Archive press releases

Just in time for the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the European Council has decided to tighten the EU's climate targets. By 2030, the EU is to reduce its greenhouse gases by at least 55 percent compared to 1990 levels,…

Transport policy needs to become climate-friendly and socially equitable. This can involve making adjustments to existing instruments so that they are fair and help to mitigate climate change. For example, the CO2 component of the motor vehicle tax…

In Germany, industry and government want hydrogen to become a key pillar of the energy transition. Due to the high costs and limited availability of land, however, Germany cannot rely on domestic production to satisfy future hydrogen demand. For…

A 65% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050 are achievable and technically feasible. This is shown for the first time in a new study, entitled Towards a Climate-Neutral Germany, whose findings were…

Researchers at the Oeko-Institut and their project partners have developed a methodology for the holistic assessment of the resource efficiency and carbon footprint of data centres. The innovative feature of this methodology is that for the first…

E-mobility is a key component in the shift towards a sustainable transport sector for the future. However, lithium-ion batteries – the main source of power for electric drive systems – will need to be manufactured and recycled responsibly in…

The European Union can increase its 2030 climate target to -55 per cent compared with 1990 levels. Delivering this climate target is both technically and economically feasible for the EU member states with a mix of appropriate measures. The…

In order to prevent our natural life support system – our landscape and wildlife diversity – from being destroyed by harmful nitrogen surpluses, lawmakers at federal and state level must take action by setting mandatory targets for reducing…

Introduce mandatory minimum lifetime information, strengthen purchasers’ rights, improve conditions for repairs – these and other strategies for greater durability and longer use of electrical and electronic devices are recommended by the…

The need for transdisciplinary research is growing. At the same time, structures and places for the further development and dissemination of transdisciplinary methods, concepts and competencies are lacking both in research and teaching. This gap is…

The German government has announced that it will unveil plans tomorrow for another major package of measures to boost the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Ahead of the announcement, there was debate about the possible…

The aviation industry proposes to change the international agreement to address CO2 emissions from international aviation (CORSIA). Oeko-Institut’s assessment of the proposal shows that it could reduce the climate mitigation or offsetting…

Some sellers of electronic equipment from non-EU countries such as China who market their products on the Internet do not contribute to the costs incurred in Germany for the collection and disposal of packaging and what will later be end-of-life…

Most trucks running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) emit about the same amount of greenhouse gases as diesel trucks. Depending on the drivetrain technology, emissions from LNG trucks range between 969 and 1051 gCO2e/km; the figure for diesel trucks…

On 1 October 2019 Jan Peter Schemmel became the Oeko-Institut’s new Chief Executive Officer, based at its Berlin office. A political scientist, he was previously director of the Funding Programmes division and director of the Programme Office of…

Using products for longer reduces pressure on the environment and the climate. In collaboration with the Centre for Consumer Research and Sustainable Consumption (Verbraucherforschung und nachhaltiger Konsum, vunk) at Pforzheim University of…

A joint study by Agora Verkehrswende, Agora Energiewende, the Oeko-Institut and the Freie Universität Berlin shows how a CO2 price of 50 euros per ton can lay the foundation for climate protection. Social balance is achieved by refunding the whole…

Our Chief Executive Officer Michael Sailer retires on 1 August 2019 after 39 years at the Oeko-Institut. During these four decades, he made a major contribution to the Oeko-Institut’s development as an independent sustainability research institute…

Fuels produced from electricity – known as power-to-X (PtX) – are not necessarily sustainable or climate-friendly. They have a positive climate protection effect only if they are produced using additional renewable power and CO2 that is captured…

In 2050, 80 per cent of all newly registered passenger cars on the road worldwide could be powered by alternative drivetrains, with the figure even rising to 100 per cent if ambitious climate targets are met. The increase in e-mobility is driving…