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Germany has set an ambitious goal of meeting the recommendations of COP‐26 and reducing its carbon intensity to zero by 2045. Germany is a leader in environmental patents after the United States, Japan, and South Korea, and the environmental implications of Germany's leadership in eco‐innovation hold important clues for achieving net zero goals. In particular, the European Union is one of the global communities making the greatest efforts to combat emissions, and the success of the leading role of environmental patents in this Union in reducing CO2 emissions is an important research topic for scholars. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of environmental patents on CO2 emissions under the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in Germany. To this end, the study applies Bayer–Hanck and Fourier ADL approaches from 1970 to 2019. The main findings do not confirm the EKC hypothesis, while environmental patents play an active role in CO2 reduction. Based on these outcomes, Germany should consider a long‐term green policy to decouple economic growth and emissions. At the same time, German policy should promote the development and application of environmental patents to achieve the net zero targets for 2045. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of global challenges related to climate change and sustainable development, comparing attitudes and infrastructure in the field of electromobility and renewable energy sources in different countries becomes crucial. The question of differences and similarities between Poland and Germany in these areas sheds light on the unique challenges and opportunities that the two countries present to each other. The aim of the study is to understand these dynamics, which can contribute to the shaping of more effective policies and strategies for green energy and sustainable mobility. This study was conducted through a review of Polish and foreign literature, the use of the method of tabular comparisons, and the analysis of a questionnaire that was used. These complex methods combined both quantitative and qualitative analysis, which allowed for an in-depth understanding and comparison of attitudes and infrastructure related to electromobility and renewable energy sources in Poland and Germany. The study revealed significant differences and similarities between Poland and Germany in terms of electromobility and renewable energy sources. Germany shows a higher level of urbanization, a higher share of electric car ownership, and better charging infrastructure, while in Poland there is a strong belief in the key role of renewable energy sources. These findings may have implications for future green energy initiatives and policies in both countries. The study presents a complex picture of electromobility and renewable energy sources in Poland and Germany, showing clear differences in awareness, infrastructure, and attitudes. Germany seems to be more advanced in these areas, while Poland shows a strong commitment to renewable energy sources. These conclusions do not exaggerate the differences, but underline the need for a case-by-case approach to green energy strategies in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the security of energy supply in Europe is at stake, the debate on energy sources prominently took hold on the agenda of European countries. Nuclear energy is one of the issues on this agenda. However, nuclear energy is discussed quite differently in Germany and France, although the two countries both experienced strong public protest in the 1970s and are similar in size, economy, industry and culture. By comparing the two, this article analyses the reasons for the different debates on nuclear energy existent in Germany and France. It argues that stances on nuclear energy form the core of social identities that prevent members of these groups to deviate from the group norm. The relevance of certain types of identities is a function of the institutions of the political system. To change the way energy sources are discussed, it is necessary to create or make salient different group identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of Europeanisation on domestic policies is often associated with the alignment of European policies and discourses with national ones. The Habitats Directive mandating wolf protection entailed heated debates across the EU, suggesting diverging values and interests at various levels of policy-making. I present an analysis of wolf policy and politics in Germany, where wolves have returned after a long period of extinction. Tracing the dynamics of institutions involved in wolf management in 2000–2021, I identify key groups involved, their activities and positions as well as the impact of European rules and discourses. Unlike in some other Central in Eastern European countries, German wolf policy was strongly influenced by Europeanisation that helped to sustain the institutional path of wolf conservation, despite criticism from dominant land-use actors who politicised the issue to relax conservation rules. I suggest adding safeguarding of latent policies to the catalogue of outcomes of Europeanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do social identities contribute to the formation of coalitions in a policy subsystem? Social identities help to understand the bundling of resources and common strategies for action. Thus, we argue that identification with a group and across groups discursively results in the formulation of shared and competing storylines. As coalitions are characterized by some kind of sameness of their actors which results in shared storylines, we thereby postulate that the link between storylines and social identities provides added value to the explanation of coalition formation. We test whether shared storylines can be traced back to social identities in the different discursive periods of traffic development on a local level in Germany. A media analysis of 110 articles and 14 interviews shows that the assignment of certain group characteristics is discursively confirmed, renegotiated, or rejected. Social identities, therefore, matter for coalition formation. Related Articles: Chang, Katherine T., and Elizabeth A. Koebele. 