Water levels in the German city of Bonn on the Rhine are not the only thing rising right now. Many eyebrows were raised when Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder commented on the flood disaster in his state by saying that “nobody could have expected this.” This left climate experts from all over the world feeling a mixture of anger, cynicism, and despair. After all, the people sitting here at the climate conference are the very people who calculate the models based on which they have been warning for decades about extreme weather events, such as the one southern Germany currently experiences.
But many people don’t even learn from such devastating damage, as our colleague Lisa Kuner has found out: She writes about how little has been learned from the catastrophic floods in the German Ahr Valley in 2021 and how people should actually know better.
The same is true on the other side of the world: New Zealand has a new government and a problem with climate policy: the Conservatives are funding tax breaks by scrapping climate action, our colleague Marc Daalder writes from Wellington.
We also report on new data showing that the global carbon budget for 1.5 degrees continues to shrink, and on just how slowly the expansion of renewables is progressing. UN Secretary-General António Guterres then summarized all of these challenges in a remarkable speech on Environment Day: He calls the fossil fuel industries “godfathers of climate chaos” with toxic business models that should be ostracized, for example, by banning advertising.
As you can see, today’s issue has plenty of controversy. And tomorrow will be even better: We’ll have a Climate.Table European elections special for you. Stay tuned!
Your Bernhard Pötter
Feature
Floods: Why climate risks make rebuilding difficult
Flooding in southern Germany: Rudersberg in Baden-Württemberg has been hit particularly hard.
While the water levels in the flooded areas in southern Germanybegin to fall in some places and the clean-up work is underway, the debate focuses on the damage – and ways to prevent it in the future. So far, five people have been confirmed dead. The German Insurance Association expects a major damage event, although it is still too early to make a definitive damage estimate. The insurance companies estimate the damage caused by the floods in Germany’s Saarland region a few weeks ago to range between 200 and 300 million euros.
Various safeguards are being discussed for the future in the face of increasing flooding – some have already been adopted or are already being implemented:
There are repeated calls for mandatory insurance against natural disasters: This would not prevent damage, but could provide financial relief in the event of damage. The costs for this are estimated at between 100 and 2,000 euros per single-family home. In the state of Baden-Württemberg, 94 percent of buildings are insured against natural disasters because such insurance was compulsory in the state until 1994, whereas it is only 47 percent in Bavaria and 54 percent on average in Germany.
Environmental Action Germany (DUH) calls on the German government to create a special climate adaptation, climate and disaster protection fund in order to invest more in prevention. Rivers need more space and construction should no longer be allowed in flood areas, the DUH writes in a position paper on ecological flood protection. The German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation also favors the restoration of floodplains as natural flood protection.
The Federal Ministry for the Environment published an information paper on Wednesday in which it outlines how much the German government is already doing to prevent flooding: A new flood protection law is currently in the works that will adapt building permits to flood risk. The National Flood Protection Program aims to restore around 33,000 hectares of land for flood retention. The Climate Adaptation Act, which comes into force on 1 July, is intended to promote systematic preparation for extreme weather events and strengthen the Action Program for Natural Climate Protection (ANK) for floodplains and moors – however, the ANK funds have been cut recently.
Also on Wednesday, the Budget Committee of the German Parliament approved 100 million euros for the “Adaptation of urban and rural areas to climate change” funding program, which will also be used for flood prevention, among other things.
Risk: rebuilding repeats mistakes
However, experience from past disasters shows how difficult it can often be to rebuild after flood damage in a way that considers future climate risks. In particular, banning construction in flood areas has been difficult to enforce.
A look back at the floods in the Ahr Valley almost three years ago: During rebuilding, there is a significant risk that “old mistakes will be repeated,” Jürgen Herget told Table.Briefings. The Professor of Geography at the University of Bonn believes that consistent protection against flooding is only possible if high-risk areas are no longer built on. However, this is not politically feasible under the current need for property development. “We have to expect that floods similar to those in the Ahr valley will occur again,” but where and with what intensity cannot be predicted, Herget says – who spoke to Table.Briefings before the recent flooding.
A stocktaking of the damage in the Ahr Valley in July 2021 revealed devastating results: Over 180 deaths in Germany, countless destroyed houses, roads, railways and bridges as well as gas and power lines. According to Munich Reinsurance Company, economic losses reached 46 billion euros, of which 33 billion were in Germany. According to researchers at World Weather Attribution, climate change has made rainfall and flooding – like the one triggered by the low-pressure system “Bernd” in July 2021 – 1.2 to nine times more likely and up to 19 percent more intense.
Climate crisis brings higher flood risk, but hardly any awareness
Herget believes the risk of flooding in many areas of Germany is only given secondary consideration: The renewed flood protection wall in Bonn is significantly lower than past flood marks. The crane houses in Cologne’s Rheinau harbor are at high risk during floods. Flood protection is often put on the back burner in popular residential areas. “These are political decisions.”
The authorities in areas flooded in 2021 are aware of the growing risk of flooding when it comes to rebuilding. Some houses can no longer be rebuilt in their original location. The German government has provided up to 30 billion euros to rebuild the region. To make the region future-proof, the goal is for the new infrastructure to be as “climate-resilient” as possible.
The town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, which was particularly affected by the floods, said in response to a request for comment that climate action and flood-adapted construction played an “overarching role” in the rebuilding process. For example, the HQ100 areas, which statistically are flooded once a century, have been expanded. In other places, floodplains were restored to rebuild natural flooding areas.
Learning from mistakes, but also ‘flood dementia’
At the same time, experts warn of “flood dementia“: The danger posed by floods may briefly be present in minds, but awareness quickly fades again. Then, people start building in high-risk areas again, or houses are not sufficiently insured.
The “Climate Adaptation Flood Resilience” (KAHR) project provides scientific support for the rebuilding process in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate regions. 13 stakeholders from science and practice are collaborating on the project. The project formulates ten recommendations for the sustainable rebuilding of flood-affected areas. One of these is the fact that bridges can exacerbate flood risks. They should be given greater consideration in planning, Stefanie Wolf from the NRW project office within the KAHR project told Table.Briefings. This is demonstrated by the Nepomuk Bridge in the town of Rech. During the 2021 flood, so much floating debris piled up that the water level rose quickly, resulting in the death of at least one woman. It was demolished because the bridge could also pose a “danger to people” during future floods.
