Will it take a treaty to phase out fossil fuels? – DW – 06/03/2025

As some countries roll back climate commitments, the head of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Kumi Naidoo is calling for a phase-out of coal, oil and gas production.
Environmental justice leader Kumi Naidoo is urging the international community to support what is known as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative . Speaking in a recent interview with DW, Naidoo, who is president of the initiative and former head of Greenpeace International, says the treaty is key to getting countries to phase out the burning of oil, coal and gas.
Naidoo notes that while the Paris Agreement is symbolically important, it is not legally binding and has suffered from widespread non-compliance. He highlights the 28 years it took for the words "fossil fuel" to get a mention in official documents emerging from the UN's annual climate conferences.
The problem with burning fossil fuels
For more than a century, coal, oil and gas have served as the backbone of the global economy, powering transport and industry, heating homes, providing electricity and serving as the raw material for plastics that have become ubiquitous in our daily lives.
But the greenhouse gases released when fossil fuels are burned are making the world hotter and leading to increasing extreme weather events. Scientists say governments urgently need to phase outthese planet-heating energy sources and transition to cleaner alternatives.

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Local Germany

33 minutes ago

• Local Germany

Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe

In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves. In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures. And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organisers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire. Thousands also gathered outside a French trade fair near Paris attended by Israeli defence firms, calling for an end to war profiteering and Israel's offensive in Gaza. There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza. This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including "Stop arming Israel" and "No war on Iran" as they marched in the sweltering heat. "It's important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now," said 34-year-old Harry Baker. "I don't have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation," he said, adding that this was his third pro-Palestinian protest. Advertisement Regional fears Saturday's marches came after Trump announced on social media that the US military had carried out a "very successful attack" on three Iranian nuclear sites. The US president added that after the strikes Iran "must now agree to end this war". Tehran had said Saturday that more than 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon -- which Iran denies. Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures. One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was "scared". "I'm worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it's still my country," she said. Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade. Gaza's civil defence agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites. "People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That's where the genocide is happening," said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus. Advertisement 'Scared' In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting "Germany finances, Israel bombs". "You can't sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up," said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name. For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the "genocide currently taking place" and the "dirty work" being done by the German government. In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The rally there was called by organisations including Amnesty International, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation. Slogans included "Stop the occupation", "Stop the starvation, stop the violence", and "Right to self-determination". Some marchers chanted: "We are all the children of Gaza". The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry. Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.

DW

2 hours ago

• DW

Germany: Why are so many Turks applying for citizenship? – DW – 06/22/2025

The number of Turkish people becoming German citizens doubled in 2024. Why is that? Germany has become increasingly attractive for Turks — whether for life, work or study. Immigration statistics show that a total of 22,525 Turkish citizens received German passports in 2024 — a 110% increase over 2023. Turkey is now second only to Syria when it comes to the number of its citizens receiving German passports. Alaz Sumer is one of those who decided to apply. He came to Germany about eight years ago to pursue his master's degree. Now a lawyer, he works for a Berlin-based NGO and is completing his doctorate in constitutional law. He told DW that citizenship is the goal of every immigrant, saying it is much more practical. "Otherwise you are always stuck dealing with bureaucracy — and it is heavy here. Just getting a residency permit can be torturous." Burak Keceli, an IT specialist who graduated from Istanbul's respected Bogazici University, came to Germany in 2016. He says he came for career reasons and has spent several years working in the private sector. Today, he continues to live in Berlin. Looking back, he says: "I've lived in Germany for years and speak the language fluently. After all that time, I wanted to be able to have my say politically. The power of a German passport was also an important factor … with it, I can travel to many countries around the world without a visa." According to the 2025 Global Passport Index, which ranks passports by the number of countries a holder thereof can travel to visa-free, Germany ranked fifth in the world — behind the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Singapore and France. A German passport provides visa-free entry into 131 countries, whereas a Turkish passport only allows 75. Germany's June 2024 citizenship reforms no doubt gave the trend a major boost, with dual citizenship becoming a major incentive for migrants to seek a second passport. Alaz Sumer, for instance, says he had no desire to relinquish his Turkish citizenship. "I didn't want to give up my right to vote," he says. A Turkish passport he says, also has advantages in countries with which Turkey has better relations than Germany. Burak Keceli is also a dual citizen. He calls the possibility of having two passports "very positive" but says he would have sought German citizenship either way. Germany's previous government also shortened the residency requirement for citizenship from eight down to five years and down to three for those who could show special integration potential. The new government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz did away with the three-year rule in May, 2025. Still, the new government has let the dual-citizenship model stand, meaning migrants can keep their original passports. That's very important to many of those who have come to Germany from elsewhere. Until recently, Germany required all migrants — with the exception of Swiss and EU-member state passport holders — to renounce prior citizenship before granting them German passports. That forced many to hold off seeking German citizenship over the emotional, familial and business ties they maintained with their country of origin. That goes for an estimated 3 million Turks living in Germany. The political, social and economic situation in Turkey has also been a major driver for immigration. "I wanted to be an academic," says Alaz Sumer, "but I didn't have the impression that it was really possible to do so freely in Turkey. When the situation deteriorated, I left." As for Keceli, he says would wouldn't have been able to have a "nice life" in Turkey. "If I had chosen to go to another country [other than Germany] I probably would have applied for citizenship there." The political climate in Turkey has been worsening for years. Human rights organizations regularly report freedom of speech and press violations by the government. In March, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had his most capable election challenger, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, arrested — a drastic measure even by Erdogan's standards. Moreover, the country has languished economically for years: In 2015, a euro cost about 2.3 Turkish lira, now it's nearly 46 ($1 is currently worth around 40 Turkish lira, 10 years ago it was around it cost around 2.7 Turkish lira). Despite integration and years of life spent in Germany, many Turks here still feel rooted in their old culture and continue to call Turkey home. "Germany never became home for me. I wouldn't describe myself as a German. But even if I did, Germans would laugh at me — and rightly so," says Sumer. Keceli sees things similarly: "All of my loved ones are in Turkey. I never lost the connection. I will continue to travel back and forth. And even if I don't always keep up on the latest news, I still listen to Turkish music. I will always call Turkey home. I don't really feel at home in Germany." Sumer says he "mostly enjoys" life in Germany but admits he doesn't feel like he really belongs. "I don't think that you're immediately accepted when you get a German passport — that certainly wasn't the case for me." He then describes experiences that mirror those of other migrants: "I feel closer to Turkey than I do to Germany. It's clear to me that I am only German on paper. Even if you assimilate and live by German standards — you're still always an immigrant." Sumer recounts moments of everyday discrimination. When he tried to find an apartment after receiving his citizenship, he says, he didn't get any replies whatsoever to his online queries using his real name. That changed when he a fake name. "If you don't have a German name, a German passport won't do you much good either," he says. 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Int'l Business Times

