Search Climate Insights Directory

The document argues that achieving the 2030 Agenda requires a shift from 'business as usual' to a transformative approach where research serves as a key driver. It identifies three primary roles for research: providing diagnostics (identifying problems and monitoring goals), providing solutions (accelerating technical and social innovation), and acting as a societal institution (serving as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue). The author emphasizes the need for transdisciplinary approaches, increased involvement of humanities and behavioral sciences, and a move away from short-term funding to support long-term sustainable environments. For Sweden, the paper suggests aligning national research priorities with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to maintain industrial leadership while transitioning to climate neutrality.

The SEI Environmental Strategy for Myanmar (2019-2028) establishes a ten-year framework to support Myanmar in meeting its commitments to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Paris Agreement. The strategy is organized around four primary themes: water resources management and agriculture, gender, environment and development (GED), sustainable energy, and climate change, disasters and development. SEI aims to bridge science and policy through collaborative research, capacity building for state and non-state actors, and the deployment of decision-support tools. Key priorities include improving water security in the Central Dry Zone, promoting a just transition to low-carbon energy systems, and addressing gender-based inequalities in resource access and decision-making. The strategy emphasizes a partnership-led approach to foster institutional transformation and enhance community resilience against climate-induced disasters.

The report argues that the sustainability transition creates 'creative destruction' where new technologies and business models render existing assets economically unusable. It proposes a three-step methodology: identifying disruptions and scenarios, testing for negative growth dynamics, and mapping asset-type implications. Applying this to Europe, the authors identify up to €750 billion in assets at risk across three sectors. The European electricity sector serves as a historical case study, having suffered €130 billion in impairments between 2010 and 2015. In the automotive sector, up to €243 billion is at risk due to the combined impact of electric vehicles, autonomy, and car sharing. The apparel industry faces risks primarily in real estate and intangible brand value due to e-commerce and supply-chain ESG issues. The report concludes that traditional ESG analysis is insufficient and must be integrated with financial value assessments to capture non-linear disruption risks.

The report examines the critical but marginalised role of informal waste workers (IWWs) in Asian cities, highlighting their contribution to resource recovery and the circular economy. Through a multi-stakeholder dialogue called the 'Waste Hero Alliance,' youth activists and IWWs identified systemic challenges—including poverty, health risks, and gender-based exclusion—and proposed five key policy visions: standardised waste disposal, official recognition of workers, access to education, affordable healthcare, and cross-sector collaboration. The document argues that a just transition to a circular economy requires integrating these workers into formal municipal systems to ensure decent work and poverty reduction.

The document defines a target for possessions based on low overall consumption and a preference for second-hand or reconditioned goods. It provides estimated carbon footprints for various consumer products and suggests minimum lifetimes to ensure consistency with a target emission level of 0.1 tCO2e per capita per year in the UK.

The document profiles Martin, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Relic Plastic, a small recycling company that transforms low-value plastic waste into handmade products. Drawing on a background in Earth and Environmental Science and the 'Precious Plastic' movement, Martin emphasizes the importance of tangible recycling and education to promote a circular economy over a linear one. The case study highlights the operational challenges of running a social enterprise, the role of ethical funding from trusts and universities, and the belief that individuals can influence the ethics of their professional roles regardless of the organization's size.

This briefing note from the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs provides recommendations for integrating human health protections into the development of a global instrument to end plastic pollution, specifically referencing the draft text in NP3.

The document outlines a framework for operationalizing human health protection in a future global plastics treaty. It proposes four complementary sets of provisions: addressing health impacts across the plastic life cycle, improving information availability, supporting effective implementation, and enabling progressive treaty development based on evolving science. It specifically advocates for a dedicated article on human health to foster international cooperation and protect vulnerable populations, such as informal waste workers and fence-line communities, from the neurotoxic, carcinogenic, and endocrine-disrupting effects of plastic chemicals and pollution.

The Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) provided a statement at the WTO Dialogue on Plastic Pollution (DPP) pre-plenary meeting on 13 June 2024. TESS advocates for narrowing the DPP's scope to achieve concrete, actionable outcomes, specifically focusing on harmonizing definitions of single-use plastics, reforming HS nomenclature for better visibility of problematic plastics, and promoting trade in environmentally sound waste management technologies.

