to the German edition
If petrol suddenly becomes 38 cents more expensive, then our climate policy has failed: it sounds like boring bureaucracy, but it could become a price hammer for millions of car drivers. With the transfer of the transport sector to the European Emissions Trading Scheme, petrol prices are threatened with a jump of 38 cents per litre. But politicians could prevent this – with consistent climate protection. Consumers in Germany are threatened with „sharp increases“ from 2027, especially in the cost of petrol. A litre of petrol could cost a whole 38 cents more from 2027, warns the think tank Agora Energiewende in a study published on Thursday. focus.de, agora-energiewende.de (original pubilcation)
Climate change: Habeck calls for action instead of resignation: Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has called for hope and confidence on the path to a climate-neutral society. The problems are huge, but there is still the possibility for change, the Vice-Chancellor said in Mannheim on Saturday. „We have to act and not give up because everything is supposedly of no use anyway“. In Germany, prosperity and growth had been taken for granted for too long, he criticised. There were plenty of tipping points, thresholds and defeats as well as missed opportunities, but „never the one moment when it is too late to continue acting on it“, he said, referring to the climate activists of the „Last Generation“. He said it was right for a young generation to make itself heard. evangelisch.de
A total of 84 million tonnes of packaging waste was generated in the EU in 2021.
The figures vary widely within the EU – while Croatia had around 74 kilograms of packaging waste per capita, Ireland had around 246 kilograms. In Germany, it was around 237 kilograms, according to the data. Germany was reported to recycle the most packaging waste – around 161 kilograms per capita. The lowest amounts were recorded in Croatia with around 38 kilograms. zeit.de
Climate Commissioner Hoekstra makes „crash landing“: The EU rejects CCS in the energy sector. This will cause discussion at the climate summit in Dubai. However, the newly appointed Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra cannot inspire the EU ministers to set stricter climate targets. Climate politician Michael Bloss of the Greens therefore attests him a „crash landing“. „The new Climate Commissioner has promised a lot and not delivered,“ Bloss criticised. At the last climate summit in Egypt a year ago, Hoekstra’s predecessor Frans Timmermans had held out the prospect of a slight tightening of the reduction target by two percentage points. Now, however, one year later, the EU ministers have not even been able to agree on this. klimareporter.de
Promised climate aid funds – NGOs in worry: Germany has only just adorned itself with large sums for international climate protection aid funds – and they are already threatening to fall again. This is the result of questions from members of the Left Party in the German Bundestag to the German government. Industrialised countries are obliged to pay such aid money to the global South, among other things, to meet their responsibility for the climate crisis. The funds flow, for example, into the development of renewable energy systems to avoid CO2 emissions – or into adaptation to the consequences of the climate crisis. Development aid is concerned. „One can fear that 2022 might have been a lucky slip upwards,“ said Jan Kowalzig from Oxfam. taz.de
Greta arrested in London: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested during a protest on the sidelines of an oil and gas industry conference in London. As a photographer told the AFP news agency, the 20-year-old was taken away by two police officers and put in the back of a police car. Earlier, police said five people had been arrested for obstructing traffic. Several hundred protesters had blocked all entrances to the hotel where the Energy Intelligence Forum is being held until Thursday. The activists accuse oil and gas companies of postponing the switch to renewable energy for their own profit interests. As a participant in the protest, Thunberg had criticised agreements between politicians and representatives of the oil and gas industry as „closed deals“. zdf.de , tagesspiegel.de
Electricity grids are not designed for the expansion of renewable energies: In order to achieve a reliable power supply – and at the same time dioe climate targets – 80 million kilometres of grids must be newly built or modernised worldwide by 2040, according to the contents of a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agency fears that the grids will not be able to keep up with the rapid growth of climate-friendly energy sources such as solar and wind power. For the IEA report, the authors simulated what would happen if, for example, grid investments were not increased fast enough and regulatory reforms were adapted too slowly. The result: a slow spread of renewable energies would lead to a higher consumption of fossil fuels. spiegel.de
BOOK TIP OF THE WEEK:
Kindness Economy
The new economic miracle
Oona Horx Strathern, co-founder of the Horx Institute for the Future, conducts a clever and illuminating analysis of the present with a high entertainment value. The futurologist describes the current upheaval in the economy and the labour market with great ingenuity and acumen. The Kindness Revolution will have an impact on all areas of our lives: How we live, how we live our everyday lives, what we buy and how and above all where we work. Kindness – newly understood and authentically lived – is a principle that can be used strategically to increase the success of a company. Kindness that comes from the inner sense of a company can become THE decisive competitive advantage of the future.
