The next big class meeting of the climate scene, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, ended yesterday. The summit of the 40 most important climate states revealed some of the lines of conflict for the next COP in Dubai: carbon capture and storage vs. the ending of fossil fuels and the perennial issue of climate financing. In contrast, there was consensus on the faster expansion of renewables. The countries largely agree on the goals, but the ways and means to achieve them are fiercely disputed.
In an interview with Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s Minister of Climate and Energy, various climate political interests also emerge. Jørgensen urges the necessary phase-out of fossil fuels. He believes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) proclaimed by COP President Al Jaber, while important, cannot replace a swift energy transition. Denmark is a climate action pioneer and sees great opportunities for exports in this field.
Things are getting politically dicey for Germany’s top manager of the energy transition: State Secretary Patrick Graichen from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is accused of nepotism in the awarding of a highly remunerated post at the German Energy Agency. Because the case also incriminates Germany’s Economy Minister and empowers critics of the energy transition, we present Patrick Graichen’s profile.
At the halfway mark between COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it is becoming apparent where cooperation is possible and where confrontation is inevitable at the next UN climate conference. At the 14th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on 2 and 3 May, high-ranking representatives of the most important 40 countries sounded out the scope for progress at COP28 in Dubai. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also announced at the meeting that Germany would increase its contribution to two billion euros in the 3rd replenishment round for the UN‘s Green Climate Fund (GCF) in October.
After the public speeches and internal discussions, three main topics have emerged that discussions at COP28 will focus on:
There is at least partial progress on finance: At the conference’s beginning, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced “good news”: The developed countries are “on track to finally meet the target of 100 billion dollars for climate finance this year“. The day before, German and Canadian negotiators consulted with other donor countries – they expect the target will be reached in 2023.
However, the wealthy countries already pledged this sum of private and public capital in 2020 and have not yet achieved it. Baerbock and Scholz renewed the German government’s pledge to increase climate financing to at least six billion euros by 2025 at the latest – in other words, on a path that is not apparent in the currently controversial German national budget. And with his pledge of two billion for the GCF, Chancellor Scholz raised pressure on the other donor countries to also open their purses further in the third replenishment round. Scholz called the funds “more important today than ever.”
The Chancellor also supported his Foreign Minister’s push for a global renewable and energy efficiency target. Baerbock and Sultan Al Jaber stressed that the pace of renewables expansion must triple if the climate targets are to be achieved. IRENA already warned in March that the global expansion of renewables must triple from the current 300 gigawatts to about 1,000 gigawatts annually. And Germany’s incumbent Climate Envoy, Jennifer Morgan, already supported such a goal at the time.
However, Petersberg also unearthed disputes between countries: On the one side, many countries, environmental groups and researchers are calling for a rapid fossil fuel phase-out. At COP27, a majority of about 80 states even supported India’s proposal to reduce fossil fuels. In contrast, Al Jaber, his country’s industry minister and head of the state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC, repeatedly and unequivocally stressed the need to also rely on large-scale CCS. CCS must become “commercially feasible,” Al Jaber said. He previously advocated for a future for fossil fuels with the lowest CO2 emissions. By its own account, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is one of the oil and gas producers with the lowest CO2 footprint in the world.
As COP President, Al Jaber says he is keen to present the views of all countries. However, he urged that the world needs “to come to terms with some realities.” Emissions should be phased out with existing and new technologies. “We know that fossil fuels will continue to play a role in the foreseeable future in helping meet global energy requirements.” Therefore, he said, the aim should focus on “ensuring that we phase out emissions from all sectors whether it’s oil and gas or high emitting industries while in parallel we should exert all effort and all investments in renewable energy and clean technology space.”
This proposal can potentially cause a lot of turmoil in the run-up to and at the COP. For oil countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, but also the USA, investments in CCS are a way to prolong their income from oil and gas. However, “alliances against this push” must now be formed for this reason, says Christoph Bals of Germanwatch. “CCS will hardly play a role in reducing emissions by 43 percent by 2030, as the science calls for. We have to get out of fossil fuels.”
