Search Climate Insights Directory

Mighty Earth and the VOICE Network express concern over the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 on cocoa farmers, who often earn under $1 per day. The organization demands that the chocolate industry implement emergency measures—including relief funds and health communication—and that governments in the US, EU, and Switzerland make corporate bailouts conditional on living wages, transparency, and the end of deforestation and child labor.

Reclaim Finance supports the Financial Stability Institute's call for restrictions on bank dividends and bonuses and increased transparency during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it argues that these measures are insufficient unless they also include lower credit rates for small businesses and households, and a systemic integration of climate-related risks. The author proposes adjusting countercyclical buffers and capital requirements to reflect exposure to carbon-intensive assets and fossil fuels, alongside 'green' recovery plans that exclude fossil fuels.

The document is an open letter to the European Commission calling for the timely publication of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies. The signatories argue that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of current globalised food systems, including dependency on migrant labour and the risks of intensive animal farming, thereby increasing the urgency for a forward-looking Common Food Policy.

A solidarity statement calling for immediate government and international action to protect Amazonian indigenous peoples from COVID-19 by halting extractive industries and respecting indigenous self-governance.

The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and various global leaders call on the G20 to implement urgent health and economic measures to combat COVID-19. The proposal includes committing $8 billion for immediate health gaps, $35 billion for weaker health systems, and significant financial relief for poor countries, including the waiver of $44 billion in debt repayments for Africa. Economic recommendations include an additional $500-$600 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and expanded resources for the World Bank and regional development banks to prevent a global depression.

The European Union is urged to move beyond a "measure first, act later" approach to methane emissions, instead implementing mandatory Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) and equipment upgrades domestically while using its purchasing power to pressure gas suppliers like Russia and Norway to reduce emissions.

A coalition of organizations criticizes the French government's failure to strictly condition state aid on the non-payment of dividends, arguing that companies benefiting from public funds, such as partial unemployment schemes, should not privatize profits while socializing losses. The authors demand a mandatory suspension of dividends and bonuses to prioritize employee remuneration and investment in a more resilient, ecological economic model.

CEO Glenn Hurowitz asserts that destructive practices like forest clearing by agribusiness and the illegal wildlife trade increase human contact with wild animals, fueling pandemics. He advocates for increased conservation funding and the removal of deforestation links in food supply chains. Additionally, he criticizes the US Senate stimulus package for providing approximately $50 billion in airline bailouts without requiring carbon neutrality, arguing that crisis funding should not subsidize polluters or lock in destructive business models.

The document argues that central banks, particularly the European Central Bank (ECB), are failing to address the climate emergency despite their power to influence the financing of polluting versus green activities. It claims the ECB actively supports polluters through collateral frameworks and Quantitative Easing, which benefit fossil fuel and coal companies. While noting a growing awareness within the NGFS and the Banque de France, the text demands an immediate end to the financing of climate-destructive assets to ensure financial stability and meet European climate goals.

The document asserts that achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires a zero-carbon industrial sector, noting that industrial emissions currently represent 16% of the EU's total CO2 pollution and are not expected to decrease by 2030 without intervention. It calls for the EU to increase its 2030 greenhouse gas emission cut target to 65% and demands that the Commission's industrial strategy move beyond general direction to include specific measures and governance structures.

The letter argues that the financial system currently supports emissions leading to warming exceeding 4C, posing catastrophic risks to banks and insurers. While acknowledging the Bank of England's existing work on climate risk stress tests and disclosures, the signatories assert these measures are insufficient due to short time horizons and methodological limitations. They propose three specific actions: making climate-related disclosures mandatory, excluding fossil fuel assets (starting with coal) from future bond purchases and collateral frameworks, and adjusting the macroprudential framework to increase capital requirements for high-carbon loans.

The author contends that the American Energy Innovation Act (AEIA) contains a critical gap due to the removal of building-code provisions from the Portman-Shaheen legislation. According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), these missing provisions—Sections 101 and 102—would have saved Americans over $41 billion and reduced carbon emissions by 1.1 billion metric tons by 2050. The document rejects claims by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that energy-efficient codes make housing unaffordable, arguing instead that lower monthly utility bills improve long-term affordability and that such codes enhance building safety and resilience against extreme weather.

The author advocates for a shift in power and resources toward local women's rights actors and independent feminist media to challenge patriarchal structures in peace, security, and humanitarian agendas. The text highlights the importance of gender-inclusive communication and the need to include marginalized voices, such as rural women in the Pacific islands, in decision-making processes to ensure equitable and just outcomes.

An activist describes their arrest during a protest at the Supreme Court to oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). The author argues that the pipeline would disproportionately harm African American, Indigenous, and low-income communities, generate 67 million metric tons of global warming pollution annually, and lock the region into 30 years of fracked gas use.

The Delhi Declaration on Local Green Enterprise asserts that micro, medium, and small enterprises (MSMEs) are essential for India's transition to a green economy, as they create 80% of new jobs and contribute 37% to the GDP. The declaration defines Local Green Enterprises (LGEs) as those demonstrating environmental consciousness in resource and waste management and inclusiveness in wages and revenue distribution. To scale these enterprises, the signatories call for affordable credit through blended finance, streamlined public procurement processes, and government-led triple bottom line impact assessments to incentivize the shift from 'brown' to green business practices.

The document details Carbon Market Watch's efforts to ensure a 'green recovery' following the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically by countering corporate lobbying and pushing for more ambitious EU climate targets. It critiques the lack of progress in global carbon market rules (Article 6) and the perceived irrelevance of the CORSIA aviation scheme. The briefing advocates for expanding the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to include international shipping and phasing out free pollution permits for heavy industry. It also assesses the inadequacy of national energy and climate plans in several EU member states and warns against the misuse of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies as a substitute for emission cuts.

The submission argues for a paradigm shift toward people-centered development and rights-based conservation, emphasizing the need to decentralize power and energy systems. It highlights the role of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in preventing habitat loss and calls for the formal recognition of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs). The document specifically critiques large-scale extractivism and infrastructure projects in Kenya, such as the Marsabit wind power plant and Lamu coal plant, advocating for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the integration of traditional knowledge. It also links the COVID-19 pandemic to environmental degradation, suggesting that the global coordination used to fight the virus should be redirected toward addressing the planetary crisis.

A group of NGOs supports the EU's proposal to restrict lead stabilisers in PVC but argues that the current draft is insufficiently protective. They specifically oppose higher lead concentration limits for recycled PVC, claiming such derogations are based on flawed end-of-life assumptions and contradict the EU's circular economy goals. The NGOs advocate for a total phase-out of lead in PVC, regardless of its function or whether the material is virgin or recycled, citing the non-threshold neurotoxicity of lead.

The document highlights that oil and gas methane emissions reached nearly 80 Mt in 2017, representing 6% of global energy sector greenhouse gas emissions. It criticizes the IEA for calling for stronger policies rather than an immediate stop to gas expansion, and advocates for limiting methane-reduction technologies to existing infrastructure while halting all new gas projects and their financing.

The document highlights the critical need for countries to reach an agreement on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement before COP25. It identifies four primary areas of contention: the transition of old Kyoto Protocol credits, the prevention of double counting through corresponding adjustments, the move away from offsetting logic toward true emission reductions, and the necessity of integrating social and environmental safeguards to protect human rights and support sustainable development.