Companies that still prioritise profit prove to be incapable of finding the right balance between the market, customer wishes and human motivation with regard to Kindness. This is because they neglect the very aspects that are becoming increasingly important to us as a society: Sustainability, Purpose and Responsibility. People, planet, profit in this order, instead of always looking linearly at profit maximisation, is more than just a moral appeal. We can and still want to consume and make a profit. But consumption is increasingly interpreted and perceived differently: as a solution to social problems, as a strengthening of vital trends, as a realisation of forward-looking solutions to problems. „Kindness Economy“ answers the question of how we can use it to strengthen our society, give every employee and customer the respect they deserve, and at the same time protect and improve our environment. Horx Strathern explains what the decisive factors of a Kindness strategy are and what the mechanisms for success are. She also presents us with international and current practical examples, including current thoughts on a kind city, which prove that this is not a marginal phenomenon, but an important countertrend. gabal-verlag.de
Antarctic Commission: Struggles to designate protected areas. spektrum.de
Parliamentarians in the Bundestag: „Global Biodiversity“ founded.weiterführende Worte. carsten-traeger.de
Reinsurers raise prices: Inflation and climate change make insurance more expensive. tagesschau.de
Solar energy: According to British scientists, the sun is likely to become the world’s most important source of energy before 2050.faz.net
Balcony power plant: Tenant wins lawsuit against excessive requirements. golem.de
Slovakia: President rejects climate sceptic as environment minister. spiegel.de
Deutsche Bank: Submits climate plan and restricts Kreedit awards for energy-intensive businesses. handelsblatt.com
The seventeen 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:
When borders make free: Solving the Climate Crisis with Economic Growth?
Our prosperity is based on burning oil and gas and leads directly to climate catastrophe. In the podcast, climate physicist Anders Levermann tells us how we could solve the growth dilemma and the climate crisis together. Unlimited economic growth in a world where resources are finite and where, above all, unlimited CO2 cannot be released into the atmosphere is simply not possible. Yet our economic system is built on this foundation, as well as the burning of oil and gas, and has thus sent the world on a path of steady global warming. Leverann has long advocated for solutions that could further enable innovation and solve the climate emergency, in the current podcast he talks about this in detail. Levermann, who heads the Complexity Research Unit at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, has also been working intensively on the connection between the economy and climate development for about ten years. tagesspiegel.de
COMMENT OF THE WEEK:
from Werber van Bebber
Errant climate icon: This is how Greta Thunberg mocks the Jewish victims
With her Palestine solidarity, the climate activist damages her credibility. She would do better to remain silent if she does not understand a conflict.
This is what happens when you post first and think later. With her pro-Palestinian solidarity statement on Friday, Greta Thunberg proved that she has no clue about the Middle East conflict.