Some delegates expressed disappointment that Sultan Al Jaber did not present a definite roadmap to and at the COP at the forum. According to attendees, there was also no statement on possible financial participation in the new loss and damage fund. Al Jaber only made the general promises that the COP would deliver an “action plan for transformative results” based on a negotiated response to the Global Stocktake. He stressed the need for strong results on all mandates:
All these tasks are not easy because “expectations are very high, trust is very low,” said Al Jaber. Whether it can be regained in the dispute over fossil phase-out or CCS-driven lifespan extension could decide the success of COP28.
Mr. Jørgensen, what progress in the run-up to COP28 do you see after Petersberg?
It’s good news that the German host yesterday announced that the contributors to the 100 billion US dollar climate finance goal fully expect to meet the goal this year.
One of the goals that many countries are striving for at COP28 is the phase-out of fossil fuels. Do you think this is possible after Sultan Al Jaber stated that he only favored phasing out emissions?
In the last years, we have seen a real change in how this question is viewed. For one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers to address this is a major step forward. While we can and should sequester some emissions in hard-to-abate sectors through technologies such as CCS, it does not substitute the need for the phase-out of fossil fuels and a rapid scale-up of renewable and other clean energy technologies. I hope that the discussions we have had here in Petersberg can be further elaborated in the months to come on how we can address these issues at COP28. Also, I hope the constructive discussions today on adaptation and loss and damage can be carried on throughout the year and deliver concrete results at COP28.
Denmark has decided to become 110 percent carbon-neutral by 2050. What does that mean, and how do you intend to achieve it?
The 110 percent target means that by 2050 we plan to absorb more greenhouse gasses than we emit. We don’t know every step of the way to get to 110 percent. It was the same when we set our 70 percent 2030 target three years ago. And we are well on our way to reaching that goal. An ambitious goal in 2030 pushes us to lay the foundation for reaching even more ambitious goals in 2050. We are already investing in technologies, such as CCS and PtX (electricity-based fuels, power and basic materials, editor’s note), that will help achieve the 110 percent target.
Since COP26 in Glasgow, Denmark has been pushing for a global fossil fuel phase-out with the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA). With the Ukraine war, the wind has changed. What does the future of BOGA look like?
Through BOGA, we continue our work to promote a managed, just phase-out of oil and gas production. The war in Ukraine has not changed that, but only highlighted the risks associated with our dependence on oil and gas. Our direction must continue to be away from oil and gas dependency, and it must accelerate.
At COP27, we launched the BOGA funding facility. It seeks to offer rapid support for Global South countries and regions that want to explore their options and start working towards a managed transition away from oil and gas. It is now possible for national and sub-national governments, that have oil and gas exploration and production, to apply for support through the BOGA fund.
What role do the discussions on the reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play with regard to the phase-out of fossil fuels?
There is no doubt that we need to mobilize trillions to reach the climate targets we have set ourselves. The latest IPCC report states that we have sufficient funds, but currently, they are not directed toward green investments at a sufficient scale. The multilateral development banks and international financial institutions play a crucial role. They need to reform to better support countries in mobilizing financing for a just transition away from fossil fuels.
Do you support the idea of an international treaty to ban fossil fuels?
I see BOGA and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty as two sides of the same coin. They are working to address many of the same issues, but in different ways. My worry is that it will be very hard to negotiate a global treaty, and the process could drag out over many years. BOGA is an intergovernmental alliance through which we try to galvanize action from first movers and inspire others to follow our lead.
In addition to the G7 countries that founded the club in December, the climate club now has six new members: Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. More are to be announced later today after the task force’s first meeting. Observers assume that besides other European countries, the United Arab Emirates, which will host the World Climate Conference (COP28) this year, could also join.
The climate club’s detailed structure and working methods are still being devised. For example, the original idea of a club of countries with the most ambitious climate policies has been abandoned in favor of an “all-inclusive” approach. However, this should not be an obstacle, but rather open up co-design opportunities for new members who still need to catch up on decarbonization. However, the fundamental idea of the club is clear: promoting green lead markets in hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors by setting uniform standards for industrial transformation.