Concrete recommendations for the future
Further recommendations from KAHR for a resilient reconstruction include:
More space for rivers through settlement retreat and adapted land use
Increased early warning
Publicly available maps on the dangers and risks of heavy rainfall
Better integration of flood and climate-resilient planning and construction at all levels
Strengthening cooperation between stakeholders
New protection standards for critical and sensitive infrastructure
According to Wolf, the fact that the controversial topic of settlement retreat has also made it into the recommendations is remarkable. “Resilience means living with floods,” she says. You can’t completely protect yourself against the next, possibly stronger flood that destroys infrastructure again. However, holistic planning that also considers social factors can improve things.
The advice: If in doubt, leave homes quickly
A particular sticking point: The protection of critical and sensitive infrastructure such as nurseries, schools and hospitals. In 2021, 12 people drowned in a residential home for people with disabilities. KAHR called for new protection standards for such facilities. The district of Ahrweiler now wants to relocate a school for children with special needs to a safe area. The German government’s “Climate adaptation in social facilities” funding program aims to ensure that such facilities can better protect themselves against flooding and other extreme weather events. Representatives of people with disabilities doubt whether this will be enough.
Jürgen Herget says some decisions are difficult to justify politically, such as giving up home construction areas. But then, at the very least, more awareness needs to be raised in order to save lives: Residents should be prepared to leave their homes quickly and get to safety in the event of flood warnings.
Hochwasser
Translation missing.
New Zealand: How the new government slashes climate policy
Sheep grazing in New Zealand. Agriculture is responsible for more than half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, a large proportion of which is methane.
The new center-right Government in New Zealand unveiled its first budget on May 30 with no new funding for emissions reductions and a rollback of 3.7 billion New Zealand dollars (about 80 billion euros) in climate-related spending.
While recent Budgets from the previous Labour Party government saw billions of dollars invested into decarbonizing industry and transport and researching agricultural emissions technologies, the coalition Government’s Budget took a more hands-off approach. The centerpiece of the budget was a 14 billion NZD tax cut package targeted at middle-earners with children, with a side component of extra tax cuts for landlords. The package was partly funded by 15.6 billion NZD dollars in reduced or reprioritized public expenditure. Climate policies made up a significant proportion of this – the Labour Party put the total amount of climate funding reduced at 3.7 billion NZD.
Climate was notably absent from the list of new initiatives as well. No new money went to fund emissions reductions, while localized climate adaptation works did receive 200 million. Much of this fund will be used to help recover from the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, which scientists have since found was made more intense by climate change.
There are three potential reasons for the new government’s decreased funding for climate change:
The timing of policy decisions
Reliance on emissions trading
Lower ambition on climate change
The timing of policy
In 2019, New Zealand passed a Zero Carbon Act, setting up a UK-style Climate Change Commission, a series of emissions budgets, and an Emissions Reductions Plan to step down to net zero carbon dioxide emissions in 2050. Notably, New Zealand’s 2050 net zero target does not include methanefrom agriculture and waste, which makes up roughly half of the country’s emissions. Instead, this methane is required to be reduced to a range of 24 to 47 percent below 2017 levels by 2050.
The new government wants to make the first important climate policy decisionsby the end of the year in the form of the second emissions reduction plan which will lay out how New Zealand will meet its second emissions budget between 2026 and 2030. Because the plan has yet to be unveiled, it is possible that there will be climate policies proposed in it that will receive funding in future budgets. Additionally, the focus of the plan is the 2026-2030 period, which means those policies can wait a year or so for funding.
Officials have advised that the climate policies defunded in the current Budget won’t prevent the country from meeting its first emissions budget (2022-2025). However, they did lay the groundwork for systemic moves away from fossil fuels in industry and transport in the second and third budget periods, so the government’s plan will have to offer some replacement policies because these foundations have now been scrapped.
Emissions trading
Even so, commentators don’t expect to see a significant array of emissions reduction policies proposed in this month’s draft plan. That’s because the new government has stated it wants to rely more heavily on New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (NZETS) to cut emissions, rather than complementary policies like industrial or electric vehicle subsidies.
The NZETS covers every sector bar agriculture and operates similarly to the EU ETS. It is, in theory, possible to use it alone to drive down emissions in the sectors required to reach net zero by 2050. However, it does allow for unlimited units from the forestry sector. This has seen a boom in tree-planting in recent years and the independent Climate Change Commission has arguedit weakens the incentive for actual decarbonization in favor of carbon offsets.
There are also social and political implications of the tree-planting spree. Large areas of farmland, often highly productive, are being converted to monoculture exotic pine forests. These forests are poorly insulated from wildfire risk and also erode rural social license for the transition. Several of the parties in the governing coalition are supported strongly by farmers opposed to carbon forestry, though other politicians have received donations and support from the forestry industry.
If the government does rein in the tree-planting, it means the carbon price will rise. While this provides incentive for decarbonization, it also increases costs for households in a country where annual inflation is still above 4 percent in the first quarter of 2024. Given the government was elected on cost of living issues, this too is a hard pill to swallow.
Lower ambition on climate change
The government’s critics say the timing issues and reliance on the NZETS are just a fig leaf for reducing New Zealand’s climate ambition. The two minor parties in the coalition, New Zealand First and Act, have railed against climate policies in the past. Shane Jones, the New Zealand First Minister for Resources, told a fossil fuel lobby breakfast in February that he was “New Zealand’s number one doubting Thomas about the climate religion.”
To ward off accusations of climate delay or denial, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has made achieving New Zealand’s NDC and emissions budgets one of his nine major government targets for the year 2030. However, on the policy front there is little in the works for climate change.
A campaign pledge to urgently clarify regulations to enable offshore wind farms has been delayed nearly a year. The government is also still working through the details of a policy that would reduce obstacles to permitting new renewable energy. At the same time, it has already introduced legislation to make it easier to permit new coal mines, has announced plans to repeal the Labour government’s ban on offshore oil and gas exploration.
