Ecology and Society

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»
Man riding a bike in the city of Jedda during a flood in 2011

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»

Dossier

Seasons of Change: Climate, Energy and Resource Politics in the MENA Region

- In the midst of turbulent times in the Middle East and North Africa, Qatar is hosting the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha from November 26 to December 7, 2012. This trilingual webdossier presents analysis and perspectives on how climate change, resource and energy politics relate to political and social change.  more»
Israel's first solar field in the Arava Valley

Climate Change Policy in Israel Must Become a National Priority

- November 1, 2012 - The “startup nation” Israel that exports solar technology abroad and is famous for the early implementation of solar water heaters is failing to implement renewable energy sources at home. Public awareness is low and the government lacks a coherent strategy even though impacts already affect the country: African climate refugees seeking water, food and shelter. Maya Milrad-Givon more»

The Power of Youth for Environmental Justice

- October 31, 2012 - The Arab world has witnessed uprisings from its youth, who are demanding more democratic governance systems, and particularly social justice, which implies both economic and environmental justice. But those regimes remain unaware of the power of the youth, who can deliver solutions for climate change. Waleed Mahmoud Mansour more»

PUBLICATION SERIES ON DEMOCRACY

Inside a Champion

- June 7, 2012 - The international community likes to see Brazil as a socially oriented, economically successful state that is sensitive to environmental and climate-friendly issues – a great power on its way to the top; a champion. But in Brazilian civil society, another perception of its own state and the politics it pursues prevails. This publication takes a closer look at this discrepancy between how Brazil is perceived by those outside of and within its borders. more»

Policy Paper

The Green Economy – The New Magic Bullet?

- March 30, 2012 - In this essay, the president of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Barbara Unmuessig, critically reflects on the opportunities for and the shortcomings of the concept of a "Green Economy" to influence economic policy making globally, its relationship to the paradigm of sustainable development and the need to rethink our understanding and focus on growth. Barbara Unmüßig more»

Publication Series Ecology, Volume 21

The Future We Want - A Feminist Perspective

- March 15, 2012 - The Future We Want – the motto chosen by the UN in the run-up to the June 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) – is certainly forward-looking. Rio+20 is supposed to define routes towards a safer, fairer, greener, and cleaner world. But the blueprints for a green economy are devoid of gender perspectives. Christa Wichterich’s essay takes a closer look on the relations between feminism and ecology.  more»

Climate Change and the Good Life

- March 1, 2012 - The definition of "good life" depends mostly on political, economical and cultural circumstances, but due to the effects of climate change and global warming, it also depends on issues of nature and environment. Georg Koessler investigates the relationship between climate change and living conditions. Georg Koessler more»
Cover

Publication Series Ecology, Volume 20

Toward Global (Environ)Mental Change

- February 2, 2012 - The global crisis of unsustainability is not only a crisis of the hardware of civilization, it is also a crisis of the software of minds. Therefore we need a global (environ)mental change, that is a transformation process to affect the many relationships between our minds and their environments. more»

SurVivArt – Art For the Right to a "Good Life"

- January 9, 2012 - For the SurVivArt project the Heinrich Böll Foundation has invited artists from around the world to reflect by means of works of art and related communications on what the “good life“ means to them and those around them. In February 2012, the works will be presented at an exhibition in Berlin. more»

Perspectives #04/2011

No Romance: Mobilising Climate Finance for Africa

- November 18, 2011 - While Africa has contributed the least to historic greenhouse gas emissions globally, it stands to be the hardest hit by the effects of climate change. Africa will require substantial financial resources in order to adapt to the unavoidable consequences of climate change. At this year’s Climate Change Conference in Durban, climate finance is expected to feature prominently. Editors: Dr Antonie Katharina Nord, Jochen Luckscheiter and Kulthoum Omari more»
Peter Burnell

Democratization and Climate Politics: Should they go hand in hand?