The task force will meet for the first time today, Thursday, under the chairmanship of Birgit Schwenk, Director General for Climate Action at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), and her Chilean colleague Julio Cordano. Fine-tuning the goals and working methods, as well as the governance structures of the alliance, are the focus of the meeting following the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. By COP28, the Climate Club is supposed to be fully operational and ready to speak, so the “full launch” can occur in Dubai in December.
The members will then meet regularly to discuss future standards for green products and markets and exchange assessments and strategies for avoiding carbon leakage, a BMWK spokesperson explained. “In this way, the club allows for a targeted exchange between industrialized, emerging and developing countries on framework conditions, strategies and mechanisms to accelerate the global decarbonization of industry.”
So far, there are no plans for the club to provide financial aid for transformation in the Global South, for example. This raises questions about how attractive membership is for countries of the Global South. The BMWK states that developing and emerging countries could benefit from voluntary financing mechanisms from bilateral cooperation for “targeted capacity building, technical cooperation and technology transfer.” In addition, participation should contribute to a better global market positioning of the countries and raise their “attractiveness as an industrial location.”
The concept has apparently not yet convinced the countries of the Global South. Not a single country on the African continent has joined so far. Although observers consider Kenya, South Africa or Egypt possible candidates, despite Germany’s efforts, the Climate Club is still a club of developed and emerging countries.
There had been some discussion whether members of a climate club could facilitate each other’s market access. There was also talk of exemptions from the recently adopted EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This could have been an additional incentive for membership. This option is now off the table. CBAM exemptions or rebates will remain reserved only for countries with their own carbon price.
Instead, the private sector is supposed to be more involved by allowing members to participate in a “voluntary matchmaking” for cooperation and financing instruments to obtain private investment. To distill potential synergies, but also gaps in the funding landscape, the Climate Club team will work with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Alpine glaciers recorded an average ice loss of 3.5 meters in 2022 – a new record. This is according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The record ice loss was caused by low snowfall in the winter of 2022 and a warmer-than-average summer. In many regions, there were 20 fewer snow days below average. In some areas, there were even 50 fewer snow days. Alpine glaciers are among the fastest retreating glaciers in the world.
Continued glacier melt contributes to rising sea levels. In addition, a lack of snow in winter affects the entire year: Snowmelt in spring and summer adds water to many European rivers. If there is already a lack of snow in winter, there is a lack of water in summer. Combined with high temperatures and heat waves, the lack of water “likely contributed to a severe drought,” according to Copernicus researchers.
The year 2022 was less dramatic for the glaciers in the coastal regions of southwestern Scandinavia. They recorded a small ice gain of ten centimeters. But years of mass loss have also dominated here since the turn of the millennium. nib
German state secretaries are usually not too much in the spotlight. For Patrick Graichen, it is a different story: The high-ranking official in the German Ministry of Economics now faces allegations of cronyism and calls for his resignation. The designated candidate for chair of the German Energy Agency (Dena) board, Michael Schäfer, is Graichen’s best man. Graichen was involved in the selection process for the Dena chair, although he was aware of Schäfer’s application early on. Graichen speaks of a “mistake that he very much regrets.” He should have withdrawn from the selection committee once Schäfer became a candidate, he says.
The opposition in the Bundestag senses a scandal. The Secretary General of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Martin Huber, spoke of “nepotism,” calling Graichen no longer tenable as state secretary. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) even spoke of “green clan structures.”
The criticism is all the louder because the Schäfer affair is not Graichen’s only close tie. Graichen’s counterpart as State Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is Michael Kellner, his brother-in-law. Kellner is married to Graichen’s sister Verena – who, like his brother Jakob, works as an energy expert for the Freiburg-based Öko-Institut. The German government also contracts the Öko-Institut. However, these family connections became known in December 2021 and were disclosed by the ministry.
At the time, the BMWK assured it would set up procedures to prevent conflicts of interest. In fact, the number of contracts for the Öko-Institut and the sums paid has decreased since the current German government took office, as the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. According to the report, five contracts worth 3.6 million euros were awarded in 2022. In the last year of the Merkel government, 2021, eight contracts were awarded (volume of 2.5 million euros), and in 2019, even eleven contracts with a volume of 9.5 million euros. Graichen is also excluded from tender procedures that involve the Öko-Institut, BUND – Verena Graichen is a member of its board – or Agora Energiewende – his former employer.
