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Press Releases

Press Release
29 September 2023
New CO2 border adjustment CBAM facilitates ambitious EU climate policy through effective competition protection for companies in the EU / Need for faster introduction and reform on revenue use

Germanwatch welcomes the launch of the pilot phase of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) this Sunday as a major milestone in European climate policy. Christoph Bals, Policy Director of Germanwatch, says: "With the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the EU has achieved a coup: By levelling the international playing field for industrial companies, it enables high carbon prices in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme ETS and thus sends an important signal that it is serious about its industry’s transition to climate-neutrality. The CBAM also creates an incentive for EU's trading partner economies worldwide to speed up their transformation."

Press Release
30 May 2023
New scientific study shows that climate lawsuits lead to a significant loss in value for companies with CO2-intensive business models / Researchers show: RWE share fell up to 6 percent due to Saúl Luciano Lliuya's lawsuit at Hamm Higher Regional Court

The environmental and development organisation Germanwatch points out that fossil fuel companies will have to disclose climate risks in their risk reports and have them externally audited. The reason for this is a new study by a team of researchers from the renowned London School of Economics and Political Science, which shows a clear connection between climate litigation and share price losses of affected companies.

Press Release
14 November 2022
Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and CAN International published the 18th edition of the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI): Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Morocco and India lead the ranking this year / Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan come in last / The US and China perform very low — though the US rises three ranks compared with last year, whilst China drops 13 ranks

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

Press Release
10 November 2022
Joint press conference: Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and CAN international

Together with the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network (CAN International), Germanwatch will present the "Climate Change Performance Index 2023" (CCPI) at the COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh. For the 18th time in a row, the index compares the climate protection performance of the 59 largest CO2 emitters (plus the European Union as a whole).

Press Release
27 May 2022
Climate case of a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide against German energy company RWE at the Higher Regional Court of Hamm: judges and experts travelled to Peru / experts examined the danger of a possible flood wave for the plaintiff's house

The climate lawsuit of the Peruvian Andean farmer and mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya against the energy company RWE has entered the decisive phase six and a half years after the lawsuit was filed: After a long delay, especially due to the Corona pandemic, a site visit took place this week in the Andean city of Huaraz. Judges of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Hamm (Germany), legal advisors and experts travelled to Peru to examine whether the plaintiff's house is threatened by a possible flood wave from the glacier lake Palcacocha above the city. The entire danger zone in Huaraz actually covers an area where around 50,000 people live.

Press Release
28 April 2022
Joint press release by Germanwatch and others: New Law Includes Obligation to Address Abuses in Battery Supply Chains

The European Union’s proposed batteries regulation should require importers and manufacturers to source the bauxite, copper, and iron used in batteries responsibly, a coalition of 16 organizations said today. The coalition includes Amnesty International, Earthworks, Finnwatch, Germanwatch, Human Rights Watch, Inclusive Development International, INKOTA, PowerShift, RAID, SOMO, and Transport & Environment, as well as human rights and environmental activists from producer countries.

Press Release
17 November 2021
Europe's demand for soy and meat contributes significantly to deforestation and the destruction of important ecosystems in Latin America - proposed EU legislation does not have sufficient impact
The legislative proposal presented today by the EU Commission to exclude deforestation in the supply chains of companies operating in the EU market does not go far enough, according to the environment and development organisation Germanwatch. Katharina Brandt, policy advisor for agriculture at Germanwatch, says: "If we want to curb the climate crisis and stop the global extinction of species, savannahs and wetlands must not fall victim to the cultivation of soy for industrial livestock farming in Europe."
Press Release
09 November 2021
The 17th edition of the Climate Change Performance Index, by Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute, monitors climate mitigation progress of 60 countries and the European Union: Scandinavian countries, together with the United Kingdom and Morocco, lead the ‘race to zero’ / Australia, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan are among the worst performers

Scandinavian countries are leading the way in climate protection, together with Morocco and the United Kingdom. Leaders Denmark, Sweden and Norway occupy ranks four to six in the new Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2022, presented today by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network (CAN). Places one to three again remain vacant because no country’s measures, thus far, have been sufficient to achieve an overall ‘very high’ rating with none following a path necessary to keep global warming within the 1.5°C limit.

Press Release
29 April 2021
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany declares Federal Climate Protection Act partially unconstitutional and strengthens protection of fundamental rights of the youth.

In its decision today, the Federal Constitutional Court has largely accepted the constitutional complaint of nine young people for a humane future: Freedoms and fundamental rights are already being violated today by insufficient climate protection. The legislator must adapt the Federal Climate Protection Act by the end of 2022. Lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen (Hamburg), who represents the young people, comments on the decision: "Today, the Federal Constitutional Court has set a globally remarkable new standard for climate protection as a human right.

Press Release
04 February 2021
Independent scientific study by researchers from the University of Oxford and University of Washington offers a clear conclusion: Human activity has caused at least 85% of warming that led to glacial retreat above Huaraz

The Coronavirus pandemic has delayed the collection of evidence in the trial between the Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya and the German utility RWE at the Upper State Court in Hamm (Germany). Nevertheless, a new scientific study is providing credence to the legal claim: a prestigious team of researchers has used climate models to demonstrate that the risk of glacial lake flooding affecting the city of Huaraz is almost entirely due to anthropogenic climate change.

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