German and European perspectives on the Energiewende - study tours for climate journalists

The European Union (EU) is strongly committed to showing leadership in the global effort to prevent catastrophic climate change. This responsibility also comes with significant opportunities – Europe has proven that cutting emissions can boost innovation, efficiency, long-term growth and prosperity. EU Member States are therefore engaging in a more energised dialogue on how to develop the kind of common approach that both respects different decarbonisation pathways and harnesses the opportunities, benefits and synergies of more coordinated action. To support this process, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) has launched the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) to build the networks needed for greater cooperation, and to share knowledge, experiences and best practices from across Europe, with a particular focus on Central, Eastern and Southern European countries.

Journalists play a vital role in pushing forward debates on climate change, energy transition, and sustainable and inclusive growth. The BMUB and EUKI therefore funded a series of three media study tours for journalists from Central and Eastern European countries, specifically Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Each tour focused on different aspects of Germany’s energy transition, known as the Energiewende, and is centred around a theme: local action, green Innovation or structural change. The tours offered opportunities to meet the people behind the changes taking place, enabling participants to explore different contexts and parts of Germany. As well as sharing insights and best practices that could prove useful elsewhere in Europe, the "low-carbon transformation in action” media study tours aimed to provide participating journalists with an opportunity to exchange views and opinions with German journalists and each other about reporting on climate change, energy and environmental issues.

adelphi organised the media study tours in all their conceptual and logistical dimensions in collaboration with its partner the German Renewable Energies Agency (AEE), on behalf of the BMUB and EUKI. The project team was using its extensive expertise and contacts to develop a varied, interactive itinerary for each tour. An online platform with a newsletter provided Information and updates about the media study tours, and allowed for networking among the participants.