What to expect from carbon pricing – and what not Commentary Carbon pricing has been dominating the public debate in recent months like hardly any other climate protection instrument. Stefanie Groll comments on the role of carbon pricing for ambitious climate protection. By Dr. Stefanie Groll
REDD: The pitfalls of market-compliant forest conservation REDD The concept of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) was introduced into UN climate talks in 2005 with the promise to reduce deforestation as well as the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from forest loss. REDD is now becoming the dominant international forest policy mechanism. By Jutta Kill
Valuation and monetisation of nature – No thanks! We don’t need any “reconciliation of the economy and ecology”. Instead, we should be saying no to destructive and exploitative projects and policies - and yes to a repoliticisation of environmental debate. By Barbara Unmüßig
High Expectations from ‘Nature Based Solutions’ during the Climate Action Summit Background This one-day event in New York is intended to spur new commitments from countries, and greater overall ambition in achieving under-two-degree warming pathways. Peter Riggs, from the international network CLARA, tells how to evaluate the commitments. By Peter Riggs
Green Climate Fund squandering scarce climate funds by financing REDD+ Despite over a billion US dollars for pilot initiatives by multilateral agencies and subsidies for private sector REDD+ projects and research programmes over the past 15 years, REDD+ has not fulfilled its promise of being a silver bullet in the fight against deforestation: global forest loss continues at alarming rates. By Jutta Kill
Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet The plastic pollution crisis is a significant and growing threat to the Earth’s climate. Greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. pdf
REDD+: A lost decade for international forest conservation REDD+ was praised as a tool that could quickly and cheaply reduce emissions. This prediction has not been fulfilled. Instead, global emissions and deforestation are increasing. By Jutta Kill
EU’s Role in speeding up energy transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine Documentation Obviously, the destiny of sustainable transition of Western Balkan and Eastern European economies is above all in control of the respective countries themselves. Still, the EU is in a decisive position to create conditions for a dynamic of change and a successful modernisation. By Robert Sperfeld
The illusion of green flying A new climate agreement intended to ensure “carbon-neutral growth” in international aviation could lead to a massive increase in demand for problematic offsetting projects. By Magdalena Heuwieser
Governing the Big Bad Fix? What to do about geoengineering Geoengineering – large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s natural systems – is increasingly being presented as a strategy to counteract, dilute or delay climate change. Which international legal norms and agreements would contradict the different measures? By Duncan Currie
