Search Climate Insights Directory

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has initiated legal action against the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and the Minister of Energy regarding the requirement of a Ministerial determination under section 34 of the Electricity Control Act (ECA) for licensing Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

This document is a Notice of Objection filed on July 24, 2017, by a coalition of environmental and health organizations—including the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the David Suzuki Foundation—against the Pest Management Regulatory Agency's (PMRA) re-evaluation decision (RVD2017-01) on glyphosate. The objectors argue that the PMRA failed to consider critical evidence regarding glyphosate's impact on the monarch butterfly, human and soil microbiomes, and carcinogenic risks, while relying on flawed risk management strategies such as riparian buffer strips and product labelling.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) criticizes the 2017 U.S. NAFTA negotiating objectives for prioritizing corporate interests over public health, labor rights, and the environment. CIEL highlights the failure to address Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the promotion of fossil fuel investment in Mexico, and the lack of binding environmental enforcement and transparency.

This policy brief by the British High Commission, New Delhi, discusses the India-UK partnership's role in supporting India's Smart City Mission to ensure sustainable, resilient, and low-carbon urban growth in the face of increasing climate hazards and energy demand.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the proposed Multilateral Investment Court (MIC), championed by the European Union and Canada, fails to address the fundamental flaws of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and instead prioritizes corporate rights over public interest, human rights, and environmental protections.

This document is a final impact assessment template for the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS), specifically detailing the design, intended outcomes, and projected impacts of a proposed carbon tax in South Africa. It outlines a phased approach to internalise the costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to encourage a transition to a low-carbon economy while mitigating adverse effects on industrial competitiveness and low-income households.

The China Green Bond Market Mid Year Report 2017 details the growth and diversification of China's green bond market in the first half of 2017, highlighting a total issuance of USD 11.52bn and a shift toward non-bank issuers. The report outlines various policy updates, the emergence of green municipal bonds, and the alignment of Chinese bonds with international standards.

The China Green Bond Market Mid Year Report 2017, prepared by the Climate Bonds Initiative and the China Central Depository & Clearing Company, analyzes the growth, composition, and regulatory environment of China's green bond market during the first half of 2017.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and PUC-Rio analyzes the Environmental Reserve Quote (Cota de Reserva Ambiental - CRA) as a mechanism for compensating Legal Reserve deficits in rural properties under Brazil's Forest Code (Law 12.651/2012). The document evaluates the CRA against other compensation alternatives, identifies institutional and legal barriers to its implementation, and provides recommendations for federal regulation to ensure market security and lower transaction costs.

This report by GreenCape identifies business opportunities for adding value to livestock waste streams, specifically manure and abattoir waste, within the Western Cape of South Africa. It details the regional distribution of waste sources, current disposal methods, and the regulatory and technical barriers to implementing value-addition technologies like anaerobic digestion and composting.

This report by GreenCape identifies business opportunities for value addition from industrial organic wastewater in the Western Cape, South Africa. It highlights the potential for recovering resources like biogas, starch, and whey from the agro-processing sector, while noting significant barriers related to wastewater volumes and capital requirements.

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that the mining industry represents a significant, untapped opportunity for gigaton-scale carbon emissions reductions. It highlights that while mining is inherently energy-intensive, the transition to renewable energy is now economically viable due to falling costs of solar PV and wind, which can replace expensive diesel generation at remote sites and reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-dominated grids.

The document examines the failure of mining community trusts in South Africa to deliver broad-based empowerment, highlighting the risks of the 2016 Mining Charter III's new state-managed agency and contrasting the success of the Bafokeng with the maladministration seen in the Bapo Ba Mogale and Bakwena Ba Mogopa communities.

The Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor 2017 ranks G20 member states on their attractiveness for low-carbon electricity infrastructure investments and assesses their investment needs to meet Paris Agreement temperature limits. While OECD countries like Germany, the UK, and France remain the most attractive destinations due to stable policy frameworks, emerging markets such as China, India, and South Africa show significant growth in renewable installations but face high investment needs to create climate-resilient power infrastructure.

This document is an audit report conducted by KPMG Austria GmbH on the financial statements of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Verein für nachhaltige Energie for the shortened financial year ending 31 December 2016. The audit confirms that the financial statements present fairly the organization's financial position and performance in accordance with voluntarily applied Austrian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

A briefing by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) arguing that Ontario's Nuclear Emergency Response Plan is outdated and insufficient to handle a catastrophic accident of the scale seen at Fukushima.

This report examines the challenges of fuel oil subsidies and the lack of a strategic pricing mechanism in Bangladesh. It highlights how government control over oil prices, driven by political considerations, creates financial burdens for the state and the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), potentially hindering the country's goal of achieving 8% GDP growth.

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights to the Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality requesting notification of any land-use change applications for properties linked to a proposed underground coal mining operation by Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd.

The draft minutes of the forty-fourth meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Executive Council (EC), held on June 14, 2017, in Bogotá, Colombia, detail the approval of previous decisions and the establishment of new actions regarding committee nominations, funding agency participation, and long-term institutional strategies.

A statement from RMI expressing disappointment over President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, while asserting that subnational actions and the global energy transition will continue.