威力彩玩法

Der Spiegel, 08 Dec

鈥淧aris Climate Summit: Restrict!鈥�

Writing in Der Spiegel, David B枚cking says the threat of climate change requires less consumption - that we all fly less, use less heating and eat less meat. But politicians understandably won鈥檛 preach such a message or limit individual freedoms, which would be unpopular with voters. During the oil crisis in the 1970s, the German government restricted car use and today Germans are willing to undergo increased security checks because of the terrorist attacks in Paris. But climate change is seen as an abstract threat and easier to ignore. Some have argued that only authoritarian regimes have the power to stop climate change. Limiting our own consumption, B枚cking therefore argues, is a defence of democracy.

See the article in German .

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Die Welt, 08 Dec

鈥淭ricks, emotion and bitter truths鈥�

In an interview with Die Welt, J眉rgen Trittin, a former German environment minister and veteran of international climate negotiations, gives his view of the talks in Paris. Trittin told the paper Europe had lost its leading role in the negotiations to China and the US, who are now the key players. China is now investing more than in the development of renewables than the US and Europe combined, which Trittin said was itself a success of the German Enegiewende, which drastically brought down its cost. 鈥淚t is a historic achievement that German electricity consumers gave the world,鈥� he said.

Find the interview in German 听(behind a paywall).

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Frankfurter Rundschau, 08 Dec

鈥淕uest of climate friends鈥�

Writing in the Frankfurter Rundschau, Joachim Wille und Christian Mihatsch say that although Germany has no official role at the Paris Summit 鈥� because the EU negotiates as a single block 鈥� German officials have taken on important roles. State Secretary for the Environment Jochen Flasbarth has been mandated together with Gabon鈥檚 finance minister to find a solution on climate finance, while his boss, Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, is working with her Finish counterpart to represent the EU on differentiation. Their success will partly be down to perceptions of Germany in the negotiations, which the writers say have been boosted by the huge volumes of free coffee being distributed at the German pavilion. Everyone likes to come by for a 鈥渃offee with the Germans鈥� the article says.

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Handelsblatt, 07 Dec

鈥淪till up in the air鈥�

There are still many hurdles to an agreement in Paris and there is a real danger of disappointment, writes Klaus Stratmann in a commentary for business daily Handelsblatt. Negotiators have still not managed to establish a continuous process for readjusting climate pledges, there is still a gap of a few billion dollars in the Green Climate Fund, and it remains unclear whether a treaty will pass US domestic politics. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 the same story as at every other climate summit: We will only know at the last second if the international community is serious about the fight against climate change.鈥�

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Der Spiegel, 07 Dec

"The Ex-Climate Chancellor"

Chancellor Angela Merkel's reputation as "climate chancellor" is being damaged internationally because of Germany's lack of success on cutting carbon emissions under her leadership, Horand Knaup and Gerald Traufetter write for the magazine Der Spiegel. While Merkel urges world leaders in Paris to work towards the decarbonisation of the global economy, Germany looks likely to miss its own 2020 reduction targets because Merkel鈥檚 government has been too lenient on industry players such as carmakers and the owners of coal-fired power plants, they write.

Read a factsheet on Germany鈥檚 climate goals here.

Find a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on Angela Merkel's career as "climate chancellor" here.

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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, 07 Dec

"States are liable for their sins"

The insurance scheme against damages caused by climate change being planned at the Paris summit is an elegant solution and a big step for industrialised countries to address the issue of liability, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in a commentary in S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. But he says the catch is climate change itself: 鈥淭he larger the consequences, the more difficult they are to insure.鈥� Bauchm眉ller writes that the commitment by G7 countries comes just at the right time, because 鈥渢here will only be an agreement if both issues can be addressed: Help for the poorest and the battle against climate change.鈥�

Read the article in German .

