The outcome of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference shows that international co­operation remains possible despite today’s challenging geopolitical situation. Instead of the feared blockade, an agreement was reached for the first time - some three decades after the start of the COP process -...

Growing North-South tensions are impeding global climate cooperation and hampering Germany’s search for reliable partners. Brazil is a key actor with the potential to alleviate tensions: it sees itself as a bridge-builder and will host the Climate Change Conference in 2025 (COP30). Under their...

At the Paris climate summit in December 2015 the 196 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established a new international climate policy regime from 2020 onwards. The Paris Agreement includes how to proceed with protecting the climate (mitigation), how to...

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Conven­tion on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was marked by multiple crises and the shaken confidence of developing countries in the multilateral process. Nonetheless, an agreement was reached on the...

Plurilateral initiatives are again gaining importance in climate diplomacy as a complement to multilateral efforts – not least in view of the lack of progress in implementing the Paris Agreement and more difficult conditions in the UN process. New alliances are expected to facilitate agreement...

With the publication of its Synthesis Report in March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has completed its work programme for the sixth assess­ment cycle. The IPCC reports, and in particular the respective Summary for Policy Makers (SPM), provide a scientific basis for...

Climate change is leading to increasing displacement and migration, as well as involuntary immobility. The associated challenges and costs have long been neglected in the international climate negotiations. Until now, efforts to open up mobility choices for people negatively affected by climate...

Entrenched positions, particularly between industrialised countries and some major emerging economies, dominated negotiations at June’s UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn. Disagreements over the interpretation of “common but differentiated responsibilities” and the principle of equity...