3 hours ago

• Int'l Business Times

Iran's Nuclear Programme: The Key Sites

The US military attacked three sites in Iran on Sunday -- Natanz, Isfahan and the mountain-buried Fordo, all key parts of Tehran's nuclear programme, which it maintains is purely for civilian purposes. American planes launched a "very successful attack", US President Donald Trump said, claiming Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated". Trump has said Tehran must never get a nuclear weapon, and ally Israel has claimed its attacks on Iran have set back the country's nuclear weapons progress by several years. Iran has always denied any ambition to develop nuclear weapons and maintained its right to a civilian nuclear programme. Iran has significantly ramped up its nuclear programme in recent years, after a landmark deal with world powers curbing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanction relief began to unravel in 2018 when the United States under Trump unilaterally withdrew. As of mid-May, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was estimated at 9,247.6 kilograms -- or more than 45 times the limit set out in the 2015 deal -- according to the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Among its stockpiles, Iran has an estimated 408.6 kilograms (901 pounds) enriched to up to 60 percent -- just a short step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. The country now theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for about 10 nuclear bombs, according to the definition by the Vienna-based IAEA. Below is a list of Iran's key nuclear sites, which are subject to regular inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog: NATANZ: About 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Tehran, Natanz is Iran's heavily bunkered main uranium enrichment site, whose existence was first revealed in 2002. Natanz operates nearly 70 cascades of centrifuges at its two enrichment plants, one of which is underground. A cascade is a series of centrifuges -- machines used in the process of enriching uranium. In April 2021, the site was damaged in an attack that Iran said was an act of sabotage by Israel. Israel said its recent strikes had hit the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", targeting the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists. IAEA head Rafael Grossi confirmed the Natanz site was "among targets". FORDO: Secretly built in violation of United Nations resolutions under a mountain near the holy central city of Qom, Fordo was first publicly revealed in 2009. Initially described as an "emergency" facility built underground to protect it from potential air attacks, Iran later indicated it was an enrichment plant capable of housing about 3,000 centrifuges. In 2023, uranium particles enriched up to 83.7 percent were discovered at the Fordo plant, which Iran claimed were the product of "unintended fluctuations" during the enrichment process. Trump has called it "the primary site". ISFAHAN: At the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan in central Iran, raw mined uranium is processed into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) and then into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a feed gas for centrifuges. The plant was industrially tested in 2004 upon its completion. The Isfahan centre also harbours a nuclear fuel fabrication facility, which was inaugurated in 2009 and produces low-enriched fuel for use in power plants. In July 2022, Iran announced plans to construct a new research reactor there. Four of its buildings have been hit by Israel since June 13, including a uranium conversion plant. ARAK: Work on the Arak heavy-water research reactor on the outskirts of the village of Khondab began in the 2000s, but was halted under the terms of the 2015 deal. Iran has meanwhile informed the IAEA about its plans to commission the reactor by 2026. The research reactor was officially intended to produce plutonium for medical research and the site includes a production plant for heavy water. TEHRAN: The Tehran nuclear research centre houses a reactor that was supplied by the United States in 1967 for the production of medical radioisotopes. BUSHEHR: Iran's only nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr was built by Russia and began operating at a lower capacity in 2011 before being plugged into the national power grid in 2012. Russia continues to deliver nuclear fuel for the plant, which remains under IAEA control. A German company began construction on the plant with a 1,000-megawatt nominal capacity until the project was halted in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Moscow later completed it. DARKHOVIN AND SIRIK: Iran began construction in late 2022 on a 300-megawatt power plant in Darkhovin, in the country's southwest. In early 2024, it also began work in Sirik, in the Strait of Hormuz, on a new complex of four individual plants with a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts.