Articles for tag: Climate Governance, Climate Law, Klimaschutzgesetz, KSG, Sektorziele

Not a Disaster, but a Missed Opportunity

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Following lengthy negotiations within Germany’s coalition government, on 26 April 2024, the Bundestag passed an amendment to the Federal Climate Protection Act. One part of the amendment in particular has drawn sharp criticism from environmental NGOs, experts, and commentators: the abolition of annual, sector-based targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, which form the basis of the obligation for ministries to submit ‘immediate action programmes’ (Sofortprogramme). We argue that many critics overestimated the effectiveness of the Sofortprogramm mechanism, as enshrined in the original version of the KSG, in enforcing Germany's ambitious climate targets. Instead, we must realistically assess the potential, and limits, of institutional design to deliver ambitious climate policy.

9. Mai 2024

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Eine vertane Chance, aber keine Katastrophe

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Nach langen Verhandlungen innerhalb der Ampel-Koalition hat der Bundestag am 26. April 2024 eine Novelle des Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetzes (KSG) beschlossen. Teils harte Kritik von Umweltverbänden, Expert*innen und Kommentator*innen hat sich insbesondere an der Abschaffung der jahressscharfen Sektorziele als Grundlage für die gesetzliche Pflicht zur Vorlage von Sofortprogrammen entzündet. Wir argumentieren, dass viele Kritiker*innen die Wirksamkeit des alten KSG-Mechanismus für die Durchsetzung der ambitionierten deutschen Klimaziele überschätzen. Eine realistische Einschätzung der Möglichkeiten und Grenzen institutioneller Regelungen zur Durchsetzung ambitionierter Klimapolitik legt stattdessen nahe, dass mit der Novelle einerseits eine Reihe von graduellen und potentiell wirksamen Reformen eingeführt wurden, andererseits aber auch Chancen zur Verbesserung ungenutzt bleiben.

6. Mai 2024

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Why Courts will not Stop Global Warming, but Climate Litigation is Still Useful

Despite the global trend of record temperatures and the increasing number of disasters caused by extreme weather events, the political impetus to combat global warming is weakening all over Europe. Not only far-right forces want to stop ambitious climate policy, but also other political parties tend to neglect this field. To counter those political forces, climate litigation tries to hold national governments accountable to their goals as enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Courts represent one of the arenas in the struggle for climate protection. However, the battle is ultimately won or lost in the legislative arena.

12. März 2024

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Pakistan’s Call for Climate Reparations

Torrential monsoon rains have triggered Pakistan’s worst floods this century. So far, at least 1,300 people have been killed and a third of the country is under flood waters. Entire villages have been washed away and an estimated three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance. Against this backdrop, Pakistan’s minister for climate change has called for rich nations to pay reparations to developing States suffering climate loss and damage. In this blog post, I will put the claims for climate reparations in an international law context.

8. September 2022

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Czechia’s First Climate Judgment

Czechia’s first climate change lawsuit ended with a small sensation. On the hot summer day of 15th June, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled that four Czech Ministries violated the plaintiffs‘ right to a favourable environment. The violation consists in the omission to set any concrete mitigation measures that would lead to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the year 2030 compared to the year 1990. As the Urgenda Climate Case and other landmark judgments have paved the way for climate action around the world, this first noteworthy ruling of the region blazed the trail specifically for other courts in Central and Eastern Europe.

3. September 2022

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What’s wrong with good “scholactivism”?

There is a fine line between suspicion based on the nature of the motivation (seeking direct material change), and the substance of the motivation (commitment to a particular normative position). Once the “scholactivist” label gets thrown around, it may be hard to maintain that distinction. And it is to normative positions which advocate new ideas or change – including those that are reflective or well-considered – to which the label is most likely to attach.

26. August 2022

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Von der Freiheit der Zukunft auf den Boden der Tatsachen

Hitze und Dürre kennzeichnen den Sommer 2022. Waldbrände in Spanien, Portugal, Frankreich, Italien, Tschechien und auch Deutschland sind Symbol für die Folgen der Klimakrise. Hitzewellen sind bereits heute wahrscheinlicher und intensiver. Die Auswirkungen auf den Menschen sind unübersehbar. Tausende Hitzetote wurden aus Europas Süden gemeldet. Dazu kommen Ernteausfälle, die Rationierung von Trinkwasser und Einschränkungen der Industrie wegen mangelndem Kühlwasser (z.B. AKWs) und reduzierter Transportkapazitäten der Frachtschifffahrt.

12. August 2022

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