The Green Peace Dividend- Why Green Technologies Matter for International Security Published: 13 July 2015 Violent conflicts and security crises around the world have many different causes and effects. The vast majority of them, however, are in one way or another related to energy policy. Yet making this link apparent to policy makers has been challenging. Experts from the foreign policy, security and energy communities have been reluctant to fully grasp the security implications of promising green energy technology and market developments. By Rebecca Bertram and Charlotte Beck
Madness by Design: A Voluntary Climate Fee with No Climate Effect Published: 2 June 2015 It’s really gone that far: Sigmar Gabriel’s already minimal attempt to save Germany’s 2020 climate target of reducing emissions by 40% compared with those of 1990 has been so watered down that it is barely recognizable as a climate policy. By Lili Fuhr
What Germany’s energy transition means for the United States Published: 7 May 2015 Germany’s energy transition has created a global market for renewable energies. This is now enabling other countries to follow suit, in particular the United States. By Rebecca Bertram
Save our soils! Published: 24 April 2015 Healthy soils are crucial to human nutrition and the fight against hunger. But worldwide 24 billion tons of fertile soil is lost annually. Barbara Unmüßig calls attention to the growing threat to one of Earth’s most important resources. By Barbara Unmüßig
First in the class, but not best in the Class – The EU’s Proposal for the 2015 Climate Conference in Paris Published: 5 March 2015 The European Commission recently released its vision for the global climate change agreement, which is due to be adopted in Paris in December. It is worth noting that the EU is the first negotiating party to present its offer for the Paris agreement. Nevertheless, the extent to which the offer paves the way to an ambitious climate deal in Paris is questionable indeed. By Silvia Brugger
The Future of EU-Russia Energy Relations Under New Political Circumstances Published: 2 March 2015 The conflict in Ukraine has shown that the EU’s energy security depends largely on strengthening its own resilience. By Ernest Wyciszkiewicz
Radical Goals for Sustainable Development Published: 6 January 2015 The coming set of Sustainable Development Goals will seek to protect ecosystems, conserve resources, and, as with the Millennium Development Goals, lift millions of people out of poverty. Now that solid legal ground must be developed further. By Barbara Unmüßig
“Annus mirabilis” in the Hungarian-Russian energy relationship? Published: 23 December 2014 Hungary continues to extend its energy relations with Russia causing another major tension in the already heavy-loaded Hungarian-EU relations. By András Deák
COP20: Lima Published: 16 December 2014 The COP 20’s “Lima call for climate action” is no wake-up call but a worrisome sign of a feeble multilateral climate process plagued by political deafness and leaving poor and vulnerable communities alone with the impacts of climate change. By Lili Fuhr, Liane Schalatek and Maureen Santos
Lecture: Ocean of Life Published: 16 December 2014 Oceans have always played a key role for life on earth. In his lecture, marine conservation biologist and author Callum Roberts (University of York, England), describes the distressing dimension that the relatively short human rule of the seas has reached throughout the past decade. By Kristin Funke