Search Climate Insights Directory

The authors propose a market design featuring a regional spot market operated by an independent Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) using locational marginal pricing and security-constrained economic dispatch. To ensure long-term investment in clean resources and manage price risk, the model relies on decentralized bilateral contracts, such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), rather than centralized capacity procurement. The authors contend that this approach facilitates the retirement of fossil fuel generation, promotes innovation in distributed energy resources, and minimizes political interference. They emphasize that public policy instruments, such as carbon pricing or portfolio standards, should complement this market structure by internalizing greenhouse gas externalities to accelerate the transition.

The document examines the risks that current short-term wholesale electricity markets, based on locational marginal prices (LMPs), may fail to provide sufficient price signals to sustain the investment needed for deep decarbonization. This is primarily due to the minimal short-run marginal costs of variable renewable energy (VRE) and the fact that VRE resources often cannot capture scarcity prices during production lulls. To mitigate this, the authors propose long-term markets that provide contractual certainty through power purchase agreements (PPAs) or similar mechanisms. The report compares three specific proposals (by Corneli, Gimon, and Pierpont), identifying six core commonalities: the use of long-term contracts, voluntary participation, coordination with short-term markets, incremental implementation, optimized policy guidance, and organic implementation pathways. The authors suggest that these long-term markets can better identify efficient portfolios of VRE, storage, and flexible load across broad regions, reducing the risk of overbuild or incompatible resource mixes.

The Lake Winnipeg Foundation and the International Institute for Sustainable Development argue that phosphorus from undertreated sewage is driving toxic algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg. They identify the North End Water Pollution Control Centre (NEWPCC) as the largest point source of phosphorus for the lake and the fourth largest phosphorus polluter among Canadian wastewater facilities. While a full plant upgrade is planned, it is estimated to cost $1.8 billion and will not begin for at least 10 years. The authors propose a $5 million interim retrofit that could be implemented quickly to reduce the plant's phosphorus contribution by 70%.

The document outlines the evolution of the IAI's Scientific Agenda, moving from seven initial research areas to four broad themes. It presents a revised version of these themes—covering climate variability, comparative ecosystem studies, chemical composition of the environment, and human dimensions—to be adopted by the Conference of the Parties.

The document argues that Brazil can align economic growth with natural resource protection by modernizing farming and reforming rural credit. It identifies three main directives: improving risk management for intensified production, aligning credit with the Forest Code to support public goods, and simplifying the rural credit system to reduce costs and political interference. Specific proposals include expanding credit limits for producers complying with the Forest Code in the short term, extending planning horizons to three or five years in the medium term, and gradually shifting public subsidies from credit to insurance and financial derivatives in the long term.

The briefing argues that the world is entering a period without formal arms control agreements between the US and Russia, increasing the risk of nuclear miscalculation and a new arms race. To counter this, the author introduces 'Nuclear Strategic Stability' (NSS) as a metric to assess postures and capabilities, and proposes a '10-point Code of Responsible Nuclear Weapon Capable States' based on restraint, relevance, reassurance, readiness, reciprocity, and reduction. The author outlines a three-gateway (T1, T2, T3) framework to transition from current deterrents to total disarmament, emphasizing that the security of states must be ensured through conventional arms control before final nuclear elimination can occur.

The policy brief proposes using public lands in the Brazilian Amazon as a starting point for large-scale reforestation, leveraging natural forest regeneration to meet Brazil's Paris Agreement commitments. It highlights that protected territories offer a strong regulatory framework and biophysical advantages, while undesignated public lands, despite higher conflict risks, present a significant opportunity to address wasteful land use and illegal occupation.

The report proposes using public lands in the Amazon as a starting point for large-scale reforestation in Brazil. It highlights that natural regeneration is already occurring, with regenerated areas in the Brazilian Amazon increasing from 10 million to 17 million hectares between 2004 and 2014. The authors suggest that the 3 million hectares of deforested land within protected territories are ideal for initial efforts due to established governance and proximity to primary forests. Additionally, the document identifies approximately 13 million hectares of deforested non-designated public lands as potential areas for reforestation combined with land tenure regularization. This strategy is presented as a necessary complement to the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (Planaveg), which focuses on private lands, to help Brazil achieve its Paris Agreement commitment to restore 12 million hectares by 2030.

The 2019 SEforALL Charrettes brought together diverse stakeholders in Amsterdam to address systemic barriers to SDG7. The resulting report outlines proposed solutions across four key areas: creating a viable private sector market for clean cooking, improving data and evidence for electrification, bridging the finance gap in high-impact countries, and increasing risk appetite for last-mile electricity access.

The report introduces 'undergrid minigrids' as a solution for communities in sub-Saharan Africa that are within distribution company territories but remain underserved due to unreliable or nonexistent power. It outlines a five-step implementation pathway—awareness, business model development, pilot projects, market scaling, and benefit evaluation—to improve economics and reliability for customers, distribution companies, and developers, with a primary focus on Nigeria.

