IRA: the EU counters + Taxes for climate justice + Weak carbon credits
GreenTech: EU counters US subsidies
Experts call for climate justice taxes
France: new plan for greener industry
Scholz in Latin America: forests, lithium, hydrogen
Climate in numbers: Sea ice melts at record rate
Carbon credits: not good enough
Ukraine: ideas for green rebuilding
Study: societal change too slow for 1.5 degrees
DR Congo postpones oil licenses auction
Study: Only less flying helps climate
India considers its own CBAM
Ian Fry – advocate for human rights in climate change
Dear reader,
Until a few years ago, climate issues were something for nerds like us. Today, tackling this crisis is on the minds of important decision-makers around the world. Our latest Climate.Table shows this: The US government’s response to the crisis, the massive investment package called IRA, has the potential to spark a trade war between the US and the EU (and also China). Read our analysis today to find out how the EU is currently positioning itself.
Because not only money and power now shape climate policy. But climate policy also shapes who will determine prosperity and influence in the future. On his South American tour, German Chancellor Scholz, therefore, focused on green hydrogen and forest protection; in France, the government needs to change its strategy on how to make the industry carbon neutral; India is threatening economic retaliation in the dispute over the EU carbon tariff; and in the Congo Basin, the government is gambling with oil companies over raw materials and rainforests.
And lastly, experts call for a new tax system in the new Climate Inequality Report to counter the imbalance of climate change: The fact that the wealthy around the world and in individual countries contribute greatly to the problem, while the poor have to foot the bill.
Your Bernhard Pötter
Feature
How the EU wants to stand up to the USA on GreenTech
Von der Leyen’s EU Commission wants to strengthen renewables with subsidies. The picture shows the Commission President at the North Sea Summit on the expansion of offshore wind power in summer 2022.
With the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the EU Commission is responding to the US government’s plans for massive subsidies for the US industry under the IRA. Brussels wants to provide relief for the EU economy, but it should be as targeted as possible. Investment subsidies for strategic green industries, such as tax breaks for the expansion of production capacities, are to be allowed.
The IRA is Joe Biden’s billion-dollar program to promote green industries in the US and bring foreign companies to the US. In some cases, tax breaks are only granted if US-made inputs are used. That is why many EU politicians and industry representatives fear that the IRA subsidies could lead to an exodus of important future green industries from Europe to the USA.
So far, the proposals presented by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday are only a “communication” by the Commission, not concrete legislative proposals. In detail, the plans include:
Tax relief and simplified deadline regulations for renewables. This would also allow member states to subsidize technologies covered by the Renewable Energies Directive. What is new here: biomass plants and hydropower plants, as well as storage facilities for green hydrogen and biofuels.
Aid for the decarbonization of the industrial sector is to be facilitated. Instead of lengthy procedures for switching from gas or coal to electricity or hydrogen, a flat-rate share of the investment costs will be eligible for subsidies.
For sectors such as hydrogen, zero-emission vehicles, buildings as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS), the aid application process in the EU (notification procedure) is to be facilitated according to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). The construction of charging and refueling infrastructure and training programs are also supposed to involve less bureaucracy.
And the planning of hydrogen projects and, in the future, solar and heat pump production will be facilitated. The de minimis rule regarding complicated subsidies for Important Projects of Common European Interest – (IPCEI) will be simplified. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also to be granted access to investment aid.
No details on the EU Sovereignty Fund
The funding details for the Green Deal Industrial Plan have not yet been finalized. A new instrument – the EU Sovereignty Fund – is expected to be in place by summer. According to Ursula von der Leyen, aid will also be provided for technology projects important for all member states. Ursula von der Leyen did not reveal further details – how much money will be distributed, where it will come from and whether new debts will be taken on: “We will first have to talk to the member states, then we will take care of the financial architecture.”
Subsidies, however, are to be disbursed through existing funds – InvestEU, the Innovation Fund and RepowerEU. 225 billion will also flow from the Recovery Fund and will be earmarked for the Industrial Plan.
The proposed funding of the Green Deal Industrial Plan is criticized by the Climate Action Network (CAN Europe). The EU Commission’s “communication” is a “mere catalog of existing EU funds“. It would not take into account that even if all these funds were exemplarily mobilized, “there would still be a significant investment gap”, said Olivier Vardakoulias, an expert on finance and subsidies at CAN Europe.
Solar industry demands more than just financial aid
Europe’s solar industry does not see financial aid alone as enough. The association SolarPower Europe also calls for clear labeling of EU modules as “best in class” when it comes to sustainability indicators. Even more far-reaching is the demand to give member states the option to permanently subsidize additional costs of particularly sustainable solar modules or to be able to take ESG criteria into account in tenders.
With this, the solar industry is bringing up the debate about a “Buy European” clause, which would mirror the particularly controversial origin requirement in the American IRA. The solar industry’s arguments suggest that it could not compete with cheap solar imports from China, even with subsidies.
Klaus Röhrig, head of climate policy at CAN, warns that the EU’s proposal could focus too much on technologies that have not yet been established, such as carbon capture. Instead, he calls for “sharp and deep emission reductions“. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) also criticized the Commission’s draft for lacking a clear definition of what constitutes “net-zero” technology. The EU must also make climate-damaging industries more expensive and force particularly harmful technologies out of the market, said Luke Haywood, Head of climate policy at the EEB. Manuel Berkel, Markus Grabitz, Bernhard Pötter, Nico Beckert
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Green Deal
Inflation Reduction Act
IPCEI
Climate justice: Experts call for redistribution via taxes
According to a new comprehensive study, the fairest and most effective way to protect the global climate is to tax the super-rich and use these revenues to fund the fight against poverty. Because extremely rich people and industrialized countries emit a disproportionately high amount of carbon dioxide on a global average. By imposing new levies on the super-rich and on international shipping and air transport, states are supposed to raise more funds for public investment. This is suggested by the Climate Inequality Report 2023 published by the think tank World Inequality Lab (WIL).
The study draws the following conclusions:
Starting with wealthy individuals and countries is not only just, but also the most effective way to cut emissions: Since ten percent of the global population accounts for almost 50 percent of global emissions, “The ‘marginal effort’ required to achieve the same level of emission reduction might be significantly lower for high-emitting groups.”
If emissions from the super-rich could be reduced accordingly, the fight against poverty and the resulting higher emissions from poor countries could be made compatible with the Paris Agreement. Currently, the richest one percent of the global population emits as much carbon as economic growth would be needed to lift three billion people out of poverty. “If global top emitters were to make their fair share of climate change mitigation efforts, and emissions were significantly cut at the top, sufficient carbon budgets would be freed up to lift the entire world population above a poverty threshold of $5.50 a day,” the authors write.
