Climate guardians under threat Interview The peatlands of Africa's Cuvette Centrale in the Congo Basin store more carbon than the rainforest that overhangs it. But peat is only valuable as a carbon store if it remains water-saturated and untouched in the soil. An interview with Irene Wabiwa Betoko, International Project Leader, Congo Basin Forest of Greenpeace Africa.
Lost in Translation: Lessons from the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report Analysis On 20 March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will present its Synthesis Report to its 6th Assessment Report. Our briefing highlights essential points of the underlying reports that will be crucial to creating a just and sustainable future in climate change.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: A Historical Deal for Biodiversity Analysis The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biodiversity took place in Montreal from the 7th to the 19th of December, 2022. The results were mixed. This article analyses the good, the bad, the ugly, as well as the way forward from CBD COP15. By Simone Lovera
"We’ll never be able to offset our way to keeping global temperature rise below 1.5°C" Interview The question of CO2 removals was part of the negotiations on Article 6. 4 of the Paris Climate Agreement at the UN climate conferennce COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. Erika Lennon of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) explains what the issues and concerns were at the conference around this topic. By Björn Ecklundt
The Debt-Climate Nexus Commentary As central banks tighten monetary policy, dozens of climate-vulnerable, highly-indebted countries teeter on the edge of a financial abyss. To address the confluence of economic and environmental disasters ravaging the Global South, the international community must provide immediate debt relief in exchange for green investments. By Ulrich Volz, Kevin P. Gallagher, Jörg Haas, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Yueven Li, Anzetse Were and Shamshad Akhtar
Migration in Times of Climate Change – Crisis or Part of the Solution? Commentary In its latest assessment report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that one in three people is extremely vulnerable to climate change. This vulnerability is intertwined with social inequality and therefore unequally distributed across the globe. The assessment results emphasize a central question of our time: how can we protect affected population and adapt to present and future change in the climate? By Hanna Friedrich
CBD COP 15: "The loss of biodiversity poses an existential threat" Interview Before the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Member of the German Bundestag Jan-Niclas Gesenhues answered questions about the interconnection of the climate and biodiversity crisis, economic models that consider well being, and more sustainable consumption. By Philipp Kuehl
CBD COP 15: Biodiversity’s ‘Paris’ or ‘Copenhagen’? Commentary With the future of biodiversity on the line, UN member states meeting in Montreal this December must set a framework for a new conservation paradigm. By Simone Lovera
Greenwashing Tyranny at COP27 Commentary The Egyptian regime is using COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh to distract from its ongoing crackdown on civil society by touting its sustainability credentials. By Taqadum Al-Khatib
No climate justice without civic space Petition In the run-up to COP27, we note with great concern the human rights situation in Egypt. Therefore, together with other international and German civil society organisations, we have signed the Egyptian Human Rights Coalition's petition to the COP27.