Search Climate Insights Directory

The document assesses plastic pollution in China, highlighting significant production and leakage into oceans, and contrasts this with the EU's comprehensive regulatory framework. It details EU strategies such as the Waste Framework Directive, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and the 'Plastics 2030' strategy, which aims for 100% reusable or recyclable plastic packaging by 2030. The report suggests China adopt similar integrated land-sea management, eco-design standards, and international cooperation to combat plastic waste.

The document argues that Canada has historically struggled to translate high-level climate adaptation aspirations into concrete action due to a lack of interministerial coordination and systematic integration. It proposes moving beyond voluntary, informal approaches toward a 'whole-of-government' approach. Key recommendations include enacting a national climate change adaptation law, issuing centralized policy directives, establishing a dedicated central adaptation policy unit, and utilizing ex ante evaluation tools. The paper highlights the UK's Climate Change Act as a successful model of legislative accountability and notes that most OECD countries possess specialized units for adaptation coordination, a feature currently lacking in Canada.

The report identifies three critical environmental challenges for Canada's mining sector: inadequate mine closure and reclamation, the risk of tailings dam failures, and the cumulative impact of infrastructure on biodiversity. It highlights a legacy of abandoned mines and the 'bankruptcy loophole' that allows companies to avoid cleanup costs. The document compares various Voluntary Sustainability Initiatives (VSIs) and regulatory frameworks, noting Quebec's leadership in financial assurance and British Columbia's Cumulative Effects Framework. It argues that mitigating these risks is a precondition for securing the community support and investor confidence necessary to scale up critical mineral production for the clean energy transition.

The report identifies mine closure, tailings management, and biodiversity loss as the three critical environmental challenges facing Canada's critical minerals sector. It argues that failing to address these risks undermines social acceptance and investor confidence, which are essential for the energy transition. The document highlights the 'mixed and controversial' legacy of abandoned mines and tailings disasters, such as Mount Polley, while contrasting varying provincial regulatory effectiveness, noting Quebec as a leader in financial guarantees. It recommends that Canadian governments reduce bureaucratic discretion in enforcement, mandate early and transparent closure planning, restrict high-risk 'upstream' tailings dams, and adopt regional cumulative effect assessments to protect biodiversity and respect Indigenous land-use planning.

The report argues that Canada lacks a comprehensive national system to evaluate the effectiveness of its climate adaptation policies, noting that current efforts are largely focused on tracking policy implementation (outputs) rather than actual resilience outcomes. It proposes a four-pillar foundation for a new M&E system: context, content, operationalization, and communication. The authors recommend that the federal government establish a legally binding mandate for M&E, integrate Indigenous knowledge, and employ a mix of quantitative indicators and qualitative methods to ensure iterative policy improvement.

The document analyzes four international policy mechanisms—US hydrogen tax credits, Norway's carbon capture and storage in the North Sea, the UK's Contracts for Difference for renewable electricity, and Australia's Green Bank—to derive strategic lessons for Canada's clean energy transition. It evaluates the strengths, limitations, and applicable lessons of each approach, focusing on reducing financial risk, leveraging comparative advantages, and ensuring cost-efficiency in public spending.

The document examines how carbon pricing affects different household income levels across developed and developing countries. It argues that while carbon pricing can be regressive—disproportionately impacting low-income households who spend more of their income on energy—these effects can be neutralized or turned into net benefits through strategic revenue recycling, such as lump-sum rebates or targeted subsidies. The briefing highlights that in very low-income countries, carbon pricing can actually be progressive due to limited fossil fuel access among the poorest. It provides case studies from the EU ETS, the US Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), South Africa, and Iran to illustrate various implementation and mitigation strategies.

The report outlines various legal frameworks and mechanisms from existing international treaties to inform the design of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. It categorizes potential obligations into conduct and result-based commitments, suggests specific measures such as banning new extraction and reducing existing production, and explores financial targets, technical standards, and trade restrictions. The document emphasizes a differentiated approach based on equity and historical responsibility, providing a wide array of options for binding language, precision levels, and transparency mechanisms to ensure a just transition.

The report analyzes the 'new generation' of mega-regional trade agreements—TTIP, TPP, and TiSA—characterizing them as a corporate blueprint to shift decision-making power from governments to transnational corporations. It highlights how these agreements use 'invitation only' negotiations to sidestep the WTO and counteract the influence of China and BRICS nations. The author details specific threats to public health, food safety, and environmental protections, including the use of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms that allow corporations to sue states over public interest laws. The document concludes by calling for a transition toward a trade regime based on human rights, food sovereignty, and sustainable local economies.

The report examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected local currency bond markets (LCBMs) across MEFMI member countries. It finds that while the crisis increased government borrowing needs and operational risks, most countries maintained stability through fiscal, monetary, and financial policy interventions. Key findings include a general increase in the average time to maturity of domestic debt, a shift in investor behavior toward safe assets, and the use of liability management operations like rollovers and switches. The document concludes that deepening LCBMs, strengthening debt management strategies, and improving market transparency are essential for resilience against future crises.

