Latest news with #E3G
DW
17-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
What can governments do to stop extreme heating? – DW – 06/16/2025
Most countries globally have agreed to set their own goals to keep the planet from overheating. The pressure is now on for them to do so. At Kenya's Lake Turkana wind park, towering turbines line dirt roads as far as the eye can see. And this is just one of the sites that has turned the country into a renewables powerhouse. From generating approximately half of its electricity using sustainable sources such as geothermal, solar and wind power in 2000, Kenya has now increased that share to 90%. And it doesn't plan to stop there. As part of its new climate goals, the Sub-Saharan nation has pledged to be using 100% renewables by 2035. It's a show of force and proof of concept for other countries meeting in the German city of Bonn this week to hash out sticking points ahead of the November UN climate summit in Brazil. Discussions over how countries plan to reduce reliance on the fossil fuels that are heating the planet are not officially on the agenda. But experts say they are the elephant in the room. What are climate targets and why do they matter? Domestic climate targets — nationally determined contributions or NDCs, as they are known — are a key part of the international Paris Agreement. Under the accord, the world agreed to keep global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Even small temperature increases are connected to more frequent and intense irregular weather events such as storms, flooding, drought and extreme heat. As part of the accord, the 195 signatories are obliged to submit ambitious non-binding goals every five years. These should outline both how they plan to reduce their carbon emissions and how they will adapt to the impacts of climate change already being felt globally. "It's also an opportunity for all countries to, in one policy document, combine their own economic and prosperity plans with climate policy in an integrated way that's charting a path forward for a sustainable economy," said Steffen Menzel, program lead for climate diplomacy and geopolitics at climate think tank E3G. Countries all over the world have adopted solar and wind power in vital steps away from oil, gas and coal, which heat the planet as they are burned Image: NurPhoto/IMAGO Have countries already stated their aims? Nations should have filed their most recent climate goals to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in February. But so far, only 22 countries have done so. Among them are big emitters like the United Kingdom and Japan. The former Biden administration also submitted decarbonization plans for the United States, before President Donald Trump pulled out of Paris Agreement. But many countries are still solidifying their goals according to Jamal Srouji, associate in the Global Climate program at the research nonprofit World Resources Institute. "They want to make sure that their assumptions make sense and respond to the political realities and priorities of the country," Srouji said. "Countries are now most concerned about competitiveness, making sure they stay ahead or are part of the new technologies that are really going to be driving economic energy security, especially what we've seen in recent years, is actually the main driver for why now policymakers still consider the climate as an important agenda because it intersects so well," he told DW. Countries are limited by financial resources Nafkote Dabi, climate change policy lead at Oxfam International, said some poorer countries, for example least developed nations like Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh, are wary of committing to ambitious goals on monetary grounds. "They are afraid that they're committing to something, but there's no finance to help them achieve what they have outlined," Dabi said, adding that wealthier countries have a duty to help. "It's not to put all the blame on rich countries, but it's about historical responsibility, financial capability, technological capability," she said. At the international climate conference in Azerbaijan last year, industrialized countries agreed to provide $300 billion (€258 billion) in funding for developing nations, promising to mobilize a total of $1.3 trillion, although it is unclear where the money will come from. Action from the biggest polluters While experts say climate targets need to come from all nations including low emitters like Kenya, it is action from the biggest states that will make the most difference. The G20 group of countries, which includes China, Germany, Australia, Russia and the United States, are responsible for around 80% of global emissions overall and Dabi says they are not doing enough to reduce their greenhouse gases. "Certain groups need to do more to reduce their emissions and that should not fall on the poorest communities because the transformation required is huge," she said. Still, almost a decade after the inception of the Paris Agreement, experts say that over time the targets have improved. "I don't want to say things are looking bright at this point in time... but I do think that the mechanisms we agreed to 10 years ago have made a big change globally and also in many jurisdictions around the world," Menzel said. Under Donald Trump, the US is rolling back climate regulations and betting instead on fossil fuels Image: J. David Ake/AP Photo/icture alliance Although pledges are non-binding, Srouji says that once a "country goes on the international stage and says, 'here's our plan', if they walk back on it, they are going to be getting a lot of international scrutiny." Edited by: Tamsin Walker Can villages help India achieve climate goals? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
