All publications on "Energy & Climate"

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Energy Communities and the Legacy of Post-Socialism

The energy and climate crisis is real, and the big fossil fuel companies are dictating the rules of the game. Global warming and Russia's aggression in Ukraine have accelerated the search for safer, cheaper, and greener energy. One option is energy provided by energy communities. In post-communist countries, however, cooperatives have a distinctly negative connotation. The belief that energy should come from big government agencies or fossil fuel companies has created a perception that energy prices are beyond our control. But is this statement true? We explore this and many other questions in the following report.

The 100% Renewable Energy Action Plan for the next European Commission

Policy recommendations
The climate crisis and energy price explosion have made it clear: the EU cannot afford its dependency on fossil fuels anymore. How to deal with these enormous challenges? Our 100% Renewable Action Plan for the next European Commission describes what needs to happen after the 2024 European elections to harvest the benefits of renewables.
Frontpage of Böll.Thema Cursed Treasures

Böll.Thema 2/23: Cursed Treasures

Global demand for critical and strategic raw materials is on the rise. These resources are indispensable, particularly for the transition to clean energy, but also within other industry sectors. In this issue of our Böll.Thema magazine, we provide insights into recent developments in resource extraction, the associated challenges, and, most importantly, opportunities for positive change.
Power to the People

Power to the People

The report is a summary with the key findings from the Community energy law in Greece, Serbia, Poland, and Bulgaria. Stock taking and bottlenecks workshop organised in the meantime of the Community Energy Spring Gathering that both took place in Athens and which aimed to explore the topic of a decentralised system of community energy based on democratisation, localization, and environmentally sustainable methods of energy sourcing by shedding light onto its initiatives in Greece, Serbia, Poland, and Bulgaria. The paper presents key elements of both the legal framework and lessons learnt from the community energy initiative’s actions in each of the mentioned countries. Provided knowledge may be useful for further actions towards decentralised energy systems.  
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Urban Resilience Package

The Urban Resilience Package report was produced in cooperation between the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Warsaw and the CoopTech Hub. The publication presents a model of a development cooperative that enables the use and development of local resources - material and social. The solution is based on three pillars: common ownership, co-investment and co-management. The report discusses examples of places where model statutes for development cooperatives have been successfully created: Dąbrowa Górnicza and Konin. The solutions presented in the publication are the result of workshops and meetings with the inhabitants of these towns.

European Mobility Atlas 2021

Atlas
Sustainable transport and mobility are key to tackle the climate crisis and to achieve the targets of the European Green Deal. However, transport today accounts for nearly 30 percent of the CO₂ emissions within the European Union. How can the EU reduce its transport and mobility emissions while connecting citizens, creating green jobs and leading the innovation in the sector?
Climate Justice

Climate Justice and Migration

How should policymakers respond to the reality and future prospect of vast populations being displaced and relocated in an era of global heating? With climate change looming, anxiety over immigration from the Global South is increasingly fuelled by apocalyptic fears of ecological breakdown. This volume offers fresh perspectives on the relationship between climate change and human migration, questioning the pessimistic prisms of ‘security’ and market-oriented approaches to ‘adaptation’ that currently guide policy.

The Future of Europe and the Future of Climate Action

study
The EU is still getting to grips with the need to transition to a fully decarbonised economy, the political economy challenges of deep decarbonisation, the need to develop a regime to manage climate risk, and with aligning its own efforts with those of non-state actors such as cities and progressive businesses. How does climate governance fit within the ‘Future of Europe’ process led by the European Commission?

European power market integration. Poland and regional development in the Baltic Sea

The goal of this study is to show the impact of the energy transition and of the market design change in Germany on the competitiveness of the Polish power market. The analysis discusses how to increase security of supply by strengthening the Polish market with low-cost, high-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions as well as qualifies the value of closer cooperation between the German and Polish power markets.

Coal Atlas: Facts and figures on a fossil fuel

Our Coal Atlas contains the latest facts and figures on the use of coal and its environmental and social consequences. With more than 60 detailed graphics, the atlas illustrates the coal industry’s impact on nature, health, labour, human rights and politics.

Annual Report 2014

Annual Report 2014  provides information about activities of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung worldwide. It explores issues of (gender) democracy, human rights, European policies, social and environmental transformation, art, culture etc.

Green News on shale gas

Poland is in a crucial and complex situation deciding upon its future national energy strategy. The discussion about the possibilities and potentials of shale gas extraction in Poland is triggered by concerns of a balanced and sustainable energy mix, national independence and security, economic prosperity or public consultation. “US shale gas revolution” often serves as a shining example to its own socioeconomic developments. But what do we know about its realities? A variety of comments, interviews and reports from the Foundation's study trip can be found in a bilingual issue of the Magazine "Green News".

