Search Climate Insights Directory

ClientEarth asserts that a global plastics treaty will only be effective if it establishes legally binding production reduction targets, prohibits new plastic plants, and addresses the entire lifecycle of plastics from fossil fuel extraction to waste. The organization highlights that plastics production is projected to consume 20% of the world's carbon budget by 2050 and that only 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled. The document emphasizes the need to align public and private financial flows with these goals and to prioritize human rights and health, noting that nearly a quarter of the 10,500 chemical substances in plastics are of potential concern for human health.

The document argues that treating wood burning as renewable energy has led to forest degradation, high CO2 emissions, and public health risks. It outlines the legal requirements of RED III and urges Member States to use their discretion to phase out biomass subsidies, implement the cascading principle, and adopt stricter sustainability criteria to protect European forests and the climate.

The report critiques the industrial agribusiness model, describing it as a network of transnational corporations and financial institutions that prioritise profit maximisation through large-scale monocultures and high-input systems. It argues that these entities promote 'false solutions'—including voluntary certifications, sustainable intensification, and regenerative agriculture—to greenwash their image, capture policy-making processes, and commodify nature through carbon markets. The document highlights the negative impacts of this model, such as deforestation in Indonesia and Brazil, human rights violations, and the displacement of small-scale farmers in Argentina, while contrasting these with 'real peoples' solutions' based on food sovereignty and agroecology.

The report critiques the industrial agri-food system, describing it as a network of producers, processors, and retailers that prioritizes profit maximization through intensive monocultures and chemical inputs. It argues that corporate-led initiatives—such as sustainability certifications, 'sustainable intensification,' and 'regenerative agriculture'—are 'false solutions' designed to greenwash industrial practices, capture carbon markets, and shift responsibility to consumers. The document highlights the negative impacts of this model, including deforestation, human rights violations, and the marginalization of small-scale farmers, while contrasting these with 'people's solutions' based on food sovereignty and agroecology.

The report critiques the industrial agribusiness model, describing it as a network of transnational companies and financial institutions that prioritize profit and scale over environmental and social health. It argues that the industry employs 'false solutions'—market-based mechanisms and corporate-led certifications—to avoid genuine regulation and maintain control over the global food system. The document highlights specific examples, including the failure of RSPO certifications in Indonesia and the impact of no-till farming in Argentina, to demonstrate how these tactics often exacerbate deforestation and undermine small-scale producers.

The Biocultural Community Protocol for Niafrang serves as a guide for the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of traditional knowledge. It details the village's ecosystem, including its critical dune system, and outlines the socio-economic reliance on palm oil, rice, and forest products. The document highlights severe threats from a proposed zircon mining project, which the community argues would destroy a vital hydraulic barrier and disrupt local agriculture. It establishes a framework for access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources and reaffirms the community's commitment to protecting its environment and customary laws.

The document outlines the environmental crises caused by fossil-fuel-driven economic systems, emphasizing the need for a 'just transition' and a shift toward circular economies. It highlights the critical state of biodiversity, water security, and air quality, noting that the poorest populations suffer most despite contributing least to the problem. The guide calls for systemic changes in food production, energy use, and consumption patterns to protect the planet for future generations.

The report examines hydropower in northern Sweden, specifically the Norrbotten region, amidst rising energy demands from 'fossil-free steel' and battery production. It highlights the shift of hydropower from baseload capacity to a flexibility and storage role to support intermittent wind and solar power. This transition, alongside industrial growth, increases the risk of 'hydropeaking'—rapid fluctuations in river flow—which threatens freshwater biodiversity and fish species like salmon and brown trout. The document analyzes the Swedish National Plan for Hydropower Permit Reviews (NAP), noting the trade-off between environmental restoration and a national production loss limit of 1.5 TWh/year. It concludes that while climate change may increase water run-off and production potential, sustainable management requires integrated economic and ecological frameworks and broader stakeholder inclusion.

The document argues that the draft NPDES permit for the City of Everett Water Pollution Control Facility fails to meet legal requirements under the Clean Water Act and state law. It specifically demands the establishment of effluent limits for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). The authors highlight a 'hot spot' of PBDEs in the lower Snohomish River that impairs the immune systems of juvenile Chinook salmon, and they call for stringent pretreatment requirements for industrial users, including Boeing, landfills, and industrial laundries. The statement also advocates for a halt on the land application of biosolids until they are sampled for these persistent toxics.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uzbekistan's environmental status from 2012 to 2022, highlighting critical challenges in water scarcity, land degradation, and air pollution driven by population and economic growth. It details the ongoing Aral Sea crisis and the country's vulnerability to climate change, while outlining national responses such as the Yashil Makon afforestation project and a transition toward green energy.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uzbekistan's environmental status using the DPSIR framework. It highlights critical challenges including severe water scarcity, land degradation, and the ongoing Aral Sea crisis, while noting progress in expanding protected areas and transitioning toward renewable energy. The document emphasizes the high vulnerability of the region to climate change, which manifests in rising temperatures and glacier loss, and outlines national strategies for adaptation and sustainable resource management.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uzbekistan's environmental state from 2012 to 2022, utilizing the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses (DPSIR) framework. It highlights critical challenges including severe water scarcity, land degradation, and the ongoing Aral Sea crisis, while noting improvements in protected area coverage and the adoption of green energy. The document emphasizes the link between environmental degradation and public health, particularly in the Aral Sea region, and details national strategies to mitigate climate change and improve waste management.

