Search Climate Insights Directory

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the financing of sustainable agriculture in the Brazilian Cerrado, with a specific focus on the Matopiba region. It evaluates the effectiveness of subsidized rural credit and innovative blended finance mechanisms in aligning agricultural production with zero-deforestation and sustainability goals.

This report by RMI analyzes the benefits of replacing electric resistance heating and water heating systems with heat pumps in US homes. It quantifies the potential for significant household energy bill savings, reductions in peak electric demand on the grid, and decreases in carbon pollution, while providing policy and program design recommendations to accelerate adoption.

A report by RMI analyzing oil and gas data in Texas finds that methane waste is significantly underreported, particularly through venting from low-production oil wells. The study estimates that actual gas waste for a 12-month period ending November 2024 could be up to 4.5 times higher than the 120 billion cubic feet (Bcf) self-reported by operators, resulting in an estimated 7.6 million metric tons of methane emissions.

This report by Climate Policy Initiative/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (CPI/PUC-RIO) analyzes the financial architecture supporting agriculture in Brazil's Cerrado biome, with a specific focus on the MATOPIBA region. It evaluates the effectiveness of subsidized rural credit and emerging blended-finance instruments in aligning agricultural production with zero-deforestation and sustainability goals.

This report by I&P Ecosystems, commissioned by the CC Facility Learning Hub, analyzes the role of blended finance in supporting impact funds under $100 million that operate at the intersection of gender and climate in Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a sample of 46 nexus funds, the study finds that blended finance is systemic to the sector, with 86% of these funds utilizing at least one blended finance archetype to launch and operate. While essential for de-risking and scaling, the report identifies significant inequities in access, noting that larger debt funds capture the majority of concessional capital, while early-stage SME funds and first-time managers are often excluded from meaningful support beyond small design grants and technical assistance.

The European Electricity Review 2026 by Ember analyzes electricity generation and demand across the EU-27 for 2025. The report highlights a historic tipping point where wind and solar combined to produce more electricity than all fossil fuel sources for the first time, while coal reached a new historic low. Despite this progress, the EU remains dependent on imported gas, which drove up electricity prices and import costs in 2025. The report emphasizes the role of battery storage in reducing gas reliance and curtailment of clean power.

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of deep renovation and energy supply decarbonisation for the residential building stock in Estonia by 2050.

This policy brief by Ember responds to Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Progress Report 2025. It argues that Indonesia must adopt more ambitious emission targets, specifically by integrating the captive power sector into peaking emission scenarios and accelerating the retirement of coal plants. The document highlights the potential for solar PV to replace ageing captive coal plants and emphasizes the need for a just transition that provides economic diversification and investment in coal-producing provinces to mitigate fiscal and employment risks.

The report 'Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security' by Ember argues that accelerating the electrification of the EU economy, powered by homegrown renewables, is the primary mechanism to reduce the bloc's high dependency on imported fossil fuels. It suggests that fossil import dependency could be halved by 2040 through the adoption of mature technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps.

In the first half of 2025, global solar and wind generation grew sufficiently to exceed total electricity demand growth, resulting in renewables overtaking coal in the global electricity mix for the first time. While global power sector CO2 emissions fell marginally by 0.2%, results varied by region, with emissions decreasing in China and India but increasing in the US and EU.

The report 'Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025' by Ember analyzes global electricity generation from January to June 2025. It finds that solar and wind growth exceeded global demand growth, leading to renewables overtaking coal's share in the global electricity mix for the first time on record and causing power sector CO2 emissions to plateau.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the future of state governance in the Global South over the next two decades. It examines how demographic shifts, climate change, digital revolutions, and geopolitical multipolarity redefine state legitimacy and function. The study utilizes World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) and strategic foresight to propose four global scenarios—Growth, Sustainable, Divided, and War—and four state archetypes—Negotiator, System Builder, Fractured, and Collapsed—to help policymakers build institutional resilience.

The September 2025 edition of the Carbon Minefields Oil and Gas Exploration Monitor reports on global oil and gas licensing activity, highlighting a trend of continued expansion despite climate targets. The document tracks the awarding of new exploration licences, the associated capital expenditure by major energy companies, and the projected carbon emissions resulting from these activities.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the scale and diversity of the forest-climate nexus across 91 tropical countries. It quantifies forest extent, carbon stocks, and deforestation rates to argue for differentiated, fit-for-purpose policy strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The analysis concludes that there is no inherent trade-off between forest conservation and economic development.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio proposes a new economic-based methodology to evaluate the additionality of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) carbon projects in the Brazilian Amazon. The study finds that while 77% of carbon traded in these projects is additional, significant regional variations exist, and some projects in isolated areas with low agricultural productivity lack additionality.

This report by Ember analyses Chinese customs data to demonstrate a significant increase in solar panel imports into Africa in the 12 months leading up to June 2025. The analysis suggests a structural trend toward increased solar adoption across the continent, potentially driven by distributed solar, which could significantly expand electricity supply and reduce reliance on imported diesel.

This report by Ember analyses China's consumer goods trade-in programme, specifically its impact on the energy efficiency of room air conditioner (RAC) stocks. The programme uses subsidies to encourage consumers to replace outdated appliances with high-efficiency models, aligning economic stimulus for domestic consumption with energy transition and climate goals.

This report examines the integration of climate-related human mobility—including migration, displacement, and planned relocation—into national and sub-national adaptation planning and governance, utilizing case studies from Costa Rica, Senegal, and Sri Lanka.

This research paper examines the overexploitation of aquifers in Mexico, specifically focusing on the municipality of Hermosillo, Sonora, where agricultural water consumption exceeds aquifer recharge and is driven by subsidies.

This research paper analyzes aboveground biomass recovery across 45 forest sites and approximately 1,500 plots in the Neotropics, finding that secondary forests are highly productive and resilient, with recovery rates significantly exceeding those of old-growth forests.