Ecology
chimneys of a refinery
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trend is noticable in Germany, too, where unemployment and the controversy concerning investor-friendly policy have superseded ecology as main issues of political debate.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.

Resource Governance
Photo: ShellyS (photo is under the creative commons licence Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
Study
From Money to Metals
Despite the current financial "crisis" investors are pouring money into mining companies and projects, with potentially negative consequences for thousands of communities around the world. Launched in 2008, and now available as a regularly-updated data base, "From Money to Metals" is a vital resource to discover who is funding what, and where, in one of the most potentially destructive of all global industries. By Nostromo Research, 2009. more»
petrol station
Dossier
Log, Stock and Barrel - Financial Institutions in the Resource Sector – Financial institutions play a major role in the exploitation and trade of natural resources. Over the years activists and organisations worldwide have used a variety of strategies to address these issues. The objective of the dossier Log, Stock and Barrel - Financial Institutions in the Resource Sector is to collect information on financial institutions, their role in the resource sector, and put together mechanisms, tools and strategies to address policy issues.
Green Economics
Conference Summary: The Great Transformation - Greening the Economy
July 5, 2010 -

This conference report summarizes the key debates of the two-day conference "The Great Transformation - Greening the Economy". Additionally audio recordings of all sessions are available as well as video recordings of several key notes.