New Zealand’s international role
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has stated that New Zealand will remain a leader on climate issues internationally under the new government. However, the domestic backtracking on climate policy complicates this. In particular, the plan to rescind the oil and gas exploration ban has already attracted criticism from Pacific Island leaders and earned New Zealand the “Fossil of the Day” award at COP28.
New Zealand at COP27 was one of the first countries to announce a token contribution to Loss and Damage funding of 20 million NZD. The new government has continued its predecessor’s ambitious approach to climate finance. However, there is a budget issue here as well. New Zealand’s 325 million NZD a year climate aid funding was largely sourced from NZETS revenues, which have now been redirected to the tax cut package. When the current appropriation expires at the end of 2025, the government will need to either find a new funding source when it has relatively little fiscal headroom or reduce the amount of climate finance it is providing – at exactly the time when there are global calls for that funding to increase.
Climate & Environment
Climate financing
Climate policy
Neuseeland
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Events
June 6-9 ChoiceEuropean elections The European Parliament elections will be held from June 6 to 9.
June 6, 11:45 a.m., Room Berlin, Bonn Discussion Climate Justice and Gender Equality: Addressing the Intersectional Impacts of Climate Change The event will foster collaboration among stakeholders – government, CSO, and faith-based groups – to boost gender-responsive resilience amidst climate-induced losses and damages.Info
June 61 4:15 p.m. Room Bonn, Bonn Discussion NCQG: Bringing accountability, trust and developing country needs to climate finance Considerations on how the NCQG must meet the needs of developing countries equitably, ensuring accountability within the UN process, including in relation to the outcomes of the GST, and potential implications for the global financial architecture, economic cooperation and policy coordination.Info
June 9-12, Berlin / Online ConferenceWhat Works Climate Solutions Summit The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change is organizing this conference to discuss climate solutions and share knowledge. Info
June 10, 10:15 a.m., Room Berlin, Bonn DiscussionWhy Innovative Sources of Finance & Financial System Reform Matter: A Moral Case At this SB60 side event, several NGOs will discuss how climate finance architecture needs to change to better protect vulnerable communities. Info
June 11, 10:15 a.m., Room Berlin, Bonn DiscussionOcean-Climate-Society & Conventions: Adaptation. Mitigation & Governance opportunities and challenges At this SB60 side event, various experts will discuss opportunities and barriers to climate action through and for the oceans. Info
June 13-15, Borgo Egnazia, Italy Summit meetingG7 Summit The next G7 summit will be held under the presidency of Italy. Info
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News
Climate in Numbers: A year of temperature records
The global temperature rise has accelerated dramatically over the past year: In each of the past twelve months, the increase compared to pre-industrial levels was greater than ever before; in eleven of the twelve months, it was more than 1.5 degrees. This is according to data published on Wednesday by the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service. The average temperature increase was 1.63 degrees, thus exceeding the maximum target of 1.5 degrees set out in the Paris Agreement.
A study presented by the MCC on Wednesday also reveals new record figures. The study shows that the temperature recently rose by 0.26 degrees per decade, which is the highest rate since records began. For the year 2023, the researchers calculated a temperature increase of 1.43 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, of which 1.3 degrees are the result of human activities. The high rate of warming is “driven by consistently high greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 53 billion tonnes of CO2 per year,” the MCC writes.
However, the World Meteorological Association states that El Niño has also contributed to the particularly high temperatures in recent months. The periodically occurring warm phase, which is caused by changes in ocean currents in the Pacific, began last August and will end this summer, the WMO announced on Monday. As a result, a significantly lower temperature rise is expected in the coming months; however, this should not be interpreted as an all-clear, explained WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett: “The end of El Niño does not mean a pause, in long-term climate change as our planet will continue to warm due to heat-trapping greenhouse gases.” mkr
Klimawandel
1.5 degrees: global budget shrunk to 200 billion tons of CO2
Humanity can only emit around 200 billion tons of CO2, roughly equivalent to five years of current emissions, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age. This is the conclusion of the report “Indicators of Global Climate Change” (IGCC), which was published on Wednesday by an international research group led by Piers Forster from the University of Leeds in the journal Earth System Science Data.
The estimate is linked to certain probabilities: According to the researchers, if the total 200 billion tons of CO2 are emitted, there is a 50 percent chance of staying within the 1.5-degree limit. If, on the other hand, CO2 emissions could be limited to 100 billion tons, the probability would be significantly higher, at 83 percent. However, if 450 billion tons were emitted, the chance would shrink to 17 percent.
The report also shows how rapidly the remaining carbon budget is shrinking. Just four years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) put the budget for a 50 percent chance of not exceeding the 1.5-degree limit at 500 billion tons. At that time, the range of calculations was between 300 and 900 billion tons of CO2.
In addition, the report states that man-made global warming is progressing faster than ever before (see graph). But there is also a small ray of hope: “There is evidence that the rate of increase in CO2 emissions over the last decade has slowed compared to the 2000s,” the authors write. Depending on societal decisions, the current decade could reverse some of the report’s figures. dpa/kul
Klimawandel
UN Secretary-General calls for ban on fossil fuels advertising
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has once again sharpened his criticism of the fossil fuel industry and called for a ban on fossil fuel company advertising. “I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies,” Guterres said in a speech on June 5, International Environment Day. After all, governments already ban advertising for products such as tobacco that are harmful to health. “And I urge news media and tech companies to stop taking fossil fuel advertising,” he added.
Guterres gave his speech on the third day of the SB60 climate conference in Bonn, where negotiators are currently trying to make progress on financing climate action. The Secretary-General highlighted the dangers of the climate crisis – as he has done many times before – and used drastic words to convince countries and politicians to reduce emissions, protect the most vulnerable people and provide sufficient funding to do so. He said climate aid was not charity, “it is enlightened self-interest” of the donor countries. “The battle for 1.5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s.”
Above all, however, Guterres addressed the fossil fuel industry directly: With words such as “godfathers of climate chaos,” he put them in the same corner as criminals. He said fossil fuel companies “rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies” and invest in greenwashing. He urged them to invest their money in green technologies instead.
