Search Climate Insights Directory

This executive summary report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), in collaboration with ICF and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), provides the first comprehensive inventory of energy subsidies in India for the financial years 2014 to 2016. The report maps subsidies across coal, oil and gas, renewable energy, and electricity transmission and distribution (T&D), analyzing their magnitude, trends, and socio-economic and environmental impacts.

A request for investigation submitted by ActionAid South Africa to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, detailing how expansive coal mining and exploration in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa disproportionately violate the human rights of women and girls.

This October 2017 report by the Centre for Environmental Rights, groundWork, and the Highveld Environmental Justice Network evaluates the failure of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) to improve air quality in South Africa. Despite the 2007 declaration of the HPA and the 2012 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP), the report concludes that air quality remains poor and non-compliant with health-based standards, largely due to industrial emissions, inadequate monitoring, and a lack of government capacity and enforcement.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) declares its support for a National Cycling Strategy, arguing it would provide a "triple win" for public health by reducing chronic diseases, mitigating air pollution, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

This executive summary, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in June 2017, synthesizes existing studies to estimate the economic and health costs of pollution in Canada. It highlights that while some pollutants like urban smog are well-documented, significant data gaps exist for others, such as persistent organic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, meaning the total annual costs likely reach tens of billions of dollars.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) requested a meeting with the Department of Environmental Affairs to discuss Eskom's non-compliance with emission standards. Based on a report by Professor Eugene Cairncross analyzing data from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, the CER highlights widespread violations of PM10, NOx, and SO2 limits across multiple power stations and calls for stricter monitoring and reporting guidelines.

This research paper estimates the global health and environmental damages caused by diesel NOx emissions, highlighting a significant gap between laboratory certification limits and real-world emissions across 11 major vehicle markets.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) issued a statement responding to a Fraser Institute report, arguing that the phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Ontario provided significant health and environmental benefits. CAPE asserts that coal plants were major contributors to sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, and greenhouse gas emissions, and that their closure contributed to measurable declines in air pollution and related health burdens.

Lifting Europe's Dark Cloud is a report published in October 2016 by a coalition of environmental and health organizations. It analyzes the health impacts of air pollution from coal-fired power plants in Europe and evaluates the effectiveness of the EU's Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and the proposed revised Large Combustion Plants Best Available Techniques Reference Document (LCP BREF). The report argues that current pollution limits are undermined by widespread 'derogations' (exemptions) and that adopting stricter, proven Best Available Techniques (BAT) would significantly reduce premature deaths and healthcare costs across the continent.

In a statement delivered at the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2016, Manish Bapna, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of WRI and Co-Chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), outlined three strategic priorities for the Partnership for the upcoming year: integrating climate and governance agendas, upholding governance standards among members, and expanding the open government movement to include subnational entities and diverse civil society groups.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing several environmental justice organisations, submitted comments on the 2016 Draft Strategy to Address Air Pollution in Dense Low Income Settlements. While welcoming the document, the CER argues that it lacks measurable plans, adequate baseline data, and a strategy for community consultation to effectively address the health impacts of domestic fuel burning in South Africa.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes coal phase-out experiences in California, Denmark, France, and Beijing to derive lessons for China's national energy transition. Using a "window of opportunity" framework, it examines how context, champions, concerns, and complementary policies drive the shift from coal to cleaner energy sources.

A submission from a collaborative of 15 health organizations urging the Government of Canada to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2025 to mitigate climate change and improve public health.

The SEI Initiative on Low Emission Development Pathways (LED-P) provides tools and research to help governments, particularly in developing countries, integrate the mitigation of greenhouse gases, air pollution, and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Central to this is the LEAP-Integrated Benefits Calculator (LEAP-IBC), which quantifies the health, agricultural, and climate benefits of specific pollution-reduction measures. The initiative works closely with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to support national action plans in 16 countries and conducts research on the transferability of environmental impacts and the socio-economic barriers to low-emission transitions.

This report examines the financial subsidies and externalities associated with coal use in China and evaluates how these subsidies hinder the growth of renewable energy.

A joint submission to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), The Lung Association of Alberta & Northwest Territories, and the Asthma Society of Canada, advocating for the phase-out of coal-fired power plants to protect human health and mitigate climate change.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) issued a statement to the Director-General of the Department of Environmental Affairs calling for the urgent public release of the 'Strategy to Address Air Pollution in Dense Low-Income Settlements'. The CER argues that the delay in publishing this strategy, which was a deliverable as far back as 2010, hinders the state's ability to protect the constitutional rights of residents in low-income settlements who suffer from severe health impacts due to industrial emissions and domestic fuel burning.

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) analyzes the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) in South Africa between January 2010 and August 2014. It details the challenges in accessing environmental governance and management records from government departments, parastatals, and private bodies, highlighting a trend of using the protection of third-party commercial information to refuse requests.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzes the June 2013 fires and haze crisis in Riau Province, Sumatra, using high-resolution satellite imagery. It argues that ASEAN leaders should use the 23rd ASEAN Summit to commit to collaborative actions, such as making concession maps public and establishing a blue ribbon panel, to prevent recurring environmental and public health disasters.

This policy brief, based on a report by the Transport and Environment Science Technology Network (TEST), examines the intersection of transport and environmental challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically focusing on air pollution, road safety, traffic congestion, equity, and climate change.