Search Climate Insights Directory

The Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) is a peer-reviewed, open-source System Dynamics model created in Vensim that allows users to simulate the effects of various energy and climate policies. It utilizes an economy-wide approach with annual time steps, typically running to 2050, and incorporates a profit-maximizing least-cost optimized electricity model. The EPS can model a wide range of policies, such as renewable portfolio standards and fuel economy standards, and includes embedded modules to translate these changes into economic outcomes (GDP, jobs) and health outcomes based on U.S. EPA estimates. The tool's methodologies have been reviewed by experts from institutions such as MIT, Stanford, and various national laboratories.

The guide describes how spectrometers on satellites detect the infrared signature of methane to identify emissions from oil and gas, coal, waste, and agriculture. It highlights the emergence of NGO-led missions like MethaneSAT and Carbon Mapper, which provide open-source, granular data to drive climate action and pressure emitters to reduce leaks.

The guide outlines four strategic initiatives for state DOTs to reduce the embodied carbon of concrete infrastructure: integrating Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) into procurement, adjusting material specifications to allow higher supplementary cementitious material (SCM) content, demonstrating Performance Engineered Mixture (PEM) designs, and piloting innovative near-zero or zero-emissions materials.

The document outlines strategies for reducing methane emissions from US municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, emphasizing the transition from traditional manual surface emissions monitoring (SEM) to advanced technologies like satellites, aircraft, drones, and fixed sensors. It provides a six-step framework for monitoring-informed mitigation: selecting a system, deploying it, pinpointing sources, identifying root causes, deploying mitigation measures, and verifying reductions. The guide highlights that while organic waste diversion is critical for future emissions, improving waste-in-place controls offers immediate climate benefits.

The document outlines the transition from traditional first-order decay (FOD) models to advanced monitoring technologies, including handheld analyzers, drones, and remote sensing via aircraft and satellites, to better quantify waste-sector methane emissions. It highlights that up to 80% of these emissions can be eliminated with existing technology, often at low or negative costs. The guide also details international efforts such as the Global Methane Pledge and the LOW-Methane Initiative to drive mitigation and investment.

The Climate Bonds Standard version 4.1 provides a science-based framework for certifying Use of Proceeds (UoP) debt instruments, physical assets, non-financial legal entities, and sustainability-linked debt (SLD). Certification requires alignment with sector-specific criteria and independent verification by Approved Verifiers. For entities and SLDs, the standard emphasizes 'Hallmarks' of a credibly transitioning company, including Paris-aligned targets, robust transition plans, and public disclosure. The framework includes strict exclusions for the parent group regarding fossil fuel expansion and high-carbon-stock land conversion.

The document outlines a framework for monitoring water retention projects in the Prairies, emphasizing the need for water and contaminant mass balances to evaluate performance. It details a range of monitoring tools—from low-cost metre sticks to expensive automated samplers—and explains how to use rating curves to estimate discharge. The guide highlights the importance of high-frequency data to capture rapid hydrologic events and suggests using monitoring data to develop hydraulic and water-quality treatment models for improving future site design and management.

The document outlines a framework for pricing lithium based on OECD transfer pricing principles, detailing the physical characteristics of brine and mineral deposits, production processes, and the role of price-reporting agencies in establishing market benchmarks for battery-grade and technical-grade lithium.

The document outlines a technical framework for the valuation of lithium products—including brines, minerals, and chemicals—to ensure fair taxation in multinational mining operations. It details the physical characteristics of lithium deposits, the production processes for lithium carbonate and hydroxide, and the specific contractual elements that influence pricing. A significant portion of the guide is dedicated to analyzing price indices from major agencies like Argus Media, Fastmarkets, and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, providing tax administrations with a methodology to adjust for product quality, economic circumstances, and delivery terms.

The guide explains how Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) function as 'nutrition labels' for building materials by reporting life-cycle assessment (LCA) data, specifically Global Warming Potential (GWP). It argues that current EPDs suffer from inconsistencies due to varying data sources and proprietary datasets. To achieve an 'ideal EPD' that supports fair carbon reduction policies, the author recommends that Product Category Rules (PCRs) mandate facility-specific data, limit product variation within single reported values, and require supply-chain-specific data for upstream processes. The document also identifies barriers to adoption, such as high up-front costs for small businesses and the lack of a universal public database, while noting US government initiatives like the EPA's grant program and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 aimed at advancing EPD development.