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International Conference
The Great Transformation – Greening the Economy – May 20, 2010 - The international conference deals with the political framework, regulatory instruments, as well as leading technologies, key projects and new alliances for the economic-ecologic turnaround. On May, 28-29 a live-stream will be available. more»
Magazine
Green New Deal – The monstrous sums governments spend to boost the economy must be used to create a sustainable economy and society. This appeal is not just directed at governments and parliaments. We need a great social awakening in order to reform capitalism and improve the world. more»
Climate and Energy
Conference
European Energy Policy
The conference "European Energy Policy - Energy Security, Climate Protection, Innovation" in March 2010 was a place for experts from politics, science, and society. It offered an exceptional forum on the best and fastest way to achieve a sustainable energy future for Europe. more»
Where’s the Money? The Status of Climate Finance Post-Copenhagen – March 4, 2010 - When the dust settled after the near failure of the UNFCCC climate talks in Copenhagen, the issue of climate finance seemed strangely to have been one of the few areas, where despite all procedural and political misgivings, real progress was made.  By Liane Schalatek, Neil Bird and Jessica Brown more»
E-Paper
Failure or Opportunity? – March 1, 2010 - From a sheer climate protection perspective, various experts claim that the outcome of the Copenhagen climate conference has been a failure. Two months after the Copenhagen climate summit, this paper sheds some light on the different regional and national evaluations of the conference and analyzes how perceptions on the outcome of the conference vary between key countries and regions. more»
barrel with radioactive waste
Myth of nuclear power - a guide – July 29, 2010 - The myth of nuclear power keeps persevering. Therefore the Heinrich Böll Foundation has commissioned renowned international nuclear experts to deliver detailed facts central to the myths of nuclear energy. This overview provides the public with a current, facts rich and nuclear-critical know-how.
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Pro CSS – May 11, 2010 - In 2050, three billion more people will inhabit the earth, while at the same time a large section of humanity will need greater access to energy in order to escape poverty. Eventually, we will have to become “CO2 negative” by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and channelling it back underground. By Eivind Hoff more»
Dossier
For Climate Equity – With this dossier the Heinrich Böll Foundation presents its latest international publications and events, and provides background information on other stakeholders and fora. more»
Ecology and Society
Sustainable Industrial Policy – Engine for a Green Transformation of the Economy
May 18, 2010 - How can we switch our economy to a modus operandi that will not emit additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? How can we feed most resources back into a circular economy? What changes to key sectors of our economy are necessary to achieve this? A green transformation of industry and economy is one of the greatest challenges facing us in the 21st century. By Christian Hochfeld and Claudia Kabel more»
A Green Financial Reform to Pay the Deficit Caused by the Crisis – May 18, 2010 - The ecological challenges are enormous. As long as there are financial incentives that point the other way, we will not be able to solve these and other environmental problems within a market economy. State finances will have to be put on a new base. By Damian Ludewig more»
A Bright Future for Solar Energy in China – May 17, 2010 - Dynamic growth due to the global fight against climate change has made China the world's number one producer of solar cells. 98 per centof all solar cells were exported. Not even 1 per cent was used in China itself. But Wang Sicheng of the Energy Research Institute is convinced that the focus of the Chinese solar energy industry will gradually shift from foreign to domestic markets. By Sun Xiaohua more»
Risks and Side Effects of Eco-protectionism – May 17, 2010 - On the day climate negotiators met in Copenhagen, economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman’s op-ed in the New York Times demonstrated that much has changed in two years of climate debate – and that there actually is hope that we may “save the planet.” A commentary by Reinhard Bütikofer more»
The American Way of Change – May 17, 2010 - While the US government is being internationally lambasted for its lame climate policies, researchers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists go beyond politics to find, on their own account, openings for green energies. By Till Kötter more»
Can Economic Growth and Climate Protection be Reconciled? – May 17, 2010 - We have almost used up our emissions budget. Should we continue to emit at the current rate, our budget will be used up within ten years. Thus, we have to ask ourselves: Is continuous growth the right approach? Can we afford more economic growth? Is our present economic system able to increase and sustain wealth on a worldwide scale? The Böll.Thema essay by Claudia Kemfert tries to give answers to these questions.  more»
Pro CSS – May 11, 2010 - In 2050, three billion more people will inhabit the earth, while at the same time a large section of humanity will need greater access to energy in order to escape poverty. Eventually, we will have to become “CO2 negative” by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and channelling it back underground. By Eivind Hoff more»
Contra CSS – May 11, 2010 - The coalition treaty between Christian Democrats and Liberals provides that subsidies for the extraction of coal will continue until 2018. Additional subsidies for new coal-fired power plants will come from the implementation of EU rules on CCS and from income generated by emissions trading. Thus, the current German government is promoting an increase in coal-fired power plants, a policy that undermines climate protection. The idea seems to be to greenwash coal by means of CCS. By Ingrid Nestle more»
Africans on Desertec – May 11, 2010 - Opinions about the future of the Desertec project on the African continent. more»
Desertec – A Part of Tomorrow’s Global Security Framework – May 10, 2010 - With giant strides humanity is approaching a population level of ten billion. Fossil fuels have been almost fully exploited. According to Gerhard Knies, initiator and chairman of the supervisory board of Desertec, Desertec’s approach seems to be the best solution to face these problems. By Gerhard Knies more»
Swarm Intelligence of the Small – or a Cartel of the Powerful? – May 3, 2010 - Concepts of decentralised energy production such as Lichtblick and the centralised approach of the Desertec consortium to produce solar energy in the desert do not have to clash. By Hannes Koch more»
“We Need a Radicalism of the Centre” – May 3, 2010 - Anthony Giddens, author of The Third Way, in conversation with Ralf Fücks about the politics of climate change, the reshaping of our civilisation, the relationship between utopianism and realism, climate policy beyond left and right, and the role of the state. more»
Study
Gender and Climate Change in Southern Africa – Although various studies have focused on climate change impacts and adaptation opportunities in Africa, few have focused on the household level and in particular on gender differentiated impacts of climate change. This study, commissioned by Heinrich Böll Stiftung, provides an analysis and summary of the findings of eight case studies carried out in four southern African countries. Furthermore, the study aims to identify various policies, programmes and activities that could address these issues. more»
World Water Forum
Dossier
Water Policies in Turkey – The 5th World Water Forum took place in Istanbul from 16-22 March, 2009. The legitimacy of the World Water Forum is being seriously questioned by a number of non-governmental organisations. This dossier takes up the question of water and justice. more»
Events
14.9. Lehman ist tot – lang lebe Lehman! – Eine Vorlesung des Finanzexperten und Ex-Lehman Bankers Sony Kapoor
17.9. GREENING THE CITY - Strategien für den Green New Deal der Städte – Internationale Konferenz im Flughafen Tempelhof
7./8.
10. 		Europas Osten - Impulse für die Politik der EU gegenüber ihren östlichen Nachbarn – 11. Außenpolitische Jahrestagung
7./8.
10. 		Europe’s East - Ideas for the EU’s policy vis-à-vis its eastern neighbors – 11. Annual Foreign Policy Conference
23./24.
11. 		Deutsche Entwicklungspolitik im Spannungsfeld Globaler Krisen – Entwicklungspolitisches Forum der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
All events / search
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