COP25, just Another Failure | Europe’s Green Deal: A Big Shot? | On Fossil Lobbying & Greenwashing

2019 is close to being over, so this is our last newsletter of the year. For us, this has been a challenging but very exciting year. We started in January with more (wo-)manpower than we ever had (scroll all the way down here) to intensify our efforts on energy policy. Which we did, here are just two highlights of our manifold year-round activities:

1. In April, we published our flagship study together with LUT University: A global scenario outlining the way towards 100% renewable energy. After 4 and a half years of intense work and with 15 scientists involved, we finally published the first-of-its-kind study to outline a 1.5°C scenario with a cost-effective, cross-sectoral, global 100% renewable energy system. And while we were invited to present our roadmap to the European Commission, the recently presented European Green Deal doesn’t really reflect our findings and recommendations. Read more about the contents of the deal in this newsletter!
2. Later this year, in September, our President Hans-Josef Fell and EWG’s Chief Research Officer Dr. Thure Traber warned in a co-authored study that “natural gas makes no contribution to climate protection” because of its alarming high methane emissions. Natural – meaning fossil – gas is the fossil industry’s new go-to fuel since it’s falsely considered a bridge-fuel that is needed for the energy transition. But we could show that there is no bridge at all and that fossil gas needs to be phased out as soon as possible (as all other fossils!) if we want to implement real climate protection.

And no, unfortunately, COP25 (also covered in this newsletter) showed us that the global community is not quite ready yet to come together to legally enshrine limiting global warming to 1.5°C and implement 100% renewable energy strategies worldwide. But all utopian hopes aside, a lot has happened this year despite governmental inactiveness & constant pressure from the fossil industry to water down any ambitious renewable energy or climate policy. It seems like big parts of society have woken up, shaken up by an increasingly rampant climate crisis and bold protesters & activists who will not stop demanding real action. We will be back in January, full of energy and enthusiasm to show the world that a global transition to 100% renewable energy should be at the core of any serious climate strategy.

Until then, enjoy reading our December newsletter and have joyful holidays,

Your EWG Team