Search Climate Insights Directory
706 results
The Value of Incorporating Nature in Urban Infrastructure Planning
The report examines the role of nature-based infrastructure (NBI) in urban environments, highlighting its cost-effectiveness and climate resilience compared to traditional grey infrastructure. It identifies four key NBI types—urban green spaces, green roofs, stormwater infrastructure, and wetlands and lakes—and argues that incorporating nature into urban planning generates significant societal returns and supports other sustainable infrastructure investments.
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Document type: Report
Conflict sensitivity and renewable energy: a case study from Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp
The report examines 11 renewable energy projects in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, finding that while they improve energy access, they rarely account for the potential to provoke or exacerbate conflict. The authors argue for a programmatic approach to conflict sensitivity that includes local stakeholder engagement to mitigate tensions over energy access.
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Document type: Case study
ROBUST DECISION-MAKING IN THE MEKONG
The document explores the application of Robust Decision Making (RDM) to address the 'super wicked' problem of climate adaptation in the Greater Mekong Subregion, where decision-making is often hindered by mistrust of national governments and unequal power dynamics. It suggests that while full RDM is technically intensive, a simplified 'RDM lite' approach could better suit local needs by preserving core principles of participation and robustness. The study also identifies critical needs for capacity building, strengthening informal networks, and ensuring 'meaningful' participation through transparent information access and digital inclusion.
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Document type: Research paper
Trade and Sustainability in the Agricultural Sector: Options for Multilateral Trade Cooperation
The document examines the tension between global agricultural trade and environmental sustainability, noting that agri-food systems contributed 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. It analyzes how current trade distortions, such as high subsidies for emission-intensive commodities like beef and rice, undermine sustainability. The author proposes a framework of trade-related policy tools—including border measures, economic incentives, and regulatory standards—to transition toward sustainable food systems. It specifically evaluates the role of the WTO, suggesting that while existing rules provide some policy space, more coordinated multilateral cooperation through platforms like the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) is necessary to align trade with climate and biodiversity goals.
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Document type: Policy brief
Finance for loss and damage: principles and modalities
The report argues that current climate finance is largely inaccessible and unsuitable for loss and damage, recommending a shift toward grant-based, community-led funding models based on historical responsibility and the 'polluter pays' principle.
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Document type: Report
How a UBIG can support healthier kids, happier adults, & lifelong learning
The factsheet outlines how a universal basic income guarantee (UBIG) serves as an investment in human capital by improving child health, mental health, and educational attainment. It cites evidence from South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries to show that cash transfers reduce malnutrition, increase school enrolment, and improve life satisfaction, which in turn enhances labour market productivity and long-term economic security.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Operationalizing finance for loss and damage: from principles to modalities
The report argues that current climate finance is inadequate for loss and damage due to accessibility barriers, a reliance on loans, and a lack of focus on slow-onset and non-economic losses. It proposes six guiding principles—historical responsibility, equitable support, grant-based finance, accessibility, recipient ownership, and transparency—to inform a new UNFCCC-hosted facility. The authors recommend a phased approach, prioritizing small grants and unconditional cash transfers to empower vulnerable communities.
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Document type: Report
journalist Field Guide
The 'journalist Field Guide: Navigating Climate Misinformation' offers a framework for media professionals to handle deceptive climate content. It defines climate misinformation as content that undermines the IPCC scientific consensus, misrepresents data, or falsely promotes climate-supportive efforts. The guide advocates for the 'truth sandwich' debunking method, the use of archive links instead of direct links to avoid monetizing disinformers, and 'strategic silence' to avoid artificially amplifying fringe theories. It also reviews academic literature on revenue incentives for clickbait, the psychological drivers of misinformation, and the risks of 'false balance' in reporting. Finally, it summarizes various case studies demonstrating how social media algorithms and vested interests, particularly in the fossil fuel sector, spread climate denial.
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Document type: Guide
Global Review
The report identifies a significant gap between the availability of gender analysis tools and their actual implementation by governments and mining companies. It categorizes approaches into gender analysis within environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs), stand-alone gender impact assessments (GIAs), and integration into human rights due diligence. The author argues that strong regulatory frameworks, such as those in Canada, are essential to mandate these analyses. Case studies from Canada, Zambia, and Indonesia illustrate how multistakeholder partnerships and intersectional lenses can improve outcomes, though implementation remains inconsistent.
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Document type: Report
journalist Field Guide: Navigating Climate Misinformation
The 'journalist Field Guide: Navigating Climate Misinformation' offers a framework for media professionals to handle deceptive climate content. It advocates for the 'truth sandwich' debunking method, warns against 'false balance' in reporting, and provides technical advice to avoid amplifying bad actors, such as using archive links instead of direct URLs. The guide integrates academic research on inoculation and strategic amplification while highlighting how social media algorithms and vested interests fuel climate myths.
