Ecology

The stakeholder workshop will gather regional experts from across Europe to discuss practical, legal and political challenges and chancesfor regional renewable energy cooperation.

In cooperation with the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the EU and Stiftung Asienhaus, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung EU Office has the pleasure to invite you to a conference on regional and local best practices in tackling climate mitigation and adaptation challenges.

Finding an answer to the question of how to deal with global climate change is no easy feat and the issue has been setting challenges for international politics for decades. In Germany a scientific advisory body was established with the aim to support the German government in the field of climate politics, the so-called WBGU.

The European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament have all repeatedly called for regional cooperation in the context of the 2030 framework on climate and energy and the Energy Union.

Paris has been declared by many as a historic moment and breakthrough in international climate negotiations. By putting an end to the Kyoto governance and signalling the decline of the fossil fuel area, this new agreement is a huge step forward in the history of international climate diplomacy.

In his support of, in and for Paris, President Obama has emerged as the first real “Climate President” of the United States. Nevertheless, whether or not his country and predecessor will remain faithful to this legacy remains uncertain.

Globally, political leaders are lauding the acceptance of the global and legally binding Paris Agreement on Climate Change at COP 21 as a historical moment. It achieves a goal long believed unattainable. However, judged against the enormity of the challenge and the needs and pressure from people on the ground demanding a global deal anchored in climate justice (“system change, not climate change!”), the Paris Agreement can only be called a collective failure and disappointment. Read a critical assessment by hbs colleagues from around the world.  

The Brussels climate dialogue series that was held from the Climate Summit in Warsaw (COP19 ) until the Climate Summit in Paris (COP21) resulted in the following six key messages to build EU climate ambition in the international climate negotiations

For his documentary a finnish filmmaker followed the coaltravel from Kuzbass to Helsinki. His plan: talking to people in the train about climate change. But they didn't want to talk with him.

Poland is a major coal producer. Miners there are well organised and have strong political leverage. There is a big question mark over how the new government want to approach EU climate policy. An analysis.