Search Climate Insights Directory

The paper maps the disparate research and practice of 'business-peace' interactions into five core assertions: economic engagement creating a peace dividend, local development building peace capacities, importing international norms for accountability, constraining conflict drivers, and direct corporate diplomacy. While proponents argue these activities foster stability and development, critics warn of neo-colonial exploitation, 'peacewashing', and the risk of exacerbating local inequalities. The author concludes that business contributions are often limited by the willingness of local regimes and the priority of profit over courageous ethical choices in fragile contexts.

The document argues that treating nonstate actors as unitary entities in civil conflict analysis creates a gap between conceptual frames and empirical reality. It proposes a 'disaggregation' approach to examine how internal divisions, factionalism, and shifting coalitions influence the initiation, escalation, and termination of violence. The authors highlight that fragmentation can either increase violence through in-group competition or facilitate peace through state co-optation of specific factions. The text calls for more disaggregated data to better understand the dynamics of nonstate actors, including the role of external state intervention in precipitating or exacerbating internal splits.

The document argues that rebel groups provide a unique 'laboratory' for understanding governance because they operate outside the Westphalian state system. It examines how rebels implement rule-making, enforcement, and service provision, and how these activities relate to their legitimacy and capacity. The authors propose a multi-dimensional framework for rebel capacity—military, economic, personnel, administrative, and social—and argue that territorial control is not always a prerequisite for governance. By comparing rebel and state behaviors, the paper suggests that governance is often multi-layered and that the relationship between territorial control and legitimacy is complex and non-linear.

The authors examine the morality of coercive diplomacy, distinguishing between deterrent and compellent threats. They argue that while threats are less harmful than actual force, they are not morally neutral and must be assessed via just war principles including just cause, proportionality, legitimate authority, and right intention.

The authors argue that the EITI lacks a proven Theory of Change, risking obsolescence in some countries. They propose three models—Name-and-Shame, Public Debate, and Technical Reform—and find that while stakeholders prefer the Public Debate model, actual change occurs primarily through Technical Reform. The study emphasizes that ToCs must be dynamic and context-specific to bridge the gap between disclosure and actual accountability.

The paper examines the historical relationship between human settlements and their environments, contrasting traditional sustainable systems with modern industrial disengagement. It proposes a new regionalism in architecture that uses climatic data to inform design and advocates for 'ecological utilities'—buildings designed primarily to repair and rebuild the environment by providing ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water remediation, and soil regeneration.

The report proposes 'natural capitalism' as a new economic model where businesses profit by radically increasing resource productivity, eliminating waste, shifting from selling products to providing services, and investing in the restoration of natural capital. It argues that the current industrial model is logically flawed because it liquidates the ecosystem services upon which all life depends. By applying whole-systems thinking, the authors claim companies can achieve significant cost savings and competitive advantages, citing examples from firms like Southwire, Dow, and Interface. The text suggests that while governments can support this transition through tax policy, corporations possess the necessary agility and resources to lead the effort to heal the planet.

The text proposes 'natural capitalism' as a successor to the current industrial system, which the authors claim liquidates natural capital and treats it as income. It outlines four core strategies—radical resource productivity, biomimicry, a service and flow economy, and investing in natural capital—to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. The document emphasizes that the limiting factor for future prosperity is no longer industrial capacity but the availability of life-supporting ecosystem services.

The text explores the concept of 'human capitalism,' which applies the principles of natural capitalism—resource productivity and loop-closing—to social systems. It focuses extensively on Curitiba, Brazil, detailing how the city avoided traditional, single-solution urban planning in favor of an integrated design process. Key achievements include a high-capacity bus rapid transit system that functions like a subway at a fraction of the cost, 'design with nature' flood control using linear parks, and social programs like the 'Green Exchange' that trade recyclable waste for food. The document posits that treating citizens as resources rather than burdens creates a sustainable, dignified urban environment.

The text examines the ideological divide in environmental debates and proposes 'natural capitalism' as a synthesis that integrates economic viability with ecological health. It argues that businesses must shift from incremental improvements to systemic innovations in resource productivity to avoid catastrophic environmental failures. The author highlights a growing global movement of organizations and a shift in corporate strategy—exemplified by companies like OK Petroleum—that view environmental sustainability as a competitive advantage rather than a regulatory burden. Ultimately, it calls for a fundamental reevaluation of how society values natural and social capital to ensure long-term stability.

The text advocates for 'whole-system engineering,' a design approach that optimizes entire systems rather than individual components. It introduces the concept of 'tunneling through the cost barrier,' where extreme efficiency can actually reduce total capital costs by eliminating the need for expensive equipment. Through examples in industrial pumping, building design, and office renovations, the author demonstrates that integrating design and 'thinking backward' from downstream to upstream creates compounding savings and multiple benefits.

The report argues that utilities often undervalue renewable resources by failing to account for their contribution to overall system reliability and the benefits of geographic diversification. It proposes using financial portfolio theory to minimize variability through dispersed siting and suggests that the costs of integrating intermittent renewables are relatively low compared to the risks of fossil fuel price volatility. The authors conclude that failure to apply these valuation techniques leads to unnecessary investment in conventional generation capacity.

The document describes a research framework for Work Package 3 of the CADWAGO project, focusing on 'systemic governance' of water catchments. It proposes viewing water catchments as 'social-biophysical systems' where human social systems and biophysical systems are 'structurally coupled' and co-evolve. The research aims to move away from linear models of knowledge transfer toward models of learning and adaptation, specifically investigating four key areas: history, facilitation, stake-holding, and reflexivity. The project utilizes systems theory and the metaphor of a 'helmsperson' to understand how governance can be adaptive in response to uncertainty and feedback.

Work Package 4 (WP4) of the CADWAGO project aims to analyze European water governance by synthesizing insights from other work packages and case studies. Using a theoretical lens of 'governance learning' and the science-policy interface, WP4 seeks to identify 'windows of opportunity' for systemic and adaptive water governance. The methodology involves iterative learning, transdisciplinary approaches, and three scheduled governance learning events in Sweden (June 2013), with the Open University (June 2014), and the University of Sicilie (June 2015) to facilitate dialogue between researchers and stakeholders.

The authors propose a heuristic framework to bridge the gap between governance research and technological innovation systems (TIS). By integrating the TIS approach with the multi-level perspective (MLP) on socio-technical transitions, the framework allows researchers to analyse the causal relationship between governance arrangements—defined by who governs, how they govern, and what is governed—and the functionality of an innovation system over time. The authors argue that the effectiveness of governance depends on the TIS's stability and its alignment with existing socio-technical regimes.

The document is a training guide designed for Aymara leaders in four Bolivian municipalities to overcome 'colonial fear' and silence by exercising the right to communication. It frames communication not as a professional right to media, but as a fundamental human right that enables the exercise of other social rights, specifically health, education, housing, and employment. The manual provides a theoretical basis on human rights, gender perspectives (including community feminism), and practical technical instructions for producing popular radio content, such as news reports, interviews, and sociodramas, to influence public agendas and improve living conditions.

The guide argues that traditional linear problem-solving is insufficient for the complex, interlinked nature of global environmental and social crises. It introduces a four-phase framework for systems change—laying a foundation, understanding the system, committing to a desired future, and bridging the gap—supported by eight principles of practice. These principles emphasize mindfulness, co-creation, iterative experimentation, and the identification of deep leverage points to shift system structures and behaviors toward a sustainable and equitable future.