Bonn, 04.04.2022. Infolge der russischen Invasion der Ukraine steht Energiesicherheit nun ganz oben auf der europäischen Tagesordnung. Der Stopp des umstrittenen Nord-Stream-2-Projekts ist nur ein Beispiel für die Maßnahmen, mit denen die europäischen Länder darauf reagieren. Deutschland ist eines der Länder, die am stärksten von Russlands fossilen Brennstoffen abhängig sind: Nach Angaben der Internationalen Energieagentur (IEA) waren im Jahr 2020 37,2 % des in Deutschland verbrauchten Öls, 20,9 % der Kohle und vor allem 45,7 % des Erdgases aus Russland importiert. Dies ist nur ein Beispiel für die erheblichen Schwachstellen im Energiesystem der EU insgesamt (40 % des Erdgasverbrauchs der EU werden von Russland geliefert). Diese Schwachstellen sollen im Rahmen eines Plans behoben werden, der die Energieunabhängigkeit der EU von Moskau bis 2030 anstrebt.
Eine solche Unabhängigkeit sollte jedoch nicht durch eine Verlagerung der Versorgung mit fossilen Brennstoffen auf andere Quellen wie Flüssigerdgas erreicht werden. Vielmehr kann und sollte sie langfristig durch eine dringende und rasche Entwicklung erneuerbarer Energien – Wind, Sonne, grüner Wasserstoff – und durch Verbesserungen der Energieeffizienz erreicht werden. Eine Verzögerung oder gar Änderung des Green Deals, wie sie von einigen Mitgliedern des EU-Parlaments gefordert wird, sollte in Zeiten vielfältiger globaler Krisen keine Option sein. Es ist vielmehr an der Zeit, den Green Deal in den Mittelpunkt der EU-Energiesicherheitspolitik zu stellen, neben koordinierten Maßnahmen in den Bereichen Gesundheit, Ernährung, biologische Vielfalt, grüner Industriepolitik und Klima.
Kurzfristig können ein starker Fokus auf Energieeffizienz und eine Kampagne zur Energieautarkie helfen, um den Erdgasbedarf zu senken. Im Frühjahr und Sommer hat die EU die Möglichkeit, sich auf die Verbesserung von Gebäudeisolierung, Heizungssystemen oder den Ersatz von Gaskesseln durch Wärmepumpen zu konzentrieren. Zusammen könnten diese Maßnahmen laut IEA innerhalb eines Jahres zu einer Verringerung des Erdgasverbrauchs um vier Milliarden Kubikmeter führen, ggf. mehr.
Kurz- und mittelfristig müssen die Klimamaßnahmen in der EU Anreize für ein starkes Engagement für erneuerbare Energien (und die Infrastruktur für intermittierende Energiequellen) schaffen und so die Elektrifizierung von Energiedienstleistungen, die derzeit Erdgas nutzen, vorantreiben. Die Solar- und Windenergietechnologie, die laut IEA den Gasverbrauch in der EU um sechs Milliarden Kubikmeter reduzieren könnte, ist bereit und kann sehr schnell eingesetzt werden. Ihr Einsatz wird derzeit vor allem durch Regulierung gebremst. In Deutschland sind langsame und unvorhersehbare Genehmigungsverfahren die Haupthindernisse für einen schnelleren Ausbau der Windenergie.
Mittel- und langfristig sollte die Diversifizierung von Gasimporten auch andere Substitute einschließen, insbesondere grünen Wasserstoff. Durch den Import und die verstärkte Produktion von grünem Wasserstoff aus erneuerbaren Energien kann die EU die Dekarbonisierung von Schlüsselindustrien beschleunigen und ihre globale Rolle bei der Erzeugung grüner Energie stärken, indem sie ein wichtiger Handelspartner für andere Länder wird. Ein rascher Übergang zu grünem Wasserstoff wird für energieintensive Industrien wie die Stahlproduktion und für solche, die nicht elektrifiziert werden können, von entscheidender Bedeutung sein. Investitionen in diesem Bereich und klare Signale an den Privatsektor sind heute erforderlich.