DW
16-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Yes, nations can help prevent runaway heating – DW – 06/16/2025
Most countries globally have agreed to set their own goals to keep the planet from overheating. The pressure is now on for them to do so. At Kenya's Lake Turkana wind park, towering turbines line dirt roads as far as the eye can see. And this is just one of the sites that has turned the country into a renewables powerhouse. From generating approximately half of its electricity using sustainable sources such as geothermal, solar and wind power in 2000, Kenya has now increased that share to 90%. And it doesn't plan to stop there. As part of its new climate goals, the Sub-Saharan nation has pledged to be using 100% renewables by 2035. It's a show of force and proof of concept for other countries meeting in the German city of Bonn this week to hash out sticking points ahead of the November UN climate summit in Brazil. Discussions over how countries plan to reduce reliance on the fossil fuels that are heating the planet are not officially on the agenda. But experts say they are the elephant in the room. What are climate targets and why do they matter? Domestic climate targets — nationally determined contributions or NDCs, as they are known — are a key part of the international Paris Agreement. Under the accord, the world agreed to keep global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Even small temperature increases are connected to more frequent and intense irregular weather events such as storms, flooding, drought and extreme heat. As part of the accord, the 195 signatories are obliged to submit ambitious non-binding goals every five years. These should outline both how they plan to reduce their carbon emissions and how they will adapt to the impacts of climate change already being felt globally. "It's also an opportunity for all countries to, in one policy document, combine their own economic and prosperity plans with climate policy in an integrated way that's charting a path forward for a sustainable economy," said Steffen Menzel, program lead for climate diplomacy and geopolitics at climate think tank E3G. Countries all over the world have adopted solar and wind power in vital steps away from oil, gas and coal, which heat the planet as they are burned Image: NurPhoto/IMAGO Have countries already stated their aims? Nations should have filed their most recent climate goals to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in February. But so far, only 22 countries have done so. Among them are big emitters like the United Kingdom and Japan. The former Biden administration also submitted decarbonization plans for the United States, before President Donald Trump pulled out of Paris Agreement. But many countries are still solidifying their goals according to Jamal Srouji, associate in the Global Climate program at the research nonprofit World Resources Institute. "They want to make sure that their assumptions make sense and respond to the political realities and priorities of the country," Srouji said. "Countries are now most concerned about competitiveness, making sure they stay ahead or are part of the new technologies that are really going to be driving economic energy security, especially what we've seen in recent years, is actually the main driver for why now policymakers still consider the climate as an important agenda because it intersects so well," he told DW. Countries are limited by financial resources Nafkote Dabi, climate change policy lead at Oxfam International, said some poorer countries, for example least developed nations like Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh, are wary of committing to ambitious goals on monetary grounds. "They are afraid that they're committing to something, but there's no finance to help them achieve what they have outlined," Dabi said, adding that wealthier countries have a duty to help. "It's not to put all the blame on rich countries, but it's about historical responsibility, financial capability, technological capability," she said. At the international climate conference in Azerbaijan last year, industrialized countries agreed to provide $300 billion (€258 billion) in funding for developing nations, promising to mobilize a total of $1.3 trillion, although it is unclear where the money will come from. Action from the biggest polluters While experts say climate targets need to come from all nations including low emitters like Kenya, it is action from the biggest states that will make the most difference. The G20 group of countries, which includes China, Germany, Australia, Russia and the United States, are responsible for around 80% of global emissions overall and Dabi says they are not doing enough to reduce their greenhouse gases. "Certain groups need to do more to reduce their emissions and that should not fall on the poorest communities because the transformation required is huge," she said. Still, almost a decade after the inception of the Paris Agreement, experts say that over time the targets have improved. "I don't want to say things are looking bright at this point in time... but I do think that the mechanisms we agreed to 10 years ago have made a big change globally and also in many jurisdictions around the world," Menzel said. Under Donald Trump, the US is rolling back climate regulations and betting instead on fossil fuels Image: J. David Ake/AP Photo/icture alliance Although pledges are non-binding, Srouji says that once a "country goes on the international stage and says, 'here's our plan', if they walk back on it, they are going to be getting a lot of international scrutiny." How successful have the climate targets been? Speaking at the start of talks in Bonn on Monday, UN climate chief Simon Steill said the annual UN climate conferences had "benefits for billions of people". "Let's not forget: Without UN-convened climate multilateralism, we would be headed for up to 5 degrees Celsius of global heating. Now it's around 3. It's a measure of how far we've come, and how far to go," he said. Global economic crises and conflicts are absorbing the attention of leaders globally, but Menzel said it is still the "smart thing" for world leaders to engage in international climate diplomacy and accelerate the energy transition. "We still know the cost of inaction is far greater than all of the investment we are making into climate action, into financing the transition and that climate impacts are already costing lives," he said. "But of course, it is a challenge." Edited by: Tamsin Walker
