Climate Change

Lüke Recktenwald is a real "islander". His family has been living on the North Sea island of Langeoog for four generations and runs a hotel and restaurant. Whether Lüke will be able to live and work on the island in the future like his parents is uncertain, as Langeoog is increasingly threatened by the climate crisis. In this interview he tells how he experiences the climate and health crisis on the island and why he decided to go to court to demand climate protection.

This report provides civil society perspectives on three initiatives of particular importance in relation to renewable energy in Africa – the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), the Least Developed Countries Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative for Sustainable Development (LDC REEEI), and the African Energy Transition Programme (AFRETRAP).

The conflict between the US and China over leadership in the coming world order is becoming more intense - and forcing the EU to clarify its own relationship with China. Co-operation on climate policy can play a key strategic role in this process. It is therefore high on the agenda of the German EU Council Presidency in the second half of this year.

The Paris Agreement sets out the ambitious task of aligning all financial flows with its goals to avoid the worst impacts of warming. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have an important role to play in making this goal a reality. Their development mandates, technical expertise, and track record on climate finance mean that MDBs can lead the way by helping developing countries avoid fossil fuel-intensive development pathways, by developing the necessary standards and investment criteria to assess the alignment of investments with the Paris Agreement’s goals, and by helping to mobilise increased volumes of climate finance.

The outcome of the World Climate Conference (COP25) in Madrid, held 2 to 15 December 2019, clearly shows the strengths and weaknesses of the Paris Agreement. It shows that the days of cosmetic climate policy are over, but also that the coordinated resistance of the brakemen is growing as a result.

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) presented today at the climate summit in Madrid reflects opposing trends in global climate action: Australia, Saudi Arabia and especially the USA give cause for great concern with their low to very low performance in emissions and renewable energy development as well as climate policy. With these three governments massively influenced by the coal and oil lobby, there are hardly any signs of serious climate policy in sight. On the other hand, global coal consumption is falling and the boom in renewable energy continues. In 31 of the 57 high emitting countries assessed, collectively responsible for 90 percent of emissions, falling emission trends are recorded.

Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 57 countries and the EU. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.

This brochure explains the background and methodology of the Climate Change Performance Index. compares 57 countries and the EU in the areas of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energies, Energy Use and Climate Policy, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the current efforts and progress of the countries analysed. Besides, it measures how well countries are on track to meet the global goals of the Paris Agreement by evaluating the current status and future targets of each category with reference to a well-below 2°C pathway.

Severe heat waves, drought and flooding: Extreme weather events are massive challenges especially for poor and vulnerable countries - but also high-income countries are threatened more and more by climate risks. The Global Climate Risk Index, published today by the environmental think tank Germanwatch, shows that in 2018 industrialized countries like Japan and Germany were hit hardest by heat waves and severe drought. The Philippines were hit by the most powerful typhoon recorded worldwide in 2018.

The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent data available — for 2018 and from 1999 to 2018 — were taken into account. The countries and territories affected most in 2018 were Japan, the Philippines as well as Germany. For the period from 1999 to 2018 Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti rank highest.