Search Climate Insights Directory

This report analyzes the environmental promises made in the election platforms of seven political parties and two electoral alliances for the 2017 Estonian local government elections, specifically focusing on Tallinn, Tartu, and national-level platforms. The analysis evaluates these promises against the European Green Capital (EGC) criteria and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

An independent review finds that the Water Use License issued to KiPower (Pty) Ltd by the South African Department of Water and Sanitation is legally and technically flawed. The review concludes that the DWS failed to correctly identify and authorise necessary water uses, provided incorrect property and location data, and included compliance specifications that are largely invalid or unmeasurable. Furthermore, the DWS is accused of ignoring critical resource quality objectives for the Wilge River and attempting to shift historic mining remediation liabilities to KiPower, rendering the decision to issue the license unreasonable and an error in law.

This briefing by RMI argues that health professionals should recognize the link between indoor air quality (IAQ) and specific home energy upgrades to improve patient health outcomes and drive demand for carbon-reducing home investments.

This white paper, authored by the Stockholm Environment Institute for the USAID Clean Power Asia programme, assesses the intersection of gender equality and renewable energy in the Lower Mekong countries and other ASEAN member states. It highlights a gap between national gender equality commitments and their application within technical sectors like energy.

Friends of the Earth criticizes a Department of Energy study on electrical grid reliability, arguing it ignores climate change and serves as a pretext to subsidize the coal and nuclear industries.

This document contains the legal and technical submissions made by a coalition of eight appellants (including Earthlife Africa Johannesburg and BirdLife South Africa) on August 14, 2017, appealing an environmental authorisation (EA) granted to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the Yzermyn underground coal mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, submitted a letter to the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) on 11 August 2017. The letter argues that the CSIR's "comprehensive alternative" Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity fails to account for critical health, water, climate, and nuclear-related costs, which leads to an underestimation of the true cost of coal and nuclear energy compared to renewable alternatives.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, submitted additional comments to the South African Department of Energy regarding the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and Integrated Energy Plan (IEP). The letter argues that current energy modelling fails to account for critical externalities, specifically the health and water costs of coal, the high nitrous oxide emissions associated with circulating fluidised bed combustion technology, and comprehensive nuclear lifecycle costs.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting on behalf of groundWork, is requesting clarification from the Department of Water and Sanitation regarding the "minimum requirements" used to recommend the issuance of an integrated water use licence (IWUL) for the proposed 600MW KiPower coal-fired power station near Delmas, Mpumalanga.

The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) has developed a design for an investment-grade financing vehicle intended for institutional investors. By focusing on the specific financial fundamentals of wind and solar projects—which differ from conventional fossil fuel generation—the model aims to reduce the cost of renewable energy by 15-17%.

This report documents the responses of Thabametsi Power Company to objections raised by Earthlife Africa and Greenpeace Africa regarding the project's climate change and palaeontological impact assessments. Key points of contention include the project's high GHG emission intensity (1.23 tCO2e/MWh), the failure to quantify the social cost of carbon, and the high risk of water scarcity in the Lephalale region of Limpopo Province. The developer maintains that the project is consistent with South African national energy policy (IRP 2010 and 2016) and that its water needs for Phase 1 are secured through existing allocations from the MCWAP-1 scheme.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative proposes the Clean Energy Investment Trust (CEIT) to overcome barriers—such as illiquidity and high due diligence costs—that prevent institutional investors from funding renewable energy. By designing the CEIT as a listed, low-fee vehicle focused on liability-hedging rather than high growth, the authors estimate that potential institutional investment could increase from $305 billion to nearly $4 trillion, significantly lowering the cost of capital for the energy transition.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) proposes a new financial vehicle called the Clean Energy Investment Trust (CEIT) to reduce the cost of renewable energy by better aligning project cashflows with the risk profiles of different investors. By unbundling the cashflows of wind and solar projects and targeting long-term, liability-hedging institutional investors, the authors argue that the cost of wind-generated electricity could be reduced by 15-17% compared to traditional utility financing.

This briefing describes a study by the Climate Policy Initiative, PUC-Rio, and Fundação Getulio Vargas on the impact of flex-fuel vehicles on the retail fuel market in Brazil. It highlights how the adoption of flex-cars, which can run on any mix of gasoline or ethanol, has reduced fuel prices for both flex-car owners and those driving gasoline-only vehicles, supporting Brazil's goals to increase sustainable biofuel consumption under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

This research paper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) proposes a risk-based framework for selecting ownership models and finance instruments for clean power investments. The authors argue that minimizing the overall cost of the low-carbon energy transition requires allocating specific investment risks—such as construction, price, and curtailment—to the party (private investors, public entities, or consumers) best placed to manage, understand, and bear them.

This report, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in August 2017, evaluates the legal and policy framework of the mining sector in Mauritania. Using the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework, the assessment analyzes six thematic pillars: legal and policy environment, financial returns, socio-economic returns, environmental management, post-mining transition, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The report identifies strengths in the country's geological information systems and fiscal attractiveness, but highlights significant gaps in legislative consolidation, environmental monitoring capacity, and the formalization of the emerging ASM sector.

This report provides an assessment of Rwanda's mining laws and policies against the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework (MPF). Conducted between December 2016 and February 2017, the evaluation identifies strengths in Rwanda's regulatory framework and government willingness to improve the sector, while highlighting significant gaps in environmental monitoring, socioeconomic impact assessments, and mine closure planning. The report concludes that while Rwanda has robust laws, it lacks the technical and human capacity to fully implement and enforce them.

This policy brief examines the transition of Sweden's heat energy system toward low-carbon sources, noting significant reductions in fossil fuel use while identifying systemic lock-ins regarding energy demand and waste incineration.

The Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for USAID Clean Power Asia provides a framework to integrate gender equality into renewable energy planning, policy, and investment across ASEAN and Lower Mekong countries. It identifies the energy sector as heavily male-dominated and proposes a 'twin-track approach' that combines project-cycle mainstreaming with the development of 'gender champions' to address systemic biases. Key recommendations include adopting gender-lens investing, ensuring at least 33% female participation in activities, and shifting M&E from output-based to outcome-based tracking.

This report examines the policy provisions, opportunities, and challenges associated with scaling up climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices in Nepal, utilizing a qualitative approach involving desk studies, expert consultations, and field observations.