Wind turbines stand on a sandy strip of land in a turquoise water with a clear blue sky. A banner reads socio-ecological transformation.
Renewable energy such as these wind turbines in Okinawa play a key role in advancing Japan’s energy transition. | Foto: Paipateroma via Wikimedia Commons | GNU Free Documentation License

Periphery as the New Center? Japan’s Renewable Energy Market and Policy Landscape

The Japanese government is currently preparing its 7th Strategic Energy Plan and released its draft plan for public comments in December last year. Reflecting on the war in Ukraine and the growing tension in the Middle East, from which Japan imports the majority of its crude oil, the draft plan emphasizes the importance of a stable energy supply and of close cooperation with industries to achieve decarbonization and energy transition. As the draft plan also states, renewable energy plays a key role in advancing Japan’s green transition. However, the path to replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy does not look so straightforward.

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A man climbs on a rock in front of an antarctic scenery
Scientists debate whether antarctic ice sheets could be stabilized through glacial geoengineering or artificial infrastructures. | Photo: National Snow and Ice Data Center via flickr | CC BY 2.0

Saving the Planet by Making Antarctica the Object of International Discord?

The recently published Emissions Gap Report 2024 warns that international ambitions must be dramatically raised or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone soon. The current COP 29 conference is unlikely to deliver, however, and with new emission records for 2024 just confirmed and climate impacts intensifying, there is an increasing push for more contentious ideas, such as geoengineering the fragile West Antarctic Ice sheet. While there are several technical and environmental concerns, what has been largely overlooked are the political risks of such an endeavour, in particular challenges to the authority, sovereignty, and security of the Antarctic Treaty System. 

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Ein Ruderboot im Meer vor einem grünen Küstenabschnitt
Ansprüche kleiner Inselstaaten wie Vanuatu wurden durch das Gerichtsurteil bestätigt. | Foto: Simon_sees via Flickr | CC BY 2.0

Politisierung in Zeiten schwacher politischer Normen: Zum Klima-Gutachten des Internationalen Seegerichtshofs

Ende Mai legte der Internationale Seegerichtshof ein mit Spannung erwartetes Gutachten vor. Eine Gruppe kleiner Inselstaaten hatte den Seegerichtshof im Dezember 2022 angerufen, um die Frage zu klären, was die Pflichten der Vertragsstaaten des Seerechtübereinkommens für den Klimaschutz umfassen. Der Seegerichtshof kam zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Staaten verpflichtet sind, die Meeresverschmutzung zu verhindern. Auch wenn das Gutachten rechtlich nicht bindend ist, dürfte es Auswirkungen auf die weitere Entwicklung der Rechtsprechung zum Klimaschutz haben. Zugleich ist fraglich, wie groß die normative Wirkung des Gutachtens sein kann, da die über den Kern des Völkerrechts hinausgehende regelbasierten Ordnung zurzeit an Bedeutung verliert.

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protester holding sign "Climate Justice for Gender Justice
Political action that deals with topics of climate change as if they were gender neutral leads to the reproduction of gendered insecurities. | Image: John Englart - Flickr | CC BY-SA

The 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference: An opportunity to push gender responsive action

In preparation of the UN Climate Change Conference, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November of 2024, subsidiary bodies will meet 3-13 June at the Bonn Climate Change Conference to discuss which urgent issues shall be decided in Baku. Compared to the early years of the UN Climate Change Conferences that were established in the 1990s, it is no longer contested to see gender among the focal points. Gender has become an established topic to be addressed, and the necessity is recognized of implementing climate policies in gender-responsive ways. Nevertheless, related political practice still leave a lot to be desired.           

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Photograph of a landscape with four wind turbines.
The peaceful appearance is misleading: Wind park in La Guajira in northern Colombia. Photo: © Martin Gubsch/PRIF.

Resisting Energy Transition? Understanding Roadblocks in Northern Colombia

La Guajira in northern Colombia has seen a disproportionate number of roadblocks recently, especially connected to wind park construction sites, staged by people demanding that the state implement economic, social, and physical security improvements. This conflict is an example of local impacts of the global energy transition on historically marginalized people. In this Spotlight we argue that La Guajira is a prime case showing how the energy transition is leveraged to indirectly address the state through private companies.

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desolate landscape with trees and grey sky. A sign warns of nuclear contamination. With added logo “Socio-ecological Transformation Conflicts”
The exploitation of Ukraine's resources by external actors has caused environmental damage extending far into the future. | Foto: Oleksandra Bardash via Unplash

A Green Recovery for Ukraine: How to Avoid the Trap of Green Colonialism?

The environment is not a silent victim in Russia’s war against Ukraine; the long-term threats for the people of Ukraine are already visible. The environmental dimension of the war has been documented from early on. In this respect, the war is a model for future military conflicts. President Zelenskyy emphasized in his peace plan that green reconstruction is an essential element for a just and sustainable future. Green reconstruction, as every reconstruction, needs international support and local engagement. In this blog post, we identify the conditions that must be met to ensure that local groups are empowered and new international dependencies are avoided.

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The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act represents significant progress but faces several challenges. | Foto: Arno Senoner via Unsplash

A Gap between Social and Ecological Rights: A Commentary after One Year of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act

Frequent violations of human, labor, and environmental rights continue to impact supply chains globally, with notable prevalence in the Global South, but also in the Global North. The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA, in German: Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz [LkSG]), enacted in 2023, represents significant progress in upholding rights within the context of socio-ecological transformation across value chains. However, the law faces challenges, particularly in terms of its prospective enforcement and the absence of a cohesive link between social and ecological rights. This article provides a commentary and argues that addressing these issues should be a priority.

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Mine with large construction crane
The current socio-ecological transformation is causing and exacerbating socio-political conflicts. | Photo: Jandira Sonnendeck, Unsplash

Socio-ecological Transformation Conflicts: A Central Field of Conflict and Research in the 21st Century

Conflicts over climate and energy policy, security and geopolitical dimensions of global decarbonisation, or human and environmental rights violations in global value chains: The current socio-ecological transformation is causing new and exacerbating existing socio-political conflicts that will characterise the 21st century. The new working group on socio-ecological transformation conflicts, which introduces some of its fields of research in this blog series, brings together existing expertise on these conflicts at PRIF.

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