Hi ,

As another year full of changes and new developments comes to an end, we would like to start our December newsletter by thanking everyone who has contributed to our accomplishments - our dedicated colleagues, our numerous project partners, the members of our advisory board, our strategic partners and those who have supported us with donations. Thank you very much!

As always, we would also like to inform you about our current activities. This month, the COP28 climate conference took center stage: as in previous years, IKEM was present with a small delegation and a side event. In an interview, our colleague Ievgeniia Kopytsia shares insights into the atmosphere in Dubai and the outcomes of the negotiations.

Additionally, December was packed with new publications – these delve into topics such as the legal framework for the hydrogen economy, decarbonisation options for shipping, and addressing the landlord-tenant dilemma in the heat transition.

We hope you enjoy the read and wish you a happy, healthy holiday season!

Until next year, 

The IKEM Communications Team

— Ievgeniia Kopytsia, research associate at IKEM

Our colleague Ievgeniia Kopytsia took part in COP28 in Dubai. In this interview, she talks about the conference and its results, as well as their impact on Ukraine.

With the decision to phase out lignite, Lusatia faces the challenge of creating new prospects. A key component of this development is the establishment of a sustainable hydrogen industry in Lusatia, which will form the basis for further industrial settlements and innovations, but also for a secure energy supply.

The aim of the feasibility study is to prepare an investment project for the development of a hydrogen transport network in Lusatia. The focus is on examining the feasibility of a hydrogen network in terms of authorisation law, energy industry law, subsidy and state aid law, technical and economic feasibility.

The pressure on property owners to carry out energy-efficient renovations and convert their heating supply to renewable energies is growing, partly due to CO2 pricing and the amendment of the Building Energy Act. The modernisation levy and subsidies offer little incentive for landlords to invest in the heating transition, while tenants are not sufficiently protected from the high financial burdens of the transformation.

In a new analysis, IKEM has examined the financial impact of various tenancy law options on yields and rents and what viable solutions can result for the parties involved. Accordingly, an energy modernization levy can at least partially resolve the landlord-tenant dilemma when switching to a fossil-free heating supply by not taking subsidies into account in the apportionable investment sum with an adjustable cap.

As part of the CAMPFIRE research project, IKEM has published two publications dealing with the legal framework for the decarbonisation of shipping and the use of ammonia in the Baltic Sea:

– A study examines the climate governance of the European Union and five countries bordering the Baltic Sea (Denmark, Germany, Finland, Poland and the non-EU country Norway) and identifies regulatory hurdles for the use of ammonia.

– A factsheet with recommendations for the adaptation and further development of the legal framework for the promotion of ammonia as a marine fuel.

Two new IKEM studies address the goal of achieving net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045.

- The first study examines the establishment and design of a (public) planning and financing regime.

- The second study examines institutional issues relating to the planning and financing of energy infrastructures in the context of the climate neutrality target, taking into account the technical and systemic state of knowledge on transformation pathways and the deficits and development potential of such analyses.

On 30 November, the creative and strategy agency Ellery Studio and the research institute IKEM presented "EQT: The Gender Equality Toolkit for Working Women and Friends", a collection of materials that promotes a culture of inclusion and diversity in the workplace. The EQT is an innovative and interactive educational toolkit designed to help recognise and overcome gender bias and discrimination in the workplace. The EQT is now available for purchase in the webshop.