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Lessons learnt from the last 20 years – What makes climate policy effective: During the election campaigns in Saxony and Thuringia, various parties promised to campaign for climate protection, but it remains questionable which measures can actually save CO₂ effectively. A study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research analysed 1,500 climate policy measures from 1998 to 2022 and classified only 63 as successful, from which rules for better climate policy can be derived. The study shows that the pricing of fossil fuels is a particularly effective instrument, while bans are used less frequently. Successful climate protection measures often combine different policy instruments, and it is important to take social components into account to ensure public acceptance. mdr.de , science.org

Federal harvest report: Climate change is affecting German farmers‘ yields. Extreme weather events are occurring more and more frequently in Germany – resulting in poor harvests. Agriculture Minister Özdemir is concerned. The grain harvest in 2024 was 9.1 percent lower than in the previous year, which is attributed to difficult weather conditions such as a wet autumn, a record-warm spring with late frosts and a wet summer with storms. These extreme weather events, which are increasing in frequency and intensity due to the climate crisis, make it clear that climate protection must also be seen as protecting harvests. spiegel.de , Federal harvest report (Original)

More than 50 per cent of Germans and US citizens

A small majority of Germans believe that a more ambitious climate policy will bring the government more economic benefits than risks, according to a survey by Ipsos. In the USA, too, the majority see climate protection as an opportunity for economic development. The survey, which was conducted in Germany and the USA, found that 52 per cent of Germans and 55 per cent of Americans believe that now is the right time to invest in the climate-friendly restructuring of industry. At the same time, many are dissatisfied with current climate policy, with 44 per cent of Germans and 47 per cent of Americans believing that their governments are not doing enough to protect the climate. taz.de

„Germany is making climate policy for the rich“ – Why we are heading for 3 degrees: Climate researcher Mojib Latif criticises Germany’s current climate policy as „climate policy for the rich“ and explains that the 1.5-degree target is illusory as the world is heading for three degrees of warming. He emphasises that the global climate crisis is being exacerbated by the inertia of the climate system and the continued dependence on fossil fuels, while many countries are failing to keep their climate promises. Latif calls for a more socially just climate policy that reduces environmentally harmful subsidies and promotes sustainable technologies in order to make the benefits of climate protection measures tangible for people. He warns that a warming of three degrees could have serious global consequences that cannot be reversed and calls for a rethink of climate policy. focus.de

NGOs sue EU Commission over climate policy: A large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have announced that they will sue the EU Commission over its environmental policy, arguing that the Commission’s decisions lack a scientific basis. The Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) argued before the EU Court of Justice on 27 August that the EU’s current climate targets for 2030 are inadequate. They are calling for an increase in greenhouse gas reductions from 55 per cent to 65 per cent compared to 1990 levels in order to meet the requirements of climate science. The following day, Opportunity Green and four other NGOs also announced legal action against the Commission. They criticised the inclusion of aeroplanes and ships in the EU Taxonomy Regulation for sustainable finance, arguing that the criteria for CO2 emissions from these modes of transport were too lax and that the vehicles could be classified as „green“ too quickly. The NGOs emphasise that these complaints are necessary to put the EU’s environmental policy on a sounder scientific footing and to ensure that the EU fulfils its international commitments, in particular under the Paris Agreement. euractiv.de

CO₂ to disappear under the sea – environmentalists appalled: The German government sees the storage of CO₂ under the seabed as unavoidable in order to achieve climate neutrality, despite existing uncertainties and risks. The process, known as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), is intended to capture greenhouse gases and store them in suitable rock formations under the North Sea. Critics such as Greenpeace warn of the risks and high costs of the technology and call for the expansion of renewable energies instead. While the government is backing CCS, the technology remains largely unknown to the general public and environmental organisations are divided in their assessment. morgenpost.de

„Right to a life in which we are protected from the climate crisis“: The South Korean Constitutional Court has declared the country’s climate targets to be unconstitutional, causing great relief among environmentalists. The plaintiffs, including children and young people, argued that the inadequate climate targets violate the human rights enshrined in the constitution and even named an embryo as the main plaintiff. The court found that the lack of a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2031 to 2050 violates the constitution and that the right to a life protected from the climate crisis must be guaranteed. South Korea must now revise its climate targets to take into account the rights of future generations, as the country has so far failed to fulfil its CO₂ reduction commitments. tagesspiegel.de

BOOK TIP OF THE WEEK:

