Ecology & Sustainability

Publication From Forest to Furnace

From Forest to Furnace

Published: 14 March 2025
E-Paper
The burning of wood for energy is increasing worldwide, putting pressure on forests and ecosystems. This paper analyzes the development in Europe, North America, East Asia, Africa, and South America.
 Titelblatt eines E-Papers der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung mit dem Titel „Addressing Afghanistan’s Climate Induced Exodus: Water Scarcity Driven Displacement in Southern Afghanistan“.

Addressing Afghanistan’s Climate Induced Exodus

Published: 26 June 2024
E-Paper
In Southern Afghanistan, an urgent crisis is brewing. Water scarcity is driving large-scale displacement and migration, threatening to escalate into a global issue. Decades of drought have depleted traditional water sources, pushing communities to rely on unsustainable groundwater extraction.
Cover: Policy Paper - Mobility Data for a Just Transition

Mobility Data for a Just Transition:

Published: 13 June 2023
E-Paper
This strategy paper consid­ers possible ways to use mobility data for improving environmental sustainability and equitable access to transportation in Germany.
Cover of the analysis

"Clean" Energy Bills for all citizens in the EU

Published: 11 July 2022
Analysis
Well-designed energy bills are a key tool for consumers in the energy transition. The analysis “‘Clean’ Energy Bills for all citizens in the EU; a subject to an examination” aims at registering the content, structure, and format of the electricity bills in EU27, and examine their contribution to consumers’ empowerment to play an active role in the clean energy transition.
Cover: Protest gegen die PCB-Deponie in Warren County, Afton, am 15. September 1982.

The Elephant in the Room - Environmental Racism in Germany

Published: 15 December 2021
E-Paper
The term "environmental racism" emerged in the 1980s in the USA and articulates the racist effects of unequal distribution of environmental goods and risks. In light of the climate crisis, a new generation of people experiencing racism is asking whether and how climate change impacts reinforce the efficacy of environmental racism.
Compensating Indebted Countries for Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground

Compensating Indebted Countries for Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground

Published: 5 January 2021
Fossil fuel development, in particular oil and gas, promised vast riches in the past. Today it is exposing fossil fuel producers and their creditors to a massive stranded asset risk. Technological disruption with the rapid cost-reduction of renewable energy and storage technologies, in conjunction with the inevitability of increased climate action, are at the root of unprecedented uncertainties over the future of the sector. 
Cover: Debt-For-Adaptation Swap – Investment in Adaptation and Resilience

Debt-For-Adaptation Swap – Investment in Adaptation and Resilience

Published: 14 December 2020
Low-income countries (LICs) are suffering from triple distresses: the mortal impact of Covid-19, increasing debt burdens, and climate change impacts. This paper brings the debt-for-adaptation swap into play as an alternative source to restore countries' ability to act and be resilient to climate change.

Plastic & health: The hidden costs of a plastic planet

Published: 20 February 2019
In a joint effort, a group of authors from civil society and academia point out that the impacts that plastic and the chemicals in it have on our bodies need to be assessed in the full lifecylce of this enduring an ubiquitous material. You can read the executive summary of their study here.