A comprehensive training resource featuring 17 case studies on science diplomacy in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on environmental governance, health, space cooperation, and sustainable resource management.

The document provides a comprehensive set of 17 case studies illustrating how science diplomacy—the intersection of foreign policy and scientific research—is used to manage transboundary resources, protect biodiversity, and regulate emerging technologies in the Americas. It defines science diplomacy through three lenses: science in diplomacy (technical input for policy), diplomacy for science (promoting national scientific communities), and science for diplomacy (using scientific cooperation to improve diplomatic ties). Key examples include the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR), the Amazonian Regional Platform of Indigenous Peoples (ARPIP), and the Guarani Aquifer Agreement. The text emphasizes the necessity of integrating indigenous knowledge, managing multi-stakeholder governance, and aligning national policies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address climate change and environmental degradation.

The document serves as a training resource for the Science Diplomacy Center of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). It defines science diplomacy through the AAAS typology (science in, for, and toward diplomacy) and explores its intersection with innovation diplomacy, particularly in the Global South. The core of the document consists of detailed case studies covering diverse topics: marine conservation (CMAR), indigenous knowledge in the Amazon (ARPIP), public health and climate in the Andes (PASCC), peace parks in the Cordillera del Cóndor, groundwater management of the Guaraní Aquifer, space cooperation (ALCE and SIRIS), hydroelectric impacts in the Madeira River basin, AI regulation, plastic pollution strategies, transdisciplinary research (Belmont Forum), industrial conflicts in Fray Bentos, coal power in Jamaica, EU-Mercosur trade agreements, lithium supply chain justice, pesticide regulation comparisons, and corporate sustainability governance in Juruti. Each case analyzes the role of scientific evidence in policy-making, the challenges of multilateral cooperation, and the importance of inclusive governance.

The research uses a welfare model based on consumer surplus to analyze how energy price hikes under a Kyoto Protocol scenario disproportionately affect low-income households in Canada. Through simulations in Alberta and Ontario, the authors find that while high-income groups reduce energy consumption the most, low-income groups suffer the greatest loss in welfare. The paper proposes an income-differentiated pricing system and carbon-reduction tax rebates for high-income groups as mechanisms to ensure equity and protect the basic energy needs of the poor.

The European Union and United Kingdom are developing legislative frameworks to prevent the import and export of commodities linked to deforestation. The EU's proposal focuses on a phased due diligence system for specific commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, and wood) and a country-based risk benchmarking system. The UK's Environment Act 2021 establishes a broader framework where specific high-risk commodities and due diligence requirements will be defined through secondary regulations. Both approaches face challenges regarding WTO compliance, the administrative burden on smallholders in developing countries, and the need for transition periods.

The report examines the limitations of traditional mining taxation—primarily corporate income tax and royalties—and suggests ten alternative policy mechanisms to improve revenue mobilization. These include minimum profit shares, production sharing contracts, state equity participation, commercial state-owned enterprises, variable royalties, the 'Sixth Method' for related-party pricing, carbon pricing to mitigate EU CBAM impacts, development turnover taxes for communities, competitive bidding for licenses, and remote monitoring for quarry production. It emphasizes the need for these tools to be adapted to local administrative capacities and the evolving demand for critical minerals.

The report examines how national trade policy processes in six diverse countries affect the legitimacy and effectiveness of international trade negotiations. It argues that transparent and participatory domestic processes are essential for aligning trade policy with sustainable development goals, preventing the capture of policy by narrow elites, and ensuring that the needs of growth, environment, and social cohesion are considered. The text analyzes various consultation mechanisms—ranging from inter-departmental and business-focused to multistakeholder and parliamentary oversight—and highlights the tension between the need for negotiating secrecy and the demand for democratic accountability.

The document assesses the South African prison system's crisis of overcrowding and funding, arguing that while prison privatisation is controversial, it may be the only viable means of reforming deteriorating government services. It analyzes the 'design, construction, finance and management' (DCFM) model, comparing South Africa's approach to experiences in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The author highlights the Ikhwezi Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts facility as a significant improvement over public prisons in terms of care and security, but warns against long-term financing arrangements that reduce state leverage and the lack of transparency in private contracts. Recommendations include shortening financing agreements, expanding private sector involvement into community corrections, and establishing independent regulatory monitoring to prevent 'capture'.

The report examines the interaction between ICCAs and international and national laws, finding that while international instruments and some national policies show progress, systemic gaps and discriminatory implementation continue to threaten these areas. It highlights the critical need for the recognition of customary land rights, self-determination, and integrated socio-ecological legislation to support community-led conservation.

The report analyzes the interaction between ICCAs and international law, national legislation, and institutional frameworks. It identifies systemic threats to these areas, including discriminatory law enforcement and a lack of secure land tenure. While noting positive developments like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and specific national reforms in countries like Kenya and Bolivia, it emphasizes that state-led conservation often excludes indigenous peoples. The document provides comprehensive recommendations for legal reform, the recognition of customary land rights, and the implementation of non-legal support mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of ICCAs.