What is worse, she is not interested in the dead Jews slaughtered by Hamas killers a fortnight ago. Like so many who put morality above all else in politics, she is quicker to judge than to understand. She sees only the Palestinian victims of a conflict for land, freedom and self-determination that has been unresolved for over seventy years. That she rejects anti-Semitism came as an afterthought after she had been harshly criticised…. It is true: Greta Thunberg has achieved a lot with her way of dealing with the climate crisis. With consistency, determination and discipline, she made global warming an issue not only for her generation. It’s hard to say how many young people have made a few decisions in life in Greta’s spirit, so to speak – even if it’s to do without a car or to take the train on their next city trip. … When she published the not at all misleading strike call „in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza“ on Friday, she was, as usual, a climate activist. It was all the more bizarre that she presumed to include all climate protection movements by declaring: „Today we are striking (!) in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza.“ tagesspiegel.de
MOBILITY:
EU states want to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from trucks and buses: New trucks and buses in the EU are to be allowed to emit significantly less climate-damaging CO2 . On Monday evening in Luxembourg, the EU states spoke out in favour of correspondingly stricter requirements, as the Council of EU States announced. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the goal is to reduce emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, with an interim target of 45 per cent for 2030. The EU states are thus largely following a proposal by the EU Commission. New city buses are to be 85 percent emission-free by 2030 – and 100 percent by 2035. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke welcomed the decision. „Trucks and buses are responsible for one third of CO2 emissions from road traffic across Europe and are a burden on air quality.“ automobil-industrie-vogel.de , tagesspiegel.de
Deutsche Bahn sells Aviva: After years of searching, Deutsche Bahn has found a buyer for its indebted international local transport subsidiary Arriva. The company is being taken over by a US investor, the proceeds are to help with rail expansion. tagesschau.de
Cybertruck: Tesla announces delivery event for the end of November. So there really will be something this year with the delivery of the first Tesla Cybertrucks. The large electric pickup from Elon Musk’s e-car company is to be delivered to the first customers from the end of November 2023. winfuture.de
What flight delays and cancellations have to do with the climate: Cancellations and delays of aircraft cost the European economy up to 30.5 billion euros last year – this is the conclusion of a study by the passenger rights portal Airhelp. That is around eleven per cent more than in 2019, although fewer flights took off in 2022. In addition, the environmental impact of flight disruptions is increasing noticeably. Flight disruptions would have caused nine million tonnes of CO2 in 2022, which would correspond to 1.3 per cent of the emissions of the entire airline industry. That is roughly the same amount that two million cars emit annually. zdf.de
Storm run against toll increase: Ideological, disrespectful, hostile to citizens – the industry association BGL is taking the Federal Government to task over the CO₂ toll. eurotransport.de
Sustainable food deliveries: Rewe does the drone test. cio.de
HYDROGEN:
New massive pipeline to lead Germany into the hydrogen era: How will Germany get the hydrogen it so desperately needs? A new gigapipeline from Portugal to the Federal Republic is supposed to be the answer. Other countries will also benefit from this. This also solves a chicken-and-egg problem. On Wednesday, Open Grid Europe (OGE), one of the leading German gas pipeline operators, announced its participation in a consortium led by the Spanish company Enagás. This consortium is now planning to build the hydrogen pipeline. focus.de
Does hydrogen make trucks clean? According to the organisation International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the emissions of an environmentally friendly H₂ truck are up to 89 percent lower than those of a diesel-powered vehicle. With blue hydrogen, obtained from natural gas, the improvement is as much as 15 to 33 percent. Manufacturers such as Daimler Truck and Volvo are therefore tending to assume that H₂ power will dominate long-distance transport. For vans that only deliver goods over short distances, on the other hand, the more efficient battery drive is likely to prevail. What does short mean? Daimler plans to produce its 40-tonne eActros in 2024, which will have a range of up to 500 kilometres on one battery charge. With battery technology, around 80 per cent of the electricity used is converted into motion, while fuel cells only manage a maximum of 35 per cent. stern.de