He recommended that developed countries phase out coal by 2030 and reduce their consumption of oil and gas by 60 percent by 2035. All other countries should phase out coal by 2040. He urged people not to lose hope: “It is we the Peoples versus the polluters and the profiteers. Together, we can win. But it’s time for leaders to decide whose side they’re on.” bpo
Antonio Guterres
EU Commission makes Leag compensation partly conditional
The German lignite company Leag will initially only receive 1.2 billion eurosin compensation for the agreed coal phase-out instead of the 1.75 billion euros promised by the German government. This sum is intended to cover the additional costs incurred in any case as a result of the legally agreed phase-out of coal-fired power generation. 600 million of this is to cover the extra costs of renaturalizing the opencast mines, while an additional 600 million is to be used to provide social security for existing employees. This was announced by Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Leag CEO Thorsten Kramer on Tuesday.
The remaining 550 million euros were made conditional by the EU Commission, which must approve the compensation agreed as part of the coal phase-out in 2019 as state aid. This is intended to compensate Leag for the profits the company lost due to the earlier coal phase-out. However, it is unclear whether there are any lost profits at all; many experts assume that the coal-fired power plants would be taken off the grid solely due to market developments, even without a political decision.
Costs of renaturation are unclear
That is why the EU Commission has now stipulated that the amount of profit each power plant could have made if it had continued to operate should be calculated at the time of decommissioning. Habeck explained that the formula used to calculate this was “no secret.” However, when asked by Table.Briefings, neither the ministry nor the Commission provided details, making it impossible to say how much money will flow and under what conditions.
“As the talks with the EU Commission are still ongoing and the proceedings are still in progress, we are not yet able to present a formula,” a BMWK spokesperson said. In fact, the formula used to calculate the lost profits has apparently not yet been determined. According to the BMWK, there has only been a general decision so far; the formula will only be included in the final approval decision, which is expected later this year. “The work on this is now underway,” the ministry said. mkr
Coal phase-out
European Commission
Renaturierung
Robert Habeck
IEA: Only China and Latin America expand renewables fast enough
Even if all countries were to realize their current plans and targets for the expansion of renewable energies, they would still fall 30 percent short of the global target of tripling capacity by 2030. This is revealed by new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to the IEA, national plans would lead to a renewable energy capacity of almost 8,000 gigawatts in 2030 – but over 11,000 gigawatts would be needed to triple this and achieve a 1.5-degree pathway.
And even the national targets are at risk: According to the IEA, only China and Latin American countries expanded renewables fast enough in 2022. Accordingly, the People’s Republic could expand its capacity by a factor of 2.5 by 2030 compared to 2022 – this corresponds to 45 percent of the capacity growth required to achieve the global target. According to the IEA, this would be a sufficiently high contribution. However, China currently consumes 30 percent of the electricity generated worldwide.
The IEA estimates that Europe, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, the USA and Canada would have to accelerate expansion by several dozen gigawatts per year. In the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, the rate of expansion would have to double – albeit from a very low level – in order to achieve the national plans.
Only 14 countries worldwide have set specific targets for the expansion of renewable energies in their official climate plans (NDCs). However, there are national plans that are more ambitious than the NDCs. Nevertheless, the IEA sees great potential here to accelerate expansion. The biggest challenges are bureaucracy and long approval times, insufficient investment in the power grid and high financing costs, particularly in developing and emerging countries. nib
Energiewende
CO2 removal: Where the world stands on carbon dioxide removal
Around 2.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere worldwide every year – but only 0.1 percent or 1.3 million tons of these removals are the result of novel methods such as CCS or enhanced weathering. The vast majority can be attributed to natural sinks, for example in forestry. By the middle of the century, global carbon removal must increase to seven to nine gigatons per year to achieve climate targets and compensate for residual emissions. But the most important thing is to reduce emissions.
These are the key findings of the second “State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report 2024,” compiled by researchers led by the Smith School at the University of Oxford. This is an update of the first report from last year. The background: All IPCC scenarios, which assume global warming of between 1.5 and 2 degrees, include carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere. The current report states that the CDR targets formulated by the countries in their NDCs are insufficient to achieve the IPCC’s 1.5-degree-compatible scenarios.
Low potential for eco-methods in Germany
Another study published in late May found that ecosystem-based methods for CDR face relatively few implementation hurdles in Germany, but also tend to have lower removal potential. High-tech options such as bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or direct air capture (DACS) have greater potential but face more technological and institutional hurdles. “We are a bit where we were with renewable energies 30 years ago,” Daniela Thrän from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig and author of the study said. She added that working on how the technical solutions could be expanded quickly was now important.
Oliver Geden from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, who co-authored the State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report, says that in order to achieve the necessary removals, an “innovation dynamic” and a “broad portfolio of methods” are needed. Geden already sees innovation in this area with a growing number of research grants and large demonstration projects.
So far, the demand for new methods has mainly come from the voluntary carbon market. According to Geden, upscaling can only succeed if targets are also integrated into climate policy. He welcomes the fact that the German government intends to set sub-targets for non-forestry CDR methods from 2035 with the amendment to the Climate Change Act. However, he believes that robust measures are also needed for reporting and monitoring CDR. kul
Carbon Removal
Carbon footprint: How China will calculate emissions of industrial products in the future
China has unveiled a new system for measuring and managing the carbon footprint of its industrial products. The new “Carbon Footprint Management System” will be overseen by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and is scheduled to be implemented in 2027, according to a strategy paper released on Wednesday. It will establish standards for measuring the CO2 emissions of around 100 key products in the Chinese economy.
These standards will first apply to high-CO2-emission products such as coal and natural gas, as well as export products like steel, aluminum, lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment stated that it hopes to expand these guidelines to 200 products by 2030.
Just last week, the State Council presented a new action plan for emission reductions for the years 2024 and 2025. According to this plan, key industries, from steel production to transportation, are expected to reduce their CO2 emissions. The new footprint system complements these plans and, according to analysts, could play a crucial role in China’s efforts to reduce emissions in the manufacturing sector – thus helping to avoid trade conflicts and import tariffs under the EU’s forthcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
This move indicates that China is working to catch up with EU legislation, which has already “established clear rules for measuring and disclosing the carbon footprint of products,” said Ma Jun, Director of the independent Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing. “China is a latecomer in this regard, so there are still some gaps to fill,” Ma added. The CBAM is set to come into force in 2026. rtr/ck
Water levels in the German city of Bonn on the Rhine are not the only thing rising right now. Many eyebrows were raised when Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder commented on the flood disaster in his state by saying that “nobody could have expected this.” This left climate experts from all over the world feeling a mixture of anger, cynicism, and despair. After all, the people sitting here at the climate conference are the very people who calculate the models based on which they have been warning for decades about extreme weather events, such as the one southern Germany currently experiences.
