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The Central Asia and Caspian region is a geographical area facing the harsh effects of climate change, such as rapid temperature rise, water body desiccation, and biodiversity losses. Nevertheless, national climate policies in the region have not demonstrated the necessary ambition. A first glance primarily points to the abundance and exploitation of fossil fuels. Taking a closer look at the national and regional context, we identify a diversity of infrastructural, economic, and social challenges to the region’s sustainable development. To further examine the relationship between sustainable development and climate change, our study carries out a stakeholder-driven multiple-criteria group decision and consensus analysis. This exercise aimed at capturing the importance of different sustainability dimensions, using the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as reference points, from the regional stakeholders’ perspective. A diverse pool of stakeholders helped prioritise each Goal, yielding overall agreement that clean energy, urban sustainability, effective waste management, and biodiversity preservation should be prioritized. Issues related with waste management and responsible consumption were ranked as the most important for climate action. Conversely, the analysis showed that social sustainability – including eliminating poverty, hunger, and inequalities – is of less urgency due to recent progress, especially when considered within the confines of climate action.

Die Umstellung des europäischen Energiesystems auf einen geringeren Ausstoß von Treibhausgasen wird einen grundsätzlichen Wandel der Art und Weise erfordern, wie Energie bereitgestellt, transportiert und genutzt wird. Als hauptsächliche Energieträger kommen Strom, Wasserstoff und synthetisches Gas in Frage. Die kostengünstigste Option ist die weitgehende Elektrifizierung aller Wirtschaftssektoren. Unabhängig von der genauen Ausgestaltung des zukünftigen europäischen Energiesystems gibt es einige Politikmaßnahmen, die notwendig sind, um das Ziel der Klimaneutralität bis 2050 zu erreichen: Ein umfangreicher Ausbau der Erzeugungskapazitäten erneuerbarer Energien, das möglichst schnelle Ende der Nutzung der fossilen Energieträger Kohle und Erdgas, sowie eine stärkere Nutzung von Elektrizität als Energieträger. Die zukünftige Rolle von neuen Energieträgern wie Wasserstoff und synthetischem Gas ist jedoch noch unklar., DIW Wochenbericht

Current technological improvements are yet to put the world on track to net-zero, which will require the uptake of transformative low-carbon innovations to supplement mitigation efforts. However, the role of such innovations is not yet fully understood; some of these ‘miracles’ are considered indispensable to Paris Agreement-compliant mitigation, but their limitations, availability, and potential remain a source of debate. This paper evaluates such potentially game-changing innovations from the experts' perspective, aiming to support the design of realistic decarbonisation scenarios and better-informed net-zero policy strategies. In a worldwide survey, 260 climate and energy experts assessed transformative innovations against their mitigation potential, at-scale availability and/or widescale adoption, and risk of delayed diffusion.