Duisburg already sees itself as a hydrogen capital: The fact that the port of Duisburg is betting on hydrogen fits in with the ambitions of the city’s leadership: Mayor Sören Link (SPD) wants to make the city, which suffers greatly from unemployment and poverty, a centre of the green hydrogen economy in Germany. In fact, there are large consumers of green hydrogen in Duisburg, such as the steelworks of Thyssenkrupp. In future, it wants to produce pig iron in a climate-friendly way with the miracle molecule instead of with coke and coal. This demand is to create its own supply: It is planned that important hydrogen pipelines will run through Duisburg, and the port will, after all, also allow hydrogen to be unloaded. In addition, the climate-friendly molecule is to be produced locally on a very large scale: Iqony, a subsidiary of the Essen-based power plant group Steag, wants to build one of Germany’s largest electrolysers in Duisburg for a high three-digit million sum – which could cover at least a small part of the demand for hydrogen from the steel industry. sueddeutsche.de
The US government’s hydrogen plans: Heavy industry accounts for a large share of CO₂ emissions in the USA and thus contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect. But now the US government wants to take countermeasures with considerable financial resources. Hydrogen hubs are to be built across the country that can supply industrial companies with clean energy.US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently unveiled the plan, according to forbes.com. „Hydrogen will play a role in the sectors most in need of decarbonisation, which account for 30 per cent of our CO₂ emissions,“ Granholm said, adding: „We want to be able to move away from fossil fuels in the long term and move entirely to clean energy.“ Renewable energy alone cannot yet provide enough energy for heavy industry, she said, adding with regard to hydrogen: „Another solution will be needed and we believe this is exactly the right solution.“ efahrer.chip.de
From fertiliser to energy source – this is how ammonia is supposed to accelerate the energy transition: Today, ammonia is only important for the chemical industry. That could soon change. Ammonia is to become an indispensable part of the new energy world. Ammonia consists of nitrogen and hydrogen and is currently one of the most important basic chemicals for industry. Among other things, it is used for the production of fertiliser in agriculture. In the future, however, ammonia could become an essential component of the energy transition. This is because the chemical is currently considered the best way to transport the much sought-after green hydrogen. Steel, cement and also the chemical industry are absolutely dependent on green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in their processes. For this, huge quantities of the molecule have to be imported. The problem is that hydrogen is difficult to transport. Green ammonia is supposed to help. handelsblatt.com
LAST WEEK IN THE BUNDESTAG:
No changes in the development budget: Without any changes compared to the draft of the Federal Government (20/7800), the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has passed the Budget Committee. Section 23 of the draft budget includes expenditure of 11.5 billion euros. The CDU/CSU and Die Linke parliamentary groups have called for amendments, but have been rejected by the SPD, Bündnis90/Die Grünen and FDP government groups. Accordingly, the opposition parliamentary groups voted unanimously against Section 23, while the traffic light parliamentary groups voted in favour.
EU Packaging Regulation: Union for less bureaucracy: With regard to the new European Packaging Regulation planned by the EU Commission, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group urges for „low-bureaucracy, cost-effective and innovative rules“ in order to achieve more resource efficiency. In a corresponding motion (20/8859), which will be debated for the first time in the Bundestag on Friday, it calls on the federal government to pursue a technology-open approach in the negotiations on a regulation for packaging and packaging waste and to work towards „regulations with as little bureaucracy as possible“ with regard to small and medium-sized enterprises. It should also advocate that the already well-functioning take-back systems for reusable and disposable packaging in Germany should not be endangered. There is no need for „excessive governance structures“ for the tried and tested systems, writes the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
Energy supply: Federal government on power plant strategy: The federal government has been in talks with the European Commission on power plant strategy since the beginning of the year. This is stated in the answer of the Federal Government (20/8718) to a question of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group (20/8315) on controllable power plants for the security of energy supply. Political agreement was reached on all the key points of a possible support measure for new power plants, it says – for example, on the objectives of the measure, the tender design, the quantities to be put out to tender, the tender dates, the support structure and the components necessary under state aid law to ensure competition and avoid over-subsidisation. In the course of the discussions, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection had also presented and submitted, among other things, its considerations, concepts and calculations for the promotion of the construction of new hydrogen-based power plants.