Einfach anders wohnen

Declutter, furnish, feel good: 66 practical ideas for relaxed living and working at home. With tips on living in a small space & home office

With „Einfach anders wohnen“, Daniel Fuhrhop provides an inspiring guide for anyone who wants to make their home more efficient and harmonious. In his updated new edition, Fuhrhop presents 66 practical ideas ranging from decluttering tips to space-saving furnishing solutions to enable relaxed living and working. Particularly noteworthy are his creative approaches to living in small spaces and the integration of home office solutions, which are particularly relevant in today’s world. Fuhrhop’s book is not just a collection of tips, but also a plea for communal living and innovative living concepts that meet the current challenges of the housing shortage. oekom.de

In an nutshell:

Kimakleber in Munich: „Last Generation“ pitches tents at Stachus. sueddeutsche.de
Weather phenomenon: Heat threatens to turn German regions into a sea of flames. fr.de
4630 times more harmful than CO2: Wood is not always climate-friendly. schwaebische.de
Guterres warns on Tonga: Climate crisis will take on „unimaginable proportions“. n-tv.de
Morocco: Ranks ninth in the global Climate Performance Index. fair-economics.de
Climate Economy Foundation demands more support: The Climate Economy Foundation accuses the German government of a lack of reliability in climate protection policy. deutschlandfunk.de
Australia: Accepts climate refugees from Tuvalu. focus.de
Spoilt bathing fun: Due to the warming of the Mediterranean, plants and animals that did not live there in the past are spreading. Now a poisonous algae has been introduced. heute.at
Flooding: Are reef islands supposed to help with climate change. zeit.de
New study results: Those affected by poverty suffer particularly from the heat. stern.de
The oil industry declares war: „Consumption is increasing“. diepresse.com

Coalition agreement under the microscope: slow turnaround in transport. The government is falling short of its promises on mobility, criticise associations. Important measures are still missing. taz.de
Scheuer was „the worst“: Outgoing GDL boss Weselsky comes down hard on transport ministers. tagesspiegel.de
Fewer cars in the city : Achieving the goal with abolition bonuses? fr.de
Mobility of the future: TU Dresden researches the future with a Smart Mobility Lab. sueddeutsche.de
Will German suppliers be the losers of e-mobility? The increasing importance of e-drives, batteries and software is also shifting the balance of power on the global market. spiegel.de
Cities of the future: New urban concepts with new forms of mobility in sight. adac.de

Hydrogen economy to be boosted with billions in funding: The Federal Ministry of Economics and several federal states are making around 4.6 billion euros available for hydrogen projects. deutschlandfunk.de
Analysis: Where we stand with hydrogen imports. mdr.de
Where to put the hydrogen?  Hydrogen is still in short supply. But that is likely to change soon. Then it will have to be stored. An overview. wiwo.de
Efficiency breakthrough in hydrogen electrolysis: New process achieves an efficiency of 98 per cent. edison.media

The seventeen goals magazine tells inspiring stories about how people move the world and shows how everyone can make a contribution to achieving the sustainability goals.

PODCAST OF THE WEEK:

„Being able to travel is not a human right“

Tourism faces a major challenge: it is an important economic factor and source of personal enrichment, but at the same time contributes significantly to climate change. Professor Wolfgang Strasdas, an expert in sustainable tourism, sheds light on the complexity of this issue. With a share of around eight per cent of global CO₂ emissions, tourism has a considerable impact on the climate. However, Strasdas emphasises that sustainability in tourism not only encompasses environmental aspects, but that social and economic factors must also be taken into account. While tourism has opened up new development opportunities for many regions, „overtourism“ leads to problems in popular destinations. Strasdas suggests various options for greener travel, but emphasises the need for a carbon price for real progress. Although there is „no human right to travel“, Strasdas sees the widespread ability to travel as socio-political progress. The challenge is to find a balance between the desire to travel and climate responsibility without sacrificing the positive aspects of travelling. tagesspiegel.de

COMMENT OF THE WEEK:

Climate crisis and the exploitation of raw materials: a paradoxical dilemma

from Roland Süß

The political response to the climate crisis has led to a paradoxical dilemma, as the „European Green Deal“ promises both climate protection and economic growth, but this has resulted in a significant increase in the global exploitation of raw materials. The EU Commission predicts that global demand for raw materials will more than double by 2060, which could exceed planetary boundaries. To prevent this, there are calls for an international raw materials agreement that regulates the fair and economical use of resources and puts an end to the extraction of fossil fuels. However, such an agreement would contradict the principles of the World Trade Organisation, which are based on market dominance and competition, making it difficult to cooperate in a spirit of solidarity to tackle the climate crisis. read the full article here at fr.de