Graichen is a key thinker and manager of Habeck’s energy and climate transition – and, thus, the brains behind upcoming hardships that will hit consumers and some industrial sectors. Whether it is the heating transition, the Climate Change Act, the energy transition or the gas crisis management after the Russian attack on Ukraine – Graichen is in charge of many of the BMWK’s central projects. The law on promoting heat pumps and replacing old heating systems, which was heavily criticized in the media and by some interest groups, can also be traced back to Graichen.
This means that calls for Graichen’s resignation always hit Economy Minster Robert Habeck and his partly unpopular energy and heat transition plans. Graichen himself refuses to resign. His boss has so far stood by his top civil servant. Habeck is trying to defuse the accusations against Graichen by reviewing the Dena chairmanship selection process. According to Stefan Wenzel, chairman of Dena’s supervisory board, the procedure could be repeated altogether.
Even if there was no proof that Graichen committed any direct misconduct, the impression of conflicts of interest remains. The opposition will likely also point to the close ties between Graichen and other important stakeholders when criticizing the energy transition in the future.
Graichen has served various governments of different parties – as is not unusual for political officials. From 2001 to 2006, he was a consultant for international climate action at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. First under Green Minister Jürgen Trittin and later under Sigmar Gabriel of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Afterward, he even became head of the department for climate action matters. At that time, the Environment Minister was Norbert Röttgen – a Christian Democrat.
Graichen left the political scene for a time in 2012 and founded the think tank Agora Energiewende with former State Secretary of the BMU and colleague Rainer Baake. When Baake was reappointed State Secretary, Graichen took over as Executive Director and Managing Director of the think tank. During this time, the graduate economist and environmental economist acted more as a watchdog and commentator from the sidelines.
At the time, Graichen supported the coal phase-out and the simultaneous expansion of renewables through external pressure. In 2015, even before the Paris Agreement was signed, he already highlighted the need to reform the energy market design, according to which climate-friendly energy sources must be efficiently promoted and harmful ones priced accordingly. Nico Beckert / Lukas Scheid
The next big class meeting of the climate scene, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, ended yesterday. The summit of the 40 most important climate states revealed some of the lines of conflict for the next COP in Dubai: carbon capture and storage vs. the ending of fossil fuels and the perennial issue of climate financing. In contrast, there was consensus on the faster expansion of renewables. The countries largely agree on the goals, but the ways and means to achieve them are fiercely disputed.
In an interview with Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s Minister of Climate and Energy, various climate political interests also emerge. Jørgensen urges the necessary phase-out of fossil fuels. He believes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) proclaimed by COP President Al Jaber, while important, cannot replace a swift energy transition. Denmark is a climate action pioneer and sees great opportunities for exports in this field.
Things are getting politically dicey for Germany’s top manager of the energy transition: State Secretary Patrick Graichen from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is accused of nepotism in the awarding of a highly remunerated post at the German Energy Agency. Because the case also incriminates Germany’s Economy Minister and empowers critics of the energy transition, we present Patrick Graichen’s profile.
At the halfway mark between COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it is becoming apparent where cooperation is possible and where confrontation is inevitable at the next UN climate conference. At the 14th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on 2 and 3 May, high-ranking representatives of the most important 40 countries sounded out the scope for progress at COP28 in Dubai. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also announced at the meeting that Germany would increase its contribution to two billion euros in the 3rd replenishment round for the UN‘s Green Climate Fund (GCF) in October.
After the public speeches and internal discussions, three main topics have emerged that discussions at COP28 will focus on:
There is at least partial progress on finance: At the conference’s beginning, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced “good news”: The developed countries are “on track to finally meet the target of 100 billion dollars for climate finance this year“. The day before, German and Canadian negotiators consulted with other donor countries – they expect the target will be reached in 2023.
However, the wealthy countries already pledged this sum of private and public capital in 2020 and have not yet achieved it. Baerbock and Scholz renewed the German government’s pledge to increase climate financing to at least six billion euros by 2025 at the latest – in other words, on a path that is not apparent in the currently controversial German national budget. And with his pledge of two billion for the GCF, Chancellor Scholz raised pressure on the other donor countries to also open their purses further in the third replenishment round. Scholz called the funds “more important today than ever.”