DW
16-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Yes, nations can help to prevent runaway heating – DW – 06/16/2025
Most countries in the world have agreed to set their own goals to keep the planet from overheating. The pressure is now on for them to do so. At Kenya's Lake Turkana wind park, towering turbines line dirt roads as far as the eye can see. And this is just one of the sites that has turned the country into a renewables powerhouse. From generating approximately half of its electricity using sustainable sources such as geothermal, solar and wind power in 2000, Kenya has now increased that share to 90%. And it doesn't plan to stop there. As part of its new climate goals, the Sub-Saharan nation has pledged to be using 100% renewables by 2035. It's a show of force and proof of concept for other countries meeting in the German city of Bonn this week to hash out sticking points ahead of the November UN climate summit in Brazil. Discussions over how countries plan to reduce reliance on the fossil fuels that are heating the planet are not officially on the agenda. But experts say they are the elephant in the room. What are climate targets and why do they matter? Domestic climate targets — nationally determined contributions or NDCs, as they are known — are a key part of the international Paris Agreement. Under the accord, the world agreed to keep global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Even small temperature increases are connected to more frequent and intense irregular weather events such as storms, flooding, drought and extreme heat. As part of the accord, the 195 signatories are obliged to submit ambitious non-binding goals every five years. These should outline both how they plan to reduce their carbon emissions and how they will adapt to the impacts of climate change already being felt globally. "It's also an opportunity for all countries to, in one policy document, combine their own economic and prosperity plans with climate policy in an integrated way that's charting a path forward for a sustainable economy," said Steffen Menzel, program lead for climate diplomacy and geopolitics at climate think tank E3G. Countries all over the world have adopted solar and wind power in vital steps away from oil, gas and coal, which heat the planet as they are burned Image: NurPhoto/IMAGO Have countries already stated their aims? Nations should have filed their most recent climate goals to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in February. But so far, only 22 countries have done so. Among them are big emitters like the United Kingdom and Japan. The former Biden administration also submitted decarbonization plans for the United States, before President Donald Trump pulled out of Paris Agreement. But many countries are still solidifying their goals according to Jamal Srouji, associate in the Global Climate program at the research nonprofit World Resources Institute. "They want to make sure that their assumptions make sense and respond to the political realities and priorities of the country," Srouji said. "Countries are now most concerned about competitiveness, making sure they stay ahead or are part of the new technologies that are really going to be driving economic energy security, especially what we've seen in recent years, is actually the main driver for why now policymakers still consider the climate as an important agenda because it intersects so well," he told DW. Countries are limited by financial resources Nafkote Dabi, climate change policy lead at Oxfam International, said some poorer countries, for example least developed nations like Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh, are wary of committing to ambitious goals on monetary grounds. "They are afraid that they're committing to something, but there's no finance to help them achieve what they have outlined," Dabi said, adding that wealthier countries have a duty to help. "It's not to put all the blame on rich countries, but it's about historical responsibility, financial capability, technological capability," she said. At the international climate conference in Azerbaijan last year, industrialized countries agreed to provide $300 billion (€258 billion) in funding for developing nations, promising to mobilize a total of $1.3 trillion, although it is unclear where the money will come from. Action from the biggest polluters While experts say climate targets need to come from all nations including low emitters like Kenya, it is action from the biggest states that will make the most difference. The G20 group of countries, which includes China, Germany, Australia, Russia and the United States, are responsible for around 80% of global emissions overall and Dabi says they are not doing enough to reduce their greenhouse gases. "Certain groups need to do more to reduce their emissions and that should not fall on the poorest communities because the transformation required is huge," she said. Still, almost a decade after the inception of the Paris Agreement, experts say that over