Publications

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Publication
01/2022
A Factsheet for Civil Society
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.
Publication
12/2021
Full Disclosure: Monthly Briefing on EU Corporate Transparency Regulation
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.
Publication
12/2021
Leveraging COP26 outcomes for the German G7 presidency in 2022
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.
Publication
12/2021

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.

Publication
11/2021
Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 60 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.
Publication
11/2021

The Climate Change Performance Index compares 60 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. This brochure explains the background and methodology of the Climate Change Performance Index.

Publication
10/2021
Addressing Loss and Damage from Slow-Onset Processes

In addition to amplifying extreme weather events, climate change also causes or intensifies slow-onset processes such as sea-level rise, desertification, biodiversity loss or permafrost thaw. Both types of climate change impacts cause loss and damage, impede the enjoyment of human rights and can be drivers for human mobility. In contrast to extreme weather events, dealing with loss and damage caused by slow-onset processes in the context of climate change is still neglected – both at the national and international level.

Publication
10/2021
Recommendations for COP26 based on analysis of the Adaptation Fund, Green Climate Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund

Loss and Damage due to climate change impacts is already a reality. Not only but most existentially for vulnerable developing countries and communities around the world that have contributed least to the climate crisis. How developing countries can be supported (financially) by the international community in addressing loss and damage has long been a discussion topic in international climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Publication
10/2021
Aligning the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with the Paris Agreement
At the second Finance in Common (FiC) Summit on 19 and 20 October 2021, 500 public development banks could jointly raise their ambitions to support sustainable development globally. The fastest growing development bank in the world, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), plays a crucial role for infrastructure investments in Asia where the majority of future infrastructure projects will take place. A framework report produced by Germanwatch and collaborating NGOs from Asia analyzes the AIIB’s opportunities to align with the Paris Agreement and suggests ten climate-resilient and pro-poor principles for more sustainable and socially inclusive infrastructure.
Publication
10/2021
Requirements and expectations for the COP26
COP26 is often considered the most important since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. Its context underlines the urgency: In the summer of 2021, people across the globe experienced extreme weather events and their consequences. The climate summit in Glasgow – in conjunction with the G20 summit shortly before – holds the potential to significantly accelerate climate protection efforts worldwide.