Since October 2022, seven EU member states have announced plans to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Across the board, the message is clear: the insufficient and potentially climate-damaging treaty reform effort is no longer a politically viable option, write Christina Eckes, Lea Main-Klingst and Lukas Schaugg. Christina Eckes is a professor of European … Continue reading Next steps for the Energy Charter Treaty?
Category: financial instruments
The World Bank’s new mission is expected to “emphasize the importance of sustainability and resilience to reflect more clearly that our mission includes global public goods (GPGs), such as climate change”
A draft document suggests the bank will broaden its “twin goals” of boosting prosperity and ending extreme poverty to encompass climate action. Joe Lo writes on the Climate Change News website about the draft new mission. World Bank moots stronger strategic focus on climate action The World Bank is considering making climate action more … Continue reading The World Bank’s new mission is expected to “emphasize the importance of sustainability and resilience to reflect more clearly that our mission includes global public goods (GPGs), such as climate change”
The fundamentals of distributed ledger technology to verify clean energy production are hugely significant
As accounting for energy use becomes increasingly sophisticated, there are directions in which this metric is evolving, including adopting blockchain. Gian Autenrieth, Co-Lead of D-REC Initiative, writes about renewable energy certificates and blockchain in an article on the Sustainability website. Renewable energy certificates, the blockchain and the future What is a renewable energy certificate … Continue reading The fundamentals of distributed ledger technology to verify clean energy production are hugely significant
Hope is not lost: 2022 was an historic year for international climate policy
A lot of the reports out of COP27 in Egypt reflect failure of the international community to make any progress to raise the ambition needed to stay on the path to limit global warming to 1.5℃. Katherine Lake, Research Associate at the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Melbourne takes … Continue reading Hope is not lost: 2022 was an historic year for international climate policy
The latest EU state to leave the Energy Charter Treaty: Luxembourg
The Luxembourg government has decided to exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an international trade and investment agreement concluded in the early 1990s to protect investments in the energy sector, Luxembourg’s Minister of Energy and Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, announced on Friday 18 November. Frédéric Simon discusses latest developments in an article on the Euractiv website. … Continue reading The latest EU state to leave the Energy Charter Treaty: Luxembourg
With the current architecture for climate finance, cities are being left out
The current architecture of the institutions and funds that provide climate finance is, however, not designed to work at a sub-national level. Therefore across the globe, cities are being left out. This situation is even more pertinent for African cities as Africa is both the fastest urbanising continent in the world and among the most … Continue reading With the current architecture for climate finance, cities are being left out
While “loss and damage” is gaining more attention ahead of COP27, who’s going to pay?
Loss and damage has been at the heart of much media reporting about the upcoming Cop27 climate talks in Egypt in November. With many disasters recently, such as the flooding in Pakistan, the importance of loss and damage compensation gains attention. Isabella Kaminski writes on the Climate Change News about the challenges involved. She notes that … Continue reading While “loss and damage” is gaining more attention ahead of COP27, who’s going to pay?
New report on overhauling investment governance for a just zero-carbon future
The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) recently released a briefing titled “International Investment Governance and Achieving a Just Zero-Carbon Future,” available in both English and French. The briefing discusses how the current international investment regime is hostile to states’ ability to address the climate crisis and will deter, delay or water down states’ climate-related … Continue reading New report on overhauling investment governance for a just zero-carbon future
EU planning major reform of its anti-pollution legislation
As part of a major reform of the EU’s anti-pollution legislation, the European Commission said it planned to tighten air quality standards, including on one of the most dangerous pollutants, fine particulate matter. Jennifer Rankin discusses latest developments in an article on The Guardian website. EU plans tighter controls on pollution as doctors call … Continue reading EU planning major reform of its anti-pollution legislation
France’s largest bank under pressure to stop financing the development of fossil fuels
NGOs which previously took the French government to court have taken steps towards a lawsuit against the bank, the world's leading financer of oil and gas majors. Stéphane Mandard discusses latest developments in an article on the English section of the Le Monde website. BNP Paribas warned to stop financing fossil fuels and 'climate … Continue reading France’s largest bank under pressure to stop financing the development of fossil fuels
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 