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 07 Dec

鈥淎 market for the climate鈥�

It鈥檚 almost guaranteed there will be an agreement at the end of the Paris summit, including a commitment to "decarbonisation" or "climate neutrality", but the crucial question is whether it will provide detailed and binding guidelines on how to get there, writes Andreas Mihm in a commentary for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He says emission trading systems like the EU鈥檚 should be developed and extended. The topic will not feature in an agreement, but it would be sufficient if China and Germany pushed emissions trading during their upcoming G20 presidencies, according to Mihm. 鈥淢erkel should make the overdue step to include further sectors in the trading system. It鈥檚 not enough if energy and industry get a CO2 price tag, but transport, agriculture and real estate don鈥檛.鈥�
Mihm also says it is deplorable that the government missed the opportunity in Paris to stress that enormous advance payments by German consumers gave the world affordable wind and solar technologies.

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New York Times, 04 Dec

鈥淕ermany may offer model for reining in fossil fuel use鈥�

Germany鈥檚 Energiewende could offer other countries ideas for fulfilling their climate protection pledges after the COP21 climate summit, currently underway in Paris, writes Melissa Eddy in The New York Times. Germany 鈥渉as claimed some success in diversifying its energy sources and balancing economic growth with environmental concerns,鈥� the newspaper says. The feature goes on to describe how Germany has expanded renewable energy and some of the obstacles it still faces in the project.

Read the article in English

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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, 03 Dec

鈥淓xit the climate trap鈥�

The RWE split is good news for the Paris Climate Summit, argues Michael Bauchm眉ller in S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. 鈥淭he company is initiating the liquidation of its lignite business. This is the meaning of the announcement that the new renewables subsidiary is to get money from financial markets, but not the old business,鈥� writes Bauchm眉ller. 鈥淟ignite is being phased out, pulverised between climate protection and green power.鈥� He laments that this is not the case beyond Europe, as there are plans to build 2,000 additional coal-fired plants around the globe. Only a price on carbon will stop these plans turning into reality, Bauchm眉ller argues. 鈥淭his will artificially increase the price of coal. That is the language that investors understand. The world over.鈥�

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Der Tagesspiegel. 03 Dec

鈥淎mbition grows on the way鈥�

International climate policy slowly makes the transition from knowledge to action, writes Dagmar Dehmer in a commentary in Tagesspiegel. 鈥淏ut even if the way is obvious: The fight between the old economy, which destroys the climate, and the new, which can stabilise it, is not yet decided.鈥� She says World Climate Summits are, above all, world economic forums. 鈥淓very country attempts to preserve its old and well-tried business model for as long as possible.鈥� Still, Paris might be a unique opportunity because of the large amount of goodwill present. 鈥淭he chances to establish a self-learning agreement are good. If the architecture is right, ambition can continue to grow.鈥�

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Bloomberg, 01 Dec

鈥淥n clean energy, the wind blows from Germany鈥�

Germany's ambitious, painful and expensive Energiewende has helped spur the development of technology that may soon work for others without massive subsidies, writes Leonid Bershidsky in a column for Bloomberg. Despite problems, 鈥渋t鈥檚 clear now that the program has been a success and that as long as there is a well-defined goal and a determined effort to reach it, the necessary technology will present itself," writes Bershidsky. "The most heated arguments at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, which got under way on Monday, will be about how to split the cost of reducing emissions among richer and poorer countries. Germans have already answered the question by unilaterally shouldering the energy transition burden.鈥�

Read the column in English .

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 01 Dec

鈥淢erkel鈥檚 heartfelt wish鈥�

German environmentalists may criticise Merkel, saying she could move further and faster to decarbonise the economy, writes Andreas Mihm in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 听But off the record, many do value her long-standing engagement for climate protection. 鈥淢erkel, as a 听measured policy manager, needs to weigh up what is politically realistic against what is desirable for climate policy,鈥� writes Mihm.