The poor in impoverished countries are most threatened by climate change, while they generate the fewest emissions and have hardly any means to adapt. In contrast, the richest one percent of the global population is responsible for high emissions, has many opportunities to adapt, but only has to fear minor risks. “Their incentives to reduce emissions are not necessarily aligned with the damage those emissions cause”.
The differences in emissions within countries are now greater than between countries, according to the study. Tax laws should react to this in individual countries. Indonesia, for example, managed to drastically cut subsidies for fossil fuels quickly without impacting society too much.
Taxing the super-rich: fair and efficient
The report is published for the first time and follows a series of annual reports on global inequality and the Global Inequality Monitor by the World Inequality Lab. The think tank is a study group at French universities and institutes, and one of its members is economist Thomas Piketty. The WIL is funded by the European Research Council, international universities and foundations and the UN Development Organisation UNDP.
Other organizations have already focused on “climate justice” and the responsibility of the super-rich in the past: Oxfam, for example, criticized that the carbon footprint of billionaires is between a thousand to a million times larger than the average of the population.
Arguments for loss and damage discussion
The analysis and the resulting recommendations of the Climate Inequality Report bring new arguments into the global climate justice debate. The annual $100 billion promised by the industrialized countries for climate action in poor countries has not been achieved so far. This year, the UN states want to finalize the details for the new loss and damage fund. At the spring meeting of the World Bank and IMF in April, a reform of the financial system is on the agenda. And there are still huge differences between rich and poor regions when it comes to the causes of climate change.
Most global regions are well above the upper emission limit for the 1.5 budget
The experts of the Climate Inequality Report, therefore, recommend governments and donors in the international climate scene to:
Strengthen the position of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the international financial system.
Restructure tax laws in LMICs toward more progressivity and secure public revenues.
Increased efforts by developed countries to meet their financial pledges.
Collect more data on inequality in a climate context.
Learn from the successes of individual countries and harvest the “low-hanging fruit” like a tax on extreme wealth analogous to excess profits tax.
Finally, the report makes proposals to reverse current trends of ever-rising emissions. Countries should:
Review their climate goals and dedicate more funding to adaptation and loss and damage.
Levy taxes on carbon emissions generated by international air and shipping traffic. Depending on the model, an airline tax alone could generate between $56 billion and $392 billion annually for climate action.
Help LMICs and all countries collect more revenue from multinational corporations.
Implement a tax on 0.1 percent of the world’s population with a wealth of more than $100 million. Such a “1.5 percent tax for 1.5 degrees” could raise $295 billion annually.
Climate Justice
Loss and Damage
Tax redistribution
France changes decarbonization strategy for its industry
The original plan of the French government to decarbonize its industry was unsuccessful. By 2030, the sector, which is responsible for around 20 percent of national carbon emissions, is to cut its greenhouse gases by 35 percent. Decarbonization roadmaps for 19 industries, which the sectors had to submit by the end of December 2022, were supposed to help achieve this. However, only four of them complied: chemicals, mining and metallurgy, cement, and the paper and cardboard industry.
Brand new: government money for roadmaps
The French government is therefore changing its strategy: It is no longer focusing on specific sectors but on the 50 industrial plants with the highest emissions intensity. To help with this, “Ecological Transition Contracts” are to be signed with the companies. With these, the government wants to support investments in new decarbonization technologies if a company commits to an ambitious roadmap, according to a statement in Paris.
“Industry-specific roadmaps allow identifying the technological levers for an entire industry, but cannot be too precise,” the French cabinet said, explaining its decision. “By opting for a location-based approach for the 50 largest emitters, which are responsible for more than half of industrial emissions, we want to be more efficient and speed up the process.” In March, the General Directorate for Enterprises, housed in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, will draft the first version of these contracts with the relevant plants. They then have until June to implement them.
Only sectors with the highest emissions submitted roadmaps
Only sectors with the highest emissions implemented the original plan:
The chemical sector, with 25.3 percent of total emissions from the manufacturing sector (2018 figures), committed in a 2021 public document to cutting its emissions by 26 percent by 2030 compared to 2015 levels. To achieve this goal, the sector is focusing on improved energy efficiency, low-carbon heat generation and reducing emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (potent greenhouse gases from refrigeration).
The mining and metals industry (24 percent of industrial emissions) followed suit in June 2021. It aims to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 31 percent by 2030. Its strategy revolves around increasing steel recycling rates, reducing the use of coal in blast furnaces, capturing and storing carbon from blast furnaces, and using hydrogen.
The cement industry (23 percent of industrial emissions) simultaneously also set itself the goal of reducing emissions by 24 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. To achieve this goal, cement manufacturers are also focusing on increasing the energy efficiency of production processes, and the use of renewables and biomass. A recycling chain for concrete was also mentioned.
Then, the paper and board industry published its roadmap in March 2022: It wanted to achieve a 39 percent emissions reduction by 2030 compared to 2015, primarily through energy efficiency and low-carbon heat generation.
Other sectors struggle with heterogeneity
The other 19 industries did not submit mandatory decarbonization strategies, but some of them still plan to do so. “We are currently working on the document and it should be ready early this year,” announced a spokesperson for Ania, the association representing the food industry. The lobbying association, which represents more than thirty industries “with very different characteristics,” also stated that the three industries with the highest emissions in the food sector (starch production, sugar factories, dairy products) will define their own strategies for low emissions. However, no documents have been published yet.
The same applies to the industry committee Healthcare Industry and Technology. The main reason for the delay is the composition of the committee, says Thomas Borel, Director of Scientific Affairs at LEEM, which represents pharmaceutical companies. According to him, it is an industry that includes players from the chemical, distribution and pharmaceutical industries. “We have started to identify the levers we could activate, such as eco-design of medicines and packaging,” the LEEM representative said. “But to make progress at the industry level, work needs to be done across all links.” A strategy is nevertheless expected to be presented in the first quarter of 2023.
Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and the South American common market Mercosur are to be concluded as soon as possible – at least that is what Scholz and his two hosts, Argentina’s President Alberto Ángel Fernández and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said during the visit of the German head of government. At the same time, Brazil’s president said that the text needed to be reviewed again to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises were not disadvantaged in public contracting.
Environmental groups and some European governments are demanding that the agreement be signed only if it guarantees climate, environmental, human rights and social standards. They are concerned about forest protection and the protection of indigenous communities from displacement. In its coalition agreement, the German government makes its approval conditional, among other things, on “implementable and verifiable legally binding commitments on environmental, social and human rights protection”. Scholz said in Buenos Aires that it was important “to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion soon”.
Millions for the protection of the Amazon forest
Germany has already announced plans to provide €200 million for environmental projects in Brazil. The money will come from the budget of the German Development Ministry (BMZ). The majority of it is intended to stop the deforestation of the Amazon. Not all of it is new money. According to the BMZ, the largest sub-amounts are:
€93 million has been earmarked to help smallholder farms reforest deforested land.
