Climate Change

One of the three main goals of the Paris Agreement is to ‘make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development’, as stated in Article 2.1c. This long-term goal recognises that, complementary to an increase in finance that supports climate action, there needs to be redirection of finance, both public and private, that locks countries into a future of low emissions and higher resilience. Given that Article 2.1c has yet to be fully operationalised, this case study examines the progress towards implementing it in Germany. It is a first attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis framework for the implementation of Article 2.1c.

The policy brief adresses two important questions:

Firstly, the role of climate litigation this far in adressing legal claims for loss and damage.

Secondly, the potential that climate litigation holds in redressing the claims of losses and damages.

The brief provides an analysis of how two arenas of legal action - negotiations and litigation - interact and how they can work together to provide a more robust legal basis for supporting issues of loss and damage.

The current energy crisis clearly demonstrates how the world remains dependent on fossil fuels. However, there is a number of countries that have a better standing than others. They took ambitious steps in climate mitigation and rapidly developed energy efficiency and renewable energies. Today, Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and CAN International published the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2023, a ranking of the 59 largest emitters worldwide

This background paper provides an overview of the most important negotiation topics of COP27, which will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November. There is no doubt that the impact of Russia's war against Ukraine will be the dominant topic of this year's global climate conference. At the same time, participants should be aware that the impacts of climate change have no regard for the geopolitical situation.

At the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26), several multilateral initiatives were launched. In this fact sheet, we took a closer look at the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) and its potential to close the 2030 ambition gap and implement climate action more quickly.

At the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26), several multilateral initiatives were launched. In this fact sheet, we took a closer look at the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land-Use (GDFLU) and its potential to close the 2030 ambition gap and implement climate action more quickly.

At the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26), several multilateral initiatives were launched. In this fact sheet, we took a closer look at the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) and its potential to close the 2030 ambition gap and implement climate action more quickly.

In May 2022, the G7 environment, climate, and energy ministers announced the launch of the G7 Hydrogen Action Pact (G7-HAP), which prioritises six areas for the G7 to support the development of a global low-carbon and green hydrogen market. Germany should use its remaining G7 presidency to specify these areas. Most importantly, the G7 should clearly focus their activities on green hydrogen and work on establishing sustainability standards right at the beginning of the market ramp-up.

The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), announced last year with South Africa, aims to reduce emissions in the energy sector and accelerate the coal phase-out process. The partnership, first announced in COP26 with the promised value of 8.5$ billion, was then followed by a G7 announcement for a similar partnership in India, Indonesia, Senegal, and Vietnam. As an important thread in the social fabric of many countries, it is crucial for CSOs to be involved in providing input and monitoring the partnership process, especially as Indonesia and India are preparing their own JETP.

The German government planned on making climate and sustainability the main topics of its G7 presidency. In this briefing, we outline what the G7 Leaders’ Summit was able to achieve, which gaps remained, and where to go from there.