Search Climate Insights Directory
15 results
Reclaiming Development Policy Space in a Fragmented Global Trading System for Green Industrialization Imperatives for Africa
This statement argues that Africa must reclaim its development policy space within a fragmented global trading system to ensure the green transition enables industrialization rather than reinforcing historical patterns of extraction and unequal exchange.
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Document type: Statement
Why do Countries Pay Financial Institutions Instead of Building Schools and Hospitals?
This fact sheet from the Institute for Economic Justice examines the structural causes of the African debt crisis, the impact of high interest rates on public services, and the limitations of G20 initiatives. It argues that the crisis is rooted in a 'rigged global system' and calls for systemic reform and debt cancellation through movements like Jubilee 2025.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Postponed budget opens door for alternatives
The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) critiques a scrapped 2025 National Budget proposal for South Africa, specifically opposing a proposed two percentage point VAT increase. The IEJ argues that the National Treasury's focus on debt stabilisation through expenditure cuts and regressive taxes ignores the country's high unemployment and poverty levels. The statement proposes several progressive revenue-raising alternatives, including taxing wealth and luxury items, reducing tax breaks for high earners, and improving tax collection capacity.
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Document type: Statement
Assertive fiscal policy in an equitable and worker-centric climate response
This research paper by the Institute for Economic Justice argues for a state-led, assertive fiscal approach to South Africa's climate response, critiquing the current reliance on the blended finance model. The author proposes the creation of a Climate Response Fund, financed through a combination of carbon tax reforms, earmarked levies, and public sector efficiency savings, to ensure a worker-centric and equitable transition.
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Document type: Research paper
Why Government Support for Decarbonizing Oil and Gas Is a Bad Investment
This policy brief from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that providing government financial support for the decarbonization of Canada's oil and gas sector is an ineffective use of public funds. The document asserts that the industry possesses sufficient windfall profits to fund its own emissions reductions and that public subsidies risk prolonging the lifespan of fossil fuel projects, creating stranded assets, and slowing the transition to renewable energy. It specifically critiques the reliance on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) as a high-cost, low-impact solution and advocates for redirecting public investment toward proven low-carbon technologies like wind, solar, and grid electrification.
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Document type: Policy brief
New York Can Meet Its Energy Needs without a New Pipeline
This policy brief argues that New York can meet its energy needs in New York City and Long Island through customer-focused solutions—energy efficiency, electrification, and demand response—rather than constructing the proposed $1 billion Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) gas pipeline. The author contends that the pipeline is incompatible with the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and that non-infrastructure alternatives are more cost-effective and beneficial for public health.
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Document type: Policy brief
Why We Don’t Really Measure Natural Capital but Really Should
This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that national economic decision-making is overly reliant on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fails to adequately measure 'natural capital' and 'inclusive wealth'. The author contends that shifting focus toward a portfolio of produced, financial, natural, human, and social assets would promote long-term sustainability and better integrate economic, environmental, and social development goals.
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Document type: Report
The Need for Careful Study and Sound Strategies on Liquefied Natural Gas Export
A joint statement from several environmental organizations to President Barack Obama urging the development of a national strategy for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports based on comprehensive economic and environmental assessments.
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Document type: Statement
jatropha: money doesn’t grow on trees
This report by Friends of the Earth International argues that Jatropha is neither a profitable nor a sustainable investment for biofuel production. It challenges the 'miracle crop' narrative, providing evidence that the plant requires significant inputs to be viable, often competes with food production, and leads to the displacement of local communities and the destruction of biodiversity.
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Document type: Report
jatropha: money doesn’t grow on trees
This executive summary by Friends of the Earth International argues that large-scale jatropha plantations are neither economically viable nor sustainable, contradicting claims by investment companies that the crop is a solution for the energy crisis, climate change, and poverty.
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Document type: Executive summary
Generated User Benefits and the Heathrow Expansion: Understanding Consumer Surplus
This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute critiques the UK Department for Transport's (DfT) cost-benefit analysis regarding the expansion of Heathrow Airport. The authors argue that the DfT's projection of positive net benefits relies heavily on 'generated user benefits'—a theoretical construct of consumer surplus—which they claim is based on speculative and biased assumptions about future airfares, fuel costs, and passenger demand.
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Document type: Report
Towards A Southern Agenda on International Investment: Discussion Paper on the Role of International Investment Agreements
This 2004 research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the relationship between international investment agreements (IIAs) and sustainable development. It argues that the traditional model of IIAs, which focuses heavily on investor protections, has failed to empirically prove its ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and often conflicts with the regulatory needs and development priorities of host states. The paper advocates for a 'Southern Agenda' that balances private investor rights with public goods, transparency, and the specific needs of developing countries.
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Document type: Research paper
NATURAL CAPITALISM
This report chapter argues that while market economies are powerful tools for resource allocation, they are frequently dysfunctional due to theoretical misconceptions, capital misallocation, and organizational or regulatory failures. It proposes 'natural capitalism' as a framework to extend market principles to all forms of material value, including natural capital, by identifying and turning market imperfections into business opportunities for resource efficiency.
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Document type: Report
Natural Capitalism—Chapter 3: Waste Not
This report chapter examines the 'industrial metabolism' of the United States, arguing that the current industrial system is characterized by massive waste of natural resources, human potential, and financial capital. It contends that conventional economic measures like GDP are misleading because they count the costs of waste and social decay as economic growth, masking a decline in actual quality of life and the depletion of natural capital.
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Document type: Report
Cómo los mercados de carbono subestiman sistemáticamente los beneficios climáticos de los bosques tropicales
This report by the World Resources Institute argues that current carbon markets systematically undervalue tropical forests by focusing exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions and ignoring critical non-carbon biophysical effects that contribute to global, regional, and local climate stabilization.
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Document type: Report