But many people don’t even learn from such devastating damage, as our colleague Lisa Kuner has found out: She writes about how little has been learned from the catastrophic floods in the German Ahr Valley in 2021 and how people should actually know better.
The same is true on the other side of the world: New Zealand has a new government and a problem with climate policy: the Conservatives are funding tax breaks by scrapping climate action, our colleague Marc Daalder writes from Wellington.
We also report on new data showing that the global carbon budget for 1.5 degrees continues to shrink, and on just how slowly the expansion of renewables is progressing. UN Secretary-General António Guterres then summarized all of these challenges in a remarkable speech on Environment Day: He calls the fossil fuel industries “godfathers of climate chaos” with toxic business models that should be ostracized, for example, by banning advertising.
As you can see, today’s issue has plenty of controversy. And tomorrow will be even better: We’ll have a Climate.Table European elections special for you. Stay tuned!
Your Bernhard Pötter
Feature
Floods: Why climate risks make rebuilding difficult
Flooding in southern Germany: Rudersberg in Baden-Württemberg has been hit particularly hard.
While the water levels in the flooded areas in southern Germanybegin to fall in some places and the clean-up work is underway, the debate focuses on the damage – and ways to prevent it in the future. So far, five people have been confirmed dead. The German Insurance Association expects a major damage event, although it is still too early to make a definitive damage estimate. The insurance companies estimate the damage caused by the floods in Germany’s Saarland region a few weeks ago to range between 200 and 300 million euros.
Various safeguards are being discussed for the future in the face of increasing flooding – some have already been adopted or are already being implemented:
There are repeated calls for mandatory insurance against natural disasters: This would not prevent damage, but could provide financial relief in the event of damage. The costs for this are estimated at between 100 and 2,000 euros per single-family home. In the state of Baden-Württemberg, 94 percent of buildings are insured against natural disasters because such insurance was compulsory in the state until 1994, whereas it is only 47 percent in Bavaria and 54 percent on average in Germany.
Environmental Action Germany (DUH) calls on the German government to create a special climate adaptation, climate and disaster protection fund in order to invest more in prevention. Rivers need more space and construction should no longer be allowed in flood areas, the DUH writes in a position paper on ecological flood protection. The German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation also favors the restoration of floodplains as natural flood protection.
The Federal Ministry for the Environment published an information paper on Wednesday in which it outlines how much the German government is already doing to prevent flooding: A new flood protection law is currently in the works that will adapt building permits to flood risk. The National Flood Protection Program aims to restore around 33,000 hectares of land for flood retention. The Climate Adaptation Act, which comes into force on 1 July, is intended to promote systematic preparation for extreme weather events and strengthen the Action Program for Natural Climate Protection (ANK) for floodplains and moors – however, the ANK funds have been cut recently.
Also on Wednesday, the Budget Committee of the German Parliament approved 100 million euros for the “Adaptation of urban and rural areas to climate change” funding program, which will also be used for flood prevention, among other things.
Risk: rebuilding repeats mistakes
However, experience from past disasters shows how difficult it can often be to rebuild after flood damage in a way that considers future climate risks. In particular, banning construction in flood areas has been difficult to enforce.
A look back at the floods in the Ahr Valley almost three years ago: During rebuilding, there is a significant risk that “old mistakes will be repeated,” Jürgen Herget told Table.Briefings. The Professor of Geography at the University of Bonn believes that consistent protection against flooding is only possible if high-risk areas are no longer built on. However, this is not politically feasible under the current need for property development. “We have to expect that floods similar to those in the Ahr valley will occur again,” but where and with what intensity cannot be predicted, Herget says – who spoke to Table.Briefings before the recent flooding.
A stocktaking of the damage in the Ahr Valley in July 2021 revealed devastating results: Over 180 deaths in Germany, countless destroyed houses, roads, railways and bridges as well as gas and power lines. According to Munich Reinsurance Company, economic losses reached 46 billion euros, of which 33 billion were in Germany. According to researchers at World Weather Attribution, climate change has made rainfall and flooding – like the one triggered by the low-pressure system “Bernd” in July 2021 – 1.2 to nine times more likely and up to 19 percent more intense.
Climate crisis brings higher flood risk, but hardly any awareness
Herget believes the risk of flooding in many areas of Germany is only given secondary consideration: The renewed flood protection wall in Bonn is significantly lower than past flood marks. The crane houses in Cologne’s Rheinau harbor are at high risk during floods. Flood protection is often put on the back burner in popular residential areas. “These are political decisions.”
The authorities in areas flooded in 2021 are aware of the growing risk of flooding when it comes to rebuilding. Some houses can no longer be rebuilt in their original location. The German government has provided up to 30 billion euros to rebuild the region. To make the region future-proof, the goal is for the new infrastructure to be as “climate-resilient” as possible.
The town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, which was particularly affected by the floods, said in response to a request for comment that climate action and flood-adapted construction played an “overarching role” in the rebuilding process. For example, the HQ100 areas, which statistically are flooded once a century, have been expanded. In other places, floodplains were restored to rebuild natural flooding areas.
Learning from mistakes, but also ‘flood dementia’
At the same time, experts warn of “flood dementia“: The danger posed by floods may briefly be present in minds, but awareness quickly fades again. Then, people start building in high-risk areas again, or houses are not sufficiently insured.
The “Climate Adaptation Flood Resilience” (KAHR) project provides scientific support for the rebuilding process in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate regions. 13 stakeholders from science and practice are collaborating on the project. The project formulates ten recommendations for the sustainable rebuilding of flood-affected areas. One of these is the fact that bridges can exacerbate flood risks. They should be given greater consideration in planning, Stefanie Wolf from the NRW project office within the KAHR project told Table.Briefings. This is demonstrated by the Nepomuk Bridge in the town of Rech. During the 2021 flood, so much floating debris piled up that the water level rose quickly, resulting in the death of at least one woman. It was demolished because the bridge could also pose a “danger to people” during future floods.
