Environmental Policy

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will kick off in October 2021 in Kunming, China. What is the importance of biodiversity in China and what are the Chinese government's goals for COP 15? Lili Fuhr, Head of the International Environmental Policy Division, spoke with our Beijing Office Director, Paul Kohlenberg.

At least since the globalization debate in the early 1980s, it has always been about the contradiction between the local and the global. Ares Kalandides explains why it is time to rethink this approach and what opportunities and possibilities local initiatives offer today.

It is highly debatable whether deep-sea minerals are needed to enable the renewable-energy transition and decarbonize the global economy. The world must first show that seabed mining can yield long-term net benefits for sustainable development.

Plastic is a material that used to be a symbol of progress and modernity. Now it represents an industry that subordinates everything to profit, even if the world is ruined in the process.

December 12, 2020, will be the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement. This analysis provides important materials and pursues the questions: Where do we stand in dealing with the climate crisis? What false solutions must be avoided? And how can we push the urgently needed radical course change in pursuit of climate justice?

"Build back better" has been Joe Biden’s campaign promise. Climate policy is central to this, both in domestic and foreign policy. Ultimately, it is also a question of whether the Biden government can succeed in regaining lost credibility on the international stage.

The most important questions and answers on the Societal Transformation Scenario (STS)

High-risk geoengineering projects are proceeding in violation of UN moratoria.

The governments gathered in Madrid failed to embrace the urgent need for progress towards climate justice and higher ambitions.

Hosting COP 25 in Chile would have been an excellent chance to visualize the continent’s environmental problems and improve the space for negotiations. Now, Latin American civil society is making an effort to make their voices heard in Madrid.

Against the backdrop of increasing climate destruction and mass mobilizations calling for climate leadership, COP-25 must deliver urgent, rights-based climate action.

The plastic crisis is not just about what ends up in the ocean; it is about whether we are capable of achieving a sustainable existence on this planet.

There is no lack of agreements and initiatives to manage the plastic crisis. But almost all address waste disposal only; they are not coordinated with each other, and they absolve manufacturers of their responsibilities.

What to do with your unwanted plastic bottles and bags? Simple: send them somewhere else. Until recently, much of the developed world’s hard-to-recycle waste was shipped off to China. That is no longer an option.