Search Climate Insights Directory

The briefing contends that the EU ETS phase 4 (2021-2030) fails to drive sufficient decarbonisation due to low carbon prices and excessive free allowances. It recommends that Member States implement national carbon floor prices, unilaterally cancel allowances following coal plant closures to avoid the 'waterbed effect', and redirect auctioning revenues toward a just transition. For the industrial sector, it advocates replacing free allocations with a carbon border tax and increasing the Linear Reduction Factor (LRF) to align with a 2040 or 2050 decarbonisation timeline.

The text examines the developmental gap between Poland's major metropolises and its smaller urban centers. It criticizes the 'polarization-diffusion' strategy of the 2000s, which favored large cities, and discusses the subsequent 'Strategy for Responsible Development' (SOR) under the PiS government. While noting issues like 'facade modernization' and local political stagnation, the author provides examples of small towns—such as Ostrów Wielkopolski and Słupsk—that have successfully implemented innovative housing, social integration, and revitalization projects by leveraging local potential rather than imitating Western models.

The report examines the potential impact of reforming LPG subsidies in Indonesia, noting that women in poor and near-poor households are more vulnerable to price increases. It identifies three primary economic risks for poor women: eroded household budgets, increased time spent on fuel collection or cooking, and higher input costs for small businesses. The study also evaluates alternatives for cleaner cooking, concluding that induction stoves are the most viable option for Indonesia's transition away from fossil fuels.

This report examines the intersection of gender and LPG subsidy reform in Indonesia, finding that current subsidies are regressive and fail to reach many poor women. It highlights that women are more vulnerable to price increases due to their primary role in cooking and household management, and that switching back to biomass fuels poses significant health risks through indoor air pollution.

The study evaluates the impact of financing renewable energy through electricity surcharges versus alternative tax sources in Spain. Using a combined computable general equilibrium (CGE) and microsimulation (MS) model, the authors find that electricity surcharges are regressive, disproportionately affecting low-income households and vulnerable groups such as retirees. While exemptions for producers protect industrial competitiveness, they exacerbate the burden on households. Conversely, financing through lump-sum transfers or value-added taxes (VAT) is found to be more effective in reducing regressive effects and safeguarding welfare for low-income groups without significantly harming overall economic output.

The assessment reveals a complex gender landscape in Mongolia where women have high educational attainment and strong legal protections but face significant barriers in the labor market, political empowerment, and decision-making. In the energy sector, women bear a disproportionate burden of household drudgery, particularly in rural areas and peri-urban gers. While small-scale solar home systems have previously improved intra-household dynamics and saved time for women, the large-scale renewable energy sector is in its infancy with limited gender-disaggregated data. XacBank aims to address these gaps by implementing gender-non-discriminatory hiring and capacity-building targets within its solar program to benefit vulnerable populations, including rural women and female-headed households.

The document assesses the current state of global carbon pricing, noting that most prices are below USD 10, far below the USD 40-100/tCO2 levels recommended by the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices to meet Paris Agreement goals. It advocates for a 'climate policy portfolio' that combines carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems with complementary measures to address non-price barriers and avoid 'waterbed effects' through price floors. The brief also calls for the abolition of counterproductive policies like fossil fuel subsidies and the use of carbon revenues to fund a just transition and fight energy poverty.

The report examines the intersection of urban growth, aging electricity infrastructure, and climate change in Canada, arguing that the deployment of smart grid technologies is essential for decarbonization and grid resiliency. It identifies a significant financing gap for modernization, estimating a need for CAD 350 billion in investment over 20 years. The document outlines four emerging business models—Energy Service Provider, Customer Energy Marketplace, Local Balancing Authority, and Smart City—and notes that their adoption varies by region. It highlights barriers to smart grid deployment, including technical complexity, cyber security risks, and regulatory frameworks that treat smart investments as traditional capital infrastructure. The report concludes by calling for a National Vision on Grid Modernization to coordinate stakeholders and align the energy transition with mid-century climate goals.