Concrete recommendations for the future
Further recommendations from KAHR for a resilient reconstruction include:
More space for rivers through settlement retreat and adapted land use
Increased early warning
Publicly available maps on the dangers and risks of heavy rainfall
Better integration of flood and climate-resilient planning and construction at all levels
Strengthening cooperation between stakeholders
New protection standards for critical and sensitive infrastructure
According to Wolf, the fact that the controversial topic of settlement retreat has also made it into the recommendations is remarkable. “Resilience means living with floods,” she says. You can’t completely protect yourself against the next, possibly stronger flood that destroys infrastructure again. However, holistic planning that also considers social factors can improve things.
The advice: If in doubt, leave homes quickly
A particular sticking point: The protection of critical and sensitive infrastructure such as nurseries, schools and hospitals. In 2021, 12 people drowned in a residential home for people with disabilities. KAHR called for new protection standards for such facilities. The district of Ahrweiler now wants to relocate a school for children with special needs to a safe area. The German government’s “Climate adaptation in social facilities” funding program aims to ensure that such facilities can better protect themselves against flooding and other extreme weather events. Representatives of people with disabilities doubt whether this will be enough.
Jürgen Herget says some decisions are difficult to justify politically, such as giving up home construction areas. But then, at the very least, more awareness needs to be raised in order to save lives: Residents should be prepared to leave their homes quickly and get to safety in the event of flood warnings.
Hochwasser
Translation missing.
New Zealand: How the new government slashes climate policy
Sheep grazing in New Zealand. Agriculture is responsible for more than half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, a large proportion of which is methane.
The new center-right Government in New Zealand unveiled its first budget on May 30 with no new funding for emissions reductions and a rollback of 3.7 billion New Zealand dollars (about 80 billion euros) in climate-related spending.
While recent Budgets from the previous Labour Party government saw billions of dollars invested into decarbonizing industry and transport and researching agricultural emissions technologies, the coalition Government’s Budget took a more hands-off approach. The centerpiece of the budget was a 14 billion NZD tax cut package targeted at middle-earners with children, with a side component of extra tax cuts for landlords. The package was partly funded by 15.6 billion NZD dollars in reduced or reprioritized public expenditure. Climate policies made up a significant proportion of this – the Labour Party put the total amount of climate funding reduced at 3.7 billion NZD.
Climate was notably absent from the list of new initiatives as well. No new money went to fund emissions reductions, while localized climate adaptation works did receive 200 million. Much of this fund will be used to help recover from the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, which scientists have since found was made more intense by climate change.
There are three potential reasons for the new government’s decreased funding for climate change:
The timing of policy decisions
Reliance on emissions trading
Lower ambition on climate change
The timing of policy
In 2019, New Zealand passed a Zero Carbon Act, setting up a UK-style Climate Change Commission, a series of emissions budgets, and an Emissions Reductions Plan to step down to net zero carbon dioxide emissions in 2050. Notably, New Zealand’s 2050 net zero target does not include methanefrom agriculture and waste, which makes up roughly half of the country’s emissions. Instead, this methane is required to be reduced to a range of 24 to 47 percent below 2017 levels by 2050.
The new government wants to make the first important climate policy decisionsby the end of the year in the form of the second emissions reduction plan which will lay out how New Zealand will meet its second emissions budget between 2026 and 2030. Because the plan has yet to be unveiled, it is possible that there will be climate policies proposed in it that will receive funding in future budgets. Additionally, the focus of the plan is the 2026-2030 period, which means those policies can wait a year or so for funding.
Officials have advised that the climate policies defunded in the current Budget won’t prevent the country from meeting its first emissions budget (2022-2025). However, they did lay the groundwork for systemic moves away from fossil fuels in industry and transport in the second and third budget periods, so the government’s plan will have to offer some replacement policies because these foundations have now been scrapped.
Emissions trading
Even so, commentators don’t expect to see a significant array of emissions reduction policies proposed in this month’s draft plan. That’s because the new government has stated it wants to rely more heavily on New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (NZETS) to cut emissions, rather than complementary policies like industrial or electric vehicle subsidies.
The NZETS covers every sector bar agriculture and operates similarly to the EU ETS. It is, in theory, possible to use it alone to drive down emissions in the sectors required to reach net zero by 2050. However, it does allow for unlimited units from the forestry sector. This has seen a boom in tree-planting in recent years and the independent Climate Change Commission has arguedit weakens the incentive for actual decarbonization in favor of carbon offsets.
There are also social and political implications of the tree-planting spree. Large areas of farmland, often highly productive, are being converted to monoculture exotic pine forests. These forests are poorly insulated from wildfire risk and also erode rural social license for the transition. Several of the parties in the governing coalition are supported strongly by farmers opposed to carbon forestry, though other politicians have received donations and support from the forestry industry.
If the government does rein in the tree-planting, it means the carbon price will rise. While this provides incentive for decarbonization, it also increases costs for households in a country where annual inflation is still above 4 percent in the first quarter of 2024. Given the government was elected on cost of living issues, this too is a hard pill to swallow.
Lower ambition on climate change
The government’s critics say the timing issues and reliance on the NZETS are just a fig leaf for reducing New Zealand’s climate ambition. The two minor parties in the coalition, New Zealand First and Act, have railed against climate policies in the past. Shane Jones, the New Zealand First Minister for Resources, told a fossil fuel lobby breakfast in February that he was “New Zealand’s number one doubting Thomas about the climate religion.”
To ward off accusations of climate delay or denial, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has made achieving New Zealand’s NDC and emissions budgets one of his nine major government targets for the year 2030. However, on the policy front there is little in the works for climate change.
A campaign pledge to urgently clarify regulations to enable offshore wind farms has been delayed nearly a year. The government is also still working through the details of a policy that would reduce obstacles to permitting new renewable energy. At the same time, it has already introduced legislation to make it easier to permit new coal mines, has announced plans to repeal the Labour government’s ban on offshore oil and gas exploration.
