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Blogpost
16 February 2023
A blog series on tipping points
Climate tipping points are thresholds in the Earth’s climate system. When passed, this system experiences abrupt and typically irreversible changes. In this blog series, we take a look at four of the most treacherous tipping points: the Amazon rainforest, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, Coral Reefs, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We also provide an overview of their physical nature and their impact on human security, including the important issue of loss and damage, a topic which became a major discussion point at COP27.
Blogpost
16 February 2023
Tipping points blog series #1
In the first blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at the Amazon rainforest. It is considered a climate tipping point because it may shift to a savannah or savannah-like environment given enough tree death. We will discuss the effects of deforestation, climate change, and the potential threat that crossing this climate tipping point will have on the region—and indeed elsewhere—and take a deep dive into the human and socio-economic impacts.
Blogpost
16 February 2023
Tipping point blog series #2
In the second blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; a phenomenon in the Atlantic Ocean which brings heat from the southern to the northern hemisphere. By discussing how the relative freshening of the waters in the North Atlantic in response to the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet will change this circulation, we will explain the potential threat that crossing this climate tipping point will have on the global distribution of heat and precipitation. Furthermore, we will take a look at the associated human and socio-economic impacts.
Blogpost
16 February 2023
Tipping point blog series #3
In the third blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at Coral Reefs. Often referred to as rainforests of the sea, coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. The rapid demise of many of the world’s coral reefs this past decade is one of the clearest indicators that things are going very wrong. We will take a look at the nature of coral reefs, how and why they are now considered a climate tipping point, and consider many of the human and socio-economic impacts we can anticipate in the decades ahead.
Blogpost
16 February 2023
Tipping point blog series #4
In the last blog post of our tipping points series, we take a look at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). It is a portion of the continental ice sheet on Antarctica and acts as a gigantic water storage, keeping sea levels static and coastlines intact. A collapse of the entire ice sheet would result in a global mean sea level rise of approximately 3.3 metres, and in the flooding of coastal areas and cities where hundreds of millions of people live. We will discuss the nature of the WAIS, and the effects its collapse will have on global sea level rise, and the socio-economic and human impacts.
Blogpost
31 January 2023
Progress, gaps, and unanswered questions
Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement stipulates the goal to align financial flows with climate goals. In 2017, the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) committed to supporting these efforts by aligning their financial flows with the Paris Agreement, i.e.
Blogpost
23 November 2022
A ‘race to the top’ or global crawl? Despite global climate negotiations at COP27 and the G20 inching far too slowly towards the financial transformations we need to tackle climate change, country-level progress is being made. A common framework would help track that progress.
Blogpost
31 October 2022
Since 2015, Germanwatch and NewClimate have collaborated in developing criteria to assess the compatibility of investments with global climate goals. This blog summarises some of our ideas and explains to what extent support for fossil fuels abroad jeopardises Germany's climate commitments and the Paris Agreement.
Blogpost
31 October 2022
Alignment of Development Finance with the Paris Agreement: Myth Buster Series
This blog is part of a series debunking ‘myths’ about trade-offs between climate action and development. It is intended for decision-makers, practitioners in multilateral development banks, as well as civil society and the interested public, providing them with evidence to disprove widespread misconceptions about trade-offs climate action and development. It also gives recommendations for how multilateral development banks can contribute to strengthening the link between climate action and development, thus encouraging win-win elements instead of trade-offs.
Blogpost
06 October 2022
Alignment of Development Finance with the Paris Agreement: Myth Buster Series
This blog series aims to debunk ‘myths’ about trade-offs between climate action and development. Addressing political decision-makers, practitioners in multilateral development banks as well as staff of civil society organisations and the interested public, three blog posts will provide them with evidence to refute widespread misconceptions about the effects of climate action on development. They will also include recommendations for multilateral development banks on how to contribute to strengthening the link between climate action and development and thereby highlight win-win opportunities and avoid trade-offs.
Germanwatch-Blogger*innen
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Senior Advisor - Low-Carbon Strategies & Energy, Project Lead Climate Indices+49 (0)228 / 60 492-21
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Team Leader - German and European Low-Carbon Policy+49 (0)30 / 57 71 328-85
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Senior Advisor - Climate Finance and Investments+49 (0)228 / 60 492-45
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Policy Advisor - Development Banks and Climate+49 (0)30 / 57 71 328-31
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Policy Advisor - Climate Finance and Adaptation+49 (0)228 / 60 492-11
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Team Leader - Corporate Accountability+49 (0)30 / 57 71 328-44
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Senior Advisor - Agricultural Policy and World Trade | Project Leader - Climate-Friendly Agriculture+49 (0)30 / 57 71 328-43
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:: on parental leave :: Senior Advisor - Education for Sustainable Development+49 (0)228 / 60 492-36
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Team Leader - Education for Sustainable Development, Promoter for Climate & Development in North Rhine-Westphalia+49 (0)228 / 60 492-26
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:: on parental leave :: Senior Advisor - Climate Risk Management
Coordinator - Climate Foreign Policy and G7+49 (0)228 / 60 492-48
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Team Leader - International Climate Policy+49 (0)228 / 60 492-25
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Senior Advisor - Climate and Transport+49 (0)228 / 60 492-14