LAST WEEK IN THE BUNDESTAG:

Humanitarian aid cut at the Federal Foreign Office: The Federal Foreign Office will have to prepare for spending cuts of more than 0.8 billion euros in the coming year and thus 12.5 per cent less funding than in the current budget year. This is according to the Federal Government’s draft for the 2025 federal budget (20/12400) for Section 05. According to the draft, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Alliance 90/The Greens) can plan on spending around 5.87 billion euros in the coming year, which is around 836 million euros less than estimated in the 2024 budget. The majority of expenditure is planned for grants and allocations (excluding investments) at around 3.59 billion euros, followed by personnel expenditure in the overall budget totalling around 1.34 billion euros. The revenue in section 05 amounts to 67.8 million euros. Around 2.56 billion euros have been earmarked for the peace and stability chapter, a minus of 968 million euros compared to the previous year. The main impact here will be cuts in humanitarian aid abroad of just under 1.19 billion euros to 1.04 billion euros, while expenditure on the contribution to the United Nations is set to rise from 349 million euros this year to around 675 million euros next year. Around 165 million euros have been set aside for bilateral cooperation and maintaining international relations, compared to around 173 million euros in 2024. 945 million euros will be spent on maintaining cultural relations with other countries (2024: around one billion euros). This area includes funding for German schools abroad and the Goethe-Institut. The Federal Government plans to spend 1.9 billion euros on the ministry itself (2024: 1.73 billion euros), with personnel costs for the Haus am Werderschen Markt and staff at the German missions abroad rising to 1.23 billion euros (2024: 949 million euros). Expenditure totalling 652 million euros has been set aside for non-personnel administrative expenses (2024: 615 million euros).

TAKEN LITERALLY:

The forest is in critical condition, the trees are under stress due to climate change. Storms and droughts are on the increase. This is one of the reasons why bark beetles have multiplied to an unprecedented extent. Large areas have died due to the bark beetle. There are now around 600,000 hectares – the equivalent of 850,00 football pitches – where everything has died. Spruce trees are particularly affected, but also other species. It is a multi-layered problem.

Andreas Bitter, President of AGDW – Die Waldeigentümer … The forest can no longer be managed in such a stable manner and uncertainty is increasing. Damaged areas need to be reforested. Due to climate change, all areas need to be reorganised. More and new tree species are needed and a richer mix on every area. Many things need to be trialled first. We can see which trees have problems, but we are not yet sure which species will do well in the long term. We need diversity in every forest. So far, there have often been pure stands of spruce, pine and sometimes beech. We would certainly also need tree species other than the traditional ones, such as Douglas fir or coastal fir, depending on the location. Species that are better able to withstand drought would be needed. If he (the Federal Minister of Agriculture) demanded that forest farmers continue to rely on native trees, we would often be limited to beech. This is not responsible because the climate is changing. Traditional tree species would reach their limits. We are optimistic that our persistence will help and that a wide variety of tree species will remain permissible. wiwo.de

AFRICA:

Mpox outbreak in Africa: „The continent is not prepared for a new pandemic“ A new Mpox variant has been spreading in Africa for weeks. The epidemic is considered an international health emergency. A particularly large number of children are infected in the overcrowded refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.spiegel.de

Malawi: Screening for Mpox at all entry points. africanews.com
Kenya: Activists and climate change deniers battle for hearts and minds in Kenya.voanews.com
Showdown in Somalia: Egypt sends soldiers to Somalia and surrounds Ethiopia. The regional powers have been fighting for years over the Ethiopian dam on the Nile. taz.de
Namibia: Wants to kill wild animals due to persistent drought. fair-economics.de

Denmark with a new Africa strategy against China and Russia: Beijing and Moscow’s influence on the African continent is seen as too massive in almost the entire EU. Denmark therefore wants to counter this – the opening and closing of embassies is illuminating. dw.com

MORE KNOWLEDGE:

Reactions to fake news: Trolls often react maliciously to reports on the climate crisis, for example by making meat jokes to provoke climate-conscious vegetarians and vegans. These comments, which often play down or deny the climate crisis, can gain credibility through repetition, as confirmed by a study by the Australian National University. To counter the spread of fake news, it is important to identify reliable sources and recognise manipulative language, while journalists and NGOs can educate through fact-checking and prebunking. It is also crucial to update one’s own knowledge about the climate crisis and develop an understanding of the fears behind such defence mechanisms. taz.de

Scientific consensus can change views on climate change: A study involving researchers from 27 countries shows that awareness of the broad scientific consensus on man-made climate change can help correct misconceptions. The study found that knowledge of the 97 per cent consensus among climate scientists can easily change people’s beliefs, although the effects are small and do not influence attitudes towards public climate action. The scientific consensus that humans are the main cause of climate change is now supported by 99.9 per cent of climate scientists. The researchers emphasise the importance of general awareness of this consensus to promote understanding of the issue among the population, especially in the face of increasing politicisation of science and misinformation about climate change. derstandard.at

Keeping textiles in the cycle: A new study by the Öko-Institut on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency sheds light on the environmental impact of various textile fibres. The study concludes that around 80 per cent of the environmental impact of textiles is caused during production. In 2019, polyester dominated the fibre market with a market share of 52%, followed by cotton with 25%. Fibre production has more than doubled in the last two decades and continues to rise. Dr Jenny Teufel, project manager of the study, emphasises the need to reduce textile consumption in order to achieve a circular economy in the textile sector. The main obstacles include: The lack of take-back and sorting options, a lack of data on waste quantities and qualities, the price attractiveness of new goods compared to recycled fibres and quality problems with mechanically recycled fibres. oeko.de

CALENDAR:

GLF Africa 2024

When: 17 September 2024
Where: Nairobi, Kenya, and online
Further information: Website coming soon!
Can Africa usher in a global green renaissance? The continent has vast natural resources that support its food systems, livelihoods and growing young population – but the climate crisis could undo these benefits. This mixed conference will explore how Africa can overcome these challenges by harnessing the potential of its diverse landscapes and peoples

Summit of the future

When: 22-24 September 2024
Where: UN Headquarters, New York, NY, United States
More information: Website
The Future Summit is a high-level event that brings together world leaders to build a new international consensus on how we can create a better present and secure the future.
The Summit has two main objectives: to accelerate efforts to fulfil our existing international commitments and to take concrete steps to address new challenges and opportunities. This will be achieved through an action-orientated outcome document, the Compact for the Future, which will be negotiated and endorsed by countries in the run-up to and during the Summit.

Climate Week NYC 2024

When: 22 – 28 September 2024
Where: New York, NY, United States, and online
More information: Website
During the same week as the Future Summit, the annual Climate Week NYC will host over 500 in-person, hybrid and online events and activities across New York City.

2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference

When: 21 October – 1 November 2024
Where: Cali, Colombia
Further information: Press release
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) and the meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol.
At COP16, governments will be tasked with reviewing the status of implementation of the Kunming and Montreal Global Biodiversity Frameworks, which were adopted at COP15 in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022.

2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29)

When: 11-22 November 2024
Where: Baku, Azerbaijan
Further information: Press release from COP28
At last year’s COP28 conference in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), countries agreed for the first time to move away from fossil fuels and to finance the fund for loss and damage.
In November, heads of state and government and delegates from all over the world will meet again in Azerbaijan for the biggest climate event of the year to set
a new global target for climate financing.

Session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP16)

When: 2-13 December
Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Further information: Website
Not to be confused with the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP16 will bring together world leaders to take action on drylands under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Since the last UNCCD Conference of the Parties in May 2022 in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), this will be the world’s largest summit on land issues.

THE LAST:

ChatGPT’s power consumption: Ten times more than Google’s:

According to a study by BestBrokers, a single ChatGPT request consumes 2.9 watt hours, which is ten times more than a conventional Google search. On an annual basis, ChatGPT’s energy consumption for user queries totals 226.82 million watt hours, at a cost of around 30 million US dollars. Various comparisons are made to illustrate the scale of this consumption: ChatGPT’s daily energy consumption is equivalent to that of 22,000 average US households, and its annual consumption could charge 3.13 million electric vehicles or provide 140,000 hours of video streaming. Most remarkably, ChatGPT’s energy consumption exceeds the total electricity consumption of twelve small countries and could theoretically power Finland or Belgium for an entire day. The article emphasises the growing strain on power grids and the environmental impact of the increasing use of AI technologies. heise.de

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