Together with African and European Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities, we bring you two forums focused on moving the Africa-EU partnership forward through “Participatory and transparent governance: A people-centred approach”. The programme includes joint opening and closing sessions, which will concentrate on the roles of CSOs and LAs in the partnership; as well as two dedicated forums discussing the themes and topics pertinent to each stakeholder group.

Just weeks after the new coalition government took office, Germany took over the Presidency of the G7. The G7 Presidency provides the new federal government an opportunity to demonstrate the importance it attaches to international climate policy and ambitious climate protection. The coalition agreement lays out the government’s course. This briefing paper identifies issues on which the new federal government is already sending strong signals, as well as opportunities and gaps.

The African continent is facing severe impacts of climate change while simultaneously struggling to address universal electricity access. This position paper analyses opportunities and risks associated with the development of green hydrogen and Power-to-X as well as the continent's readiness and trends. The paper closes with a position statement, recommending measures to minimise the risks of injustice and adverse impacts and maximise the benefits for the continent's green, socio-economic development.

In July 2021, the European Commission proposed introducing an emissions trading system for transport and buildings. Does the proposal meet the requirements of effective climate action and social compatibility? Where should improvements be made? These questions are answered by the study “Criteria for an effective and socially just EU ETS 2 – Assessment of the EU Commission’s Proposal on an EU ETS for buildings & road transport (EU ETS 2)”, which was prepared by the Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft and the Forschungsstätte der Evangelischen Studiengemeinschaft on behalf of Germanwatch, Klima-Allianz Deutschland, WWF Deutschland and CAN Europe.

One of the challenges many African countries are facing is the lack of access to electricity. Addressing this difficulty is particularly complicated in rural areas where a connection to the national grid would require a big and often not feasible infrastructure expansion. This factsheet offers an overview of alternative solutions to grid-connected electricity, namely decentralised renewable energy (DRE) systems. The factsheet analyses advantages and challenges of these systems, informs about technical specifications, and gives an overview of the various ownership models of DRE systems. Finally, the factsheet gives recommendations for an enabling national policy on decentralised renewable energy.

Germanwatch is a development and environment organization that actively engages in international political and economic discussions. The situation of marginalized people forms the starting point for our engagement for sustainable development. We collaborate strongly with our partners in the Global South to achieve an outcome that supports the poorest and most vulnerable. Frequent dialogue is the basis for that collaboration.

Last April, the European Commission published a new draft of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which is intended to provide companies with clarity on what and how they need to report and reduce administrative burden. The goal is to remove barriers and to leverage financing the transformation to climate neutrality. This briefing paper provides a brief overview of the ongoing processes around the CSRD and the standard-setting and then takes a first summarizing look at the new European corporate reporting standards.

This year’s COP results have been heavily debated. Along with the negotiations, various initiatives were launched, and these received considerable attention. Examples are an initiative to end international fossil fuel finance, a partnership with South Africa to support the country’s just transition, and a pledge to reduce methane emissions. The G7 should build on the COP’s positive dynamics and support a strategy to avoid greenwashing of the announcements, and provide alternative solutions where the COP process could not deliver.

In the context of several European legislative processes on supply chains this study emphasizes the importance of binding legislation for companies to comply with environmental aspects in addition to human rights along their supply chains.

The outcome of the UN climate conference is one of ambivalence: while there is strong momentum for phasing out coal and pressure being placed on reluctant climate action, for the 1.5 degree limit to come within reach, China in particular needs to improve its climate target soon and the US needs to implement its very well. In addition, results on the issue of Loss and Damage are insufficient.