Search Climate Insights Directory

The study finds that environmental monitoring and law enforcement effectively reduced deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Using DETER cloud coverage as an instrumental variable to address endogeneity, the authors estimate that reducing monitoring and law enforcement by half would increase municipal deforestation by approximately 44%. The analysis indicates that these efforts did not cause deforestation to leak into neighboring areas and did not negatively impact local agricultural production; in fact, agricultural outcomes improved. A cost-benefit analysis suggests the strategy was cost-effective, with a break-even price of USD 0.69/tCO2, significantly below prevailing carbon prices.

The IRP 2019 identifies an immediate risk of power shortages in South Africa due to the declining energy availability factor (EAF) of Eskom's fleet and the decommissioning of old coal plants. To mitigate this, the plan recommends a medium-term power purchase programme, the life extension of the Koeberg nuclear plant to 2044, and the continued operation of plants despite minimum emission standard non-compliance. Long-term, the plan envisions a diversified energy mix shifting from coal toward renewables, gas, and nuclear, while emphasizing a 'just transition' to protect jobs and local economies. It specifically proposes 2,500 MW of new nuclear capacity and the integration of the Grand Inga Hydropower Project from the DRC.

The document analyzes the vulnerability of global economic infrastructure to climate hazards such as flooding, extreme temperatures, and permafrost melt. It argues for a comprehensive approach to adaptation that integrates climate risk analysis 'upstream' into the planning, design, and financing stages of the infrastructure lifecycle. Key findings highlight significant risks to road networks, thermoelectric and hydropower plants, and water supplies, while proposing solutions ranging from nature-based 'Sponge Cities' to performance-based engineering standards and programmatic financing.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) Water Window Challenge supported over 500,000 people across eight countries through 12 projects focused on flood resilience. The synthesis identifies that success was driven by 'layering' interventions—combining livelihood support, early warning systems (EWS), and infrastructure—and by deep stakeholder engagement. Key achievements include the establishment of 347 women-led community-based organizations in Sri Lanka, the support of 265,000 individuals in Indonesia through transboundary coordination, and the deployment of EWS reaching over 84,000 households in the India-Nepal border region. The report emphasizes that flexible, adaptive management and strong partnerships are essential for innovating and scaling resilience efforts in volatile climatic contexts.

The SAVi assessment evaluates four restoration scenarios for South-West Beira Lake in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It finds that upgrading wastewater treatment facilities is the most cost-effective intervention, as it addresses nutrient inflow and eutrophication. The most significant economic gains are achieved by combining wastewater upgrades with dredging, which is projected to increase surrounding property values by USD 43 million and recreational spending by USD 19.5 million between 2020 and 2025.

The report evaluates four scenarios for the restoration of South-West Beira Lake in Colombo: business-as-usual (BAU), wastewater treatment upgrades, dredging of lake deposits, and a combined approach. The analysis finds that while dredging alone provides limited benefits, upgrading wastewater treatment offers the highest benefit-to-cost ratio (39.67). The combined scenario of wastewater treatment and dredging produces the greatest absolute economic gains, increasing property values by over USD 43 million and recreational spending by USD 19.5 million by 2025. The document recommends recognizing the lake as a tangible capital asset to facilitate blended financing solutions involving public authorities and private investors.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) asserts that South Africa's Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) are already weak compared to other developing nations and should be strictly enforced. The CER disputes claims by Eskom and Sasol that compliance is too expensive, citing expert analysis that suggests Eskom's capital cost estimates for flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) and low NOx burners are significantly inflated. The document highlights that failure to comply with the MES could lead to approximately 16,000 avoidable premature deaths, while doubling the SO2 limit to 1000mg/Nm3 would cause an additional 3,300 premature deaths. It recommends the use of FGD as the best available technology for long-term operation and dry sorbent injection (DSI) only for plants nearing decommissioning.

The report evaluates the N’Diaye wind farm in Senegal using the SAVi tool, which incorporates externalities and climate risks into financial modelling. While traditional analysis suggests coal is the cheapest option, a holistic cost-benefit analysis reveals that wind energy is the most favourable choice due to lower environmental impacts, higher employment generation, and the avoidance of significant social costs of carbon. HFO is found to be financially non-viable across all scenarios.

