Limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial is feasible. This publication is a civil society response to the challenge of limiting global warming to 1.5°C while also paving the way for climate justice.

The conflicts, social and political turmoils we have witnessed in the western Balkans in the last three decades were, in the minds of many leaders and participants, centred around collective identities whose differences allegedly could not be settled in a nonviolent way. And still, more then 20 years after the wars, patriarchal, homophobic and exclusive tendencies are dominating in the region, shaping a climate of intolerance, of exclusion, of the radical negation of all things humane and rational.

This issue of Perspectives is dedicated to climate change mitigation in the Western Balkans, because of both the global need to limit global warming but also because mitigating climate change, as the articles show, goes hand in hand with development both in terms of economic growth and in terms of health, wellbeing and societal development. With this context in mind, the articles before you shed light upon some of the commonly overlooked aspects of it but also point to solutions which are good starting points for any future changes in how we think of energy, development, and public good more broadly

On this issue of Perspectives, you will find stories written by citizens in the true meaning of that word. They describe what the “right for the city” means to them. Why they perceive their activism as fighting for a common rather than an individual right, and why they choose to fight for one of the most precious yet most neglected of human rights. Reading them, one learns also much about the perfidious ways those in power limit people’s right to the city.

The Alliance 90/The Greens Party has succeeded in taking over governmental responsibility in the majority of the 16 federal states. In this study the political scientist, Arne Jungjohann, has analysed Green government participation of previous years.

This discussion paper assesses the socio-economic and environmental hazards that may occur due to the proposed diversion of Shatung river, situated at Deosai plains of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. A plan to divert Shatung river into Satpara Dam already exists; the plan is to increase the latter’s power generation capacity and to satisfy the increasing domestic, industrial and public water needs of Skardu Town and the adjacent villages during the low flow/winter season. However, no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been conducted so far. Only the locally-active environmental protection bodies have put up some resistance against this plan arguing that the diversion would primarily violate the Gilgit-Baltistan Wildlife Protection, Preservation and Management Act, 1975. During the investigation for this discussion paper, it was learnt that the diversion may result in serious damages to the ecology of the Deosai National Park (DNP) and its existing flora and fauna fed by Shatung river. Moreover, the requirements of Satpara Dam and expected outcomes of the diversion might not be achieved when the river water level decreases in winter season. If the diversion takes place, it would have serious implications for the fragile alpine ecosystem of Deosai plateau, and its biodiversity.  

Briefing on the details and possible impacts of the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment - a planned experiment in a form of geoengineering known as Solar Radiation Management (SRM). SRM aims to block or reflect sunlight before it reaches the earth’s atmosphere.

A briefing explaining why Solar Radiation Management (SRM) experiments are a bad idea. SRM describes a set of geoengineering techniques that aim to counter human-made climate change by artificially increasing the reflection of heat from sunlight (solar radiation) back into space. 

Moving beyond the minimum legal requirement for women in political parties to actual political representation and participation. 

The reader for the 19th Annual Foreign Policy Conference about the current geopolitical power shifts in the Asia-Pacific region and their effects on Europe and Germany.