Workshop “The impact of public investment programmes illustrated by the example of energy efficiency in buildings.”

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November 25th, 2015

The European Union faces multiple existential problems with a stagnating economy and climate change being one of the biggest challenges of our time. Typically, not only the causes of these crises but also their (partial) solutions are highly correlated. With its 2030 framework for climate and energy policy, the European Union aims for addressing both issues: fighting climate change along with inducing green growth. Public investments are at the heart if this rationale. In order to pursue climate action and energy efficiency, significant investments are needed, which in turn would address the consequences of the economic crises through higher (green) growth and an increased independence from fossil fuels. Read more

PolicyOracle: Predicting Outcomes of Key Policy Indices

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Your expert opinion on macroeconomic indicators considered by policy makers to shape policies in Europe? The SYMPHONY European research project (http://projectsymphony.eu/) implemented an online market simulation called PolicyOracle to monitor your expectation changes about key policy indices in real time. Participants are able to place bets on future prices of pivotal resources or future political events. By harvesting the crowd-intelligence provided by many informed individuals, policymakers are enabled to anticipate these predictions in their policy decisions. On top of that, you can learn about the expectations of your peers.   Read more

Simpol Project: Crowdsourcing for Transparency in the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework

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Strongly influenced by lobbying activities, the EU took a step back on some of its climate targets within the 2030 framework for climate and energy policy. With the SIMPOL project, we are developing a new collaborative tool to identify the interests at stake in the complex negotiation process between different national- and EU institutions. You can help in creating a more complete picture of the organizations involved and their potential impact on the policy process by contributing to our crowdsourcing project. As a result, an interactive graph will enable you to explore and enrich the network of relevant stakeholders, their lobbying activities and other important attributes.

Contribute to our crowdsourcing project to make the invisible visible. Go to: http://finance4citizens.eu/cs2030

Investment-ortiented climate policy

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February 19th + March 3rd, 2015

Thanks to a number of recent studies, initiated mainly by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), it is possible to show that an investment-oriented climate policy can help overcome the stagnation of the European economy and the social and political crisis in Europe. Since other strategies continue to lose their plausibility, it is a must to have an open debate on our current take on climate policy. Read more

IPCC sea-level rise scenarios not fit for purpose for high-risk coastal areas

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The sea-level rise scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) do not necessarily provide the right information for high-risk coastal decision-making and management, according to new research involving scientists from the Global Climate Forum in Berlin. Read more

Climate Finance and Sustainable Economic Recovery

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published on Handelsblatt Online (September 23, 2014)
> www.handelsblatt.com/meinung/gastbeitraege/gastbeitrag-zum-klimagipfel-wie-gute-klimapolitik-die-konjunktur-anschieben-kann/10742108.html

by K. Toepfer, J-C. Hourcade, M. Aglietta, C. Jaeger

English version:
The day before this year’s UN General Assembly, September 23, its secretary general will host a UN climate summit in New York. President Obama will attend a meeting taking place in his country but key countries like China, India, Russia as well as the EU and Germany will not be represented by their top leaders. This is one more sign of the mismatch between dramatic rhetoric on global climate change and ineffective action in global climate policy. Read more

III. Open GSS Conference

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October 8-10th, 2014
Unpacking Green Growth
A trans-continental conference

The future of global economic growth raises a whole range of questions, including, but not limited to, purely economic ones. Will the successes in reducing global poverty continue? Will inequality within key economies continue to increase? Will global and local environmental disruption continue? In the face of these questions, green growth has been proposed as an appropriate strategy. The vision of billions of poor people achieving a decent standard of living while economic activities become a force of environmental enhancement rather than disruption is certainly attractive. But is it feasible? Read more

Workshop “Sustainability Skills”

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September 1st, 2014

Europe is fighting with high unemployment rates, especially among young people and in the Southern member states. Considering the debate on Green Growth stimuli in times of daunting secular stagnation, this workshop will focus on the reform of the vocational education in Europe. A panel discussion with high-level decision-makers and a following working session shall present ideas for a reform of the vocational education system making it more fit for the needs of a low-carbon economy. One of the major topics of the workshop will be the German dual vocational system. Read more

Green Business Models and Green Economy Conference

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July 14th, 2014

Economic stagnation as well as climate change are two of the most pressing challenges at a global scale. Despite some positive news, a European economic recovery, especially in terms of employment, is not in sight. Even though there is progress, international climate negotiations have a hard time overcoming the gridlock of the past years. In Europe as elsewhere climate policy discussions are mainly focused on burden-sharing which leads to minimal action. To change this daunting path, there is a need to reframe the discussion on climate policy and economic policy. Read more