€35 million will flow into forest conservation projects via the Amazon Fund. The amount was already pledged by the German government in 2017 but was later frozen during the reign of Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Now they have been released again.
€31 million will go to the new Fundo Floresta, which is intended to support local communities with sustainable use of the forest, for example in processing fruits and plants into food or cosmetics. The idea is to reconcile forest conservation with the bioeconomy.
€30 million will be used to support small and medium-sized enterprises that want to invest in better energy efficiency.
Hydrogen, lithium and copper from Chile
According to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), talks were also held in Argentina and Brazil regarding closer cooperation in energy policy and hydrogen production.
There is concrete cooperation with Chile. The country is a pioneer in green hydrogen production.
During his visit, Scholz announced that Germany would continue to support the country in developing this technology. No concrete agreement on this was announced, but there is already a first cooperation: In December 2022, the pilot project “Haru Oni” was launched in Patagonia, where Siemens, Porsche and other partners generate e-fuels from wind energy and water. The decision to fund the project with €8.23 million from the National Hydrogen Strategy (NWS) stimulus package was still made under Angela Merkel’s former German government in December 2020.
According to several media reports, Scholz also offered Chile help in processing its lithium deposits. According to the US Geological Survey, the country owns the world’s largest lithium reserves and extracts almost 25 percent of global production. Among other things, lithium is needed for batteries, so strategic interest is correspondingly high.
In addition, the BMWK and Chile’s Ministry of Mining signed a cooperation agreement on mining, mineral resources and circular economy. The German metal and copper group Aurubis and the Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of a more sustainable and responsible copper industry.
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Chile
Climate Policy
Forests
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lithium
Events
Feb. 8, 2023; 9:30 a.m. CET, Online WebinarEU Energy transition – What role for critical raw materials? The news portal Euractiv will discuss the role of critical raw materials for the European energy transition. Representatives of the EU Commission and the EU Parliament will participate in the discussion.Info and registration
Feb. 8, 2023; 2:30 p.m. CET, Online WebinarRestoring the Earth’s lungs – How can forests support climate change mitigation? The EU’s Nature Restoration Law is supposed to restore damaged ecosystems. How can this succeed? And what role do forests play in this? Experts will discuss these questions at the event.Info
News
Climate In Numbers: Sea ice melts at record rate
Sea ice in the polar regions is melting faster and faster because of climate change. In Antarctica, a new minimum value could be reached in the second half of February 2023, reports the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in its fully revamped sea ice portal. At the turn of the year, the Antarctic sea ice cover was already lower than the minimum value observed at that time, according to the AWI. The sea ice was only about the size of France.
Ice plays an essential role in climate change:
The more sea ice, the higher the reflection of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation (Albedo) and the lower the warming effect,
It reduces the energy exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere,
It affects ocean currents and, thus, the climate.
Arctic
Climate In Numbers
Global warming
sea ice
Carbon credits: not good enough
Most carbon credits – voluntary allowances to offset emissions – lack quality. This is the conclusion of a new study by the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative (CCQI) of the WWF, Environmental Defense Fund and Oeko-Institut.
“There are serious problems with how some methodologies estimate emissions reductions,” said Lambert Schneider, Research Coordinator for International Climate Policy at Oeko-Institut. It is “very hard to find a carbon credit that does very well in all areas,” for example, that reliably and measurably reduces additional emissions while meeting social and other environmental standards. “Good performance in one area can’t make up for poor performance in another,” Schneider said. The risk of overestimating the climate impact of a credit is high, he said.
But those who want to buy carbon credits can identify low-risk allowances. And most of the weaknesses identified could be remedied.
Credit type scoring
CCQI aims to contribute to transparency on the market through its credit scoring. It has developed a procedure that enables governments, companies and investors to assess how good or bad individual traded carbon credits are. The initiative does not rate individual projects. Instead, it has devised criteria to assess the quality of certain types of carbon credits as detailed as possible.
This includes credits that make carbon taken from the atmosphere tradable – for example, through reforestation – and allowances based on avoided emissions, for example, through the large-scale integration of solar and wind power into the grid or the use of more efficient cooking stoves.
The CCQI assesses credits based on seven environmental, climate, and social quality criteria on a scale from one to the highest score of five. For example, it looks at how well double counting is avoided and how well a credit type contributes to economic transformation toward net zero. In the end, there is no overall score but a rating for each individual quality target. This should help market participants decide for themselves on which criteria they want to buy credits.
The results can be viewed and tracked in detail online via an interactive tool. New carbon credit types have been included since Tuesday. Currently, more than a quarter of the voluntary carbon market is covered, the Environmental Defense Fund wrote in a statement. The new results “underscore the need to improve the quality of carbon credits in the market.” CCQI wants to evaluate more than 80 percent of the market by the next UN climate summit. ae
Carbon credits
Climate action
Climate protection
Emissions trading
Study: society too slow for 1.5 degrees target
According to a new study by the University of Hamburg, it is unrealistic to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The scientists of the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) see the lack of societal change as the main reason.
To meet the Paris climate goals, societal change is more important than physical tipping points, they write. So far, however, change has been “inadequate”. The study finds that consumer behavior and corporate decisions are the main factors holding back climate action.
Two years ago, CLICCS had already come to a similar conclusion in a previous study. The researchers write that the effects of the Covid pandemic have since made the fossil fuel phase-out even more difficult. The Russian invasion of Ukraine will also affect efforts to decarbonize globally. Whether this will be positive or negative, however, remains to be seen.
Effect of tipping points insignificant
While the study found societal progress for the climate, such as the UN climate negotiations, climate protests, and the withdrawal of investments from fossil plants, their momentum was not enough. The necessary decarbonization “is simply happening too slowly,” says CLICCS spokeswoman Anita Engels of the University of Hamburg. This would make climate adaptation to the consequences of global warming all the more important.
On the positive side, however, this also means that human action can still determine whether the climate transition succeeds. It can become realistic to limit global temperature rise to “well below 2 degrees Celsius,” the study says, “if ambition, implementation and knowledge gaps are closed.”
In addition to social factors, the study also examines physical processes, in particular tipping points that receive a great deal of public attention in the climate debate, such as the loss of Arctic sea ice, the rainforest in the Amazon basin or the thawing of permafrost. The conclusion: Tipping points “can drastically change the conditions for life on Earth,” says CLICCS spokesman Jochem Marotzke of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. But none of the tipping points discussed in the study amplify global surface temperatures “notably“. The amplification effect of thawing permafrost, for example, “undoubtedly exists. But it is small”. ae
Climate Policy
Decarbonization
Global warming
Paris Agreement
Plans for green reconstruction of Ukraine
On the occasion of the EU-Ukraine summit on Friday, the Berlin-based think tank Adelphi will publish a paper with recommendations for a green reconstruction of the country after the war.