The document advocates for the preservation of US federal fuel efficiency and emissions standards, asserting that these regulations save consumers money on gasoline and reduce pollution. It emphasizes that low- and middle-income households benefit most from these savings, as they spend a larger proportion of their income on transportation. The text challenges industry claims that efficiency standards increase vehicle costs, noting that price increases are driven by the shift toward luxury SUVs and pickups. It also highlights strong public support for these standards across political lines and warns that reversing them would increase spending on expensive, dirty petroleum products.

The document reports that in 2014, 80% of people without electricity lived in 20 high-impact countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, primarily in rural areas. It warns that progress in Sub-Saharan Africa is not keeping pace with population growth, with projections suggesting 80% of the 780 million people still without power in 2030 will be in that region. Achieving universal tier 5 energy access by 2030 would require increasing annual finance five-fold to approximately $50 billion.

Scientists for Global Responsibility urges UK political leaders to prioritize climate action through home energy conservation, renewable energy, and energy storage, while ending subsidies for fossil fuels and new nuclear power commitments.

The Environmental Advisory Council calls for Latvia to advocate for higher 2030 EU emission reduction targets, a more accurate baseline for non-ETS sectors starting in 2017, and the reduction of compensation mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD).

A joint letter from environmental organizations to Italian MEPs arguing that the European Commission's Effort Sharing Regulation proposal is inadequate and proposing specific amendments to reduce the carbon budget, limit the use of credits, and introduce periodic target reviews.

The document provides a detailed analysis of energy access and efficiency across high-impact countries, highlighting a significant gap between urban and rural electrification and the critical role of enabling policy frameworks. It reports that 3.04 billion people lacked clean cooking access in 2014 and 1.06 billion lacked electricity. While some countries like India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda show strong policy support for energy access, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the least electrified region with underdeveloped policy environments. The report also examines energy efficiency and renewable energy, noting that while renewable energy targets are nearly universal, energy efficiency mandates often lag, particularly in developing nations.

The document examines how financing renewable energy through electricity prices in Spain has increased costs for households and industries, particularly impacting low-income groups. It evaluates three alternative financing scenarios—government transfers, Value Added Tax (VAT) increases, and fuel tax increases—finding that transfers and VAT are more progressive and beneficial for industrial production than electricity price surcharges.

The report identifies a diverse but fragmented ecosystem of 174 initiatives aiming to integrate gender diversity and social inclusion into the sustainable energy transition. While significant activity exists—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia—the sector is hindered by a lack of multi-year funding, limited technical capacity among women, and restrictive social norms. The document argues that empowering women is a catalyst for energy access, noting that women influence 80% of household energy purchasing decisions, and calls for a shift toward rights-based approaches and strategic cross-sector partnerships to achieve universal energy access by 2030.

The report introduces the Energy Access Dividend (EAD) framework to help policymakers quantify the benefits of rapid electrification. By analyzing Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Kenya, it demonstrates that decentralized renewable energy can provide faster access than centralized grids, leading to significant household savings, increased study time for children, and reduced carbon and black carbon emissions. The model links these dividends to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), arguing that delays in energy access result in lost investments in human and economic development.

The document argues that EU climate tools must be reformed to support a low-carbon transition in Central and Eastern Europe, specifically calling for a 55% emission reduction target by 2030 and the phase-out of fossil fuel and nuclear energy subsidies.

The document argues that the Energy Market Design Initiative is essential for the success of the Energy Union and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It outlines how market design can reduce energy poverty, boost security, and avoid fossil fuel lock-in by facilitating clean technology deployment. The authors call for specific actions, including the phase-out of coal by 2030, the promotion of energy efficiency and demand response, and the regulation of distribution system operators to support a decentralised energy system.

The document examines the impacts of 'polluting energy'—including fossil fuels, industrial biomass, and large dams—across Africa. It highlights how these systems often benefit elites and corporations while leaving local populations to face health crises, land grabbing, and climate vulnerability. Specific case studies focus on South Africa's coal dependency, oil extraction in Nigeria and Uganda, the influence of European energy policies in the Maghreb, and the social and environmental costs of large dams in Mozambique. The report concludes that African nations must avoid 'locking in' obsolete polluting technologies and instead pursue energy sovereignty through decentralized renewables.