Search Climate Insights Directory
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Spotlight on social equity, finance and scale: promises and pitfalls of nature-based solutions
The document introduces a series of briefs examining nature-based solutions (NbS), arguing that while NbS offer alternatives to fossil fuel-based infrastructure and provide climate and biodiversity benefits, there is a lack of critical reflection on their social and economic sustainability. The series aims to address how NbS can be implemented without reinforcing existing inequalities or creating 'winners and losers'.
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Document type: Briefing
Why EPA Must Address Appliance Pollution
Fossil-fuel burning appliances in the US contribute significantly to outdoor and indoor air pollution, climate change, and public health disparities. Gas appliances are particularly problematic, emitting more than twice as much NOX as gas power plants. RMI proposes that the EPA implement a NOX standard of performance under Clean Air Act Section 111(b), requiring all new appliances to be electric by 2030. This transition could avoid over 500,000 tons of NOX and 14,400 tons of PM2.5 annually by 2045, potentially saving over 3,750 lives per year and providing $21 billion in annual economic benefits. The document emphasizes that electric appliances are cost-effective and that policies should include incentives to ensure low-income consumers can access these technologies.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Notre victoire contre l’un des plus gros pollueurs du monde
A statement by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) regarding a landmark legal victory against Shell, where a Dutch court ordered the company to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% within ten years to align with the Paris Agreement.
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Document type: Statement
FOSSIL FUEL EXIT STRATEGY
The report argues that stopping the expansion of fossil fuels is insufficient to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement; instead, an active wind-down of existing production is required. It proposes specific annual decline rates for coal (9.5%), oil (8.5%), and gas (3.5%) between 2021 and 2030. The authors conclude that this transition is technically feasible because global solar and wind potential could meet primary energy demand more than 50 times over, ensuring 100% energy access without risking energy security.
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Document type: Report
Como grandes poluidores estão promovendo uma agenda climática “net zero” para atrasar, enganar e negar
The report characterizes "net zero" agendas as a "Great Cheat," asserting that they allow major polluters to continue emissions while relying on unproven technologies and flawed offsetting schemes. It details how these entities use lobbying, financial influence over academia, and corporate capture of international forums like the UNFCCC to displace real emission reductions. The document highlights specific failures in the plans of companies such as Shell, Total SA, and JBS, and calls for a transition to "Real Zero" by 2030 through systemic change and climate justice.
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Document type: Report
Cómo los Grandes Contaminadores imponen su agenda “cero neto” para retrasar, engañar y negar la acción climática
The document analyzes how 'Big Polluters' across various sectors use 'net zero' targets as a form of greenwashing to delay real emission reductions. It identifies critical conceptual flaws in these plans, such as reliance on unproven geoengineering and carbon offsets, and details how these corporations influence political and academic institutions to validate their agendas. Case studies on companies like Shell, Total SA, and JBS illustrate the gap between public commitments and actual business operations, while the report calls for a transition to 'Real Zero' by 2030.
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Document type: Report
Comment les grands pollueurs mettent en avant un agenda “zéro émission nette” pour retarder, tromper et nier l’action climatique.
The report claims that "net zero" agendas are a form of greenwashing used by "Big Polluters" to avoid reducing emissions. It identifies these entities as industries responsible for the majority of historical emissions, including fossil fuels, agribusiness, and aviation. The document details how these actors use risky technologies like BECCS and carbon offsets as "dangerous distractions" and employ lobbying, financial contributions, and academic partnerships to shape climate policy in their favor. Case studies on JBS, Shell, and Total SA are used to illustrate how these plans often mask continued pollution and lead to land grabbing in the Global South.
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Document type: Report
Low- and Zero-Emissions Zones
The document explores low- and zero-emissions zones (LEZs and ZEZs) as tools for cities to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. It compares international examples from Europe and Singapore with a voluntary pilot in Santa Monica, California. A significant portion of the guide is dedicated to ensuring equity, arguing that ZEZs in California must be designed to avoid regressive financial burdens on low-income residents and people of color, who are disproportionately exposed to vehicle-related PM2.5 pollution. The authors recommend that California provide enabling legislation for cities to implement these zones and suggest targeting high-pollution sectors, such as heavy-duty freight, to maximize public health benefits in disadvantaged communities.
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Document type: Guide
Low- and Zero-Emissions Zones
The document outlines how low- and zero-emissions zones can improve air quality and achieve climate goals while addressing racial and economic equity. It highlights critical equity concerns, such as the risk of financial burdens on low-income residents and the need for community-led enforcement mechanisms. The text provides policy recommendations for California states and cities to ensure public oversight and technical support for pilot projects, particularly in under-resourced communities.
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Document type: Executive summary
Adapting tuna-dependent Pacific Island communities and economies to climate change
The programme addresses the dual threat of coral reef degradation, which reduces local food security, and the eastward migration of tuna stocks, which threatens the government revenues of tuna-dependent Pacific Island nations. It proposes two main components: scaling up National Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) programmes to help coastal communities transition from reef fishing to tuna fishing, and developing an 'advance warning system' (AWS) using genetic population analysis and modelling to predict tuna redistribution. This AWS is intended to empower nations to negotiate for the retention of historical fishing rights in international waters. The total indicative cost is USD 120,945,000, with USD 70,245,000 requested from the Green Climate Fund.
