Presented by Hermann Amecke and Alexander Vasa, Ph.D

A new study by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides the first comprehensive overview of how German businesses, households, and government finance renewable energy and energy efficiency. The report “The German Landscape of Climate Finance” shows that Germany invested 1.5% of GDP in 2010, or EUR 37 billion, in measures to reduce the impact of climate change.

Analyzing German climate finance is essential for the following reason: Germany is a world leader in the fight against climate change and has decided to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%-95% by 2050, while phasing out nuclear energy by 2022. Substantial investments are needed for such a transition to a low-carbon economy, and public funds alone cannot finance this transition. Understanding whether Germany will succeed requires three questions to be answered: 1) how much is currently invested in climate mitigation in Germany?; 2) how much finance does Germany need to invest to reach its targets?; 3) how do policy instruments need to be adjusted to most effectively trigger private investment?

“The German Landscape of Climate Finance” tackles the first of these questions. It lays the groundwork for the much needed discussion of the financing of the ‘German Energy Transition’ and the corresponding climate policy framework. Webinar presenters highlight the main findings and answer questions.

The “German Landscape” is part of CPI’s ongoing efforts to analyze how public policy can facilitate private investment most effectively. Further analyses in this work stream are the “Global Landscape of Climate Finance” and in-depth case studies prepared within the San Giorgio Group (SGG) network.

Date: Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM CET