Well-considered approach | EU Climate Policy

To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050, action must be taken now. Policymakers are currently gathering information to create transparency. Companies can already prepare for later regulations. Guidelines that are still non-binding today show what to expect.  

There are about eleven years left to set the course to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, as calculated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The goal of limiting it to 1.5 degrees is based on scientific evidence. At the climate conference in Paris in 2015, the 196 signatories to the treaty agreed to limit global warming to well below two degrees. However, if national contributions are consistently implemented by all countries, we are heading for global warming of 3.1 degrees by 2050.  

That’s 31 years from now – many of us will experience the full impact of climate change. 

EU is gathering momentum 

To limit global warming to below two degrees, political decisions must be made. At present, I am observing a well-considered approach by policymakers in both Europe and Germany. In March 2018, the EU adopted an ambitious action plan for financing sustainable growth that puts the issue of climate change in the spotlight. I think it is very positive what the EU is doing on this issue, even if the action plan itself is not binding. 

The EU is moving on climate risk issues at a speed we have not seen before.  

Observers made it clear that the European Union is moving on climate risk issues with a force and speed that we have not seen before.  

Currently, much is happening in the area of soft law – non-binding recommendations are being published. BaFin, for example, has announced a fact sheet for the end of 2019. In addition to regulators, legislators are also becoming increasingly active. For example, in implementation of the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSR Directive) in Germany, a reporting obligation for companies on non-financial risks was included in the German Commercial Code. Legislators are positioning themselves to enact timely laws in regards to global warming. This is a well-considered approach.