Die EU sollte die internationale Dimension des Green Deal ernst nehmen und starke globale Partnerschaften fördern. Der Import energieintensiver Rohstoffe, die mit erneuerbaren Energien in Regionen mit höherem Potenzial hergestellt werden, könnte die Energiewende weltweit vorantreiben Südafrikanische Forscher*innen haben vorgeschlagen, die Produktion von grünem Primäreisen unter Nutzung der Eisenerzvorkommen des Landes, seines enormen Potenzials an erneuerbaren Energien und seiner industriellen Kapazitäten zu entwickeln. Dieses könnte dann nach Europa exportiert und in bestehenden Stahlwerken zur Herstellung von Stahl mit deutlich geringeren Emissionen verwendet werden. Die Aufnahme solcher neuen Handelsbeziehungen kann aber auch unbeabsichtigte Nebenwirkungen haben. Daher ist eine sorgfältige Prüfung möglicher Kompromisse mit anderen Bereichen der nachhaltigen Entwicklung erforderlich. Die weltweite Verknappung von Mais, Weizen und Sonnenblumenöl aufgrund des Krieges in der Ukraine sollte nicht durch eine erhöhte Biokraftstoffproduktion verschärft werden. Der Aufbau von Partnerschaften, die einen gegenseitigen Nutzen gewährleisten, sollte ein Hauptziel der EU sein.
Die Abhängigkeit Europas im Energiebereich kann nur durch die Verringerung unserer Abhängigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen begrenzt werden. Dies steht in perfektem Einklang mit dem Ziel des Green Deals, Europa zum ersten klimaneutralen Kontinent zu machen. Er wurde zwar zur Bekämpfung des Klimawandels konzipiert, ist aber auch unsere beste Antwort auf eine neue geopolitische Realität. Wenn überhaupt, muss die EU den Green Deal beschleunigen und nicht verzögern. Ist er erfolgreich, hat er das Potenzial, das Herzstück einer energiesicheren und Treibhausgas-neutralen EU zu werden, die angesichts der Klimakatastrophe und geopolitischer Auseinandersetzungen eine entschlossene Haltung einnimmt.
Alexia Faus Onbargi und Gabriela Iacobuta sind wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterinnen am Deutschen Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). Lukas Hermwille ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Wuppertal Institut.
In many African cities, privately operated mini-buses, motorbike taxis and auto-rickshaws are the main means of public transport. They are flexible, inexpensive, and also cater to the needs of within those vast parts of of the city neglected by official public transportation options. But these unregulated services often have drivers who go too fast and take lots of risks, thereby contributing to some of the highest traffic accident rates in the world. Over the years, several metropolitan areas have tried to solve the problem by introducing bus rapid transit systems-with little success, however, because of high costs and resistance from informal operators. But the problem could also be approached differently, for example by means of the "reverse product life cycle" concept. The idea behind this is to progressive improve existing informal transport services until a new regulated mass transport services is developed. But Africa`s mobility of the future will also be shaped by the rising demand for private cars. Until now, old used cars that failed to meet strict emission standards of the Global North were imported cheaply from Europe, Asia and North America. But some African countries have started introducing fines to prevent people from buying old used vehicles, although that`s not enough. We need to expand the nascent car industry in Africa and produce more locally manufactured, clean cars for the African market. In the future, even the rich car-producing countries, such as Germany and Japan, will have to dismantle and scrap their own used vehicles locally.
In many African cities, privately operated mini-buses, motorbike taxis and auto-rickshaws are the main means of public transport. They are flexible, inexpensive, and also cater to the needs of within those vast parts of of the city neglected by official public transportation options. But these unregulated services often have drivers who go too fast and take lots of risks, thereby contributing to some of the highest traffic accident rates in the world. Over the years, several metropolitan areas have tried to solve the problem by introducing bus rapid transit systems-with little success, however, because of high costs and resistance from informal operators. But the problem could also be approached differently, for example by means of the "reverse product life cycle" concept. The idea behind this is to progressive improve existing informal transport services until a new regulated mass transport services is developed. But Africa`s mobility of the future will also be shaped by the rising demand for private cars. Until now, old used cars that failed to meet strict emission standards of the Global North were imported cheaply from Europe, Asia and North America. But some African countries have started introducing fines to prevent people from buying old used vehicles, although that`s not enough. We need to expand the nascent car industry in Africa and produce more locally manufactured, clean cars for the African market. In the future, even the rich car-producing countries, such as Germany and Japan, will have to dismantle and scrap their own used vehicles locally.
