Search Climate Insights Directory
578 results
Green or grey growth for Colombia?
The report examines Colombia's struggle to transition toward green growth while remaining heavily dependent on oil and coal exports. It highlights a fragmented state where ministries tied to extractive industries often oppose environmental regulations. While the country has a low-carbon electricity grid dominated by hydropower, it is vulnerable to climate-induced droughts, leading to a push for thermal power and fracking. The report suggests linking renewable energy incentives to post-conflict rural development and leveraging a vanguard of sustainable private sector companies to drive a national transition.
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Document type: Research paper
Resistencia a los antibióticos
The report identifies pharmaceutical manufacturing as a critical third driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), alongside human and animal misuse. Field research in India revealed high levels of drug-resistant E. coli near factories in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Delhi, specifically linking Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs & Pharmaceuticals to these hotspots. The document details a complex global supply chain where Chinese firms produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) under poor environmental conditions, which are then processed in India and exported to Western healthcare systems, including the UK's NHS and US distributors like McKesson. It concludes that current regulatory inspections focus on product safety rather than environmental impact, allowing pollution to accelerate a global health crisis.
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Document type: Report
Superbugs in der Lieferkette
The report details the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria near pharmaceutical production sites in India and China, arguing that poor waste management in these hubs fuels the global spread of 'superbugs'. Through water sampling and supply chain analysis, it identifies specific companies—such as Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs and Pharmaceuticals—as 'AMR hotspots' and traces their products to major healthcare providers and pharmaceutical giants in the West.
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Document type: Report
Bounded Regulation
The document defends the Clean Power Plan against claims that the EPA overstepped its authority. It asserts that the Plan adheres to the limits of Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, which requires the agency to avoid excessive costs, consider energy supply impacts, and use adequately demonstrated reduction techniques.
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Document type: Policy brief
ARZNEIMITTELRESISTENZ DURCH DIE HINTERTÜR
The document examines how the pharmaceutical industry contributes to the global rise of 'superbugs' through the discharge of antibiotic-laden waste into the environment, particularly in China and India. It highlights a critical lack of transparency in the supply chain and argues that current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) fail to include environmental criteria. The report provides case studies of specific companies—such as NCPC, CSPC, and Aurobindo—linked to environmental violations and calls on German health authorities (BfArM) and procurement bodies (BVBG) to integrate environmental and AMR criteria into their licensing and purchasing processes to prevent the further spread of drug-resistant bacteria.
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Document type: Report
The Effect of Rural Credit on Deforestation: Evidence from the Brazilian Amazon
The study finds that Resolution 3,545, implemented in 2008, led to a substantial reduction in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, primarily by restricting access to rural credit for cattle ranching. Using a difference-in-differences approach and 2SLS estimation, the authors estimate that total deforested area from 2009 to 2011 was approximately 60% smaller than it would have been without the policy. The results indicate that cattle ranching is highly dependent on official credit and that credit constraints in the region lead to reduced expansion at the extensive margin. In contrast, crop-oriented municipalities showed no significant impact on deforestation, as crop production is less dependent on official rural credit and more focused on intensification.
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Document type: Research paper
Poor Governance of Mining and the Violation of Environmental Rights in Mpumalanga
The report details how systemic governance failures by the DMR and DWS in Mpumalanga have led to widespread environmental degradation, health crises in mining communities, and threats to water and food security. It highlights the lack of enforcement, a culture of secrecy, and the conflict of interest inherent in the DMR's dual mandate to promote and regulate mining.
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Document type: Report
Understanding the Stay
The document argues that the Supreme Court's stay on the Clean Power Plan does not prohibit the EPA from continuing preparatory implementation work, nor does it automatically delay or 'toll' compliance deadlines.
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Document type: Policy brief
Voluntary Methane Reduction Efforts Will Still Fall Short of Methane Reduction Goal
The Clean Air Task Force asserts that the EPA's Methane Challenge Program, which relies on voluntary industry commitments, cannot achieve the U.S. target of a 40-45% reduction in oil and gas methane emissions by 2025. While 41 companies joined as founding members, the program lacks participation from oil and gas exploration and production companies, which are responsible for 73% of the industry's methane emissions. Although 37 Local Distribution Companies representing nearly 60% of natural gas utility customers are participating, the author maintains that voluntary measures are no substitute for strong, nation-wide regulations of existing pollution sources.
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Document type: Statement
Notice of Intent Regarding Conditional Registrations under the Pest Control Products Regulations, January 19, 2016
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) supports the decision to discontinue new conditional registrations for pesticides effective June 1, 2016, but argues that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) must also end existing conditional registrations by a set date. CAPE highlights that 80 pesticide products currently hold conditional registrations, including neonicotinoids linked to pollinator decline and ecosystem damage. Additionally, the document cites a Federal Commissioner's report identifying PMRA failings in assessing cumulative health effects, re-evaluating pre-1995 pesticides, cancelling high-risk products, and maintaining transparency with the public.