Through the Adelphi recommendations, Ukraine could:
However, greening Ukraine will not be easy. Several conditions must be met:
Align the reconstruction plan with the goals of the European Green Deal,
all investments should be planned from a climate perspective,
development of indicators that make green reconstruction measurable and that can guide investments,
targeted financing of eco-friendly investment projects,
accountability and good governance, and close coordination among all stakeholders to minimize corruption risks and align efforts,
including structural reforms that incorporate anti-corruption measures and rule of law reforms,
as well as the establishment of an agency that “acts as a central coordinating body for international partners and Ukrainian authorities.”
responsibility for reconstruction must lie within the country itself (“domestic ownership”),
and reconstruction must be as inclusive as possible.
The paper also outlines principles for green reconstruction in various sectors, such as urban planning, energy supply and industry. Among other things, it recommends building design to be as energy-efficient as possible, prioritizing rail transport, and giving Ukraine a place in new, climate-friendly value chains rather than rebuilding the old, emission-intensive industries. ae
Climate Policy
Climate protection
Decarbonization
Green reconstruction
Ukraine
DR Congo postpones auction of oil licenses
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo actually planned to announce which companies will participate in the auction for 27 oil fields in the central African country last Monday. At short notice, the government now postponed these auctions to the period from April to October. This is reported by Climate Home News.
In the run-up, there had been much criticism of the planned oil drilling because 3 of the 27 oil fields are located either in the rainforest or under moors. In addition, 13 other areas are wholly or partially located in nature reserves, which are home to rare mountain gorillas, among others.
Greenpeace Africa is campaigning to keep the oil underground. Activists from the Democratic Republic of Congo have also asked the Pope to support their cause. Following the controversies, eleven oil companies, including Total, Eni, Shell and ExxonMobil, announced they had no interest in the oil.
Last August, the Congolese government indicated that it would be willing to give up oil production if appropriate compensation was provided. However, there were no serious proposals to that effect. While the award of oil production licenses was postponed, the government did sell licenses to extract gas in three areas. These were less controversial because no rainforests or peatlands are affected and the energy will be used locally rather than exported. kul
Africa
DR Congo
Energy
Renewable energies
Study: Only less flying helps the climate
According to a new study by Nature Sustainability, net-zero emissions from aviation can only be achieved through less air traffic. The authors outline paths to net-zero air traffic emissions:
Behavioral change: Up to 61 percent of projected aviation emissions for 2050 could be avoided by changing demand. This would mean significantly fewer flights. Alternatives such as fast train connections would need to be expanded.
Greater efficiency: An additional 27 percent of projected emissions could be saved through technological improvements and greater efficiency.
Climate-neutral fuels: It would also be necessary to replace large proportions of kerosene with either carbon-neutral bio or synthetic fuels. This would involve major costs, according to the study.
Carbon removal: Up to 3.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide would also have to be removed from the atmosphere.
However, many of these calculations are highly uncertain. For example, the use of synthetic fuels in aviation is still in its infancy.
The aviation sector is considered particularly difficult to decarbonize. At the same time, it is a major driver of climate change:
Air traffic is responsible for around three percent of global carbon emissions.
However, two-thirds of the climate effect comes from other effects such as cloud formation from the water vapor emitted. kul
Air traffic
Climate mitigation
net zero
India considers own CBAM
India is apparently considering introducing its own counterpart in response to the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This is according to an article in the Indian newspaper “The Hindu Business Line”.
The newspaper cites meeting minutes from India’s Ministry of Commerce in December. It says India is exploring the possibility of its own border adjustment “based on per capita emissions or cumulative (historical) per capita emissions.” India’s Ministry of Finance is now said to be studying its introduction.
India to denounce EU plans at WTO
The Ministry of Commerce also plans to raise the European CBAM in all World Trade Organization (WTO) fora, the minutes say. The country fears that the EU instrument, which aims to prevent carbon leakage in Europe, could bring difficult trade negotiations and protectionism.
15 percent of Indian exports go to the EU, according to “The Hindu Business Line”. Between 2.3 and 2.8 tons of CO2 are emitted per ton of crude steel produced in India. The global average is around 1.7 tons. Indian steel exports would accordingly be subject to a high CO2 fee on import into the EU. luk
CBAM
CBAM
Decarbonization
Heads
Ian Fry – advocate for human rights in climate change
Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change.
It’s another climate lawsuit from the Global South against actors from the North: Residents of the Indonesian island of Pari are accusing Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim of not doing enough to reduce the company’s emissions. The island’s inhabitants are directly affected by rising sea levels. Informal negotiations with the company failed. On January 30, the Indonesians filed an official complaint in Switzerland.
Ian Fry knows the beauty of the island states in the Pacific Ocean. But he knows just as well the dangers for their inhabitants. For a long time, Fry was actively involved in the state of Tuvalu. “The country is extremely vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis,” Fry says. “The highest point is only four meters above sea level.” Cyclones, in particular, repeatedly devastate the islands.
Although Fry was born in Australia, he worked for the Tuvaluan government for more than 20 years, helping to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol for Tuvalu in 1997. He was also the country’s climate ambassador. That is why he also holds Tuvaluan citizenship. Last year, he was appointed Special Rapporteur on Climate to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Now he has to protect the human rights of people worldwide who are threatened by the climate crisis.
“I’ve been interested in environmental issues since high school,” Fry says. “Back then, I was in a conservation club.” He studied biology and environmental law in Canberra, where he earned his PhD. He then worked as a park ranger and later became a lobbyist for Greenpeace. He still lectures at the Australian National University. For his mandate at the UN, he works from home in Australia. But he also has to travel a lot, for example to countries that are particularly affected by climate change. Last year he was in Bangladesh, this year Honduras and the Philippines are on his list. He has two assistants that help him from Geneva. Some of his students are also assisting. They are setting up a “Gender and Climate Network” for Fry, which will monitor the gender consequences of the climate crisis.
Granting official status to climate refugees
Fry does not have much time. His term is limited to three years. During that time, he must report six times to the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. His first report was on Loss and Damage. “I proposed a Loss and Damage Fund to the General Assembly last year and went to the COP to get support for it.” His idea is to also raise private money to grow the fund so that affected states can receive faster and more money for reconstruction efforts. He expects it to be worth several trillion dollars. He has received a lot of encouragement for this, he says. But at the COP in Sharm El-Sheikh, there was also opposition from many wealthy nations, including the United States. “It was hard enough to get what we have now,” Fry says. “So this is a step, but it’s not a big step forward yet.”
Fry is currently pondering how people displaced by the climate crisis can be granted refugee status. So far, they are not covered by the Geneva Refugee Convention. “I’m looking into that right now and talking to a lot of experts.”
