Wind and solar benchmarks for a 1.5°C world
This report presents a detailed methodology for determining the amount of wind and solar capacity that is required for a country to align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature goal. While the focus
Germany
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Porsche fights C02 charge
Porsche, whose cars are seen as an emblem of wealth and success in London's financial district, is planning a legal challenge to prevent its customers from paying an increased congestion charge in the UK capital. The German company intends to seek a judicial review aimed at quashing the plan by Ken Livingstone, London's mayor, to impose a
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Germany to issue 451.9 mn CO, permits annually from 2008
Germany said it would issue 451.9 million tonne say ear of carbon-dioxide pollution certificates from 2008 to 2 012, 0.3%fewer than allowed by the European Commission. Germany cut its planned emission cap because new power plants will need fewer free C02 permits than previously expected, the DEHST emissions trading unit of the environment ministry said on its website. Germany earlier set aside 11 million tonnes of C02 a year for new power plants and factories, yet permits foronly9.79milliontonnesareneeded. German utilities and energy-intensive industries want installation-level allocations of permits as they prepare for the second phase of the EU's climate control programmed. Some 1,625power plants and factories, new and in operation, will get388.86 million tones of free permitseveryyearthrough2012 according to the plan.
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Farm follies revisited
A row about milk quotas only confirms the idiocy of Europe's common agricultural policy AT LAST, say some European Union leaders, it is time for tough talk about the future of farming. Even the subsidy-mad French agree: a mid-term review of the common agricultural policy (CAP) is to begin during their stint in the EU's rotating presidency, later this year. It all sounds encouraging. Except for this: even as governments boast of tackling difficult reforms soon, France, Germany and others are trying to thwart an easy reform now that would let EU dairy farmers take advantage of soaring world prices. The row centres on the EU's milk quotas, which cap production in each country, with swingeing fines for producing too much. It offers a revealing, and depressing, case study. There may never be a less painful time to ease (or scrap) milk quotas. They were designed in 1984, when low market prices and high subsidies were filling EU warehouses with surplus "butter mountains' and mounds of milk powder, at ever greater cost to the EU budget. Liberal-minded types wondered naively if cutting subsidies might be an idea. They were outvoted by the farm lobby, which chose to curb production via quotas so as to boost prices. As an instrument, it was blunt
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A photo exhibition transcending borders
Mamata Sardar Kolkata Karina Krisch Hamburg An exhibition of photographs clicked by children in Kolkata, Freiburg and Hamburg shows how children relate to
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News Snippets
>> Smoking has been banned in restaurants and cafes in France and Germany. Eight German states have ushered in 2008 declaring their pubs and restaurants smoke-free. The new ban is seen as a big
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German cities ban dirty vehicles
Three German cities
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In Short News
lipitor patent revoked: Pfizer Inc said on October 29 a German court had revoked the drugmaker's patent covering the active ingredient in its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor. The decision
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Making progress within and beyond borders
Today's challenges provide the chance to develop global mechanisms for sustainable development. They can act as springboards towards higher resource productivity and efficiency, environmentally friendly technologies, and sustainable habits and lifestyles. The above discussion brings up a number of issues that require thorough considerations. However, these are still on the nature of individual components of the policy framework, not on the framework itself. It may be useful to provide a brief reflection on the strategic vision that can hold these diverse thoughts together.
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Making progress within and beyond borders
Today's challenges provide the chance to develop global mechanisms for sustainable development. They can act as springboards towards higher resource productivity and efficiency, environmentally friendly technologies, and sustainable habits and lifestyles. The above discussion brings up a number of issues that require thorough considerations. However, these are still on the nature of individual components of the policy framework, not on the framework itself. It may be useful to provide a brief reflection on the strategic vision that can hold these diverse thoughts together.
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Robust options for decarbonisation
The purpose of this background paper prepared for the symposium on "Global Sustainability: a Nobel Cause' is to summarize and recall the main findings of the Fourth Assessment Report and to visualize the key messages by new results recently obtained with an innovative integrated assessment model at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.