The text advocates for the EU to integrate climate change into its security and foreign policy framework, proposing a 'geographical/geopolitical' approach to climate security. It suggests that climate change acts as a risk multiplier for conflict, migration, and instability, particularly in regions like the Sahel. The author proposes several Green Party initiatives, including the creation of an EU Special Envoy for Climate Security, the reservation of international funds for climate mitigation in destabilized countries, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels from autocratic regimes to enhance global stability.

The briefing proposes a new global Convention on Plastic Pollution to address the failure of existing fragmented governance to manage the 335 million tonnes of plastic produced annually. It outlines four pillars of action: coordination with existing treaties, pollution prevention through production caps and market restrictions, financial support for developing countries, and technical knowledge exchange. The proposed institutional architecture includes a Conference of the Parties, a secretariat hosted by UN Environment, and a Multilateral Fund modeled after the Montreal Protocol.

The document outlines ten core demands for a just energy transition, emphasizing that energy should be treated as a common good rather than a commodity. It calls for the dismantling of capitalist and patriarchal systems of oppression, the repayment of climate debt by developed nations to the global South, and the prioritisation of small-scale, decentralised renewable technologies. The manifesto advocates for 'energy sufficiency' to end overconsumption by elites while ensuring universal access for the poor, and insists on a just transition that protects the rights and livelihoods of energy sector workers.

The proposal argues that existing national and international legal mechanisms are insufficient to hold multinational corporations accountable due to corporate complexity, state collusion, and the non-binding nature of current guidelines. It advocates for a permanent, itinerant international tribunal with broad jurisdiction over parent companies and their supply chains, featuring a reversed burden of proof and cost-free access for victims. The document includes a detailed draft statute for the 'International Tribunal on Multinationals, Other Enterprises and Human Rights' (TIMEDH), emphasizing complementarity with national courts and the use of class actions to secure reparations for affected communities.

The author advocates for a 'sufficiency' paradigm to replace the pursuit of infinite economic growth, which is deemed incompatible with planetary boundaries. The text proposes a shift toward an economy where the Global North reduces its material and energy throughput to allow the global poor to meet their basic needs. Key policy mechanisms suggested include 'cap-and-rationing' systems for resources and carbon, a transition from labor-based to resource-based green taxation, and the implementation of maximum income ceilings to curb conspicuous consumption and speculation.

The document examines the negative impact of 'financialisation' in South Africa, where the growth of the financial sector has outpaced GDP and diverted funds from real investment. It proposes a series of interventions to shift bank lending, lower the cost of finance, stabilise volatile capital flows through controls and taxes, and reduce the corporate focus on shareholder value maximisation to stimulate GDP growth and employment.

The policy brief argues that South Africa has experienced premature deindustrialisation, with manufacturing's GDP contribution falling from 21% in 1994 to 13% in 2016. To reverse this, the Institute for Economic Justice recommends strategic interventions in three key areas: the machinery and equipment sector through a regional SADC strategy to create approximately 270,000 total jobs; the fruit industry by addressing phytosanitary constraints and expanding high-value exports (e.g., avocados) to create 130,000 jobs by 2022; and the plastics conversion industry through the establishment of light manufacturing clusters and raw material price regulation to potentially add over 40,000 jobs by 2024.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) contends that South Africa's reliance on microeconomic interventions and 'orthodox' macroeconomic policies—characterized by fiscal austerity and high interest rates—has failed to curb unemployment. The brief proposes a R500 billion fiscal stimulus and a fundamental shift in the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) mandate to prioritize employment and growth over strict inflation targeting. It suggests various funding mechanisms for the stimulus, including increased taxation, moderate borrowing, and the use of over-capitalized pension funds. Additionally, it advocates for 'Quantitative Monetary Easing' (QME) to provide direct credit to productive sectors and the implementation of capital controls to stabilize the exchange rate and curb speculative capital flows.

The policy brief critiques the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) focus on price stability, arguing that high interest rates and inflation targeting contribute to de-industrialisation and unemployment. It proposes replacing these tools with 'Real Quantitative Monetary Easing' (QME), the monetisation of debt, and Overt Monetary Financing (OMF) to support SMMEs and public infrastructure. The author advocates for a close working relationship between the SARB and National Treasury to de-financialise the economy and establish public banks to direct credit toward productive investment.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa faces a structural unemployment crisis, with approximately 9.6 million unemployed as of June 2018 and a severe lack of social protection for adults. To address this, the IEJ proposes either a universal employment guarantee scheme (EGS) modeled after India's NREGA, guaranteeing 100 days of work per year, or a workseekers grant providing a flat monthly amount (suggested at R1000 for six months a year). Both options are estimated to cost between R30-36 billion per annum. The IEJ suggests financing these schemes through a R15 billion annual contribution from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) surplus, supplemented by solidarity taxes such as a wealth tax and restructured corporate income tax.