Canoe polo in his spare time
His job does not allow him much free time, but Fry enjoys playing canoe polo when time allows it. “It’s a very physical game. I’m not good at it, but it helps me relax.” Germany is the reigning world champion, Fry explains. He also bought his paddles and helmet in Germany. Tom Schmidtgen
Scholz in Latin America: forests, lithium, hydrogen
Climate in numbers: Sea ice melts at record rate
Carbon credits: not good enough
Ukraine: ideas for green rebuilding
Study: societal change too slow for 1.5 degrees
DR Congo postpones oil licenses auction
Study: Only less flying helps climate
India considers its own CBAM
Ian Fry – advocate for human rights in climate change
Dear reader,
Until a few years ago, climate issues were something for nerds like us. Today, tackling this crisis is on the minds of important decision-makers around the world. Our latest Climate.Table shows this: The US government’s response to the crisis, the massive investment package called IRA, has the potential to spark a trade war between the US and the EU (and also China). Read our analysis today to find out how the EU is currently positioning itself.
Because not only money and power now shape climate policy. But climate policy also shapes who will determine prosperity and influence in the future. On his South American tour, German Chancellor Scholz, therefore, focused on green hydrogen and forest protection; in France, the government needs to change its strategy on how to make the industry carbon neutral; India is threatening economic retaliation in the dispute over the EU carbon tariff; and in the Congo Basin, the government is gambling with oil companies over raw materials and rainforests.
And lastly, experts call for a new tax system in the new Climate Inequality Report to counter the imbalance of climate change: The fact that the wealthy around the world and in individual countries contribute greatly to the problem, while the poor have to foot the bill.
Your Bernhard Pötter
Feature
How the EU wants to stand up to the USA on GreenTech
Von der Leyen’s EU Commission wants to strengthen renewables with subsidies. The picture shows the Commission President at the North Sea Summit on the expansion of offshore wind power in summer 2022.
With the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the EU Commission is responding to the US government’s plans for massive subsidies for the US industry under the IRA. Brussels wants to provide relief for the EU economy, but it should be as targeted as possible. Investment subsidies for strategic green industries, such as tax breaks for the expansion of production capacities, are to be allowed.
The IRA is Joe Biden’s billion-dollar program to promote green industries in the US and bring foreign companies to the US. In some cases, tax breaks are only granted if US-made inputs are used. That is why many EU politicians and industry representatives fear that the IRA subsidies could lead to an exodus of important future green industries from Europe to the USA.
So far, the proposals presented by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday are only a “communication” by the Commission, not concrete legislative proposals. In detail, the plans include:
Tax relief and simplified deadline regulations for renewables. This would also allow member states to subsidize technologies covered by the Renewable Energies Directive. What is new here: biomass plants and hydropower plants, as well as storage facilities for green hydrogen and biofuels.
Aid for the decarbonization of the industrial sector is to be facilitated. Instead of lengthy procedures for switching from gas or coal to electricity or hydrogen, a flat-rate share of the investment costs will be eligible for subsidies.
For sectors such as hydrogen, zero-emission vehicles, buildings as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS), the aid application process in the EU (notification procedure) is to be facilitated according to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). The construction of charging and refueling infrastructure and training programs are also supposed to involve less bureaucracy.
And the planning of hydrogen projects and, in the future, solar and heat pump production will be facilitated. The de minimis rule regarding complicated subsidies for Important Projects of Common European Interest – (IPCEI) will be simplified. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also to be granted access to investment aid.
No details on the EU Sovereignty Fund
The funding details for the Green Deal Industrial Plan have not yet been finalized. A new instrument – the EU Sovereignty Fund – is expected to be in place by summer. According to Ursula von der Leyen, aid will also be provided for technology projects important for all member states. Ursula von der Leyen did not reveal further details – how much money will be distributed, where it will come from and whether new debts will be taken on: “We will first have to talk to the member states, then we will take care of the financial architecture.”
Subsidies, however, are to be disbursed through existing funds – InvestEU, the Innovation Fund and RepowerEU. 225 billion will also flow from the Recovery Fund and will be earmarked for the Industrial Plan.
The proposed funding of the Green Deal Industrial Plan is criticized by the Climate Action Network (CAN Europe). The EU Commission’s “communication” is a “mere catalog of existing EU funds“. It would not take into account that even if all these funds were exemplarily mobilized, “there would still be a significant investment gap”, said Olivier Vardakoulias, an expert on finance and subsidies at CAN Europe.
Solar industry demands more than just financial aid
Europe’s solar industry does not see financial aid alone as enough. The association SolarPower Europe also calls for clear labeling of EU modules as “best in class” when it comes to sustainability indicators. Even more far-reaching is the demand to give member states the option to permanently subsidize additional costs of particularly sustainable solar modules or to be able to take ESG criteria into account in tenders.
With this, the solar industry is bringing up the debate about a “Buy European” clause, which would mirror the particularly controversial origin requirement in the American IRA. The solar industry’s arguments suggest that it could not compete with cheap solar imports from China, even with subsidies.
Klaus Röhrig, head of climate policy at CAN, warns that the EU’s proposal could focus too much on technologies that have not yet been established, such as carbon capture. Instead, he calls for “sharp and deep emission reductions“. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) also criticized the Commission’s draft for lacking a clear definition of what constitutes “net-zero” technology. The EU must also make climate-damaging industries more expensive and force particularly harmful technologies out of the market, said Luke Haywood, Head of climate policy at the EEB. Manuel Berkel, Markus Grabitz, Bernhard Pötter, Nico Beckert
EU
Green Deal
Inflation Reduction Act
IPCEI
Climate justice: Experts call for redistribution via taxes
According to a new comprehensive study, the fairest and most effective way to protect the global climate is to tax the super-rich and use these revenues to fund the fight against poverty. Because extremely rich people and industrialized countries emit a disproportionately high amount of carbon dioxide on a global average. By imposing new levies on the super-rich and on international shipping and air transport, states are supposed to raise more funds for public investment. This is suggested by the Climate Inequality Report 2023 published by the think tank World Inequality Lab (WIL).
The study draws the following conclusions:
Starting with wealthy individuals and countries is not only just, but also the most effective way to cut emissions: Since ten percent of the global population accounts for almost 50 percent of global emissions, “The ‘marginal effort’ required to achieve the same level of emission reduction might be significantly lower for high-emitting groups.”
If emissions from the super-rich could be reduced accordingly, the fight against poverty and the resulting higher emissions from poor countries could be made compatible with the Paris Agreement. Currently, the richest one percent of the global population emits as much carbon as economic growth would be needed to lift three billion people out of poverty. “If global top emitters were to make their fair share of climate change mitigation efforts, and emissions were significantly cut at the top, sufficient carbon budgets would be freed up to lift the entire world population above a poverty threshold of $5.50 a day,” the authors write.
The poor in impoverished countries are most threatened by climate change, while they generate the fewest emissions and have hardly any means to adapt. In contrast, the richest one percent of the global population is responsible for high emissions, has many opportunities to adapt, but only has to fear minor risks. “Their incentives to reduce emissions are not necessarily aligned with the damage those emissions cause”.