2020. "What Drives Coalitions' Narrative Strategy? Exploring Policy Narratives around School Choice." Politics & Policy 48 (4): 618‐657. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12367 Shanahan, Elizabeth A., Mark K. McBeth, and Paul L. Hathaway. 2011. "Narrative Policy Framework: The Influence of Media Policy Narrative on Public Opinion." Politics & Policy 39 (3): 373‐400. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00295.x Vercesi, Michelangelo. 2016. "Coalition Politics and Inter‐Party Conflict Management: A Theoretical Framework." Politics & Policy 44 (2): 168‐219. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12154 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates under which circumstances increases in circularity through the reuse of use‐phase‐intensive electrical and electronic equipment lead to environmental benefits. We combine dynamic material flow analysis (dMFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess a Circular Economy strategy toward its environmental sustainability on midpoint and endpoint levels. The hybrid approach measures long‐term implications of policy decisions in multiple impact categories and shows the need to comprehensively evaluate Circular Economy activities. We apply the approach to the strategy of setting reuse targets in a case study on washing machines in Germany. As a consequence of a reuse target, the product portfolio changes over time. The resulting stocks and flows are calculated in a dMFA, and attributed with the respective LCA‐based environmental impacts. We present cumulated impacts between 2015 and 2050 for scenarios with different reuse targets for 18 midpoints and three endpoints of the impact assessment method ReCiPe 2016, and the cumulative energy demand. The latest proposal of a 5% reuse target results in average impact reductions of 1% compared to "business as usual." An increase of reuse up to 87% results in an average impact reduction of 9%, ranging from an increase of 1% (water consumption) to a decrease up to 26% (land use). This shows that even high reuse rates only have a limited leverage on reducing environmental impacts and that it is therefore necessary to include detailed environmental assessments in a holistic evaluation of Circular Economy activities. This article met the requirements for a gold‐gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high level of nitrogen emissions over the last decades and their adverse impact on the natural environment and human health are a pressing environmental issue. A nitrogen tax can be a cost-efficient and effective policy instrument to reduce nitrogen emissions. However, adverse effects on low- and middle-income households might lead to societal and political frictions that could end up in resistance. In this paper we investigate how a hypothetical nitrogen tax covering the specific external costs of nitrogen could be implemented and estimate its short-term distributional effects on household income groups in Germany. The findings show that the proposed tax would be regressive. However, if the tax rate is set equal to the true cost of nitrogen, the monetary impacts would overall be small, ranging from 1.15% of income for the first income quintile to 0.66% for the fifth. Complementary policy measures to lower the burden on low-income households, farmers and the energy sector could preempt social resistance against the tax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data of more than 3700 citizens in Germany, this paper empirically examines the relevance of several groups of explanatory factors for electricity consumption. Besides controlling for individual housing and dwelling characteristics as well as socio-demographics, we analyze the effect of environmentally-related values and norms. Since behavioral economics reveals the importance of economic preferences for many individual activities, we additionally consider time and risk preferences, altruism, trust, and reciprocity in our econometric analysis. With respect to the latter factors, only patience has a significantly negative effect on electricity consumption. Instead, our estimation results suggest a high relevance of several individual housing and dwelling characteristics and socio-demographics. The most interesting result is probably that neither environmentally-related values such as ecological policy identification and environmental awareness nor environmentally-related personal and social norms have a significant effect. In contrast to the USA and to the demand for green electricity in Germany, these estimation results suggest that citizens with strong environmentally-related values and norms in Germany do not consider low electricity consumption as an important direction for environmental and climate protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]