Suchergebnisse

The European Commission published its long-term strategic vision for climate policy "A Clean Planet for all" in 2018 which lays out various pathways for a transition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the whole energy sector and economy by 2050. The vision emphasizes that that a net-zero target by 2050 is extremely challenging for all sectors including the built environment. In this context the aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the EU Renovation Wave Initiative of the European Commission as central puzzle piece, which is also the main driver behind the targeted revision of the Energy-Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in 2021. On the one hand the Renovation Wave is put into context within the overall EU policy landscape, on the other hand the ambition, targets and policy options are compared with the overall ambition and to what science says. Main objective of the Renovation Wave is to at least double the current renovation rates of public and private buildings by 2030 and foster deep renovations. Together with a very ambitious decarbonization of heating this should enable to cut direct building sector greenhouse-gas emissions by 60% until 2030 (based on 2015 levels) as laid down in the Climate Target Plan 2030 (CTP). Apart from elements in the EPBD, also the RED and EED revisions as well as carbon pricing should make sure that the adequate framework for this very ambitious decarbonization is given. Currently, the progress and activities on the ground and in the renovation market are not at all in line what is defined as target-compliant within the strategy, neither with regard to the quality of renovations, nor the quantity of it. The implementation in the market will show whether the strategy can be successfully applied.

The political debate on raising EU's greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target for 2030 from at least 40 percent up to 55 percent or even higher is in full swing. While the European Commission has proposed to reduce emissions by at least 55 percent below 1990 levels, the European Parliament went a step further and adopted a target of 60 percent emissions reductions. This paper intends to enrich ongoing debates on the "how" the EU could commit to a 2030 mitigation objective, with the highest ambition possible as committed to the Paris Agreement.

A long-term vision for climate protection is essential for triggering the actions and policies needed to bring about economy-wide decarbonisation. The scientific basis for long-term climate planning comes in the form of so-called climate protection scenarios. These studies model emission pathways and potential mitigation options with a time horizon of mid-century and, like national strategies, differ substantially country to country in their scope, content and ambition, i.e., the magnitude of foreseen emission reductions. This document summarises the findings of a assessment of European climate protection scenarios initiated by the German Environment Agency (UBA) project: "Supporting the development of ambitious climate change scenarios in Europe." The principle finding from a descriptive evaluation and exemplary comparative analysis is that scenario development varies substantially by EU Member State - with countries emphasising different mitigation options and pathways based on inter alia national context. Considering the importance of long-term scenario development in the strategy development process, a process for alignment and a more unified basis for scenario development in Europe could improve modelling and thus long-term climate planning overall - and facilitate also effective regional and EU level approaches as complement to national strategies.

Die RESCUE-Studie zeigt: Treibhausgasneutralität bis spätestens 2050 ist in Deutschland auf unterschiedlichen Wegen erreichbar. Je früher und ambitionierter gehandelt wird, desto mehr Freiräume eröffnen sich für die Gestaltung dieses Transformationspfades und ermöglichen eine ausgewogene Balance zwischen Substitution, Vermeidung und Senkung. Das Politikpapier fasst die zentralen Ergebnisse der RESCUE-Studie zum erfolgreichen Klimaschutz zusammen und zeigt die erforderliche Schritte auf, um Treibhausgasneutralität zu ermöglichen und einem angemessenen Beitrag Deutschlands zum Klimaübereinkommen von Paris nahe zu kommen.

The success of climate and natural resource protection depends amongst others on the expansion of renewable energies. The policy paper describes the central results of the RESCUE study as well as the challenges and steps required to expand renewable energies in order to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality, and for Germany to make an appropriate contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement.

Climate protection scenarios are a key part of long-term climate policy planning, which has been given a further boost by the Paris Agreement. The modelling performed in such scenarios informs the development of 2050 national climate strategies—which themselves serve as roadmaps for the decarbonisation of the economy. By early 2020, all EU Member States were called to deliver some form of a national climate strategy for 2050, but these will likely vary substantially in ambition, scope and content, in large part also due to the different content inputs provided by respective national policy scenarios and emission pathways modelling. This document outlines a catalogue of criteria for the comparative and normative evaluation of longterm climate protection scenarios, both in Europe and internationally.

The adoption of the Paris Agreement with the long-term temperature limit has important repercussions for the distribution of effort between its signatories. The application of the equity and least-cost approaches to the distribution effort leadsto different outcomes. The disparity of the results from the equity and cost-effectiveness approaches can be closed by granting support to those countries for which least cost approach indicates much deeper emissions reduction than equity approaches. Since the transformation away from fossil fuels towards renewables can contribute to meeting a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the specific socio-economicand politicalcircumstances need to be taken into consideration when distributing emissions reduction effortand supporting. Contrary to the socio-economic framework which with few exception changes only slowly, the political environmental within which climate mitigation is taking place may change rapidly. These changes –positive and negative –have a spillover effect on other countries. This effect takes place even if the external impacts of a policy are not the explicit objective of certain policies (or lack thereof). But it can be considerably strengthened if domestic climate mitigation effort is accompanied with active leadership and support of transfer agents. The spillover effect creates an opportunity for the EU to influence emissions reductions well above those targeted by its own measures. Thus,it is essential for the EU to further specify its emissions reduction goal for 2050, adopt an ambitious emissions reduction goal for 2030, and create a robust policy framework to reach these goals.