The Chancellor also supported his Foreign Minister’s push for a global renewable and energy efficiency target. Baerbock and Sultan Al Jaber stressed that the pace of renewables expansion must triple if the climate targets are to be achieved. IRENA already warned in March that the global expansion of renewables must triple from the current 300 gigawatts to about 1,000 gigawatts annually. And Germany’s incumbent Climate Envoy, Jennifer Morgan, already supported such a goal at the time.
However, Petersberg also unearthed disputes between countries: On the one side, many countries, environmental groups and researchers are calling for a rapid fossil fuel phase-out. At COP27, a majority of about 80 states even supported India’s proposal to reduce fossil fuels. In contrast, Al Jaber, his country’s industry minister and head of the state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC, repeatedly and unequivocally stressed the need to also rely on large-scale CCS. CCS must become “commercially feasible,” Al Jaber said. He previously advocated for a future for fossil fuels with the lowest CO2 emissions. By its own account, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is one of the oil and gas producers with the lowest CO2 footprint in the world.
As COP President, Al Jaber says he is keen to present the views of all countries. However, he urged that the world needs “to come to terms with some realities.” Emissions should be phased out with existing and new technologies. “We know that fossil fuels will continue to play a role in the foreseeable future in helping meet global energy requirements.” Therefore, he said, the aim should focus on “ensuring that we phase out emissions from all sectors whether it’s oil and gas or high emitting industries while in parallel we should exert all effort and all investments in renewable energy and clean technology space.”
This proposal can potentially cause a lot of turmoil in the run-up to and at the COP. For oil countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, but also the USA, investments in CCS are a way to prolong their income from oil and gas. However, “alliances against this push” must now be formed for this reason, says Christoph Bals of Germanwatch. “CCS will hardly play a role in reducing emissions by 43 percent by 2030, as the science calls for. We have to get out of fossil fuels.”
Some delegates expressed disappointment that Sultan Al Jaber did not present a definite roadmap to and at the COP at the forum. According to attendees, there was also no statement on possible financial participation in the new loss and damage fund. Al Jaber only made the general promises that the COP would deliver an “action plan for transformative results” based on a negotiated response to the Global Stocktake. He stressed the need for strong results on all mandates:
All these tasks are not easy because “expectations are very high, trust is very low,” said Al Jaber. Whether it can be regained in the dispute over fossil phase-out or CCS-driven lifespan extension could decide the success of COP28.
Mr. Jørgensen, what progress in the run-up to COP28 do you see after Petersberg?
It’s good news that the German host yesterday announced that the contributors to the 100 billion US dollar climate finance goal fully expect to meet the goal this year.
One of the goals that many countries are striving for at COP28 is the phase-out of fossil fuels. Do you think this is possible after Sultan Al Jaber stated that he only favored phasing out emissions?
In the last years, we have seen a real change in how this question is viewed. For one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers to address this is a major step forward. While we can and should sequester some emissions in hard-to-abate sectors through technologies such as CCS, it does not substitute the need for the phase-out of fossil fuels and a rapid scale-up of renewable and other clean energy technologies. I hope that the discussions we have had here in Petersberg can be further elaborated in the months to come on how we can address these issues at COP28. Also, I hope the constructive discussions today on adaptation and loss and damage can be carried on throughout the year and deliver concrete results at COP28.
Denmark has decided to become 110 percent carbon-neutral by 2050. What does that mean, and how do you intend to achieve it?
The 110 percent target means that by 2050 we plan to absorb more greenhouse gasses than we emit. We don’t know every step of the way to get to 110 percent. It was the same when we set our 70 percent 2030 target three years ago. And we are well on our way to reaching that goal. An ambitious goal in 2030 pushes us to lay the foundation for reaching even more ambitious goals in 2050. We are already investing in technologies, such as CCS and PtX (electricity-based fuels, power and basic materials, editor’s note), that will help achieve the 110 percent target.
Since COP26 in Glasgow, Denmark has been pushing for a global fossil fuel phase-out with the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA). With the Ukraine war, the wind has changed. What does the future of BOGA look like?