In many African cities, privately operated mini-buses, motorbike taxis and auto-rickshaws are the main means of public transport. They are flexible, inexpensive, and also cater to the needs of within those vast parts of of the city neglected by official public transportation options. But these unregulated services often have drivers who go too fast and take lots of risks, thereby contributing to some of the highest traffic accident rates in the world. Over the years, several metropolitan areas have tried to solve the problem by introducing bus rapid transit systems-with little success, however, because of high costs and resistance from informal operators. But the problem could also be approached differently, for example by means of the "reverse product life cycle" concept. The idea behind this is to progressive improve existing informal transport services until a new regulated mass transport services is developed. But Africa`s mobility of the future will also be shaped by the rising demand for private cars. Until now, old used cars that failed to meet strict emission standards of the Global North were imported cheaply from Europe, Asia and North America. But some African countries have started introducing fines to prevent people from buying old used vehicles, although that`s not enough. We need to expand the nascent car industry in Africa and produce more locally manufactured, clean cars for the African market. In the future, even the rich car-producing countries, such as Germany and Japan, will have to dismantle and scrap their own used vehicles locally.
Die Erdgasversorgung der Europäischen Union stützte sich bisher zu einem großen Teil auf Lieferungen aus Russland. In Deutschland, Italien, Österreich und den meisten Ländern Ost- und Mitteleuropas war diese Abhängigkeit besonders hoch. Allerdings spielt Erdgas nicht in allen diesen Volkswirtschaften eine gleich große Rolle. Mit dem völkerrechtswidrigen Krieg Russlands in der Ukraine stellen sich die dringlichen Fragen, wie diese Abhängigkeit reduziert werden kann und was im Fall einer Lieferunterbrechung von russischen Erdgasexporten passieren würde. Dieser Bericht skizziert die Ausgangslage und diskutiert kurzfristige Anpassungsreaktionen. Modellrechnungen zeigen, dass die Europäische Union bei einem Komplettausfall russischer Erdgaslieferungen einen Großteil kompensieren kann. Kurzfristig stehen die effiziente Bewirtschaftung bestehender Infrastruktur, die Diversifizierung der Bezugsverträge sowie Maßnahmen zur Nachfrageanpassung im Mittelpunkt. Mittelfristig sollte der Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien im Kontext des EU Green Deal beschleunigt werden, inklusive eines zeitnahen Ausstiegs aus der Nutzung fossilen Erdgases, der die europäische Energiesicherheit weiter stärken würde.
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the UN Security Council has developed two main streams of work related to counterterrorism: the sanctions regime established by Resolution 1267 and measures under Resolution 1373. However, these resolutions and related sanctions regimes have been criticized for failing to safeguard and facilitate impartial humanitarian action. In response, the council has progressively incorporated language that better considers international humanitarian law (IHL) and humanitarian principles. Despite these efforts, humanitarian organizations have continued to criticize counterterrorism resolutions and related sanctions regimes for inhibiting humanitarian activities.
This policy paper considers how the Security Council’s counterterrorism resolutions and related sanctions regimes can continue making progress to better protect humanitarian action. It begins by describing the council’s main streams of work on counterterrorism as well as their subsidiary organs. The second section discusses the impact of these counterterrorism measures on impartial humanitarian activities. The third section then reviews the incremental steps taken by the Security Council to incorporate language relevant to IHL and humanitarian affairs into these measures. The fourth section analyzes the four most recent counterterrorism-related resolutions adopted by the Security Council.
The paper concludes with policy recommendations for entities both within and outside of the UN to better safeguard humanitarian action within counterterrorism resolutions and related sanctions regimes:
For humanitarian organizations, relevant civil society groups and UN entities, and independent experts:
For the UN Security Council and other UN member states:
The guiding question of the book chapter is what responsible action related to disruptive innovations in agriculture might look like and how responsible and irresponsible action can be assessed systematically. Three observations and assumptions guide the analyses. First, TA has been conceptualised in the global North in times where a critical approach to new technologies was mainstream thinking, and TA was mainly seen as an early warning system for risks and unintended side efects of new technologies. Under the conditions of eroding planetary boundaries, the focus might need to be shifted towards a more balanced assessment of opportunities and risks, considering innovation not so much as a driver of economic growth but rather a way of finding new ways to address global challenges. Second, TA has been implemented mainly on the national level; this is no longer adequate in a globalised and networked world, where technological developments in one part of the world may have impacts in any other. Third, from an ethical point of view, industrialised countries (including new science and technology hubs, such as China and India) have an obligation to support the development of technologies which may help developing countries in shaping their development under the conditions of environmental limits to conventional economic growth. Low and middle income countries are especially affected by global environmental changes but do not have full-fledged innovation systems and have fewer resources available to develop solutions on their own. International science, technology and innovation (STI) partnerships between the global North and the South should be given preference to traditional modes of technology transfer.
The guiding question of the book chapter is what responsible action related to disruptive innovations in agriculture might look like and how responsible and irresponsible action can be assessed systematically. Three observations and assumptions guide the analyses. First, TA has been conceptualised in the global North in times where a critical approach to new technologies was mainstream thinking, and TA was mainly seen as an early warning system for risks and unintended side efects of new technologies. Under the conditions of eroding planetary boundaries, the focus might need to be shifted towards a more balanced assessment of opportunities and risks, considering innovation not so much as a driver of economic growth but rather a way of finding new ways to address global challenges. Second, TA has been implemented mainly on the national level; this is no longer adequate in a globalised and networked world, where technological developments in one part of the world may have impacts in any other. Third, from an ethical point of view, industrialised countries (including new science and technology hubs, such as China and India) have an obligation to support the development of technologies which may help developing countries in shaping their development under the conditions of environmental limits to conventional economic growth. Low and middle income countries are especially affected by global environmental changes but do not have full-fledged innovation systems and have fewer resources available to develop solutions on their own. International science, technology and innovation (STI) partnerships between the global North and the South should be given preference to traditional modes of technology transfer.
The guiding question of the book chapter is what responsible action related to disruptive innovations in agriculture might look like and how responsible and irresponsible action can be assessed systematically. Three observations and assumptions guide the analyses. First, TA has been conceptualised in the global North in times where a critical approach to new technologies was mainstream thinking, and TA was mainly seen as an early warning system for risks and unintended side efects of new technologies. Under the conditions of eroding planetary boundaries, the focus might need to be shifted towards a more balanced assessment of opportunities and risks, considering innovation not so much as a driver of economic growth but rather a way of finding new ways to address global challenges. Second, TA has been implemented mainly on the national level; this is no longer adequate in a globalised and networked world, where technological developments in one part of the world may have impacts in any other. Third, from an ethical point of view, industrialised countries (including new science and technology hubs, such as China and India) have an obligation to support the development of technologies which may help developing countries in shaping their development under the conditions of environmental limits to conventional economic growth. Low and middle income countries are especially affected by global environmental changes but do not have full-fledged innovation systems and have fewer resources available to develop solutions on their own. International science, technology and innovation (STI) partnerships between the global North and the South should be given preference to traditional modes of technology transfer.
Waterfronts are attractive residential places for rich and poor people in coastal African cities, albeit for different reasons. While expensive waterfront residences follow the global estate logic, shores form spatial niches attracting people with very low incomes. When building plots are in short supply, land is reclaimed by various practices – with considerable ecological and socio-legal implications.
Waterfronts are attractive residential places for rich and poor people in coastal African cities, albeit for different reasons. While expensive waterfront residences follow the global estate logic, shores form spatial niches attracting people with very low incomes. When building plots are in short supply, land is reclaimed by various practices – with considerable ecological and socio-legal implications.
Waterfronts are attractive residential places for rich and poor people in coastal African cities, albeit for different reasons. While expensive waterfront residences follow the global estate logic, shores form spatial niches attracting people with very low incomes. When building plots are in short supply, land is reclaimed by various practices – with considerable ecological and socio-legal implications.
We are at a tipping point: the health of the world’s people and the health of the planet’s natural resources on which all life depends are facing unprecedented threats. The human led drivers of economic development, industry and globalisation are causing climate change, pollution of air, soil and water, and biodiversity loss year after year, and these in turn are destroying the animal and human health gains of the last century. In the Anthropocene where humankind have made the world an insecure and precarious place to live, planetary health provides a framework to take rapid, globally-connected action, setting a system in place which can steer the individual investments towards universal health coverage, pandemic preparedness, climate neutrality, clean air, and the reduction of poverty and inequality. The common goal of healthy people flourishing on a healthy planet, which is the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals, is a necessary pursuit. To achieve this we suggest that the G7 utilises planetary health to create a global framework expanding on One Health initiatives. Such a framework can be supported by the G7 in the form of i) better coordination between health and environmental agencies, ii) the development of standards and indicators for planetary health, iii) the better alignment of new global health monitoring initiatives and iv) the prioritization of planetary health in the new pandemic treaty.
We are at a tipping point: the health of the world’s people and the health of the planet’s natural resources on which all life depends are facing unprecedented threats. The human led drivers of economic development, industry and globalisation are causing climate change, pollution of air, soil and water, and biodiversity loss year after year, and these in turn are destroying the animal and human health gains of the last century. In the Anthropocene where humankind have made the world an insecure and precarious place to live, planetary health provides a framework to take rapid, globally-connected action, setting a system in place which can steer the individual investments towards universal health coverage, pandemic preparedness, climate neutrality, clean air, and the reduction of poverty and inequality. The common goal of healthy people flourishing on a healthy planet, which is the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals, is a necessary pursuit. To achieve this we suggest that the G7 utilises planetary health to create a global framework expanding on One Health initiatives. Such a framework can be supported by the G7 in the form of i) better coordination between health and environmental agencies, ii) the development of standards and indicators for planetary health, iii) the better alignment of new global health monitoring initiatives and iv) the prioritization of planetary health in the new pandemic treaty.
We are at a tipping point: the health of the world’s people and the health of the planet’s natural resources on which all life depends are facing unprecedented threats. The human led drivers of economic development, industry and globalisation are causing climate change, pollution of air, soil and water, and biodiversity loss year after year, and these in turn are destroying the animal and human health gains of the last century. In the Anthropocene where humankind have made the world an insecure and precarious place to live, planetary health provides a framework to take rapid, globally-connected action, setting a system in place which can steer the individual investments towards universal health coverage, pandemic preparedness, climate neutrality, clean air, and the reduction of poverty and inequality. The common goal of healthy people flourishing on a healthy planet, which is the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals, is a necessary pursuit. To achieve this we suggest that the G7 utilises planetary health to create a global framework expanding on One Health initiatives. Such a framework can be supported by the G7 in the form of i) better coordination between health and environmental agencies, ii) the development of standards and indicators for planetary health, iii) the better alignment of new global health monitoring initiatives and iv) the prioritization of planetary health in the new pandemic treaty.
Studie auf Basis von SOEP-Daten – Generation der 68er bleibt häufiger auch nach dem Renteneintritt ehrenamtlich aktiv – Anstieg des Engagements geht aber auch auf junge Menschen zurück – Pflicht zum Engagement für bestimmte Altersgruppen wäre nicht zielführend, stattdessen sollten flexible und niedrigschwellige Angebote für alle geschaffen werden, die ehrenamtlich aktiv sein wollen
Fast jede dritte in Deutschland lebende Person ab 17 Jahren – insgesamt also rund 22 Millionen – engagiert sich ehrenamtlich. Der Anteil der ehrenamtlich Aktiven lag im Jahr 2017 bei rund 32 Prozent und damit um fünf Prozentpunkte höher als im Jahr 1990. Sowohl junge Erwachsene als auch Rentnerinnen und Rentner sind zunehmend bereit, beispielsweise in Vereinen, Initiativen oder der Flüchtlingshilfe freiwillig mit anzupacken. Das sind zentrale Ergebnisse einer Studie des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin), die auf repräsentativen Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) basiert.
Die Bundesregierung hat mit Blick auf mögliche Versorgungsengpässe die Frühwarnstufe Gas in Kraft gesetzt. Claudia Kemfert, Leiterin der Abteilung Energie, Verkehr, Umwelt am Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin), kommentiert diesen Schritt:
Der Gaskrisen-Notfallplan sieht vor, im Rahmen einer Frühwarnstufe auf mögliche Gefahren hinzuweisen und die Prozeduren zu starten, um bei einem möglichen Versorgungsengpass die richtigen Schritte einleiten zu können. Gas ist derzeit nicht knapp, wir haben keine Notfallsituation. Wir bereiten uns aber auf mögliche Engpässe vor. Jetzt gilt es, schnell zu handeln, einen Krisenfahrplan zu erarbeiten, der vorsieht, dass wir kurzfristig aus vielen Ländern Gas beziehen. Zusätzlich muss sichergestellt werden, dass die Speicher im Sommer gefüllt werden, und ein Energiesparmaßnahmenpaket muss auf den Weg gebracht werden. Insbesondere die gasintensiven Industrien – allen voran die Chemieindustrie – müssen alternative Gasbezüge sowie Gas- Einsparmaßnahmen erarbeiten. Der Industrie muss geholfen werden. Ebenso sollte ein Energieeinsparprogramm für den Wohnungsbereich möglichst schnell auf dem Weg gebracht werden. Eine mögliche Gasrationierung ist nur der allerletzte Schritt bei der Situation eines ernsten Versorgungsengpasses. Diese können wir zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt abwenden.