New Zealand’s international role
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has stated that New Zealand will remain a leader on climate issues internationally under the new government. However, the domestic backtracking on climate policy complicates this. In particular, the plan to rescind the oil and gas exploration ban has already attracted criticism from Pacific Island leaders and earned New Zealand the “Fossil of the Day” award at COP28.
New Zealand at COP27 was one of the first countries to announce a token contribution to Loss and Damage funding of 20 million NZD. The new government has continued its predecessor’s ambitious approach to climate finance. However, there is a budget issue here as well. New Zealand’s 325 million NZD a year climate aid funding was largely sourced from NZETS revenues, which have now been redirected to the tax cut package. When the current appropriation expires at the end of 2025, the government will need to either find a new funding source when it has relatively little fiscal headroom or reduce the amount of climate finance it is providing – at exactly the time when there are global calls for that funding to increase.
Climate & Environment
Climate financing
Climate policy
Neuseeland
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Events
June 6-9 ChoiceEuropean elections The European Parliament elections will be held from June 6 to 9.
June 6, 11:45 a.m., Room Berlin, Bonn Discussion Climate Justice and Gender Equality: Addressing the Intersectional Impacts of Climate Change The event will foster collaboration among stakeholders – government, CSO, and faith-based groups – to boost gender-responsive resilience amidst climate-induced losses and damages.Info
June 61 4:15 p.m. Room Bonn, Bonn Discussion NCQG: Bringing accountability, trust and developing country needs to climate finance Considerations on how the NCQG must meet the needs of developing countries equitably, ensuring accountability within the UN process, including in relation to the outcomes of the GST, and potential implications for the global financial architecture, economic cooperation and policy coordination.Info
June 9-12, Berlin / Online ConferenceWhat Works Climate Solutions Summit The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change is organizing this conference to discuss climate solutions and share knowledge. Info
June 10, 10:15 a.m., Room Berlin, Bonn DiscussionWhy Innovative Sources of Finance & Financial System Reform Matter: A Moral Case At this SB60 side event, several NGOs will discuss how climate finance architecture needs to change to better protect vulnerable communities. Info
June 11, 10:15 a.m., Room Berlin, Bonn DiscussionOcean-Climate-Society & Conventions: Adaptation. Mitigation & Governance opportunities and challenges At this SB60 side event, various experts will discuss opportunities and barriers to climate action through and for the oceans. Info
June 13-15, Borgo Egnazia, Italy Summit meetingG7 Summit The next G7 summit will be held under the presidency of Italy. Info
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News
Climate in Numbers: A year of temperature records
The global temperature rise has accelerated dramatically over the past year: In each of the past twelve months, the increase compared to pre-industrial levels was greater than ever before; in eleven of the twelve months, it was more than 1.5 degrees. This is according to data published on Wednesday by the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service. The average temperature increase was 1.63 degrees, thus exceeding the maximum target of 1.5 degrees set out in the Paris Agreement.
A study presented by the MCC on Wednesday also reveals new record figures. The study shows that the temperature recently rose by 0.26 degrees per decade, which is the highest rate since records began. For the year 2023, the researchers calculated a temperature increase of 1.43 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, of which 1.3 degrees are the result of human activities. The high rate of warming is “driven by consistently high greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 53 billion tonnes of CO2 per year,” the MCC writes.
However, the World Meteorological Association states that El Niño has also contributed to the particularly high temperatures in recent months. The periodically occurring warm phase, which is caused by changes in ocean currents in the Pacific, began last August and will end this summer, the WMO announced on Monday. As a result, a significantly lower temperature rise is expected in the coming months; however, this should not be interpreted as an all-clear, explained WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett: “The end of El Niño does not mean a pause, in long-term climate change as our planet will continue to warm due to heat-trapping greenhouse gases.” mkr
Klimawandel
1.5 degrees: global budget shrunk to 200 billion tons of CO2
Humanity can only emit around 200 billion tons of CO2, roughly equivalent to five years of current emissions, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age. This is the conclusion of the report “Indicators of Global Climate Change” (IGCC), which was published on Wednesday by an international research group led by Piers Forster from the University of Leeds in the journal Earth System Science Data.
The estimate is linked to certain probabilities: According to the researchers, if the total 200 billion tons of CO2 are emitted, there is a 50 percent chance of staying within the 1.5-degree limit. If, on the other hand, CO2 emissions could be limited to 100 billion tons, the probability would be significantly higher, at 83 percent. However, if 450 billion tons were emitted, the chance would shrink to 17 percent.
The report also shows how rapidly the remaining carbon budget is shrinking. Just four years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) put the budget for a 50 percent chance of not exceeding the 1.5-degree limit at 500 billion tons. At that time, the range of calculations was between 300 and 900 billion tons of CO2.
In addition, the report states that man-made global warming is progressing faster than ever before (see graph). But there is also a small ray of hope: “There is evidence that the rate of increase in CO2 emissions over the last decade has slowed compared to the 2000s,” the authors write. Depending on societal decisions, the current decade could reverse some of the report’s figures. dpa/kul
Klimawandel
UN Secretary-General calls for ban on fossil fuels advertising
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has once again sharpened his criticism of the fossil fuel industry and called for a ban on fossil fuel company advertising. “I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies,” Guterres said in a speech on June 5, International Environment Day. After all, governments already ban advertising for products such as tobacco that are harmful to health. “And I urge news media and tech companies to stop taking fossil fuel advertising,” he added.
Guterres gave his speech on the third day of the SB60 climate conference in Bonn, where negotiators are currently trying to make progress on financing climate action. The Secretary-General highlighted the dangers of the climate crisis – as he has done many times before – and used drastic words to convince countries and politicians to reduce emissions, protect the most vulnerable people and provide sufficient funding to do so. He said climate aid was not charity, “it is enlightened self-interest” of the donor countries. “The battle for 1.5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s.”
Above all, however, Guterres addressed the fossil fuel industry directly: With words such as “godfathers of climate chaos,” he put them in the same corner as criminals. He said fossil fuel companies “rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies” and invest in greenwashing. He urged them to invest their money in green technologies instead.