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Document type: Guide
Addressing scale in nature-based solutions
The document argues that nature-based solutions (NbS) often fail to achieve their potential because planning ignores the complexities of scale. It highlights that NbS have longer time-lags than grey infrastructure, spatial dependencies that transcend individual sites, and jurisdictional barriers that complicate governance. The authors recommend a shift toward quantitative targets, 'no regrets' strategies, and cross-jurisdictional coordination to avoid large-scale maladaptation.
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Document type: Briefing
Agriculture-driven tropical deforestation
The document finds that while agriculture drove 90-99% of tropical deforestation between 2011 and 2015, only 45-65% of that land became productive agriculture. It argues that international supply chain measures are limited because one-third to one-half of agriculture-driven deforestation does not result in actively managed land, and approximately three-quarters of agricultural expansion into forests is driven by domestic demand, particularly for beef and cereals.
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Document type: Research paper
International Thematic Study on the Global Stocktake
The report examines the role of the Global Stocktake (GST) in enhancing national climate action and international cooperation, specifically focusing on the alignment of finance flows under Articles 2.1c and 9 of the Paris Agreement. It highlights a significant shortfall in international climate finance for developing countries, particularly for adaptation and loss and damage. The study suggests that the GST could improve progress by standardising reporting metrics, bridging the gap between long-term strategies (LT-LEDS) and near-term Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and developing a registry for the demand and supply of climate finance. However, it notes that countries have not yet initiated preparations for the GST, indicating a need for better communication regarding its relevance.
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Document type: Report
Sustainable agriculture Systems and practices for agricultural transition
The briefing addresses the lack of standardised definitions for sustainable agriculture, which increases the risk of greenwashing. It examines four representative production systems—regenerative, ecological intensification, sustainable intensification, and organic agriculture—and argues that sustainability should be assessed based on specific management practices rather than broad system labels. The author categorises practices into 'Always', 'Usually', and 'Sometimes' sustainable based on environmental impact, while emphasizing that all must meet 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) social standards. It identifies uncontrolled deforestation and the conversion of high-carbon stocks as permanently unsustainable practices.
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Document type: Briefing
‘Jobs versus Grants’: Are employment and basic income a policy trade-off?
The document challenges the belief that social grants create a 'culture of dependency' or discourage labour market participation in South Africa. By reviewing international and local evidence, it argues that cash transfers often facilitate job searches, stimulate local economies, and empower women. The authors advocate for a UBIG indexed to the upper-bound poverty line, funded through progressive taxation, as a means to eliminate poverty while supporting inclusive economic growth.
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Document type: Policy brief
Can a universal basic income contribute to breaking structural poverty in South Africa?
The research argues that a universal basic income grant (UBIG) in South Africa could move beyond immediate poverty relief to dismantle structural poverty by improving labour market participation, health, women's empowerment, and social cohesion. Drawing on local and international evidence, the authors contend that a UBIG funded through progressive taxation would stimulate local economies via multiplier effects and increase human capital. The paper emphasizes that for a UBIG to be effective, it must be unconditional, universal, and integrated with quality public services, rather than serving as a replacement for them.
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Document type: Research paper
Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: MALAWI
Malawi is not on track to meet its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals due to climate change, economic shocks, and high poverty. The report argues that an additional annual public investment of USD 543 million is required to end hunger, double smallholder incomes, and transition 14 million people to healthier diets while meeting climate commitments. Key priorities include on-farm investments in irrigation and livestock, nutrition education, and building climate resilience for vulnerable groups, particularly women.
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Document type: Report
Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: NIGERIA
Nigeria is not on track to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, with poverty and hunger projected to rise without significant intervention. The report identifies a massive financing gap, estimating that an additional USD 4.9 billion in annual public investment is required from 2023 to 2030 to achieve a sustainable food system transformation. This includes USD 2.3 billion from external donors and USD 2.6 billion from domestic resources. Key priorities include increasing agricultural productivity, integrating climate resilience, and transitioning to healthier diets through nutrition education and social protection. The report highlights a critical underfunding of long-term agricultural investments compared to short-term emergency food assistance.
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Document type: Report
Rethinking Governance in International Climate Finance
The document examines the governance of international climate finance, contrasting it with the 'institutionalist turn' of development finance. It argues that while development finance reforms failed because global organizations ignored informal power dynamics in recipient countries, climate finance is governed by different principles—restitution, recipient control of allocation, and support for mitigation and adaptation—which enable a shift in authority toward recipient nations.
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Document type: Research paper
Principles for co-producing climate services
The document reflects on the FRACTAL project, conducted between 2015 and 2021 in nine southern African urban areas, to identify principles for co-producing climate knowledge. It emphasizes the role of co-production in fostering partnerships and mutual learning between stakeholders to support climate-resilient urban development.
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Document type: Research paper