- August 30, 2011 - Are democracies are more environmentally conscious than non-democratic countries? Ideally, progress toward stable democracy and tackling climate change should proceed together. But sometimes political experimentation could retard the bold and urgent action now needed against climate change. Peter Burnell more»
Cover

Publication Series Ecology, Volume 17

Buen Vivir: Latin America’s new concepts for the good life and the rights of nature

- July 22, 2011 - Leftist governments in Ecuador and Bolivia have drawn up new constitutions. Buen Vivir – the right to a good life and the rights of nature – has been enshrined in these documents. Buen Vivir is based on indigenous traditions and sees itself as a concept that departs from Western paradigms of affluence. This essay describes the political genesis of a complex concept. Thomas Fatheuer more»

Art project SurVivArt: Creativity and the Right to a Good Life

- July 14, 2011 - The concept of a “good life” touches many layers of everyday life. Our art project SurVivArt creates an international bridge between sustainability, climate change, gender equity, art and culture. With the support of our international offices, SurVivArt shows perspectives and views from artists from different regions of the world,  mainly from the global South. more»
Garbage in front of a restaurant

Climate Change and Tourism in Lebanon

- June 1, 2011 - Lebanon is back on the world tourist map, and Beirut is currently traded as the "hottest city on the Mediterranean." The tourism industry is now one of the driving sectors of the country. But the growing tourism also has strong environmental impacts.
Manja Riebe more»
United Nation Headquarter New York

Global Environmental Governance and Rio +20: Thinking Big – Doing Little?

- April 11, 2011 - There is little faith in the reform of the UN system; nonetheless, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 – also known as Rio +20 – is not only to set the stage for a green economy, but also to provide an impetus for the institutional reform of the UN environmental sector. Barbara Unmüßig more»
Water buckets

Study

Women who go, women who stay: reactions to climate change

- March 25, 2011 - Migration is a strategy to adapt to climate change, yet there are significant differences between men and women. Jenny Jungehülsing has conducted a case study in southern Mexico to put a gender focus on the discussion on migration and climate change. more»
Boy running on Steppe

Studies

Adaptation to Climate Change in East Africa

- December 3, 2010 - East Africa prepares to adapt to climate change. Three studies - on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - provide information on policies, institutions and actors addressing adaptation issues and identify governance challenges in climate change adaptation in the region. more»
Globe and pile of money

A Matter of Principle(s) - A Normative Framework for a Global Compact on Public Climate Finance

- November 19, 2010 - How can we assure, that tax money used for public climate change finance are used as fairly, efficiently and effectively as possible? A study suggests principles and criteria that the public sector should take into account in the allocation of funds for urgent action in developing countries to adapt and reduce emissions. By Liane Schalatek more»

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»

The Blue-Green Alliance

- May 17, 2010 - The Blue Green Alliance between labour unions and environmental organisations wants to create jobs in the United States' environmental sector and has become part of the Washington scene. By Frauke Thies 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»

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»

“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»
Cover

Magazine

Böll.Thema Number 1/2010 - Going Green

- April 27, 2010 - No doubt, Copenhagen was a major setback. Although much remains to be done, the great transformation is on its way: within the energy sector, in construction, in industry – and in Europe, the US, and China alike. To be sure, political decisions will be a major factor in how swiftly and powerfully change will occur. Yet, the future is not the exclusive domain of governments. All of us can be and will have to become actors in an ecological turnaround. more»

Gender and Climate Change: Namibia Case Study

- This report focuses on the Namibian case study. Due to the fact that climate change and gender has strong links to poverty, and that the majority of rural poor are women engaged primarily in subsistence agriculture,  the research primarily examined rural communities of Namibia. Fieldwork was carried out in Epyeshona village located in northern-central Namibia and Daures Constituency in the Northwestern region. By Margaret Angula more»

Gender and Climate Change: Mozambique Case Study

- Mozambique is considered one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa that has been hard hit by climate change due to its geographical location and the weak socioeconomic situation. The major anticipated impacts of climate change are increase in the frequency and severity of floods, droughts and cyclones. Thus, adaptation measures to cope with the impacts of climate change are urgently needed at different levels in the country. These must be gender-sensitive, considering the differentiated role women and men play in rural societies. By Natasha Ribeiro and Aniceto Chaúque 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»
Cover: Gruppenfoto, 12 Personen stehen auf einer Treppe

