Search Climate Insights Directory

The document identifies critical areas for conservation and restoration in the Philippines to protect populations and road networks from climate hazards. It proposes integrating NbS into the Infrastructure Flagship Program and other national development plans to mitigate economic losses and environmental degradation.

The document frames ocean health as a critical component of U.S. national security and economic strength. It highlights how ocean degradation, illegal fishing, and competition over seafood supply chains drive regional conflict and economic instability. To address these risks, it recommends elevating ocean governance within national security directives, strengthening international partnerships to counter illegal fishing, and incentivizing private sector investment in sustainable ocean management.

The report frames ocean health as a critical component of U.S. national security, highlighting how the depletion of marine resources and illegal fishing drive geopolitical instability and transnational organized crime. It identifies specific risks in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic regions and warns that unsustainable practices place $8.4 trillion in blue economy assets at risk. To counter these threats, the document recommends elevating ocean governance in national security directives, strengthening alliances to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and expanding public-private partnerships through innovative blue finance and technology.

Trase argues that the postponement of the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) to 30 December 2025 should be used to refine benchmarking systems, strengthen national traceability in producer countries, and ensure EU member states are resourced for enforcement. The organization emphasizes the need for risk classifications that distinguish between subnational regions and commodities to avoid excluding smallholders and creating two-tier markets.

The document recommends that the European Commission set binding sectoral gross emission reduction targets for the agri-food sector, avoiding carbon offsets and technical fixes in favour of agroecological and organic farming. It calls for a strategy to transition away from intensive livestock rearing, including a reduction in farm animal numbers and a corresponding dietary shift. Finally, it proposes the establishment of an Agri-Food Just Transition Fund to de-risk business transformation and a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to remunerate farmers for ecosystem services.

The statement argues that New York State must leverage its own resources and market power to combat transportation pollution as the incoming federal administration may pivot toward fossil fuels. It highlights the importance of the New York City Congestion Pricing Program, the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulations, and the proposed Clean Deliveries Act to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles and warehouses.

A joint statement from five environmental and health organizations providing recommendations on the Proposed Plan of Priorities under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, urging for greater ambition in substance assessment and better integration with environmental justice frameworks.

The document examines advanced geothermal energy, categorizing it as a 'risky bet' due to high capital costs and unproven large-scale reliability, despite its potential to provide carbon-neutral, dispatchable power and heat globally. It highlights three primary technologies: advanced geothermal (using hydraulic fracturing), closed-loop systems, and deep geothermal. While companies like Calgary-based Eavor Technologies and Fervo Energy are launching commercial projects in Germany and the US, the technology must significantly reduce costs—potentially by 90% by 2035 according to US Department of Energy goals—to compete with gas and nuclear power.

The report tracks green finance flows in India, noting that while tracked finance reached a record high in 2021/22, further scaling is required to meet climate targets. Mitigation finance remains primarily domestic, though international contributions rose to 17% in 2021/22. The document recommends coordinated action to scale finance, enhancing adaptation funding, developing a green finance taxonomy, and improving data reporting systems.

A joint letter from various organisations calling for a 'people first' approach to EU ETS revenues, recommending stricter earmarking rules to prevent fossil fuel lock-in, the phase-out of free allowances for polluters, and the expansion of the Social Climate Fund to protect vulnerable citizens from ETS2 costs.

The policy brief, resulting from the CO2ol Down co-creation project, argues for a clear distinction between temporary biogenic sequestration and permanent carbon dioxide removals (CDR). It recommends that the EU set legally binding, transparent targets for permanent removals in addition to emissions reduction targets, aiming for net-negative GHG emissions by 2055. The brief proposes a governance framework involving EU-level oversight of CO2 transport and storage, member state-level procurement via reverse auctions or contracts for difference, and a financing model based on the 'Polluter Pays' principle. It emphasizes a portfolio approach to diversify removal methods and strict sustainability criteria, including the requirement that CDR activities be powered by additional renewable energy sources.

The report argues that current financing frameworks for sustainable development, climate, and nature are fragmented and insufficient. It proposes that FfD4 conduct a cross-disciplinary review of these frameworks, implement a 'grander bargain' on sovereign debt relief, provide practical guidance on domestic resource mobilization (DRM), and foster multi-stakeholder coordination to align private finance with public goals.