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Document type: Report
open-letter-to-ct-ag-b2ac0c85b2b03315.pdf
A group of Connecticut-based academics and professionals expresses support for legal action against ExxonMobil, alleging the company spent decades spreading disinformation about climate change despite internal knowledge of the risks since the 1960s. The letter highlights specific climate threats to Connecticut, including increased extreme heat and tidal flooding, and argues that the company should pay for damages and adaptation measures.
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Document type: Statement
How connected social movements are making climate action more just and effective
The document argues that climate change impacts are not equal and are influenced by intersectional factors such as race, gender, power, and poverty. It provides examples of coalitions uniting debt activists, homeless advocates, racial justice groups, indigenous leaders, women's rights organisations, and labour unions to address systemic inequalities alongside the energy transition. These collaborations range from demanding unconditional debt cancellation for the Global South and vaccine equality to promoting 'carbon banks' for Black farmers in the US and integrating trans rights into environmental movements. The briefing highlights that integrating a social justice lens—recognising interacting systems of oppression—is essential for a diverse and effective climate movement.
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Document type: Briefing
Time for a People’s Vaccine to tackle Covid-19 with justice and equity
Friends of the Earth International calls for the implementation of a TRIPS waiver to remove corporate monopolies on Covid-19 vaccines, arguing that current distribution is alarmingly unequal and prioritises pharmaceutical profits over human rights.
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Document type: Statement
Un Vaccin des peuples juste et sans inégalités face à la pandémie de Covid-19 !
Friends of the Earth International calls for the removal of pharmaceutical monopolies and the implementation of a TRIPS waiver to address the 'vaccine apartheid' between high-income and low-income nations. The statement highlights severe disparities in vaccination rates, noting that high-income countries vaccinate 25 times faster than low-income ones, and criticizes wealthy nations and pharmaceutical companies for prioritizing profits over human lives during a global health crisis.
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Document type: Statement
What Is Needed to Meet US Climate Commitments
The United States aims to reduce carbon pollution to at least 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. RMI asserts that this is achievable by immediately phasing out fossil fuel infrastructure and scaling three primary solutions: renewables (wind, solar, and batteries), electrification (electric vehicles and heat pumps), and holistic efficiency. The document emphasizes that cumulative emissions are the critical metric for limiting warming to 1.5°C and that the transition will provide significant public health benefits, job creation, and social equity, particularly for historically disadvantaged communities.
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Document type: Briefing
How the Supreme Court’s Carbon Price Review Intersects with Indigenous Rights and Reconciliation
The author argues that the Supreme Court of Canada's focus on federal-provincial jurisdiction in its carbon price review erased critical Indigenous perspectives on sovereignty and climate justice. While the Court acknowledged that Indigenous peoples face disproportionate climate impacts, it failed to address arguments that Canada is not merely a bi-juridical state of federal and provincial powers, but one that must respect Indigenous laws and nation-to-nation relationships for reconciliation.
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Document type: Legal commentary
South Africa’s updated draft Nationally Determined Contribution
The submission argues that South Africa's draft NDC targets are insufficiently ambitious, aligning with a 3°C temperature increase rather than the 1.5°C or 2°C goals necessary to protect public health. It highlights the severe health risks posed by climate change in South Africa, including drought, heat, and infectious diseases, and notes that coal-fired power stations cause over 2,200 deaths annually. The authors advocate for a 'green' recovery from COVID-19, urging a shift from fossil fuel investments toward renewable energy and a commitment to phase out coal by 2034. The document proposes specific co-benefit policies in energy (e.g., adopting the Climate Justice Charter), food and agriculture (e.g., incentivizing urban agriculture), and transportation (e.g., electrifying public transit) to simultaneously reduce emissions and improve health outcomes.
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Document type: Statement
The Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: The Governance Challenge
The document examines the unsustainable trajectory of global natural resource use, noting that material demand per capita grew from 7.4 tons in 1970 to 12.2 tons in 2017. It highlights systemic inequalities in resource distribution, where high-income countries have a material footprint thirteen times larger than low-income countries. The brief argues that current governance often favors powerful actors and marginalizes women, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. To address this, it recommends adopting circular economy models, strengthening tenure rights, and implementing extended producer responsibility to decouple economic activity from environmental degradation.
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Document type: Policy brief
Trends in fossil fuel extraction
The report finds that baseline projections for oil, gas, and coal production are significantly higher than the levels required to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. It highlights that the largest production increases are projected in the United States, Brazil, Iran, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. The analysis argues that a managed wind-down of production is necessary to avoid inequitable outcomes, as the projected production from high-income and low-dependence countries alone would exceed the 1.5°C-consistent global budget.
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Document type: Research paper
Losing Ground
The report analyzes the trend of farmland consolidation—the shift toward larger, fewer farms—and its role in hollowing out rural communities. It finds that consolidation creates significant barriers for new farmers, particularly in the Midwest, and has disproportionately harmed Black farmers through a combination of market pressures and systemic racism. The author argues that reversing this trend is essential for rural revitalization and social equity, recommending national initiatives for land transition and the redress of historical land theft from BIPOC farmers.
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Document type: Report