Through BOGA, we continue our work to promote a managed, just phase-out of oil and gas production. The war in Ukraine has not changed that, but only highlighted the risks associated with our dependence on oil and gas. Our direction must continue to be away from oil and gas dependency, and it must accelerate.
At COP27, we launched the BOGA funding facility. It seeks to offer rapid support for Global South countries and regions that want to explore their options and start working towards a managed transition away from oil and gas. It is now possible for national and sub-national governments, that have oil and gas exploration and production, to apply for support through the BOGA fund.
What role do the discussions on the reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play with regard to the phase-out of fossil fuels?
There is no doubt that we need to mobilize trillions to reach the climate targets we have set ourselves. The latest IPCC report states that we have sufficient funds, but currently, they are not directed toward green investments at a sufficient scale. The multilateral development banks and international financial institutions play a crucial role. They need to reform to better support countries in mobilizing financing for a just transition away from fossil fuels.
Do you support the idea of an international treaty to ban fossil fuels?
I see BOGA and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty as two sides of the same coin. They are working to address many of the same issues, but in different ways. My worry is that it will be very hard to negotiate a global treaty, and the process could drag out over many years. BOGA is an intergovernmental alliance through which we try to galvanize action from first movers and inspire others to follow our lead.
In addition to the G7 countries that founded the club in December, the climate club now has six new members: Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. More are to be announced later today after the task force’s first meeting. Observers assume that besides other European countries, the United Arab Emirates, which will host the World Climate Conference (COP28) this year, could also join.
The climate club’s detailed structure and working methods are still being devised. For example, the original idea of a club of countries with the most ambitious climate policies has been abandoned in favor of an “all-inclusive” approach. However, this should not be an obstacle, but rather open up co-design opportunities for new members who still need to catch up on decarbonization. However, the fundamental idea of the club is clear: promoting green lead markets in hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors by setting uniform standards for industrial transformation.
The task force will meet for the first time today, Thursday, under the chairmanship of Birgit Schwenk, Director General for Climate Action at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), and her Chilean colleague Julio Cordano. Fine-tuning the goals and working methods, as well as the governance structures of the alliance, are the focus of the meeting following the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. By COP28, the Climate Club is supposed to be fully operational and ready to speak, so the “full launch” can occur in Dubai in December.
The members will then meet regularly to discuss future standards for green products and markets and exchange assessments and strategies for avoiding carbon leakage, a BMWK spokesperson explained. “In this way, the club allows for a targeted exchange between industrialized, emerging and developing countries on framework conditions, strategies and mechanisms to accelerate the global decarbonization of industry.”
So far, there are no plans for the club to provide financial aid for transformation in the Global South, for example. This raises questions about how attractive membership is for countries of the Global South. The BMWK states that developing and emerging countries could benefit from voluntary financing mechanisms from bilateral cooperation for “targeted capacity building, technical cooperation and technology transfer.” In addition, participation should contribute to a better global market positioning of the countries and raise their “attractiveness as an industrial location.”
The concept has apparently not yet convinced the countries of the Global South. Not a single country on the African continent has joined so far. Although observers consider Kenya, South Africa or Egypt possible candidates, despite Germany’s efforts, the Climate Club is still a club of developed and emerging countries.
There had been some discussion whether members of a climate club could facilitate each other’s market access. There was also talk of exemptions from the recently adopted EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This could have been an additional incentive for membership. This option is now off the table. CBAM exemptions or rebates will remain reserved only for countries with their own carbon price.
Instead, the private sector is supposed to be more involved by allowing members to participate in a “voluntary matchmaking” for cooperation and financing instruments to obtain private investment. To distill potential synergies, but also gaps in the funding landscape, the Climate Club team will work with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Alpine glaciers recorded an average ice loss of 3.5 meters in 2022 – a new record. This is according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The record ice loss was caused by low snowfall in the winter of 2022 and a warmer-than-average summer. In many regions, there were 20 fewer snow days below average. In some areas, there were even 50 fewer snow days. Alpine glaciers are among the fastest retreating glaciers in the world.
