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As part of a series series on how key emitters are responding to climate change, Carbon Brief profiles Germany – the nation with both the most renewable power and the highest emissions in Europe.

Germany has a long history as an industrial powerhouse and it remains a centre of European manufacturing.

As of 2023, it had the 12th highest emissions in the world.

The nation was an early leader in developing wind and solar power.

Its “Energiewende” policies have driven a surge in these technologies over the past two decades, at the same time as winding down its sizable nuclear power sector.

However, Germany still uses more coal than any other country in Europe.

The shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 also exposed its reliance on fossil-fuel imports, particularly gas.

Germany has often been framed as a “climate leader” on the world stage.

But the recent coalition government has struggled with internal disputes and there has been some backsliding on its climate targets.

In particular, Germany has repeatedly failed to meet its obligations at the national and EU levels to cut emissions from its cars and houses.

In recent years, there has also been a growing backlash from some quarters to some of its net-zero policies.

The post The Carbon Brief Profile: Germany appeared first on Carbon Brief.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-profile-germany/

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US Government Is Accelerating Coral Reef Collapse, Scientists Warn

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Proposed Endangered Species Act rollbacks and military expansions are leaving the Pacific’s most diverse coral reefs legally defenseless.

Ritidian Point, at the northern tip of Guam, is home to an ancient limestone forest with panoramic vistas of warm Pacific waters. Stand here in early spring and you might just be lucky enough to witness a breaching humpback whale as they migrate past. But listen and you’ll be struck by the cacophony of the island’s live-fire testing range.

US Government Is Accelerating Coral Reef Collapse, Scientists Warn

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Climate Change

Satellites Reveal New Climate Threat to Emperor Penguins

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Ice loss in the Antarctic Ocean may be killing the sea birds during their molting season.

Each year for millennia, emperor penguins have molted on coastal sea ice that remained stable until late summer—a haven during a span of several weeks when it’s dangerous for the mostly aquatic birds to enter the ocean to feed because they are regrowing their waterproof feathers.

Satellites Reveal New Climate Threat to Emperor Penguins

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States Sue to Block Trump’s ‘Anti-Science’ Vaccine Policy

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Climate change helps spread vaccine-preventable diseases. But the Trump administration’s reduced vaccine schedule “throws science out the window,” and makes Americans more vulnerable to infections, state attorneys general charge in a new lawsuit.

Scientists have long warned that a warming world is likely to hasten the spread of infectious diseases, making vaccination even more critical to safeguard public health.

States Sue to Block Trump’s ‘Anti-Science’ Vaccine Policy

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