The document analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed structural vulnerabilities in Colombia's agricultural supply chains, particularly in transport infrastructure and commercialization for small producers. It argues that recovery should prioritize diversifying transport modes (rail and river), enhancing cold chain logistics, promoting short supply circuits, and implementing a national digital information system to improve transparency and climate resilience.

The report analyzes the ESG reporting practices of 70 SMEs globally, categorized by size (micro to medium+) and sector. It highlights strengths in local community impact, water reporting in water-scarce regions, and detailed life-cycle analyses (LCAs) for specific products. While many SMEs use global frameworks like the SDGs, the report notes gaps in Scope 3 GHG emissions reporting and a continued reliance on narrative rather than quantitative disclosures in some cases.

The document outlines the role of business in achieving Indonesia's 2035 NDC, highlighting a USD 3.8 trillion investment opportunity. It identifies critical barriers such as regulatory uncertainty and fragmented institutional responsibilities, while proposing solutions across the power, industry, and transport sectors to align national policy with private sector readiness.

The document argues that a just transition—maximizing economic and social benefits of climate action while minimizing risks—is essential for business productivity and community wellbeing. It presents 12 policy asks for governments, organized into five pillars: Governance and Frameworks, Skills and Workforce Transition, Stakeholder Engagement and Protection, Financing Just Transition, and Monitoring and Metrics. Key recommendations include integrating just transition frameworks into national climate strategies, investing in green job creation and reskilling, protecting marginalized groups and informal workers, providing government-backed financing to derisk private investment, and harmonizing sustainability disclosure standards.

The document outlines a comprehensive leadership framework for companies to address the climate crisis. It emphasizes setting science-based net-zero targets aligned with a 1.5°C pathway, integrating climate goals into core business strategies, advocating for bold public policy, and maintaining transparent disclosure of progress and governance.

The We Mean Business Coalition analyzed 30 early adopters of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) to showcase innovative solutions for challenging disclosure requirements. The report highlights diverse approaches to double materiality assessments, TCFD-aligned climate risk quantification, Scope 3 emissions 'hot-spotting', and supply chain due diligence. It emphasizes that while many early adopters are only partially aligned with the regulation, their methods for reporting on internal controls, whistleblower cases, and climate transition action plans serve as practical guides for companies facing mandatory reporting from 2024.

The guidebook outlines a framework for apparel companies to transition to circular reuse models while avoiding greenwashing. It emphasizes increasing garment utilization, ensuring a lower lifecycle impact compared to traditional models, and displacing the sale of new clothing to decouple business success from resource consumption.

The guidebook outlines a process for apparel companies to transition to reuse business models within a circular economy framework while ensuring social equity. It directs companies through three specific stages: identifying stakeholders, assessing the effects of the transition on those stakeholders, and setting targets to mitigate risks and identify supportive partners.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) evaluated a sludge-to-energy project in Xiangyang City, China, which utilizes high-temperature thermal hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion. The project achieves significant environmental gains, including the recovery of 96% of nitrogen and 99% of phosphorous, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 95% to 98% compared to landfilling and incineration. Over a 21-year period, the project is expected to produce 45.4 million m3 of natural gas, replacing 60,000 m3 of gasoline and further reducing CO2e emissions by 140,000 metric tons. Economically, the project's success is attributed to a 'government-bank-enterprise' partnership involving the municipal government, KfW Bankengruppe of Germany, and the Export-Import Bank of China, alongside a market-oriented design focusing on the sale of compressed natural gas (CNG) and biochar.

The report argues that despite improvements in material efficiency, the total volume of waste entering the environment continues to increase because economic growth and consumer lifestyles offset efficiency gains. It highlights a critical gap in national accounting, noting that while financial transactions are tracked via GDP, there is no equivalent system for measuring the physical material requirements of modern economies.

The document outlines three mutually reinforcing transitions—decarbonization, circular economy, and decentralization—to guide a sustainable post-COVID-19 economic redesign. It emphasizes the need for robust net-zero commitments, a shift from recycling to reducing and reusing materials, and stronger coordination between national and subnational governments to enhance climate resilience and equity.