time the targets have improved. "I don't want to say things are looking bright at this point in time... but I do think that the mechanisms we agreed to 10 years ago have made a big change globally and also in many jurisdictions around the world," Menzel said. Under Donald Trump, the US is rolling back climate regulations and betting instead on fossil fuels Image: J. David Ake/AP Photo/icture alliance Although pledges are non-binding, Srouji says that once a "country goes on the international stage and says, 'here's our plan', if they walk back on it, they are going to be getting a lot of international scrutiny." How successful have the climate targets been? Speaking at the start of talks in Bonn on Monday, UN climate chief Simon Steill said the annual UN climate conferences had "benefits for billions of people". "Let's not forget: Without UN-convened climate multilateralism, we would be headed for up to 5 degrees Celsius of global heating. Now it's around 3. It's a measure of how far we've come, and how far to go," he said. Global economic crises and conflicts are absorbing the attention of leaders globally, but Menzel said it is still the "smart thing" for world leaders to engage in international climate diplomacy and accelerate the energy transition. "We still know the cost of inaction is far greater than all of the investment we are making into climate action, into financing the transition and that climate impacts are already costing lives," he said. "But of course, it is a challenge." Edited by: Tamsin Walker
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Reeves' review shows Labour plans to take on the right over net zero
With a barrage of announcements on home insulation, nuclear power, public transport and green technology, Rachel Reeves set out a clear message in her spending review – Labour will take on the Reform party on net zero. Taken together, the spending package on the green economy adds up to more than £60bn, not counting the £22bn in research and development spending, some of which will go to green ends. The budget for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alone was boosted by 16%, more than any other department. Ed Matthew, UK director at climate change thinktank E3G, said: 'This is a historic uplift in capital support for building a clean economy. It will turbo-boost investment in clean energy in every part of the country, reducing climate change emissions and bolstering energy security.' That was not a given. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, whose department emerged as a clear winner on Wednesday, has been vilified for months in sections of the media and heavily briefed against, even by some within government. There were persistent rumours until last week that the £13.2bn pledge on home insulation would be cut, or that the £8.3bn for Great British Energy would be watered down. But those pledges remained intact, and the £15bn boost for public transport outside London will help to tackle one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, from transport. Some of the £22bn announced for research and development will also go to low-carbon ends. Not everyone was happy. Nuclear power, while low-carbon, is opposed by many green campaigners, but the government has decided to press ahead with £15bn for Sizewell C, and £2.3bn for small modular reactors. The latter will come out of the budget for Great British Energy, leaving it less to invest in renewable technology such as offshore wind. Nature campaigners, already furious at the potential for destruction in the planning bill, were further disappointed by the lack of spending on environmental protections, though the budget for flood defences was not cut as feared, receiving instead a 5% increase to £4.2bn to 2029. Deep cuts to the farming budget had been expected but were, in the end, less drastic than feared, with the funds for environment land management schemes, which replace the £2.4bn a year EU farming subsidies, down to £2bn by 2028-29. Full details of the plans of how this will work will be released in the next few days. The spending review will allow Labour to point to its championing of net zero domestically, in stark contrast to the Reform party and the Conservatives, both of which have taken a stance against the policy. After some months of confusion, in April Keir Starmer properly laid his cards on the table, saying that net zero was in the party's DNA. But on the international front, big questions remain unanswered. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has had its budget for overseas aid severely cut, and after the current pledge of £11.6bn in climate finance for developing countries runs out next year, future funding is under threat. It will be hard for Starmer to claim climate leadership on the global stage without helping poor countries cope with the climate breakdown the rich have created. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion And there is the fact that Reeves could also have gone further; many campaigners, and a large majority of the public according to polling, would support taxes on polluters and extreme wealth. Such measures could raise about £20bn a year, according to Oxfam, and could be used to fund further action, such as cutting energy bills, boosting nature restoration and retraining workers in the North Sea. Louise Hutchins, convener of the Make Polluters Pay coalition of civil society groups, said: 'Reeves' plans fell far short of what's needed to keep us safe, both here and abroad. Most people can see what's really going on: oil and gas giants and the super-rich have made billions in profits while driving up household bills and pushing us to the brink of climate breakdown. Letting those most responsible off the hook is a political choice, and an unpopular one.'
