Even though unit costs for renewable energy have fallen sharply, there’s clearly more finance needed for mitigation and adaptation. The least developed countries still don’t have the technologies they need. Can the private sector deliver, or should governments and the UN intervene, asks Silvia Weko
As “we only have 12 years left” morphs into “11 years” because emissions keep rising, the question of whether benevolent dictators wouldn’t be better than sluggish, ineffective democracies is being posed more often. Will someone please tell people why democracy still matters? Craig Morris is searching for answers
On July 12, a group of economists called on the German government to take quick climate action. This new proposal packs because the messenger officially advises the government – and doesn’t come from the climate camp. Craig Morris reports
Determined to push government’s inaction on the climate crisis, activists from Fridays For Future, Ende Gelände, Extinction Rebellion and others poured into western Germany’s brown coal district to use their bodies to shut down Europe’s worst climate killing infrastructure. L. Michael Buchsbaum reports
In the upcoming days Japan will hosts its first ever G20 Summit. As the main contributers to global warming, the G20 states agreed 2009 on a phase out plan of fossil fuel subsidies. Ten years later the failure of the G20 to act on global warming is evident: around $63.9 billion was spent by G20 countries this year to develop coal industries in the global south. Dr. Rainer Quitzow reveals the facts.
The results of the European elections can be seen as a new green wave and as a response to concerns about climate change. The striking school children, a movement known as ‘Fridays For Future’, strongly influenced this development, Paul Hockenos takes a look.
But they aren’t necessarily voting for pro-climate parties. There’ll be a bump for environmentally minded parties, but it probably won’t offset the far right’s gains, says Paul Hockenos.
According to electoral forecasts, one in ten Europeans may vote far right in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Right-wing parties pose a potential threat to the achievement of sustainable climate and energy goals of the European Union. Kathrin Meyer and Silvia Weko ask about the possible impacts of larger parliamentary far right-wing groups for the future path of the EU.
Politicians and energy sector professionals have scratched their heads for years about how to get citizens – whom they generally refer to as “consumers” – to change their habits in order to protect the climate. Now, a young generation is telling decision-makers that we can’t wait. Was ethics the answer the whole time? Craig Morris takes a look.
Germany has decided to work towards a sustainable and digital energy system. The days of the old centralized, nuclear- and coal-based system are numbered. Christine Lucha and Lisa Meinecke point out the trends and challenges that shape the transition towards the New Energy World. Their conclusion is as simple as it is pressing: active political design is the key – now!