This report presents a thorough analysis of drivers for decarbonization in different scenario studies. Selected baseline and emission reduction scenarios from a range of studies on the EU, including some EU member states, were analysed to generate insights into: Which decarbonization strategies exist? Which sectors already show a clear decarbonization strategy? In which sectors is the decarbonization strategy less obvious or clear as significantly different and mutually excluding strategies are researched? Are there sectors where decarbonization is particularly difficult and which are those? What issues have not been addressed in the existing scenarios so far? Besides a generic comparison a decomposition analysis was applied to these scenarios to identify key drivers for changes in emissions in the scenarios. The studies under consideration include at least one ambitious climate protection scenario, and provide a sufficient level of detail with regard to the quantitative results to allow for applying the framework of the analysis. In addition to an analysis of total energy-related CO2 emissions, this study analyses major energy-related sectors on the supply and demand side: electricity supply, industry, tertiary, residential and transport (where possible differentiated by passenger and freight). A comparison of findings and a synthesis along with a detailed data appendix complete the report.

A range of studies on nationally determined contributions (NDC) of parties to the Paris Agreement disclose, that temperature objectives of the Paris Agreement are not in reach if current NDCs are implemented. A new study, commissioned by German Environment Agency, compares pre2015 and latest levelized cost projections and shows, that certain key mitigation technologies, i.e. power generation from renewables and lithium batteries, will become substantially cheaper by 2025/2030 since the preparation of NDCs. Thus, parties to the Paris Agreement are now in the position to review and strengthen their NDCs by 2020 during the Talanoa Dialog.

The German Federal Environment Agency (⁠UBA⁠) presents here a summary of its Ideas on climate policies. We wish to illustrate how we foresee the next steps towards an ambitious set of policies for energy, mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Scientific knowl-edge about the impending threats as well as knowledge about possible options for action have increased considerably in recent decades. Particularly alarming, in view of expected climate change, is the IPCC's fourth assessment report, published in 2007. At the same time we are observing an increase in the global emissions of greenhouse gases – the cause of anthropogenic climate change.

Der IPCC-Sonderbericht über 1,5 °C globale Erwärmung (SR1.5) fasst den weltweit vorhandenen wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand zu den Folgen von 1,5 °C globaler Erwärmung gegenüber vorindustriellen Bedingungen und zu den mit einer solchen Erwärmung konsistenten Treibhausgas-Emissionspfaden zusammen. Er untersucht Maßnahmen zur Verstärkung und Beschleunigung des Kampfes gegen den Klimawandel. Ein gesondertes Kapitel geht auf Berührungspunkte zu den globalen Zielen nachhaltiger Entwicklung (SDGs) ein. In einem Webinar am 26. Oktober 2018 stellte das Umweltbundesamt ausgewählte Erkenntnisse des Sonderberichtes vor. Das Webinar zielte darauf ab, wichtige Botschaften des Berichtes im klima- und umweltpolitischen Kontext darzustellen und für die Politikgestaltung verfügbar zu machen. Diese Dokumentation umfasst die im Webinar präsentierten Inhalte sowie im Anhang eine konsolidierte Beantwortung der im Webinar gestellten Teilnehmerfragen.

Under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," (Article 3.1 of the ⁠UNFCCC⁠) non-Annex I parties have so far been exempted from emission limitation or reduction commitments. However, the pressure is mounting on those countries, especiallymajor emitting developing countries, to contribute actively to the mitigation of climate change. Participation by these developing countries in a future international climate regime is oftencalled for, but it is usually unclear how and how much these countries should participate, what kind of support they need and in which sectors. This project aims to provide a more detailed view on six countries to understand how they could best make a contribution to the regime and how they could best be supported in limiting their greenhouse gas emissions.

Mit diesem Thesenpapier schlägt das Umweltbundesamt strategische Maßnahmen und zielgerichtete Instrumente zur Reduzierung der Kohleverstromung für den Zeitraum bis 2030 vor. Für eine stark überproportionale Treibhausgasminderung der Energiewirtschaft als Beitrag, um die Klimaschutzziele bis 2020 zu erreichen, empfiehlt das UBA die Stromerzeugung auf 4000 Volllaststunden pro Jahr für Stein- und Braunkohlekraftwerke mit einem Alter von mindestens 20 Jahren zu begrenzen und zusätzlich mindestens 5 GW der ältesten Braunkohlekraftwerke stillzulegen. Um das Ziel für die Treibhausgasminderung der Energiewirtschaft bis 2030 robust zu erreichen, empfiehlt das UBA zusätzlich zur Volllaststundenbegrenzung die ältesten Braun- und Steinkohlekraftwerke nach dem Kernenergieausstieg 2022 stillzulegen und auf maximal 19 GW Gesamtleistung zu reduzieren.