The differences in emissions within countries are now greater than between countries, according to the study. Tax laws should react to this in individual countries. Indonesia, for example, managed to drastically cut subsidies for fossil fuels quickly without impacting society too much.
Taxing the super-rich: fair and efficient
The report is published for the first time and follows a series of annual reports on global inequality and the Global Inequality Monitor by the World Inequality Lab. The think tank is a study group at French universities and institutes, and one of its members is economist Thomas Piketty. The WIL is funded by the European Research Council, international universities and foundations and the UN Development Organisation UNDP.
Other organizations have already focused on “climate justice” and the responsibility of the super-rich in the past: Oxfam, for example, criticized that the carbon footprint of billionaires is between a thousand to a million times larger than the average of the population.
Arguments for loss and damage discussion
The analysis and the resulting recommendations of the Climate Inequality Report bring new arguments into the global climate justice debate. The annual $100 billion promised by the industrialized countries for climate action in poor countries has not been achieved so far. This year, the UN states want to finalize the details for the new loss and damage fund. At the spring meeting of the World Bank and IMF in April, a reform of the financial system is on the agenda. And there are still huge differences between rich and poor regions when it comes to the causes of climate change.
Most global regions are well above the upper emission limit for the 1.5 budget
The experts of the Climate Inequality Report, therefore, recommend governments and donors in the international climate scene to:
Strengthen the position of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the international financial system.
Restructure tax laws in LMICs toward more progressivity and secure public revenues.
Increased efforts by developed countries to meet their financial pledges.
Collect more data on inequality in a climate context.
Learn from the successes of individual countries and harvest the “low-hanging fruit” like a tax on extreme wealth analogous to excess profits tax.
Finally, the report makes proposals to reverse current trends of ever-rising emissions. Countries should:
Review their climate goals and dedicate more funding to adaptation and loss and damage.
Levy taxes on carbon emissions generated by international air and shipping traffic. Depending on the model, an airline tax alone could generate between $56 billion and $392 billion annually for climate action.
Help LMICs and all countries collect more revenue from multinational corporations.
Implement a tax on 0.1 percent of the world’s population with a wealth of more than $100 million. Such a “1.5 percent tax for 1.5 degrees” could raise $295 billion annually.
Climate Justice
Loss and Damage
Tax redistribution
France changes decarbonization strategy for its industry
The original plan of the French government to decarbonize its industry was unsuccessful. By 2030, the sector, which is responsible for around 20 percent of national carbon emissions, is to cut its greenhouse gases by 35 percent. Decarbonization roadmaps for 19 industries, which the sectors had to submit by the end of December 2022, were supposed to help achieve this. However, only four of them complied: chemicals, mining and metallurgy, cement, and the paper and cardboard industry.
Brand new: government money for roadmaps
The French government is therefore changing its strategy: It is no longer focusing on specific sectors but on the 50 industrial plants with the highest emissions intensity. To help with this, “Ecological Transition Contracts” are to be signed with the companies. With these, the government wants to support investments in new decarbonization technologies if a company commits to an ambitious roadmap, according to a statement in Paris.
“Industry-specific roadmaps allow identifying the technological levers for an entire industry, but cannot be too precise,” the French cabinet said, explaining its decision. “By opting for a location-based approach for the 50 largest emitters, which are responsible for more than half of industrial emissions, we want to be more efficient and speed up the process.” In March, the General Directorate for Enterprises, housed in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, will draft the first version of these contracts with the relevant plants. They then have until June to implement them.
Only sectors with the highest emissions submitted roadmaps
Only sectors with the highest emissions implemented the original plan:
The chemical sector, with 25.3 percent of total emissions from the manufacturing sector (2018 figures), committed in a 2021 public document to cutting its emissions by 26 percent by 2030 compared to 2015 levels. To achieve this goal, the sector is focusing on improved energy efficiency, low-carbon heat generation and reducing emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (potent greenhouse gases from refrigeration).
The mining and metals industry (24 percent of industrial emissions) followed suit in June 2021. It aims to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 31 percent by 2030. Its strategy revolves around increasing steel recycling rates, reducing the use of coal in blast furnaces, capturing and storing carbon from blast furnaces, and using hydrogen.
The cement industry (23 percent of industrial emissions) simultaneously also set itself the goal of reducing emissions by 24 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. To achieve this goal, cement manufacturers are also focusing on increasing the energy efficiency of production processes, and the use of renewables and biomass. A recycling chain for concrete was also mentioned.
Then, the paper and board industry published its roadmap in March 2022: It wanted to achieve a 39 percent emissions reduction by 2030 compared to 2015, primarily through energy efficiency and low-carbon heat generation.
Other sectors struggle with heterogeneity
The other 19 industries did not submit mandatory decarbonization strategies, but some of them still plan to do so. “We are currently working on the document and it should be ready early this year,” announced a spokesperson for Ania, the association representing the food industry. The lobbying association, which represents more than thirty industries “with very different characteristics,” also stated that the three industries with the highest emissions in the food sector (starch production, sugar factories, dairy products) will define their own strategies for low emissions. However, no documents have been published yet.
The same applies to the industry committee Healthcare Industry and Technology. The main reason for the delay is the composition of the committee, says Thomas Borel, Director of Scientific Affairs at LEEM, which represents pharmaceutical companies. According to him, it is an industry that includes players from the chemical, distribution and pharmaceutical industries. “We have started to identify the levers we could activate, such as eco-design of medicines and packaging,” the LEEM representative said. “But to make progress at the industry level, work needs to be done across all links.” A strategy is nevertheless expected to be presented in the first quarter of 2023.
Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and the South American common market Mercosur are to be concluded as soon as possible – at least that is what Scholz and his two hosts, Argentina’s President Alberto Ángel Fernández and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said during the visit of the German head of government. At the same time, Brazil’s president said that the text needed to be reviewed again to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises were not disadvantaged in public contracting.
Environmental groups and some European governments are demanding that the agreement be signed only if it guarantees climate, environmental, human rights and social standards. They are concerned about forest protection and the protection of indigenous communities from displacement. In its coalition agreement, the German government makes its approval conditional, among other things, on “implementable and verifiable legally binding commitments on environmental, social and human rights protection”. Scholz said in Buenos Aires that it was important “to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion soon”.
Millions for the protection of the Amazon forest
Germany has already announced plans to provide €200 million for environmental projects in Brazil. The money will come from the budget of the German Development Ministry (BMZ). The majority of it is intended to stop the deforestation of the Amazon. Not all of it is new money. According to the BMZ, the largest sub-amounts are:
€93 million has been earmarked to help smallholder farms reforest deforested land.
€35 million will flow into forest conservation projects via the Amazon Fund. The amount was already pledged by the German government in 2017 but was later frozen during the reign of Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Now they have been released again.
