Search Climate Insights Directory

The report 'Door-to-Downtown' details a public-private partnership pilot program in Boulder, Colorado, designed to test the viability of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) as an alternative to personal vehicle use for accessing the city center. By subsidizing rideshare trips to be cost-competitive with driving and parking, the city aimed to reduce parking demand and test the potential for a future transition to electric, autonomous vehicles (EAVs).

This policy brief outlines strategies for developing resilient urban transportation infrastructure to mitigate risks from natural hazards and climate change, emphasizing sustainable systems, urban densification, and the creation of complete communities.

This policy brief outlines best practices for enhancing the resilience of urban water supply and sanitation systems against climate shocks, emphasizing a combination of infrastructure robustness, redundancy, and decentralized options.

This policy brief defines transformational adaptation as a systemic approach to climate resilience that addresses root causes of vulnerability, contrasting it with incremental adaptation which improves existing practices.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development outlines strategies to enhance the resilience of energy and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure against climate change, specifically for the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.

A statement by the World Resources Institute arguing that the United States should remain in the Paris Agreement to protect its economic, security, and diplomatic interests, noting strong public and business support for the accord.

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs regarding the legal implications of the North Gauteng High Court judgment in Earthlife Africa Johannesburg v Minister of Environmental Affairs and Others (the Thabametsi case).

This report by Energy Innovation provides a quantitative analysis of the linked California-Quebec cap-and-trade program, identifying a systemic oversupply of carbon allowances. The author argues that emissions have fallen faster than regulators expected due to successful climate policies, technological innovation, and economic trends. While the program's price floor and holding limits act as stabilizers, the report suggests that the current oversupply has led to undersubscribed auctions. The author proposes four policy reforms—lowering caps, switching to annual compliance, increasing the price floor, and reducing free allowances—to drive more significant emission reductions and provide stable revenue for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) analyzes the landscape of home energy financing in the United States, identifying barriers to scaling both traditional and nontraditional lending products. It argues that the ease of origination and the timing of home improvements are more significant drivers of consumer choice than interest rates or loan terms.

This research paper analyzes the impact of commodity price trends, geopolitical shifts under the Trump administration, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution on investment and economic growth in African countries. It argues that while some commodity prices are recovering, African nations should pivot away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy toward minerals essential for renewable energy and digital technologies to avoid premature de-industrialization.

This policy brief examines the vulnerabilities of the Caribbean's agriculture and tourism sectors to climate change, drawing on CDKN-funded research. It argues that urgent investment in climate resilience is necessary to prevent the reversal of economic growth and poverty alleviation, proposing specific adaptation measures and the use of decision-support tools to prioritise 'no regret' investments.

This report by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) outlines Pakistan's efforts to balance rapid economic growth with climate resilience and low-carbon development. It highlights specific initiatives including a renewable energy project for Sialkot's industrial sector, the development of a national disaster-risk insurance framework, and the identification of 50 low-cost actions to reduce annual emissions by 100 megatons by 2030.

This briefing by the Climate Bonds Initiative explains how green asset-backed securities (ABS) can unlock financing for smaller carbon-saving projects by pooling non-liquid assets into tradable securities, thereby improving capital access and reducing costs.

This briefing paper by the Climate Bonds Initiative explains the structure of covered bonds and argues for their application to low-carbon finance. It highlights how the dual recourse structure of covered bonds—providing claims over both a dedicated asset pool and the issuer—can lower funding costs for banks and increase institutional investment in green infrastructure and energy-efficient buildings.

This amicus curiae brief, submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Vermont Law School Center for Applied Human Rights, provides legal analysis to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding a request for an advisory opinion from the Republic of Colombia. The brief argues that State Parties to the American Convention on Human Rights have extraterritorial obligations to ensure their acts and omissions do not cause environmental harm that infringes on human rights outside their borders, and that the Convention should be interpreted through a normative dialogue with international environmental law.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and other health organizations advocate for the integration of comprehensive human health impact assessments into Canada's federal environmental assessment processes to better address the link between ecological health and human wellness.

This policy briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines electoral trends in Africa based on elections held in 2015 and early 2016. While noting progress in democratic institution building since the 1990s, the authors identify four critical trends—constitutional manipulation, electoral calendar tampering, harassment of opposition, and low voter turnout—that threaten to reverse democratic gains. The document advocates for stricter adherence to African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Community (REC) standards to ensure credible and inclusive elections.

This briefing from the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines strategies to build climate-resilient urban food systems, focusing on the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. It argues that strengthening local food production and diversifying supply chains can mitigate risks posed by extreme weather and global supply shocks.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development outlines strategies to enhance the climate resilience of water supply and sanitation systems in Alberta's urban centres, specifically Calgary and Edmonton. It advocates for a transition from highly centralized infrastructure toward a 'multi-barrier' approach incorporating redundancy, decentralization, and low-impact development (LID) to mitigate risks from extreme weather, such as droughts and floods.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute argues that meeting the Paris Agreement's temperature goals requires an explicit phase-down of fossil fuel production, not just consumption. It outlines six mechanisms within the UNFCCC framework—including NDCs, long-term strategies, and the global stocktake—that Parties can use to integrate supply-side restrictions and transition support into their climate commitments.