Continued glacier melt contributes to rising sea levels. In addition, a lack of snow in winter affects the entire year: Snowmelt in spring and summer adds water to many European rivers. If there is already a lack of snow in winter, there is a lack of water in summer. Combined with high temperatures and heat waves, the lack of water “likely contributed to a severe drought,” according to Copernicus researchers.
The year 2022 was less dramatic for the glaciers in the coastal regions of southwestern Scandinavia. They recorded a small ice gain of ten centimeters. But years of mass loss have also dominated here since the turn of the millennium. nib
German state secretaries are usually not too much in the spotlight. For Patrick Graichen, it is a different story: The high-ranking official in the German Ministry of Economics now faces allegations of cronyism and calls for his resignation. The designated candidate for chair of the German Energy Agency (Dena) board, Michael Schäfer, is Graichen’s best man. Graichen was involved in the selection process for the Dena chair, although he was aware of Schäfer’s application early on. Graichen speaks of a “mistake that he very much regrets.” He should have withdrawn from the selection committee once Schäfer became a candidate, he says.
The opposition in the Bundestag senses a scandal. The Secretary General of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Martin Huber, spoke of “nepotism,” calling Graichen no longer tenable as state secretary. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) even spoke of “green clan structures.”
The criticism is all the louder because the Schäfer affair is not Graichen’s only close tie. Graichen’s counterpart as State Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is Michael Kellner, his brother-in-law. Kellner is married to Graichen’s sister Verena – who, like his brother Jakob, works as an energy expert for the Freiburg-based Öko-Institut. The German government also contracts the Öko-Institut. However, these family connections became known in December 2021 and were disclosed by the ministry.
At the time, the BMWK assured it would set up procedures to prevent conflicts of interest. In fact, the number of contracts for the Öko-Institut and the sums paid has decreased since the current German government took office, as the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. According to the report, five contracts worth 3.6 million euros were awarded in 2022. In the last year of the Merkel government, 2021, eight contracts were awarded (volume of 2.5 million euros), and in 2019, even eleven contracts with a volume of 9.5 million euros. Graichen is also excluded from tender procedures that involve the Öko-Institut, BUND – Verena Graichen is a member of its board – or Agora Energiewende – his former employer.
Graichen is a key thinker and manager of Habeck’s energy and climate transition – and, thus, the brains behind upcoming hardships that will hit consumers and some industrial sectors. Whether it is the heating transition, the Climate Change Act, the energy transition or the gas crisis management after the Russian attack on Ukraine – Graichen is in charge of many of the BMWK’s central projects. The law on promoting heat pumps and replacing old heating systems, which was heavily criticized in the media and by some interest groups, can also be traced back to Graichen.
This means that calls for Graichen’s resignation always hit Economy Minster Robert Habeck and his partly unpopular energy and heat transition plans. Graichen himself refuses to resign. His boss has so far stood by his top civil servant. Habeck is trying to defuse the accusations against Graichen by reviewing the Dena chairmanship selection process. According to Stefan Wenzel, chairman of Dena’s supervisory board, the procedure could be repeated altogether.
Even if there was no proof that Graichen committed any direct misconduct, the impression of conflicts of interest remains. The opposition will likely also point to the close ties between Graichen and other important stakeholders when criticizing the energy transition in the future.
Graichen has served various governments of different parties – as is not unusual for political officials. From 2001 to 2006, he was a consultant for international climate action at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. First under Green Minister Jürgen Trittin and later under Sigmar Gabriel of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Afterward, he even became head of the department for climate action matters. At that time, the Environment Minister was Norbert Röttgen – a Christian Democrat.
Graichen left the political scene for a time in 2012 and founded the think tank Agora Energiewende with former State Secretary of the BMU and colleague Rainer Baake. When Baake was reappointed State Secretary, Graichen took over as Executive Director and Managing Director of the think tank. During this time, the graduate economist and environmental economist acted more as a watchdog and commentator from the sidelines.
At the time, Graichen supported the coal phase-out and the simultaneous expansion of renewables through external pressure. In 2015, even before the Paris Agreement was signed, he already highlighted the need to reform the energy market design, according to which climate-friendly energy sources must be efficiently promoted and harmful ones priced accordingly. Nico Beckert / Lukas Scheid