€31 million will go to the new Fundo Floresta, which is intended to support local communities with sustainable use of the forest, for example in processing fruits and plants into food or cosmetics. The idea is to reconcile forest conservation with the bioeconomy.
€30 million will be used to support small and medium-sized enterprises that want to invest in better energy efficiency.
Hydrogen, lithium and copper from Chile
According to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), talks were also held in Argentina and Brazil regarding closer cooperation in energy policy and hydrogen production.
There is concrete cooperation with Chile. The country is a pioneer in green hydrogen production.
During his visit, Scholz announced that Germany would continue to support the country in developing this technology. No concrete agreement on this was announced, but there is already a first cooperation: In December 2022, the pilot project “Haru Oni” was launched in Patagonia, where Siemens, Porsche and other partners generate e-fuels from wind energy and water. The decision to fund the project with €8.23 million from the National Hydrogen Strategy (NWS) stimulus package was still made under Angela Merkel’s former German government in December 2020.
According to several media reports, Scholz also offered Chile help in processing its lithium deposits. According to the US Geological Survey, the country owns the world’s largest lithium reserves and extracts almost 25 percent of global production. Among other things, lithium is needed for batteries, so strategic interest is correspondingly high.
In addition, the BMWK and Chile’s Ministry of Mining signed a cooperation agreement on mining, mineral resources and circular economy. The German metal and copper group Aurubis and the Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of a more sustainable and responsible copper industry.
Brazil
Chile
Climate Policy
Forests
Hydrogen
lithium
Events
Feb. 8, 2023; 9:30 a.m. CET, Online WebinarEU Energy transition – What role for critical raw materials? The news portal Euractiv will discuss the role of critical raw materials for the European energy transition. Representatives of the EU Commission and the EU Parliament will participate in the discussion.Info and registration
Feb. 8, 2023; 2:30 p.m. CET, Online WebinarRestoring the Earth’s lungs – How can forests support climate change mitigation? The EU’s Nature Restoration Law is supposed to restore damaged ecosystems. How can this succeed? And what role do forests play in this? Experts will discuss these questions at the event.Info
News
Climate In Numbers: Sea ice melts at record rate
Sea ice in the polar regions is melting faster and faster because of climate change. In Antarctica, a new minimum value could be reached in the second half of February 2023, reports the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in its fully revamped sea ice portal. At the turn of the year, the Antarctic sea ice cover was already lower than the minimum value observed at that time, according to the AWI. The sea ice was only about the size of France.
Ice plays an essential role in climate change:
The more sea ice, the higher the reflection of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation (Albedo) and the lower the warming effect,
It reduces the energy exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere,
It affects ocean currents and, thus, the climate.
Arctic
Climate In Numbers
Global warming
sea ice
Carbon credits: not good enough
Most carbon credits – voluntary allowances to offset emissions – lack quality. This is the conclusion of a new study by the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative (CCQI) of the WWF, Environmental Defense Fund and Oeko-Institut.
“There are serious problems with how some methodologies estimate emissions reductions,” said Lambert Schneider, Research Coordinator for International Climate Policy at Oeko-Institut. It is “very hard to find a carbon credit that does very well in all areas,” for example, that reliably and measurably reduces additional emissions while meeting social and other environmental standards. “Good performance in one area can’t make up for poor performance in another,” Schneider said. The risk of overestimating the climate impact of a credit is high, he said.
But those who want to buy carbon credits can identify low-risk allowances. And most of the weaknesses identified could be remedied.
Credit type scoring
CCQI aims to contribute to transparency on the market through its credit scoring. It has developed a procedure that enables governments, companies and investors to assess how good or bad individual traded carbon credits are. The initiative does not rate individual projects. Instead, it has devised criteria to assess the quality of certain types of carbon credits as detailed as possible.
This includes credits that make carbon taken from the atmosphere tradable – for example, through reforestation – and allowances based on avoided emissions, for example, through the large-scale integration of solar and wind power into the grid or the use of more efficient cooking stoves.
The CCQI assesses credits based on seven environmental, climate, and social quality criteria on a scale from one to the highest score of five. For example, it looks at how well double counting is avoided and how well a credit type contributes to economic transformation toward net zero. In the end, there is no overall score but a rating for each individual quality target. This should help market participants decide for themselves on which criteria they want to buy credits.
The results can be viewed and tracked in detail online via an interactive tool. New carbon credit types have been included since Tuesday. Currently, more than a quarter of the voluntary carbon market is covered, the Environmental Defense Fund wrote in a statement. The new results “underscore the need to improve the quality of carbon credits in the market.” CCQI wants to evaluate more than 80 percent of the market by the next UN climate summit. ae
Carbon credits
Climate action
Climate protection
Emissions trading
Study: society too slow for 1.5 degrees target
According to a new study by the University of Hamburg, it is unrealistic to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The scientists of the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) see the lack of societal change as the main reason.
To meet the Paris climate goals, societal change is more important than physical tipping points, they write. So far, however, change has been “inadequate”. The study finds that consumer behavior and corporate decisions are the main factors holding back climate action.
Two years ago, CLICCS had already come to a similar conclusion in a previous study. The researchers write that the effects of the Covid pandemic have since made the fossil fuel phase-out even more difficult. The Russian invasion of Ukraine will also affect efforts to decarbonize globally. Whether this will be positive or negative, however, remains to be seen.
Effect of tipping points insignificant
While the study found societal progress for the climate, such as the UN climate negotiations, climate protests, and the withdrawal of investments from fossil plants, their momentum was not enough. The necessary decarbonization “is simply happening too slowly,” says CLICCS spokeswoman Anita Engels of the University of Hamburg. This would make climate adaptation to the consequences of global warming all the more important.
On the positive side, however, this also means that human action can still determine whether the climate transition succeeds. It can become realistic to limit global temperature rise to “well below 2 degrees Celsius,” the study says, “if ambition, implementation and knowledge gaps are closed.”
In addition to social factors, the study also examines physical processes, in particular tipping points that receive a great deal of public attention in the climate debate, such as the loss of Arctic sea ice, the rainforest in the Amazon basin or the thawing of permafrost. The conclusion: Tipping points “can drastically change the conditions for life on Earth,” says CLICCS spokesman Jochem Marotzke of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. But none of the tipping points discussed in the study amplify global surface temperatures “notably“. The amplification effect of thawing permafrost, for example, “undoubtedly exists. But it is small”. ae
Climate Policy
Decarbonization
Global warming
Paris Agreement
Plans for green reconstruction of Ukraine
On the occasion of the EU-Ukraine summit on Friday, the Berlin-based think tank Adelphi will publish a paper with recommendations for a green reconstruction of the country after the war.