The report estimates the total quantifiable economic use value of water and freshwater ecosystems at US$58 trillion in 2021, representing 60% of global GDP. It argues that the world suffers from 'water blindness,' where direct use values (US$7.5 trillion) are prioritized over far more valuable indirect ecosystem services (US$50 trillion), such as water purification, flood regulation, and carbon sequestration. This undervaluation leads to overextraction, pollution, and habitat loss, with one-third of wetlands lost since 1970 and freshwater species populations declining by 83% on average. The document calls for a shift toward Nature-based Solutions, the implementation of the 'Freshwater Challenge' to restore 30% of degraded rivers and wetlands by 2030, and a fundamental change in how governments, businesses, and financial institutions value and manage water resources to build climate resilience.

The document argues that the current climate and ecological crisis is driven by economic and social systems reliant on fossil fuels and overconsumption. It calls for a fundamental shift toward renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and circular economic practices to protect biodiversity and ensure social justice. The guide emphasizes that the poorest populations suffer most from environmental degradation despite being the least responsible, advocating for a 'just transition' and the protection of human rights to clean air and water. It urges governments and individuals to move from a relationship of exploitation to one of care for the planet.

A coalition of NGOs urges the UK to set 2024 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) at or below scientific advice to combat persistent overfishing and climate change impacts. The report highlights that 60% of 2023 TACs exceeded scientific advice and calls for an ecosystem-based approach, the implementation of remote electronic monitoring (REM), and stricter protections for depleted, deep-sea, and non-TAC stocks.

The document examines how hydropower in Sweden is shifting from a baseload power source to a flexibility provider to balance intermittent renewables like wind and solar. This transition, coupled with industrial expansion in northern Sweden, increases the risk of ecological damage through hydropeaking and river regulation. The authors argue for a comprehensive, evidence-based planning approach that balances energy demands with biodiversity and community needs.

The Great Blue Wall (GBW) is a proposed regional programme for the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) designed to create a network of regenerative seascapes. Led by the IUCN and targeting nine countries, the initiative seeks to combine nature-based solutions with innovative financing to protect critical blue ecosystems—such as mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs—while fostering a regenerative blue economy. The programme requests USD 200 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), with an additional USD 100 million in co-financing, to implement a four-component strategy focusing on policy frameworks, market development, capital flow acceleration, and regional coordination. Key goals by 2031 include the protection of 2 million km² of the ocean in the WIO and the creation of 2 million jobs.

Grasslands are critical for biodiversity and carbon sequestration, holding about one-third of global terrestrial carbon stocks, yet they remain vastly unprotected. In the U.S., over 70 percent of prairies have been destroyed, with 10 million acres lost in the Great Plains between 2016 and 2020. The document identifies federal crop insurance subsidies and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as policies that unintentionally encourage the conversion of grasslands to cropland. To reverse these trends, the author advocates for strengthening the "Sodsaver" program, ensuring energy crops from converted grasslands do not qualify for the RFS, and increasing investment through the 2023 Farm Bill and the North American Grasslands Conservation Act.

The document argues that Japan's use of biomass co-firing and coal-to-biomass conversion is greenwashing that prolongs the life of inefficient coal plants and destroys forest ecosystems. It highlights that 31 coal-fired units in Japan already co-fire with biomass and that wood pellet imports increased 61-fold over the last decade to 4.41 million tons in 2022. The signatories claim that treating biomass as "carbon neutral" ignores lifecycle emissions and that METI's accounting methods allow inefficient plants to appear efficient. The NGOs urge the Japanese government to exit coal regardless of co-firing, stop supporting biomass power plants using non-waste fuels, and account for biomass combustion emissions at the plant and national levels.

The document argues that Japan's use of biomass co-firing in coal plants and the conversion of these plants to dedicated biomass facilities is 'greenwashing'. It claims these practices accelerate climate change by emitting CO2 and prolonging the life of inefficient coal plants, while simultaneously driving deforestation and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia and North America to meet the rising demand for wood pellets.