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Die Welt, 01 Dec

鈥淥nly the market economy can stop climate change鈥�

The UN's climate conference in Paris is being staged as if it were humanity鈥檚 fateful hour, but that is exaggerated and diplomatically inept, writes Daniel Wetzel in a commentary in Die Welt. COP21 is 鈥渘ot the huge, decisive final summit of international climate diplomacy. Paris will not decide about apocalypse or saving the planet, nor is it a new era of world history. Paris is only a stepping stone,鈥� he says. Wetzel writes that existing climate diplomacy cannot stop climate change, which would be more easily abolished by market forces. 鈥淭he solution to the climate problem might be to extend trading of emissions certificates to the entire globe if possible. This would reduce the role of politics to distributing a sufficiently scarce number of tradeable permits.鈥� After that, everything else could be left to market forces, argues Wetzel.

Read the commentary in German .

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The Economist, 30 Nov

Germany's "unusually big mistakes"

Germany has become a world leader in green power, but also serves as a warning about what can go wrong, writes Joel Budd in an Economist Special Report on climate change. 鈥淕ermany has made unusually big mistakes. Handing out enormous long-term subsidies to solar farms was unwise; abolishing nuclear power so quickly is crazy,鈥� argues Budd. He says the country鈥檚 biggest error was 鈥渢o ignore the fact that wind and solar power impose costs on the entire energy system, which go up more than proportionately鈥� as more are added, writes Budd.

Read the article in English .

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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, 30 Nov

鈥淲hy this climate summit could become a success鈥�

There are two main reasons the Paris climate summit has higher chances of success than the meeting in Copenhagen, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in a commentary for S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. 鈥淔irstly, many states do no longer perceive an exit from coal, oil and gas as a necessary good-bye to growth and prosperity鈥� Secondly, for the first time, all states are prepared to do something against global warming.鈥� But there is one catch, because the agreement in sight is voluntary. So if things are really going well in Paris, we might see a deal to monitor progress every few years, writes Bauchm眉ller.

Read the editorial in German .

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General-Anzeiger, 30 Nov

鈥淭he ultimatum鈥�

The Paris summit is meant to secure livelihoods for a humanity that is approaching eight billion members but, surprisingly, the media and general public are only interested in it in passing, writes Wolfgang Wiedlich in a commentary in General Anzeiger. He laments that nobody has told society clearly what 鈥渄ecarbonisation鈥� by 2050 would mean in reality. 鈥淚f Paris would be really successful, the people would be astonished. To save the climate, more is needed than energy-saving lightbulbs and abstinence from strawberries in December.鈥�

Find the commentary in German .

UN Climate Change Secretariat / NGOs, 30 Oct

鈥淕lobal response to climate change keeps door open to 2 degree C temperature limit鈥�

A report assessing the 140 climate action plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of the Paris summit shows that combined effort can help curb damaging greenhouse gases, the UN says in a press release. The combined impact of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) 鈥渨ill lead to a fall in per capita emissions over the coming 15 years鈥�, the report finds. Furthermore, emissions will fall by as much as 8 percent in 2025 and 9 percent in 2030, and are capable of limiting the forecast temperature to a rise of around 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Although this does not meet the 2-degree limit scientists recommend, it is lower than the 4-5 degree Celsius rise many had previously predicted, says UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. Germany鈥檚 environment state secretary Jochen Flasbarth said that the long term goal had to be decarbonisation by the end of the century.

Separately, NGOs Germanwatch and Bread for the World jointly commented on the findings. They said that the direction was good but insisted that more effort was needed. 鈥淥n the one hand, the Paris climate has achieved something significant: the self-established goals of around 150 countries are on the table. On the other hand, it is clear that these contributions are not enough to prevent dangerous climate change,鈥� said S枚nke Kreft, team leader of international climate policy at Germanwatch. Read

WWF Germany said that a mechanism which forces individual states to reduce emissions every five years would have to be decided in Paris. 鈥淚t鈥檚 necessary that fossil energies like coal, oil and gas will be phased-out faster and in a more sustainable way than currently envisaged in Paris,鈥� Regine G眉nther, WWF head of climate and energy policy, said. Read

Read the UNFCCC press release in English .

Read the full UNFCCC report .

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WirtschaftsWoche, 23 Oct

鈥淐limate summit in Paris will not result in joint obligations鈥�

The history of climate negotiations shows that handing in climate action plans is one thing - but abiding by them is a different story, German economist Axel Ockenfels, from the University of Cologne, told the WirtschaftsWoche. 鈥淧aris won鈥檛 slow down climate change considerably and it won鈥檛 result in a joint obligation,鈥� he said. Ockenfels suggests that states should negotiate about a global price on CO2 emissions. Such a price would disadvantage no one and governments could invest the generated revenue in lowering other costs.

Read the article in German .

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听SWR2, 23 Oct

鈥淗endricks: 鈥楤ring on Paris鈥欌��

The climate agreement of Paris will not be the finishing point, Germany鈥檚 Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told SWR2 in an interview. But it was important that some decisions in it are binding, such as the 2掳C warming limit for the end of the century and how CO2 emissions are measured, she said. Every country also had to become more and more ambitious in their climate targets, she added.

Listen to the interview in German .

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Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, 23 Oct

鈥淣ational contributions provide entry point for the low-carbon transformation鈥�

Commitments to reduce emissions so far submitted by countries ahead of COP21 fall short of keeping global warming below 2掳C, according to a report published by a consortium of 14 research institutes, including the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research (PIK). But they do 鈥渋mply an unprecedented acceleration and consolidation of action against climate change in major economies around the world鈥� and 鈥渃an serve as an entry point for the deep low-carbon transformation鈥�. PIK said the success of the agreement would depend on a mechanism to strengthen commitments by 2020.

See the press release in English .

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Handelsblatt, 21 Oct

鈥淕rown up climate politics鈥�

We are seeing a paradigm shift in climate negotiations 23 years after the UN framework convention on climate change was adopted, writes , researcher at the Stiftung Wissenschaft and Politik (SWP) in a guest article for the Handelsblatt. The focus has moved from 鈥渞escuing the world climate鈥� to negotiating politically and economically viable measures, he says. The new priority is to integrate all states into a climate treaty, rather than to come up with the most ambitious treaty that insists on emission reductions to ensure the 2掳C warming limit. Because with the latter, Europeans would end up alone - just as they did with the Kyoto-protocol.

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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, 19 Oct

鈥淐ursed oil鈥�

As a last preparatory meeting ahead of the global climate summit in Paris gets underway in Bonn this week, environmental activists fear that cheap oil could limit the pressure on negotiators to agree on ambitious climate targets, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. A low oil price could mean increased use of fuel in the transport sector and less incentive to increase energy efficiency in the building sector. But so far, at least in Germany, oil consumption for transport and heating is falling despite the low price, and home insulation schemes have experienced only a slight loss of interest, Bauchm眉ller writes.

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 Oct

鈥淥il鈥檚 closing sale鈥�

The global movement to divest from fossil fuels has gathered rapid support this year and has turned 鈥減eak oil鈥� arguments upside-down, writes Marcus Theurer in a commentary for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 听鈥淭he closing sale might start long before the age of oil comes to an end," because oil-producing countries might step up production for fear the market could disappear altogether. 鈥淭he climate debate will radically alter the rules of the oil industry and question companies鈥� business models,鈥� writes Theurer. He says this will not happen from one day to the next, but it won鈥檛 take as long as oil managers claim.

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Handelsblatt, 13 Oct

鈥淚n a trap鈥�

The vision of a global agreement to limit CO2 emissions at the UN Paris Climate Summit (COP21) is threatened by continued subsidies for fossil-based energy sources, writes Klaus Stratmann in a commentary in the Handelsblatt. 鈥淭he failure of the international community to act is dangerously intersected with a wave of investments in climate-damaging coal power plants, especially in energy hungry emerging countries,鈥� he says. These countries are subsidising coal, gas and above all oil with hundreds of billions of dollars, he says, and little has changed in this area in the last five or ten years.听 Even worse, he points out, is that very little of this money trickles down to needy citizens of those countries. 鈥淭hus subsidies for fossil energy sources burden the CO2 accounts and above all the budgets of these countries,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t would be better to invest this money in climate-friendly technology.鈥�

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 Oct

鈥淓U says goodbye to binding climate goals鈥�

According to a ten-page paper obtained by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the European Union is abandoning its plans for setting long-term climate goals for expanding renewable energy shares in the power mix and increasing energy efficiency. Concrete steps, such as how countries will increase the share of wind and solar energy by 2030, should be taken in national action plans, the newspaper writes. These plans can be adjusted at any time, however, if national conditions change, according to the paper. Germany had wanted to achieve binding targets for these currently unbinding goals, the newspaper says, but this was a step too far for many 鈥� besides Eastern European countries, also France and the UK were against this idea, the FAZ cites diplomatic sources as saying. In autumn 2014, heads of government agreed to raise the share of renewables to 27% of consumption and to increase energy efficiency by 27%, the FAZ says

Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet about Germany's emissions targets here.

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Handelsblatt, 13 Oct

鈥淭he principle of the alms bowl鈥�

In an interview with the Handelsblatt, Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, says asking countries to contribute what they can to reducing CO2 emissions is like begging for money.听 This is 鈥渢he principle of the alms bowl,鈥� he says, adding that 听an agreement to keep the world from warming by more than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century is unlikely at the summit.听 Despite the fact that most countries recognise the necessity to do so, they do not see the necessity for global cooperation, he says.听 The summit could have some successes, however, he says. For example, if countries manage to find a way to put a price on CO2. 鈥淯ntil now, one tonne of CO2 is being subsidised on average with 150 dollars. It鈥檚 no wonder that many countries are still depending on coal,鈥� he says. Europe could start with its emissions trading scheme, which needs reform, he says. 鈥淚n order for there to be an effect, we need a minimum price for CO2; 20 euros and upwards is imaginable. But the market stability reserve that the EU has agreed to is not helpful,鈥� he says.听 鈥淚t is unrealistic to expect that CO2 emissions will fall without a reasonable price.鈥�

Read the interview in German (behind a paywall) .

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Frankfurter Rundschau, 08 Oct

鈥淎n ambitious climate programme for India鈥�

Germany has agreed to finance India鈥檚 roll out of solar energy with two billion euros and the subcontinent has finally made its climate targets public, writes Brigitte Knopf, secretary general of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, in an opinion piece in the Frankfurter Rundschau. 鈥淭he fact that countries like India, who justly perceived themselves not as part of the problem, now want to become part of a solution, inspires hope that the international climate negotiations in Paris can be a success,鈥� writes Knopf. But even if the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) become reality, the world would still be on track to a warming of 2.7 degrees celsius; and at present, 3.6 degrees seem more likely. To avoid this fate, CO2 heavyweights like India need an ambitious climate programme and not just good intentions, writes Knopf. 鈥淭he INDCs must not become empty promises. Compliance with voluntary announcements to cut CO2 must be verified鈥�these rules for transparency must become part of an agreement in Paris.鈥澨�

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klimaretter.info, 01. Oct

鈥淭he world on a 3.5-degree path鈥�

October 1 is the deadline for countries to hand in their climate protection goals to the UN climate secretary in Bonn, and few have come up with plans that will keep the earth鈥檚 temperature from rising by more than 2 degrees celsius this century, reports Benjamin von Brackel in Klimaretter.info.听 The goals are the basis for the UN Climate Summit in December, when countries will commit themselves to keeping emissions below certain levels. Climate analysts from Climate Interactive in Washington, DC, calculate on the basis of 72 countries鈥� current pledges that temperatures will rise by 3.5 degrees, the author says. Of the major polluters, only India has not yet turned in its plans, insisting that industrial countries first have to cut their greenhouse gases and the emerging countries must focus on eradicating poverty, the author writes. However, India still plans to turn in a plan, but one day after the deadline. The question then is whether the targets are enough to keep global warming down to 2 degrees celsius in order to keep the climate system stable.