The guide examines the critical need for public interest researchers to access social media data to monitor platform accountability and systemic risks. It details the current landscape of regulatory frameworks in the EU and US, identifies technological, legal, and fragmentation barriers, and categorizes the types of data required—user-generated, platform curation, and platform decision-making data—to advance collective knowledge and ensure regulatory compliance.

The document argues that traditional mining tax regimes (corporate income tax and royalties) are often insufficient or vulnerable to profit shifting. It proposes ten alternatives, including variable royalties, production sharing contracts, and state equity participation, while addressing the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the need for better production monitoring through remote sensing technology.

The document describes remote sensing as the process of gathering information from a distance by detecting electromagnetic waves. It distinguishes between active sensing, which transmits signals to measure reflections, and passive sensing, which measures naturally emitted or reflected waves. Remote sensors can be space-based, aerial-based, or ground-based, though Climate TRACE primarily utilizes satellite-based sensors for their global coverage. The effectiveness of satellite remote sensing is determined by spectral resolution (wavelength bands), spatial resolution (pixel detail), and temporal resolution (revisit frequency). Climate TRACE integrates this data with satellite imagery and ground truth data to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from various sources and train AI/ML algorithms.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach to integrating biodiversity co-benefits into nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate adaptation. It proposes a six-stage implementation cycle—ranging from system understanding and risk assessment to monitoring and learning—and emphasizes the need for a mix of biodiversity, structural, and functional indicators to measure success. The report highlights the importance of traditional knowledge, inclusive governance, and long-term monitoring to avoid socio-ecological trade-offs and ensure the sustainability of adaptation projects.

The document provides a step-by-step guide for users to identify all owners of a high-emitting asset, using the Troll oil and gas field in Norway as a case study. It clarifies that while the website dashboard displays only the primary owner, the CSV files provide a full list of owners and their respective percentage stakes.

The Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) is a free, open-source System Dynamics model created in Vensim to help policymakers assess the effectiveness of climate and energy policies. It allows users to model policies such as renewable portfolio standards and fuel economy standards across sectors including transportation, electricity, and agriculture. The model tracks 12 pollutants, economic impacts on GDP and jobs, health outcomes, and energy sector composition. Its methodologies have been peer-reviewed by experts from institutions such as MIT, Stanford, and various national laboratories.

The document outlines a transfer pricing framework specifically for the mining sector to prevent base erosion and profit shifting in developing countries. It details the mining value chain, identifies transfer pricing risks at each stage, and advocates for the Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method as the most reliable way to value mineral sales. The guide provides a detailed analysis of economic factors affecting mineral prices—such as physical characteristics, supply-demand dynamics, and contractual terms—and suggests administrative simplifications like taxpayer guidance, safe harbour regimes, and Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) to reduce the burden on resource-constrained tax authorities.

This guide establishes a methodology for valuing bauxite in transactions between related parties, focusing on the 'arm's length principle'. It identifies key economic drivers of bauxite pricing—such as available alumina content and reactive silica impurities—and explains how to use market price indices from agencies like CBIX, Fastmarkets, and CRU to establish fair market values. The document also details necessary comparability adjustments for product quality, transport costs (Incoterms), and economic circumstances to prevent tax revenue loss in developing nations.

The document provides a detailed breakdown of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, distinguishing between the bilateral trading of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 and the UN-overseen global carbon market under Article 6.4. It highlights critical risks such as double counting, the potential for 'junk' credits transitioning from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the lack of transparency in reporting. The guide also argues against the inclusion of avoided emissions and short-lived carbon storage as bases for credits, while advocating for mandatory cancellation rates to ensure overall mitigation in global emissions.

The document argues that while nearly 25% of global deaths are linked to economic decisions affecting the environment, the health community remains largely invisible in global environmental negotiations. It identifies a 'triple planetary crisis' (biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution) and a 'Triple Billion' health burden, asserting that the merger of environmental and health governance is necessary to prevent environmental policies from negatively impacting health or widening inequities. The guide provides specific entry points for health stakeholders within Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), such as the CBD and UNFCCC, and recommends shifting toward multi-sectoral health governance where health data informs national environmental plans and health experts participate in intersessional decision-making bodies.