In 2021, the G7 and South Africa agreed upon the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This new instrument in interna- tional cooperation should support emerging and developing economies in a just energy transition and in phasing out coal. It is intended to facilitate equal partnerships...

In August 2022, the US Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a comprehensive piece of legislation aiming to stimulate the US economy and to increase its resilience. At an estimated 430 billion euros, it is a massive government investment and spending program in the welfare state,...

The German economy has returned to a recovery course following a slight recession over the winter. Although the war in Ukraine, record inflation, and feared gas shortages have taken their toll on the German economy, a drastic slump failed to materialize. The German economy remained relatively...

In its Federal Climate Change Act, Germany has committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2045. To do so, companies from both the industrial and the service sectors must adjust their production and business practices, and financial institutions must adjust their evaluation criteria. In many...

Over the past 20 years, China has granted a conspicuous amount of loans to African countries. New loan data show that compared to Western multilateral loans, Chinese loans have relatively high interest rates and shorter maturities, tend to be highly collateralized, and are volatile over time....

Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced by the Russian war on Ukraine, with over one million alone coming to Germany since the beginning of the war. Data from the second survey wave of the IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany study show that as of the beginning of...

According to the latest review report of the Council of Experts on Climate Change, the German building sector failed to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in 2022. This is in part because investments in energy-efficient building refurbishment-supported by all kinds of policy...

Following the winter recession and stagnation in the second quarter of 2023, the economic upswing is proceeding at a sluggish pace, contrary to expectations over the summer. Weak foreign demand and ongoing inflation have proven to be slowing economic growth. For the time being, private...