Ecology & Sustainability

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.

Nearly a decade after the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) set the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, evidence shows that the actions undertaken to implement them have not been sufficient. What should a new Global Biodiversity Framework look like?

Climate litigation is on the rise - in Germany, in Europe and worldwide. What role can courts play in the fight against climate change? This article shows the link between human rights and climate change, its implications, and introduces some of the cases.

Stefanie Groll takes a look at the long awaited report, which is considered the onset of the coal exit in Germany. What does the report propose for climate protection, structural change, workers, and industries?

A new UN agreement requires organizations seeking to release gene-drive organisms to obtain the “free, prior, and informed consent” of potentially affected communities. 

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.  

Agriculture and climate change are closely linked, and soils store vast amounts of carbon. But what happens when carbon sequestration in the fields of smallholders becomes a new focus in climate and agricultural policies? 

The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from the 17th to the 29th of November 2018. The Heinrich Böll Foundation stands in solidarity with Egyptian civil society and will therefore not take part in this year’s COP in Sharm El-Sheikh.