The German Green Party suggests turning climate change cooperation into a strategic priority in the transatlantic relationships. This is the core demand of the motion 17/7356 passed by the Greens in the parliament, the Deutscher Bundestag. Though Congress is so far not acting on climate change, there are other pillars in the US society to connect to and foster collaboration and mutual learning across the Atlantic. One of the vehicles for this is the Transatlantic Climate Bridge of the German government that should be strengthened, according to the resolution of the Greens.
Transitioning towards a low-carbon economy requires the active engagement of civil society. This report explores the growing role of Chinese environmental NGOs in pushing aggressive climate targets and how the Chinese government enhances these efforts to implement ambitious climate change and renewable energy action.
Sub-Sahara Africa as a region already has been hit hardest by climate change, yet so far has received little of the financial resources it needs to adapt and cope with climate change impacts. This policy brief looks at the state of play of climate finance delivery to the continent, discusses the role of important actors in the region and addresses the problems that hamper a more equitable and effective climate finance delivery to the region.
In early 2011, the African Development Bank (AfDB) indicated its intention to establish and manage an Africa Green Fund to support African states that individually lack the knowledge and technology to secure needed global climate funds. This mapping study evaluates the AfDB's actual track record on sectors and initiatives related to climate change as a clue to the Bank’s suitability to manage any future infusions of funds to address climate change in Africa.
Climate finance has recently become a subject of profound interest to the global debates on climate change. At this year’s 17th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) in Durban, climate finance is expected to feature prominently. This being the “African COP”, we hope that the African perspective on climate finance will receive the attention it deserves.
Two years after the Copenhagen summit, the real world is moving away from a safe and equitable climate future faster than ever. If the G-20 is “the premier forum for international economic development” and we are serious about stopping climate change, we have to ensure that G-20 politics do not undermine our objectives for the climate, the environment, poverty eradica-tion, and global justice.
Climate change is not gender-neutral. Suffering from gender-based vulnerabilities to climate change, women are more often victims of climate change than men; however, women also possess knowledge of and experiences in capacities to mitigate as well as strategies to cope and adapt, which makes them important “agents of change” in the fight against global warming.
The global economic crisis has not been overcome; its character has merely changed. Similar to the crisis in the banking sector, the European government debt crisis is typical of a large-scale financial crisis, the “Second Great Depression,” and managing it has to be addressed in this context.
With three out of four scheduled meetings of the Transitional Committee tasked with designing the new Green Climate Fund now completed after the recent meeting in Geneva, severe differences remain between the 25 developing countries and the 15 developed countries about form and functions of the Fund. The road to Durban remains bumpy, and TC members have little time to cover a lot of distance.
Gender considerations are currently not systematically addressed in existing climate financing instruments; where gender appears, it is in bits and pieces. This is where the Green Climate Fund, currently designed by the 40 members of the Transitional Committee, has a chance to do better.