01-06-2025
- Business
India, a major user of coal power, is making large gains in clean energy adoption. Here is how
BENGALURU, India -- One of the most carbon-polluting countries, India is also making huge efforts to harness the power of the sun, wind and other clean energy sources. Most of the electricity in India, the world's most populous nation, still comes from coal, one of the dirtiest forms of energy. But coal's dominance is dropping, going from 60% of installed power capacity 11 years ago to less than 50% today, according to India's power ministry. At the same time, India had its largest ever addition of clean power in the fiscal year between April 2024 and April of this year, adding 30 gigawatts — enough to power nearly 18 million Indian homes. With a growing middle class and skyrocketing energy needs, how fast India can move away from coal and other fossil fuels, such as gasoline and oil, could have a large impact on global efforts to confront climate change. Here is a snapshot of India's clean energy transition and some of the challenges. Solar is now half the cost of power from new coal-powered plants. Availability of cheap components and many sunny days each year in India are some reasons experts say installed solar power increased 30 times in the last decade. 'Solar power is the cheapest it's ever been,' said Ruchita Shah, an energy analyst at climate think-tank Ember. Shah added that dropping costs for energy storage, in the form of batteries, means that renewable power will be the 'new normal," even when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow. India has nearly 170 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in the pipeline, which are expected to be completed in the next few years. 'I have no doubt that India will reach its target of 500 gigawatts by 2030,' said Raghav Pachouri, an energy expert at Vasudha Foundation, a New Delhi-based think-tank. Experts say the growth in renewables is being spurred by India's plans to add approximately 50 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel power capacity every year for the next five years and for clean power to provide 50% of the nation's energy by the decade. When burned, fossil fuels let off greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change. A 2022 law that made electricity cheaper for companies choosing to buy clean power, the federal government's recommendation that state utilities buy more renewable power and a 2023 government plan to invest $452 million have all catalyzed investments in renewables. India has the fourth highest amount of clean power installed in the world and government officials said $81 billion has been invested in the renewable energy sector in the last decade. Multiple large-scale renewable power projects have begun operations or are under construction, including one of the world's largest wind and solar power farms. 'We've seen domestic manufacturing capacity, at least when it comes to modules for solar panels, increasing,' said Madhura Joshi, a senior energy analyst at the European think-tank E3G. Despite the rapid growth, challenges persist. While non-fossil fuel sources now comprise 45% of India's total installed capacity, their share in actual electricity generation stood at 24% last year. Coal remains the dominant source, accounting for 75% of electricity generation. The share of solar, wind, small hydro power and biomass in India's electricity generation mix stood at 12%, double what it was in 2014 but still lower than expectations by this time, according to a report by New Delhi-based think-tank, the Centre for Science and Environment. Installed capacity is growing, but power generation from renewables needs to be optimized and integrated effectively into the grid, the report found. A recent report by the nonprofit clean energy think-tank, RMI, found that electricity demand is expected to triple by 2050 — driven by more electric vehicles, air conditioners and industrial growth. Acquiring land for clean energy projects remains a challenge. India also needs to rapidly build robust electricity transmission infrastructure and energy storage facilities to continue increasing clean power capacity. 'India is expected to become the world's third-largest economy in a few years, and I think we will need to adopt renewable energy to do this. There is no option for us because fossil fuels can't keep pace" with energy needs, said Deepak Thakur, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based renewable energy company, Mahindra Susten. ___