MPs concerned about state of biodiversity: Members of the Environment Committee have expressed concern about the state of biodiversity in Germany. The results of the Federal Government’s final indicator report 2023 on the National Strategy on Biological Diversity (NBS) (20/8400), which the committee discussed on Wednesday, made it clear that the goals of the NBS have essentially not been achieved, the SPD stated. The poor quality of the protected areas was particularly worrying, said a member of the parliamentary group. The CDU/CSU came to a somewhat different conclusion: the values of eleven of the 18 indicators used to assess the state and development trends of biodiversity in Germany were „still far or very far from the target range“. Five, however, showed a positive development, emphasised a member of the parliamentary group. Nevertheless, he also saw a considerable need for action to improve biodiversity in Germany. In order to be able to better assess the state of affairs, he suggested a longer period for measuring the indicators and thus the submission of future reports not after four but after eight years. more at bundestag.de
Six focal points of the German Sustainability Strategy: The German Sustainability Strategy contains requirements for all policy areas. The Federal Government refers to this in its report on the mid-term of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, entitled „Shaping the future together with courage – continuing to gain momentum“ (20/8719). According to the report, the focus of work under the Strategy is currently on six transformation areas where there is a particular need for further progress towards sustainable development and an integrated approach. more at bundestag.de
LITERALLY:
In view of the acute housing shortage, it would make sense to also think about building simple housing that can only be used for ten or 15 years. For these houses and flats, cheaper building materials such as wood could be used, which also have ecological advantages.
Michael Voigtländer, Head of the Global and Regional Markets Cluster at the Institute of the German Economy,… Many older people in particular live in comparatively large flats that they actually no longer need. But moving is out of the question for them because the change to a smaller flat does not pay off for them due to the increase in rents. Incentives such as relocation assistance or premiums would therefore be needed to motivate this group of people to move. Model experiments by housing associations, however, are not particularly encouraging. iwd.de
AFRICA:
Floods in Ghana: Heavy rains and floods plague Ghana. Two reservoirs have overflowed, many people have lost their belongings. Now there is also the threat of epidemics. tagesschau.de
Migrants in Morocco – Call centre in Casablanca instead of asylum in Europe: Many migrants from southern Africa have so far stayed in Morocco, finding work in one of the countless call centres. But in the meantime the conditions are so bad that they are dreaming of life in Europe again. spiegel.de
Power Struggle in Sudan – The Forgotten War: Pushed out of the headlines by other conflicts, the war in Sudan is raging worse than ever. Large parts of the population are suffering from hunger. Even half a year after the outbreak of the war between the Sudanese armed forces and the militia „Rapid Support Forces“ (RSF), the fighting in the north-east African state has not abated. On the contrary, they are increasing in intensity. Now that the RSF militia has largely taken control of the capital Khartoum, their fighters are advancing southwards into the Gezira province: It is considered Sudan’s breadbasket, to which thousands of residents of the capital have fled. In Khartoum, the regular army only holds a few bases. The city is almost completely destroyed, says Nathaniel Raymond, conflict observer at the US University Yale. Recently, for the first time, the military airfield outside Khartoum came under fire from the RSF militia, from which the armed forces fly their attacks. Apparently, the militiamen now have large-calibre artillery, possibly supplied to them by the Russian Wagner Force. rheinpfalz.de
Renaissance of nuclear power: Many African countries are flirting with nuclear energy – and some projects are already very concrete. In the city of El Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, Rosatom has already been building the country’s first nuclear power plant since 2022, which will consist of four Russian power plant units with 1,200 MW each. Nuclear power plants are also to help meet the growing energy demand in Uganda, Mali and Kenya, but there is also criticism of this in sunny Africa: „It is surprising that we are getting into nuclear power when we have so much energy,“ says analyst X.N. Iraki of the University of Nairobi in an interview. „I suspect that investors want to make money by bringing nuclear power plants to Kenya and East Africa. They are being decommissioned elsewhere in the world because nuclear power is not very popular in many developed countries.“ dw.com