He recommended that developed countries phase out coal by 2030 and reduce their consumption of oil and gas by 60 percent by 2035. All other countries should phase out coal by 2040. He urged people not to lose hope: “It is we the Peoples versus the polluters and the profiteers. Together, we can win. But it’s time for leaders to decide whose side they’re on.” bpo
Antonio Guterres
EU Commission makes Leag compensation partly conditional
The German lignite company Leag will initially only receive 1.2 billion eurosin compensation for the agreed coal phase-out instead of the 1.75 billion euros promised by the German government. This sum is intended to cover the additional costs incurred in any case as a result of the legally agreed phase-out of coal-fired power generation. 600 million of this is to cover the extra costs of renaturalizing the opencast mines, while an additional 600 million is to be used to provide social security for existing employees. This was announced by Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Leag CEO Thorsten Kramer on Tuesday.
The remaining 550 million euros were made conditional by the EU Commission, which must approve the compensation agreed as part of the coal phase-out in 2019 as state aid. This is intended to compensate Leag for the profits the company lost due to the earlier coal phase-out. However, it is unclear whether there are any lost profits at all; many experts assume that the coal-fired power plants would be taken off the grid solely due to market developments, even without a political decision.
Costs of renaturation are unclear
That is why the EU Commission has now stipulated that the amount of profit each power plant could have made if it had continued to operate should be calculated at the time of decommissioning. Habeck explained that the formula used to calculate this was “no secret.” However, when asked by Table.Briefings, neither the ministry nor the Commission provided details, making it impossible to say how much money will flow and under what conditions.
“As the talks with the EU Commission are still ongoing and the proceedings are still in progress, we are not yet able to present a formula,” a BMWK spokesperson said. In fact, the formula used to calculate the lost profits has apparently not yet been determined. According to the BMWK, there has only been a general decision so far; the formula will only be included in the final approval decision, which is expected later this year. “The work on this is now underway,” the ministry said. mkr
Coal phase-out
European Commission
Renaturierung
Robert Habeck
IEA: Only China and Latin America expand renewables fast enough
Even if all countries were to realize their current plans and targets for the expansion of renewable energies, they would still fall 30 percent short of the global target of tripling capacity by 2030. This is revealed by new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to the IEA, national plans would lead to a renewable energy capacity of almost 8,000 gigawatts in 2030 – but over 11,000 gigawatts would be needed to triple this and achieve a 1.5-degree pathway.
And even the national targets are at risk: According to the IEA, only China and Latin American countries expanded renewables fast enough in 2022. Accordingly, the People’s Republic could expand its capacity by a factor of 2.5 by 2030 compared to 2022 – this corresponds to 45 percent of the capacity growth required to achieve the global target. According to the IEA, this would be a sufficiently high contribution. However, China currently consumes 30 percent of the electricity generated worldwide.
The IEA estimates that Europe, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, the USA and Canada would have to accelerate expansion by several dozen gigawatts per year. In the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, the rate of expansion would have to double – albeit from a very low level – in order to achieve the national plans.
Only 14 countries worldwide have set specific targets for the expansion of renewable energies in their official climate plans (NDCs). However, there are national plans that are more ambitious than the NDCs. Nevertheless, the IEA sees great potential here to accelerate expansion. The biggest challenges are bureaucracy and long approval times, insufficient investment in the power grid and high financing costs, particularly in developing and emerging countries. nib
Energiewende
CO2 removal: Where the world stands on carbon dioxide removal
Around 2.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere worldwide every year – but only 0.1 percent or 1.3 million tons of these removals are the result of novel methods such as CCS or enhanced weathering. The vast majority can be attributed to natural sinks, for example in forestry. By the middle of the century, global carbon removal must increase to seven to nine gigatons per year to achieve climate targets and compensate for residual emissions. But the most important thing is to reduce emissions.
These are the key findings of the second “State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report 2024,” compiled by researchers led by the Smith School at the University of Oxford. This is an update of the first report from last year. The background: All IPCC scenarios, which assume global warming of between 1.5 and 2 degrees, include carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere. The current report states that the CDR targets formulated by the countries in their NDCs are insufficient to achieve the IPCC’s 1.5-degree-compatible scenarios.
Low potential for eco-methods in Germany
Another study published in late May found that ecosystem-based methods for CDR face relatively few implementation hurdles in Germany, but also tend to have lower removal potential. High-tech options such as bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or direct air capture (DACS) have greater potential but face more technological and institutional hurdles. “We are a bit where we were with renewable energies 30 years ago,” Daniela Thrän from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig and author of the study said. She added that working on how the technical solutions could be expanded quickly was now important.
Oliver Geden from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, who co-authored the State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report, says that in order to achieve the necessary removals, an “innovation dynamic” and a “broad portfolio of methods” are needed. Geden already sees innovation in this area with a growing number of research grants and large demonstration projects.
So far, the demand for new methods has mainly come from the voluntary carbon market. According to Geden, upscaling can only succeed if targets are also integrated into climate policy. He welcomes the fact that the German government intends to set sub-targets for non-forestry CDR methods from 2035 with the amendment to the Climate Change Act. However, he believes that robust measures are also needed for reporting and monitoring CDR. kul
Carbon Removal
Carbon footprint: How China will calculate emissions of industrial products in the future
China has unveiled a new system for measuring and managing the carbon footprint of its industrial products. The new “Carbon Footprint Management System” will be overseen by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and is scheduled to be implemented in 2027, according to a strategy paper released on Wednesday. It will establish standards for measuring the CO2 emissions of around 100 key products in the Chinese economy.
These standards will first apply to high-CO2-emission products such as coal and natural gas, as well as export products like steel, aluminum, lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment stated that it hopes to expand these guidelines to 200 products by 2030.
Just last week, the State Council presented a new action plan for emission reductions for the years 2024 and 2025. According to this plan, key industries, from steel production to transportation, are expected to reduce their CO2 emissions. The new footprint system complements these plans and, according to analysts, could play a crucial role in China’s efforts to reduce emissions in the manufacturing sector – thus helping to avoid trade conflicts and import tariffs under the EU’s forthcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
This move indicates that China is working to catch up with EU legislation, which has already “established clear rules for measuring and disclosing the carbon footprint of products,” said Ma Jun, Director of the independent Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing. “China is a latecomer in this regard, so there are still some gaps to fill,” Ma added. The CBAM is set to come into force in 2026. rtr/ck
