International Climate Finance & Policy

The restructuring of the energy system in one of the world’s leading industrialized nations is undoubtedly a highly ambitious undertaking. There is no blueprint for this energy transition that would offer a simple step-by-step procedure to follow. There is one thing that the German energy transition certainly is not: an island of its own that isolates Germany’s energy economy. On the contrary, a quick overview of the world’s state of affairs with regard to energy shows that the global energy transition is now picking up speed.

How does Denmark plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 -- and how does it already get almost half of its electricity from renewables? Stephanie Joyce, a 2015 Energy and Climate Media Fellow for Heinrich Böll North America, has an answer in part three and the final installment of her series from Bornholm, Denmark.

The year 2015 could go down in history books as the landmark year for turning around the world’s “business-as-usual” economic and financial system in ways that could lead to a sustainable future.  Or, it could be a year of cascading multilateral failures, signaling a further decline of UN-led efforts for sustainable development. When world leaders meet from July 13-16, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the third UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD-3), the stakes are high. Fear and hope should motivate the outcomes of the conference. 

Part two of a series by Stephanie Joyce, another 2015 Energy and Climate Media Fellow for Heinrich Böll North America, in Bornholm, Denmark - or as she puts it, "a real-life test lab for the grid of the future." Listen and read more at Inside Energy:

As conventional oil reserves decline, international oil companies are increasingly turning their attention towards unconventional oils. Armsfree Ajanaku travelled to Ondo state communities situated along the bitumen belt of Nigeria to try and understand the people’s perception about the bitumen under their feet and their aspiration for development. He describes his experience in an article published through our partner office in Nigeria.

Making mitigation finance more gender-responsive, requires addressing inherent biases toward large scale projects and a primary focus on the cost-effectiveness of emissions reductions over the realization of multiple, including non-carbon benefits in mitigation projects and programs, argues Liane Schalatek in a Bonn SBI 42 in-session workshop.

How can we change the patterns of growth away from growing at the expense of ecosystems to a new paradigm based on growth with nature? Our Co-President, Ralf Fuecks delves into the issue with his newly published book, Green Growth, Smart Growth – A New Approach to Economics, Innovation and the Environment. We spoke with him during his U.S. speaking tour in April 2015.

This week The Heinrich Böll Foundation is hosting a delegation of U.S. state legislators on the EU Low Carbon Economy Tour 2015.