The report evaluates the Taïba N’Diaye wind farm in Senegal, comparing it to coal and heavy fuel oil (HFO) power generation. Using the SAVi methodology, it finds that while coal appears cheaper in conventional financial analyses, the wind farm is the most beneficial option when accounting for climate risks and external effects. The wind farm minimizes environmental impacts, maximizes socio-economic benefits such as job creation, and achieves a lower integrated Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) than the fossil fuel alternatives.

The report evaluates the Dakar BRT project, finding that while it is not financially viable under traditional accounting, it generates massive net benefits when externalities like time savings and reduced transport costs are included. The project is expected to reduce GHG emissions and accidents, though it may cause net job losses in traditional transport sectors.

The SAVi evaluation of the Dakar BRT project reveals that while the project is not financially viable under conventional accounting—showing negative Net Present Value (NPV) across most scenarios—it generates substantial positive externalities. These include significant avoided transport costs, time savings, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and traffic accidents. When these externalities are integrated into the financial analysis, the project's Internal Rate of Return (IRR) increases from 2.17% to 37.69% in the default demand scenario, demonstrating strong socio-economic profitability despite operational financial losses.

The report evaluates different systems for nutrient and carbon recovery in the Vantaanjoki (Finland), Fyrisån (Sweden), and Słupia (Poland) catchment areas. Using a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) involving stakeholder weighting, the study compares baseline management against alternatives such as anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, and source-separation. In Vantaanjoki, anaerobic digestion scored highest. In Fyrisån, source-separation was the most sustainable. In Słupia, nutrient extraction performed best, while source-separation was found to be potentially less sustainable than the baseline due to local context and low adoption rates.

The report evaluates the 4.1 km Rabat bypass road, including the Mohammed VI bridge, using the SAVi tool to simulate six risk scenarios and four external factors. The analysis finds that the project is not financially viable based on its own revenues across all scenarios, as evidenced by negative Net Present Values (NPV) and insufficient Internal Rates of Return (IRR). However, integrating external factors—specifically the value of time saved and accident costs—significantly alters the cost-benefit analysis, demonstrating that conventional financial assessments underestimate the true risks and benefits of the infrastructure.

The document details the costs and benefits of transitioning to clean transportation in Connecticut. By 2050, a total investment of $51.5 billion in electrification, fuel efficiency, and low-carbon fuels is projected to generate $72.5 billion in returns, resulting in a net benefit of over $21 billion. These investments would lead to 149.9 million metric tons of avoided CO2 and a reduction of 15.5 billion gallons of fossil-based liquid fuels.

The document details the costs and benefits of transitioning to clean transportation in the District of Columbia. It estimates that a total investment of $5.6 billion by 2050 will generate a cumulative net benefit of more than $2.5 billion, primarily driven by fuel savings. The transition is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 17 million metric tons and save almost 1.8 billion gallons of fossil-based liquid fuels by 2050.

The document details the costs and benefits of transitioning Delaware to clean transportation technologies, including vehicle electrification, fuel efficiency, and low-carbon fuels. It projects that a total investment of $18 billion by 2050 will generate a cumulative net benefit of $6.6 billion, primarily driven by fuel savings and avoided environmental costs, while significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The analysis evaluates three technology pathways—fuel efficiency, vehicle electrification, and low-carbon fuels—to reduce transportation emissions. For Massachusetts, a total investment of approximately $94 billion through 2050 is projected to generate a cumulative net benefit of nearly $40 billion, driven primarily by fuel savings and avoided environmental costs. By 2050, these measures would avoid 276.8 million metric tons of CO2 and reduce fossil-based liquid fuel use by nearly 29 billion gallons.

The document details the costs and benefits of transitioning to clean transportation in Maryland, projecting a cumulative net benefit of nearly $40 billion by 2050 through fuel efficiency, electrification, and low-carbon fuels.

The document details the financial and environmental impacts of transitioning to clean transportation in Maine. It estimates that a total investment of nearly $27 billion by 2050 would yield nearly $37 billion in returns, resulting in a net benefit of over $9 billion. Key benefits include significant fuel savings, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and improved local air quality.

The document details the costs and benefits of transitioning New Hampshire's transportation sector to clean technologies by 2050. It projects a cumulative net benefit of approximately $8.6 billion, driven primarily by fuel savings, while estimating a total investment of nearly $22 billion, with electricity generation and storage being the largest cost. Environmentally, the transition is expected to avoid over 63 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and reduce fossil fuel use by more than 6.5 billion gallons by 2050.