Through the Adelphi recommendations, Ukraine could:
However, greening Ukraine will not be easy. Several conditions must be met:
Align the reconstruction plan with the goals of the European Green Deal,
all investments should be planned from a climate perspective,
development of indicators that make green reconstruction measurable and that can guide investments,
targeted financing of eco-friendly investment projects,
accountability and good governance, and close coordination among all stakeholders to minimize corruption risks and align efforts,
including structural reforms that incorporate anti-corruption measures and rule of law reforms,
as well as the establishment of an agency that “acts as a central coordinating body for international partners and Ukrainian authorities.”
responsibility for reconstruction must lie within the country itself (“domestic ownership”),
and reconstruction must be as inclusive as possible.
The paper also outlines principles for green reconstruction in various sectors, such as urban planning, energy supply and industry. Among other things, it recommends building design to be as energy-efficient as possible, prioritizing rail transport, and giving Ukraine a place in new, climate-friendly value chains rather than rebuilding the old, emission-intensive industries. ae
Climate Policy
Climate protection
Decarbonization
Green reconstruction
Ukraine
DR Congo postpones auction of oil licenses
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo actually planned to announce which companies will participate in the auction for 27 oil fields in the central African country last Monday. At short notice, the government now postponed these auctions to the period from April to October. This is reported by Climate Home News.
In the run-up, there had been much criticism of the planned oil drilling because 3 of the 27 oil fields are located either in the rainforest or under moors. In addition, 13 other areas are wholly or partially located in nature reserves, which are home to rare mountain gorillas, among others.
Greenpeace Africa is campaigning to keep the oil underground. Activists from the Democratic Republic of Congo have also asked the Pope to support their cause. Following the controversies, eleven oil companies, including Total, Eni, Shell and ExxonMobil, announced they had no interest in the oil.
Last August, the Congolese government indicated that it would be willing to give up oil production if appropriate compensation was provided. However, there were no serious proposals to that effect. While the award of oil production licenses was postponed, the government did sell licenses to extract gas in three areas. These were less controversial because no rainforests or peatlands are affected and the energy will be used locally rather than exported. kul
Africa
DR Congo
Energy
Renewable energies
Study: Only less flying helps the climate
According to a new study by Nature Sustainability, net-zero emissions from aviation can only be achieved through less air traffic. The authors outline paths to net-zero air traffic emissions:
Behavioral change: Up to 61 percent of projected aviation emissions for 2050 could be avoided by changing demand. This would mean significantly fewer flights. Alternatives such as fast train connections would need to be expanded.
Greater efficiency: An additional 27 percent of projected emissions could be saved through technological improvements and greater efficiency.
Climate-neutral fuels: It would also be necessary to replace large proportions of kerosene with either carbon-neutral bio or synthetic fuels. This would involve major costs, according to the study.
Carbon removal: Up to 3.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide would also have to be removed from the atmosphere.
However, many of these calculations are highly uncertain. For example, the use of synthetic fuels in aviation is still in its infancy.
The aviation sector is considered particularly difficult to decarbonize. At the same time, it is a major driver of climate change:
Air traffic is responsible for around three percent of global carbon emissions.
However, two-thirds of the climate effect comes from other effects such as cloud formation from the water vapor emitted. kul
Air traffic
Climate mitigation
net zero
India considers own CBAM
India is apparently considering introducing its own counterpart in response to the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This is according to an article in the Indian newspaper “The Hindu Business Line”.
The newspaper cites meeting minutes from India’s Ministry of Commerce in December. It says India is exploring the possibility of its own border adjustment “based on per capita emissions or cumulative (historical) per capita emissions.” India’s Ministry of Finance is now said to be studying its introduction.
India to denounce EU plans at WTO
The Ministry of Commerce also plans to raise the European CBAM in all World Trade Organization (WTO) fora, the minutes say. The country fears that the EU instrument, which aims to prevent carbon leakage in Europe, could bring difficult trade negotiations and protectionism.
15 percent of Indian exports go to the EU, according to “The Hindu Business Line”. Between 2.3 and 2.8 tons of CO2 are emitted per ton of crude steel produced in India. The global average is around 1.7 tons. Indian steel exports would accordingly be subject to a high CO2 fee on import into the EU. luk
CBAM
CBAM
Decarbonization
Heads
Ian Fry – advocate for human rights in climate change
Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change.
It’s another climate lawsuit from the Global South against actors from the North: Residents of the Indonesian island of Pari are accusing Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim of not doing enough to reduce the company’s emissions. The island’s inhabitants are directly affected by rising sea levels. Informal negotiations with the company failed. On January 30, the Indonesians filed an official complaint in Switzerland.
Ian Fry knows the beauty of the island states in the Pacific Ocean. But he knows just as well the dangers for their inhabitants. For a long time, Fry was actively involved in the state of Tuvalu. “The country is extremely vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis,” Fry says. “The highest point is only four meters above sea level.” Cyclones, in particular, repeatedly devastate the islands.
Although Fry was born in Australia, he worked for the Tuvaluan government for more than 20 years, helping to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol for Tuvalu in 1997. He was also the country’s climate ambassador. That is why he also holds Tuvaluan citizenship. Last year, he was appointed Special Rapporteur on Climate to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Now he has to protect the human rights of people worldwide who are threatened by the climate crisis.
“I’ve been interested in environmental issues since high school,” Fry says. “Back then, I was in a conservation club.” He studied biology and environmental law in Canberra, where he earned his PhD. He then worked as a park ranger and later became a lobbyist for Greenpeace. He still lectures at the Australian National University. For his mandate at the UN, he works from home in Australia. But he also has to travel a lot, for example to countries that are particularly affected by climate change. Last year he was in Bangladesh, this year Honduras and the Philippines are on his list. He has two assistants that help him from Geneva. Some of his students are also assisting. They are setting up a “Gender and Climate Network” for Fry, which will monitor the gender consequences of the climate crisis.
Granting official status to climate refugees
Fry does not have much time. His term is limited to three years. During that time, he must report six times to the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. His first report was on Loss and Damage. “I proposed a Loss and Damage Fund to the General Assembly last year and went to the COP to get support for it.” His idea is to also raise private money to grow the fund so that affected states can receive faster and more money for reconstruction efforts. He expects it to be worth several trillion dollars. He has received a lot of encouragement for this, he says. But at the COP in Sharm El-Sheikh, there was also opposition from many wealthy nations, including the United States. “It was hard enough to get what we have now,” Fry says. “So this is a step, but it’s not a big step forward yet.”
Fry is currently pondering how people displaced by the climate crisis can be granted refugee status. So far, they are not covered by the Geneva Refugee Convention. “I’m looking into that right now and talking to a lot of experts.”
Canoe polo in his spare time
His job does not allow him much free time, but Fry enjoys playing canoe polo when time allows it. “It’s a very physical game. I’m not good at it, but it helps me relax.” Germany is the reigning world champion, Fry explains. He also bought his paddles and helmet in Germany. Tom Schmidtgen