TIME TO ACT - How the EU Can Lead on Climate Change and Migration

The report debunks some common myths and provides an understanding of key characteristics of migration in the context of climate change. With a focus on EU policies and legal frameworks in the area of migration and asylum policies, the report presents a series of policy recommendations to the EU. It highlights that by creating legal immigration channels, the EU can avoid the distress and deaths of persons en route to Europe. The EU should set up rules of how and when to provide refuge and protection during increasingly severe climate linked disasters.

German energy transition

Germany has drawn a lot of attention for the Energiewende - the aim to switch to a renewable energy economy, phase out nuclear power and leave fossil fuels behind. But what exactly is the German energy transition: How does it works and what challenges lay ahead? Please explore the special multilingual web dossier with a comprehensive report, glossary, interactive blog, mediabox. This website is intended to provide facts and explain the politics and policies to an international audience (available in seven languages, inc. Polish). The report highlights the effects of the Energiewende on the German economy, environment and society and addresses the most important questions.

Renewables: The Only Path to a Secure, Affordable and Climate-friendly Energy System by 2030

Economic and environmental goals sometimes appear to require opposite paths of action. This paper by Uwe Nestle demonstrates, however, that there is a single solution to Europe’s threefold challenges of achieving climate protection goals while ensuring security of supply and affordable energy for a competitive economy: an expansion in the share of renewable energy. Renewables not only drastically reduce emissions; they also create jobs and offer real medium- and long-term savings to the European economy.

Greening the Heartlands of Coal in Europe

In 2013, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in cooperation with Ecologic Institute, invited experts from the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland to discuss the prospects for better cross-border cooperation arising from Germany’s energy transition.The report outlines key observations made by the experts, and helps to identify key questions requiring further investigation. By addressing the information gaps and core issues – such as electricity markets, loop flows and renewable energy support schemes – the report is an impulse for a deeper debate in future. The recommendations illustrate the importance of stronger collaboration where there are shared interests, which we would like to encourage.

World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013, launched on July 10th in Brussels, debunks the myth that the world is seeing a nuclear renaissance. Two years after Fukushima, global nuclear power generation continues to decline.

ERENE - Europejska Wspólnota Energii Odnawialnych

Climate protection and a secure energy supply both are questions of our future. The European Union must set itself ambitious goals if it wants to maintain its political dynamic. A feasibility study by Michaele Schreyer and Lutz Mez in collaboration with David Jacobs.

The Economics of Nuclear Power: An Update

Steve Thomas shows the true cost of nuclear power and makes it clear that nuclear energy in the free market economy without government support is not competitive. He shows his point on examples such as Olkiluoto and Flamanville – installations that were or are built longer then projected – and for much bigger money. He also highlights the costs of operating a nuclear power plant, like fuel prices or waste disposal.

Myths of Nuclear Power

The book, “Myths of Nuclear Power: How the Energy Lobby is Pulling the Wool Over our Eyes" delivers the long-overdue, nuclear critical know-how for the debate, pointing to alternatives, and unmasks nuclear energy for what it is: an irresponsible and expensive high-risk technology. It shows how nuclear diverts limited funds from renewable energy, that is better suited to help fight climate change and debunks such myths of its proponents, as if there were no problems with nuclear waste disposal or limited resources of uranium. They argue that there is no renaissance of nuclear energy in the world, therefore it is not a future-oriented way of giving power to the world.

Reaching Energy Security in Europe through Renewables

Meeting 100% of Europe’s electricity needs through renewable energy by 2050 is possible – if we succeed in pooling the potential of Europe’s renewable energy sources. The Heinrich Böll Foundation asked a number of experts to take stock of European policy in the sectors most important for the transition to renewable energy, to identify the areas in which European cooperation has been inadequate to date, and to propose possible solutions. In this publication two Polish experts, Grzegorz Wiśniewski and Dr. Zbigniew M. Karaczun, consider how the collective use of renewable energies by European countries in electric power generation can improve energy security in Europe.

What Future for International Climate Politics?

This paper articulates concrete proposals and puts forward ideas for devising smarter strategies that make engagement by civil society in international climate policy more effective. We have prepared the synthesis of the report in questions and answers. Please get acquainted with the proposals for changes.

The Development Plan for Microgeneration for Poland Based on Renewable Energy Sources until 2020

This study is the first attempt at a more precise specification of a plan for the development of a “national roadmap” for microgeneration based on renewable energy sources, including energy and heat sources, in Polish households. The “roadmap” focuses on the presentation of the current situation of microgeneration based on renewable energy sources in households and the real path for their development until 2020.

Publications

Our main goal is to deepen public debate on democracy, human rights, energy and climate, as well as international politics - and we place special emphasis on Eastern Partnership. We publish reports, analyses and articles, all available for free in PDF format. Enjoy reading, and feel free to comment!

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Reconnecting Europe

The European Union is drifting apart. What can we do to reconnect citizens and EU Institutions, north and south, centre and periphery? Four bloggers from Bulgaria, Germany, Spain and the UK share their ideas.

A comprehensive dossier on energy & climate politics, including regional analyses from international offices of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, climate finance, green economy and many more related topics.

"Green Growth, Smart Growth" - a new book by Ralf Fücks