Read the article in German.

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Handelsblatt, 01 Oct

鈥淐limate protection poses problems for industry鈥�

German and Austrian energy intensive companies are worried about the negative effects of more stringent climate protection rules, which could threaten their businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a study by the Handelsblatt Research Institute, writes Martin Wocher in the Handelsblatt. Even though no such shutdowns or shifting of operations abroad have occurred yet, this could happen gradually, the institute concludes. Under particular threat is the steel industry, in light of EU plans to remove 1.5 billion CO2 certificates from the market as of 2019. Companies think this could cause the price to rise sharply to around 鈧�30 per tonne of CO2 from 鈧�7 now, according to the article. Because of exemptions or excess certificates on the market, companies have until now paid little or nothing for the right to pollute, according to the article. This could change dramatically, bringing costs of a billion euros a year for steel companies in Germany alone, the article says.

Read a dossier on competitiveness and the Energiewende here.

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Handelsblatt, 01 Oct

鈥淲e need to accept the obstacles鈥�

Germany鈥檚 environment minister Barbara Hendricks is very confident that governments will agree to a way of limiting greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global warming under 2掳C at the UN conference in Paris, she said during an interview with Handelsblatt. This is even if not all countries would sign a legally-binding climate treaty. Another central target of the negotiations was to agree on binding measuring and monitoring methods, Hendricks said. And it would be very important for a successful outcome in Paris that industrial nations kept their promises to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

Read the interview in German (behind pay wall) .

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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, 28 Sept

鈥淎nd they are moving after all鈥�

War, terror, climate change 鈥� for a long time it looked as if the United Nations was getting nowhere, writes Stefan Ulrich in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. But as China announces an ambitious environment programme, including an emissions trading scheme, things might be moving after all, he says. China鈥檚 president Xi Jinping has apparently stopped depicting China as a developing country in order to block climate action. In addition, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Pope are calling on the heads of states and governments to commit to climate action ahead of Paris, Ulrich writes.

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Tagesspiegel, 28 Sept

鈥淯nited for a better world鈥�

Chancellor Angela Merkel was probably watched even more closely than the Pope at the UN sustainability conference in New York, write Dagmar Dehmer and Barbara Junge in the Tagesspiegel. The spotlight was on her not only because of VW but also because of the energy transition, which is followed closely around the world, sometimes with enthusiasm, sometimes with 鈥渂listering rejection鈥�. Merkel promised to increase Germany鈥檚 development budget to 0.7 percent of the GDP and reminded industrialised nations about their promise to pay 100 billion dollars into a green climate fund. However, her remarks about who will contribute this money remained vague, as she spoke about a joint responsibility of private and state funding, the authors say.

Read the article in German .

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International New York Times, 25 Sept

鈥淕ermans take a tumble from moral high ground鈥�

鈥淰olkswagen鈥檚 deception raises doubt in a nation known for following rules,鈥� writes Alison Smale in the International New York Times. It also puts the nation in 鈥渁n awkward spot鈥� ahead of the UN climate change summit in Paris in December, where Germany would be held up as a model for how an industrial nation can replace fossil fuels largely with renewables, the author says.

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Bloomberg, 24 Sept

鈥淢erkel鈥檚 climate crusading risks being blemished by VW 蝉肠补苍诲补濒鈥�

The Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal could sully Germany鈥檚 reputation as a model for climate protection, just as Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to New York this weekend to push for environmental responsibility, writes Patrick Donahue for BloombergBusiness. Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisberg-Essen, says Merkel鈥檚 government has not done enough to push the powerful automotive industry to greener technology like electric cars, according to the article.

Read the BloombergBusiness article in English .

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 21 Sept

鈥淲orried about the climate鈥�

The very hot and dry summer of 2015 was a sign of climate change, 46 percent of Germans believe. In contrast, 40 percent told pollster Institut f眉r Demoskopie Allensbach that they believe the high temperatures were a normal weather phenomenon.