Where are the major challenges in solving global energy and climate issues? GES assumes that the rich countries will achieve their goal of climate neutrality for the year 2050 on their own, if only because of their economic and technical potential. The same applies to countries like China and Russia, which have also set themselves net zero targets – but which they do not intend to reach until later, namely 2060 or 2070. The big challenge in tackling the climate crisis is emerging in the less developed and poorer countries. GES calls them the Challenge Group, comprising 128 countries. All countries are also characterised by comparatively high population growth. Part of the GES reference solution is a study that sheds light on this dimension, which we will present here in a preliminary version.