Topic Climate Policy

Carbon Pricing of Basic Materials: Incentives and Risks for the Value Chain and Consumers

For the European Union to realise its ambition of carbon neutrality, emissions from basic material production need to be reduced through low-carbon production processes, material efficiency and substitution, as well as enhanced recycling. Different reform options for the EU ETS are discussed that ensure a consistent carbon price incentive for all these mitigation options, while avoiding the risk of ...

International Dimensions of Industry Decarbonization: Elements of International Cooperation Approaches

Closing the Green Deal for Industry: What Design of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Ensures an Inclusive Transition to Climate Neutrality?

EEAG Revision Support Study: Final Report

Way Off: The Effect of Minimum Distance Regulation on the Deployment and Cost of Wind Power

With the expansion of onshore wind power, countries increasingly consider the introduction of minimum distance regulations between wind turbines to nearby residential areas, to increase public acceptance. In 2014, the German federal state of Bavaria introduced a minimum distance regulation that requires new wind turbines to be ten times their total height away from settlements (10-H regulation). This ...

Collective Action: New Guiding Principles for International Climate Finance

To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is necessary for industrialized countries to support developing countries financially. The channels and mechanisms under which this support would be provided are known as International Climate Finance. Building upon expert interviews with a focus on the industrial sector, this report analyses the different areas of International Climate Finance and ...

Scenario Analysis as a Tool for Companies, Investors, and Regulators on the Path to Climate Neutrality

The structural transformation necessary for achieving climate neutrality is characterized by many interdependent changes. Shaping the transition to a zero-emissions economy cannot be based on past data alone, but also requires the definition of future scenarios that are as consistent as possible. The aim of these scenarios is to show how companies are prepared for transformation processes and burdens ...

An Effective Federal Climate Change Act Needs Leading Indicators

To reach the climate targets, the course towards a climate-neutral society must be set now. However, the current monitoring instruments in the Climate Change Act do not provide sufficient information to policymakers and society on the effectiveness of policy instruments and programs, as they focus exclusively on greenhouse gas reduction targets, which are subject to uncertainty. Moreover, they only ...

Climate Neutrality Requires Coordinated Measures for High Quality Recycling

For Europe to reach climate neutrality by mid-century, it needs to move toward a circular economy. Waste avoidance, reuse, and recycling save primary resources and avoid emissions in the production of basic materials like steel, cement, and plastics. Without exploring circular economy potentials, switching production to climate-neutral processes alone would result in significant costs and tremendous ...

To Ban or Not to Ban Carbon-Intensive Materials: A Legal and Administrative Assessment of Product Carbon Requirements

By setting near-zero-emission requirements for the production of certain products to be sold on the European single market (product carbon requirements, PCRs), the European Union could accelerate the phase-out of carbon-intensive production processes.The announcement of such requirements would send a signal to producers,financing institutions and other relevant stakeholders, thus incentivizing them ...