Introduction

Climate Change & Sustainable Development

Ecology and sustainable development are central areas for securing the future of humanity – areas which should by no means be treated as a political football.
It is to the credit of the green movement within and outside parliaments that ecology has become one of the main arenas of politics. There is hardly another subject which, within the last 30 years, has been thus transformed from the concern of a few scientists, activists (often thought of as "nutters") into a topic of world conferences.

On the other hand the 1997 UN summit Rio+ 5 produced a sobering account of the state of sustainable policy: Almost universally the agenda of ecological change has been displaced by the agenda of globalisation. This trend is noticable in Germany, too, where unemployment and the controversy concerning investor-friendly policy have superseded ecology as main issues of political debate.

At present the Heinrich Böll Foundation puts the main emphasis on the areas global energy and climate policy, i.e. discussions about the opportunities of renewable energy and the problems of nuclear power.

Ten years on: “Publish What You Pay” celebrates a landmark anniversary

December 10, 2012 - In 2002 a small group of NGOs launched “Publish What You Pay” in order to lend weight to their call for more transparency in the extractive industries. Today, the network is the largest global affiliation of NGOs campaigning in the resource sector. This September, the network marked its landmark tenth anniversary with a conference in Amsterdam. Heidi Feldt more»

E-Paper

Privatizing the Governance of “Green Growth”

- November 26, 2012 -

Big transnational corporations do what they can to stick to and increase their power in the natural resources sector and promote that as “Green Growth”. How can civil society react to that? In their paper Nancy Alexander and Lili Fuhr analyse the state of the development and formulate questions for a debate. 

Nancy Alexander, Lili Fuhr more»

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Urban Areas in the Arab Region: Time for Adaption to Climate Change

- November 21, 2012 - The interactions between natural risks in the Arab region, climate change effects, water scarcity, and lack of food self-sufficiency represent a serious challenge to policies and plans in Arab countries and cities. Over the last three years, climate-related disasters have cast their shadow on around 50 million people in the Arab region. Amal Dababseh more»

The African COP: COP 17 Analysis and Outlook

- November 7, 2012 - What were the expectations for COP 17 in Durban in 2011 and what does it mean for COP 18? The climate summit was hosted 2011 by South Africa which is located in a region that stands to be tremendously affected by climate change. This year participants of the summit in Doha must find a solution for financing adaptation as well as making the Green Climate Fund operational.  Kulthoum Omari more»

Higher Environmental Taxes as Solution to the Economic and Financial Crisis

December 11, 2012 - The EU countries affected by the crisis find themselves in a dilemma. They have to ensure economic growth and employment while, at the same time, they need to reduce costs and save money through higher taxes. A new survey indicates: environmental taxes are the most effective tool in this context – and simultaneously conserve resources.
Kai Schlegelmilch more»

Policy paper

Biomassters Battle to Control the Green Economy

- June 12, 2012 - At Rio+20, the concept of the "green economy" focuses on industrial production from biomass as one way to overcome fossil fuel dependency. The push for a bio-based economy comes with a call for market-based mechanisms for the financialization of the Earth’s natural processes, re-branded as ‘ecosystem services’, which also encourage land and water grabs.  etc Group and Heinrich Boell Foundation more»

Protests for Social Justice: A Green New Deal for Israel?

- August 17, 2011 - During the ongoing housing protests in Israel, the Green Movement just released the first draft of a Green New Deal. Two chairpersons of the Green Movement link their economic plan with the currrent protests for social justice. Alon Tal and Racheli Tedhar Kener more»

• Israeli Social Protests: The Key To Changing Everything? - Dahlia Scheindlin
• Housing Protests: The Israeli Summer - Noah Efron

Growth of Limits

- May 9, 2011 - On the road to ecological modernity, prosperity is possible without having to destroy the basis of our livelihood. Ralf Fücks more»

Policy Brief

Design challenges for the Green Climate Fund

- January 18, 2011 - One of the achievements of the UNFCCC negotiations in Cancun was the decision to establish a Green Climate Fund (GCF). This paper highlights design issues of the Fund and describes their implications.  Neil Bird, Jessica Brown and Liane Schalatek more»