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Document type: Statement
REGULATIONS FOR THE PROCEDURE AND CRITERIA TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE DETERMINATION OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE FINE IN TERMS OF SECTION 22A OF THE ACT, 2016
These 2016 regulations, issued by the Minister of Environmental Affairs, establish the procedure and criteria for determining administrative fines for persons operating listed activities without a valid atmospheric emission license under section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004.
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Document type: Guide
REGULATIONS PRESCRIBING THE ATMOSPHERIC EMISSION LICENCE PROCESSING FEE, 2016
The Regulations Prescribing the Atmospheric Emission Licence Processing Fee, 2016, establish the mandatory fees for various types of atmospheric emission licence applications under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004.
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Document type: Guide
Friends of the Earth International positions on key trade and investment issues
Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) argues that modern 'new generation' trade agreements and the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism empower multinational corporations at the expense of public interest, democratic regulation, and environmental protection. FOEI calls for the immediate halt of treaties such as TTIP, CETA, TPP, and TiSA, and advocates for the complete dismantling of ISDS. The organization proposes a transition toward sustainable trade regimes that prioritize local economies, food sovereignty, and binding social and environmental regulations, while specifically calling for the removal of agriculture from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to protect food security in developing countries.
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Document type: Policy brief
Opposition to S. 2446, the “Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2016”
The document is a formal letter of opposition to S. 2446, asserting that the bill would dismantle critical public health and environmental safeguards established by the EPA's 2014 coal ash rule. The signatories argue that the legislation would eliminate requirements for cleaning up toxic releases, remove national drinking water protection standards, and delay the closure of unstable coal ash impoundments, thereby increasing risks for vulnerable communities and the environment.
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Document type: Statement
Special Review of Atrazine: Proposed Decision for Consultation (REV2015-11)
The document critiques the PMRA's special review of atrazine, claiming it ignores synergistic effects of pesticide mixtures, fails to assess surface water contamination, and uses less protective drinking water standards than necessary. It cites evidence of atrazine's presence in Canadian groundwater and surface water, as well as its links to endocrine disruption in wildlife and various cancers and developmental issues in humans.
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Document type: Statement
Coal Ash: A Civil Rights Issue
The document contends that the U.S. EPA has failed to protect minority and low-income Americans from coal ash pollution, the second largest source of industrial waste in the U.S. It argues that the 2014 coal ash rule is insufficient because it places the burden of enforcement on citizens and allows the continued use of dangerous, unlined coal ash lagoons, which are predominantly located in vulnerable neighborhoods. The text calls for immediate EPA action, including drinking water testing and technical assistance for affected communities, to address these civil rights and public health disparities.
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Document type: Statement
IMPACTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL POLLUTION ON COMMUNITIES AND ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA
The report documents severe water and soil contamination caused by the bulk drug industry in India, particularly in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It highlights a systemic failure of waste treatment infrastructure and regulatory oversight, linking local pollution to the global spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The investigation identifies major pharmaceutical companies, including Aurobindo, Dr Reddy's, Hetero, and Mylan, as significant polluters whose products enter global markets, while local communities suffer from chronic health issues and destroyed livelihoods.
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Document type: Report
Calgary Pesticides Policy
The document outlines the health risks associated with cosmetic pesticides and advocates for the City of Calgary to adopt restrictive policies similar to those in other Canadian jurisdictions. It highlights failures in federal oversight by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and cites multiple systematic reviews linking pesticides to cancers, neurological deficits, and reproductive issues, particularly in children. CAPE notes that seven provinces and 180 municipalities have already implemented such bans, with evidence from Toronto and Ontario showing significant reductions in pesticide use and water contamination. An Alberta-specific poll indicated that 62% of residents support phasing out all but the safest pesticides for lawns and gardens.
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Document type: Statement
RIGHTS FOR BUSINESS, NOT FOR PEOPLE: THE EU’S AGENDA
The document criticizes the European Union for promoting a 'one-sided' legal framework that empowers corporations via Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms in trade deals like TTIP and CETA, while simultaneously resisting a legally binding UN treaty on business and human rights. It highlights the inadequacy of the EU's reliance on voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles (UNGP), noting that such 'soft laws' fail to provide victims of corporate abuse with effective access to justice or enforceable sanctions.
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Document type: Report
US States’ ability to protect from toxic chemicals under attack on two fronts – at home and abroad
The chemical industry is using federal TSCA reform and the TTIP trade agreement to prevent US states from enacting chemical safety laws that exceed federal standards, potentially turning federal regulations into a ceiling rather than a floor.
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Document type: Statement