and high-yielding varieties. „The potato is increasingly becoming part of the basic diet worldwide,“ says geneticist Korbinian Schneeberger of the Max Planck Society. Potatoes that are more productive and resistant to climate change could have „an enormous impact on global food security in the coming decades.“ The new breeds could better withstand the consequences of global warming – such as prolonged growth phases, droughts and heavy rainfall events with persistent flooding. faz.net
Australia: Concern about new coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. stern.de
Big cities: Changing evolution. tagesspiegel.de
Holidays: What to look out for in sustainable travel. swr.de
Future of work: Unconditional basic income makes us resilient. deutschlandfunknova.de
Georgia: Independent wine culture. enorm-magazin.de
CALENDAR
Thursday, 24 March 2022 14:00 – 15:30
Establishment of a Raw Materials Commission:
Current circumstances have made it clearer than ever: Increasing supply bottlenecks for raw materials and intermediate goods are growing rapidly. The uncertainties caused by the Ukraine conflict have created additional complications for many companies when importing raw metals and metal-bearing input materials.
Raw materials and the secure supply of them are essential for Germany as an industrial location. It is not only the current crisis in Ukraine that shows us how important secure supply chains are, but also the safeguarding of German raw material interests. For this reason, the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA) will establish a Federal Expert Commission on „Raw Materials and Raw Materials Security“. Invitation-Raw Materials and Raw Materials Security
THE LAST:
Crochet for the Great Barrier Reef: While real coral reefs are becoming rarer and rarer and the Great Barrier Reef off Australia continues to die, 4,000 people in Baden-Baden are crocheting an artificial „We are destroying the environment together. But the stitch of one keeps the stitch of the other. So the visit to Baden-Baden gives rise to a kitschy hope: Only together can we crochet such big reefs. And only together can you save the corals (at least if the global temperature doesn’t rise by 1.5 degrees)“ The sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim – originally from Australia – have in fact put together a huge coral reef. Crazy big on islands. Crocheted. And they remind us of a mixture of the colourful Fraggles dolls by Jim Henson and haute couture by Sonia Rykiel. As colourful as corals only look when they are still alive, which is increasingly rare: because of global warming. freitag.de
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All images, unless otherwise stated: pixabay.com
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