Publication

The Class of 2009: Green Visions for Europe

- March 11, 2010 - To the surprise of many opinion pollsters and political commentators it became clear late in the evening of 7 June 2009 that the real winners in the European elections were the Greens.  They were the only political group in the European Parliament that had managed to increase their number of seats.  Few would have forecast this even a few days before. The European Union office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung has invited eleven new Green Members of the European Parliament from five different countries to write about their ambitions for Europe.  What are the goals of the new Greens and how do they want to achieve them? more»
Portrait: Ralf Fücks

A Change in the Times - What is Past and What is Prologue

- July 20, 2009 - In contrast to all previous world economic shocks, in the current situation economic and environmental crises collide. If we are wise, we will turn these crises into a great social awakening - a transformation of our societies towards sustainability and fairness. By Ralf Fücks more»
Strand mit Kind und zwei abgemagerten Kühen

Publication Series Ecology, Volume 8

Climate Change and the Right to Food

- December 7, 2009 - This study highlights how the climate change regime and the human rights regime addressing the right to food have failed to coordinate their agendas and to collaborate to each other’s mutual benefit. It proposes concrete methods by which institutions can address climate change problems and realize the right to food symbiotically, in compliance with the principles of systemic integration under international law. more»
Cover

Publication Series Ecology, Volume 6

Climate Change Violates Human Rights

- November 11, 2009 - It is mainly the inhabitants of the global South who suffer from the effects of climate change. This publication uses case examples to illustrate the dangers faced by indigenous peoples in particular, as well as the tools the UN human rights system gives them to support their struggle for just climate policies. By Theodor Rathgeber more»
Cover

Magazine

Climate Change and Justice: On the road to Copenhagen

- November 16, 2009 - Copenhagen must lead to a breakthrough. The industrial countries bear double responsibility: not only do they need to take reducing their own CO2 emissions seriously, they are also called upon for the substantial financial and technological transfers needed to put developing and newly industrialized countries onto low-carbon development paths. more»
Logo of the study "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change"

Climate Change and Energy as Security Threats

- February 24, 2009 - In the coming years, NATO will surely respond to international crises. Yet, NATO’s strategy should also take into account the two dominant security threats currently shaping the state of the planet: global climate change and energy security. By Sherri Goodman and David Catarious more»

Gender and Climate Change: Botswana Case Study

- The general objective of this report was to analyse differentiated impacts of climate change and climate variability in Botswana. Furthermore, it was to examine the gendered dimension of climate change, its impacts and women and men’s responses. The central research question that the study sought to answer was ‘Are women and men in Botswana affected by climate change differently?’. By Kulthoum Omari more»

Gender and Climate Change: South Africa Case Study

- The study shows that women in South Africa are very knowledgeable and innovative with regards to coping with the impacts of the changing climate. Lessons can be drawn from their knowledge on how women can be better assisted to adapt to climate change. Results confirm that women play an important role in supporting households and communities to cope and adapt to climate variability. By Dr Agnes Babugura more»
Your basket

 

Terms of delivery
General Terms and Conditions, Heinrich Böll Foundation (hbf)

Following is information concerning your orders: postage and cost, data security policy, exemption clauses, and where to call for further information. more»
Help
A Step-by-step Guide on How to Place an Order on boell.de
A step-by-step guide, explaining in detail how to order publications on boell.de. more»
Video: The German Energiewende
Energytransition.de DOHA Banner eng Banner Focus on Hungary Discover the Böll Stiftung
Blogs
loader
The Foundation in Social Networks
Icon Facebook, CC-BY-SA jwloh01 at gmail dot com Facebook Icon Twitter, CC-BY-SA jwloh01 at gmail dot com Twitter
Icon YouTube, CC-BY-SA jwloh01 at gmail dot com YouTube Icon Flickr, CC-BY-SA jwloh01 at gmail dot com Flickr
Icon SoundCloud SoundCloud Icon RSS-Feed Feeds
Blog Euro Crisis Banner: Triple Crisis Blog Women's Voices, Women's Choices - 100 years of international Women’s Day The Climate Network-Transatlantic Solutions for a Low Carbon Economy