The 2024 Scorecard by Insure Our Future argues that the global insurance industry is in a 'vicious cycle,' where it continues to underwrite fossil fuel expansion while simultaneously withdrawing coverage from communities facing the resulting climate risks. Using climate attribution science, the report estimates that over one-third of weather-related insured losses between 2002 and 2022—approximately $600 billion—are attributable to human-caused climate change. The analysis reveals a stark mismatch in underwriting, with renewable energy premiums representing less than 30% of the size of the fossil fuel insurance market in 2023. For 15 of the 28 major property and casualty insurers analyzed, estimated climate-attributable losses exceeded the premiums they collected from fossil fuel clients. While Generali is noted as the first insurer to restrict oil and gas expansion across the entire value chain, the report concludes that voluntary corporate leadership has stalled, necessitating urgent regulatory intervention to mandate 1.5°C-aligned transition plans and higher capital requirements for fossil fuel exposure.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that industrial agriculture is the leading cause of wetland loss over the last 250 years, which increases flood risks and releases stored carbon. In the Upper Midwest, 30 million acres of wetlands provide approximately $23 billion in annual residential flood mitigation benefits, with long-term value estimated between $323 billion and $754 billion. The document urges the US government to use the upcoming farm bill to increase funding for USDA conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program and Wetland Reserve Easements, to protect these ecosystems.

Ember argues that the EU must accelerate the deployment of wind, solar, and clean flexibility solutions to achieve energy self-sufficiency and security. The response emphasizes the need for a "Smart Electrification" Action Plan, the complete cessation of Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027, and the modernization of grid infrastructure and cross-border interconnections, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.

The report details a scenario exercise conducted by the Council on Strategic Risks to explore how biodiversity loss in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) can trigger security crises. Using a hypothetical 2034 'Cichlid Collapse' as a starting point, the study identifies social resilience and economic stability as the primary drivers of future security outcomes. It presents four potential futures ranging from a virtuous cycle of cooperation to a 'death spiral' of widespread conflict and ecological collapse. The report argues that biodiversity loss exacerbates resource competition, governance fragility, and the influence of violent extremist organizations, recommending a 'whole of system' approach integrating defense, diplomacy, and development to mitigate these risks.

The document is an open letter from a broad coalition of individuals and organizations calling for COP30 to move beyond the mere recognition of climate disinformation and instead implement binding, verifiable measures to protect information integrity. It argues that coordinated disinformation, primarily funded by the fossil fuel industry, sabotages the energy transition, threatens public health and human rights, and undermines the goals of the Paris Agreement. The signatories call on governments to regulate tech platforms that profit from manipulative content and demand an end to greenwashing and the monetization of disinformation.

A coalition of climate, environmental, and faith-based organizations is calling on the Biden Administration to support a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of at least $1 trillion USD per year for developing countries. The group argues that this funding should be primarily grant-based to avoid increasing debt in low-income nations and should cover mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. They suggest funding these goals through innovative sources like taxes on polluting companies' excess profits and reforming the international multilateral finance architecture, including the use of IMF Special Drawing Rights.

The document argues that the EU's Circular Material Use Rate has stagnated, increasing only from 10.7% in 2010 to 11.5% in 2022, necessitating a shift from waste management to direct resource-use reduction. It calls for the appointment of a dedicated European Commissioner for Circular Economy to oversee binding resource-use targets, fiscal shifts from labour to raw material extraction, and the integration of circular criteria into trade policies like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The authors advocate for a 'Circular Single Market' to reduce geopolitical vulnerabilities and dependence on primary materials, alongside strengthened Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks and the use of public procurement as an accelerator for circularity. Additionally, the letter emphasizes the role of local and regional authorities, who are responsible for over 70% of Green Deal implementation, and the need to align funding with the top tiers of the waste hierarchy: prevention, re-use, and recycling.

The We Mean Business Coalition calls on G20 and COP29 leaders to establish a new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for climate finance and ensure 2035 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are 'investible' through sector-specific targets and clear regulations. The coalition emphasizes that targeted public finance is essential to de-risk projects and unlock private investment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, while noting that 260 businesses representing over $1.6 trillion are urging a fossil fuel phase-out.