Government and constitutional crisis in Lesotho: Lesotho has been in a constitutional crisis since Monday following a deferred motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane, which was further exacerbated by the intervention of the heads of Lesotho’s security agencies. In a joint statement released on Monday evening, the leadership of the Mounted Police Service (LMPS), the Lesotho Defence Forces (LDF) and the National Security Service (NSS) united behind Matekane, who has been in office since October 2022, and announced that they would prevent a change of the current government at all costs. allafrica.com
Liberia: Head-to-head race after presidential election. sueddeutsche.de
Disputed results in Mozambique – After the election is before the war: Mozambique’s ruling party claims to have won the local elections. The opposition sees things differently and is calling for nationwide protests. Mozambique is facing a new political crisis after the opposition accused the government of rigging the regional elections on 11 October. The main opposition party Renamo (National Resistance Movement), for decades an armed rebel organisation, has been calling for nationwide protests since Tuesday. The ruling Frelimo (Mozambican Liberation Front), which led Mozambique to independence in 1975 and has ruled since then, won all but one of the 65 counties according to the official results. taz.de
MORE KNOWLEDGE:
When Greenland’s ice sheet is likely to collapse: If the Earth warms by 1.7 to 2.3 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, a threshold is said to be exceeded. An „abrupt loss“ of the Greenland Ice Sheet is then imminent, according to a new study published by the scientific journal „Nature“. The range between temperatures refers to different scenarios, from pessimistic to optimistic. The research team from the University of Tromsø in northern Norway, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid calculated with two different models for the dynamics of the ice masses. They delivered essentially consistent results, such as at which temperatures the ice reaches stable states or goes through critical dew periods. spiegel.de
Climate change has likely been influencing the El Niño phenomenon since the 1970s: El Niño is currently contributing to record global temperatures. But how does El Niño, commonly considered a natural weather phenomenon, respond to man-made influences? How does anthropogenic climate change affect the natural dynamics of the Earth’s climate? These questions have been investigated by an international research team led by geologists from Innsbruck, using deposits from caves in south-eastern Alaska. Using so-called speleothems or cave minerals deposited over thousands of years in a cave on Prince of Wales Island, the researchers reconstructed the climatic conditions there over the period of the last 3,500 years. The results of the study indicate that the processes controlling El Niño phenomena changed from the 1970s onwards. standard.at
Rainforest: More is being cleared for rubber production than previously assumed. tagesspiegel.de
Tourism climate initiatives join forces: The sustainability initiative Futouris, the platform Klimalink and the German Climate Fund Tourism want to cooperate in future within the framework of the „National Platform Future of Tourism“. reisevorneun.de
Study: How Latin America can create a socially balanced climate change. oekonews.at
CALENDAR:
WCRP Open Science Conference 2023
Start: 23 Oct 2023 09:00
End: 27 Oct 2023 18:00
hybrid/ onlineAdvancing climate science for a sustainable future
The WCRP Open Science Conference 2023 will bring together diverse research communities, programmes and partners to discuss the latest developments in climate science, with an emphasis on science-based information for decision making. WCRP is looking at innovative ways to bridge science and society and to foster future climate science leadership, through workshops, public exhibits, forums, and other associated events.
The Conference will highlight advances and challenges in research on the coupled Earth System. It will feature sessions on modelling, observations, and the development of climate information for society. There will be a strong focus on climate risk, including the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change, as well as the innovations needed to ensure that climate science information, data, and training are accessible to all those who seek them.
28th World Climate Conference 2023 (COP 28)
Start: 30 Nov 2023
End: 12 Dec 2023
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
THE LAST:
The carbon footprint of avocados:
Every era has its status symbols, including its culinary ones, and the career of the avocado began around ten years ago. It is seen as cool and cosmopolitan, is decadent and at the same time green and can be combined with everything that is currently in vogue in the breakfast bars of the big cities – be it elaborately made sourdough bread or other fruits that have just been proclaimed „superfoods“. But as is often the case with status symbols: This fruit is not particularly respectable. It has been known for years that in Mexico, the world’s largest avocado-growing country, thousands of hectares of forest are illegally cleared every year to meet the increased demand. For an avocado that weighs 200 grams, an average of 120 grams of CO₂ equivalents are blown. zeit .de
to thFAIReconomics Newsletter Week 43/23e German edition
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