Search Climate Insights Directory

The report analyzes the role of Global North private equity firms in maintaining fossil fuel assets across the Global South, highlighting a pattern of extracting profits while offloading environmental and social risks onto local communities. Using data from the 2024 Climate Risk Scorecard, it identifies 13 firms with assets in 32 Global South countries, with a significant concentration of risky assets in Latin America, particularly Mexico. The document details specific instances of pollution in India, social displacement in Brazil, and financial instability in the Philippines, while providing a comprehensive case study on Mexico's LNG and pipeline infrastructure. It concludes that the private equity model's lack of transparency and short-term focus exacerbate climate injustice and expose institutional investors, such as public pensions, to significant financial risk.

The report identifies 5,500 hazardous facilities along US coastlines at risk of 100-year coastal flooding by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario (RCP 8.5). It highlights that marginalized populations—including renters, non-voters, and those in poverty—are 15-41% more likely to live within 1 kilometer of these sites. The risk is heavily concentrated, with nearly 80% of at-risk facilities located in seven states, and specific infrastructure like fossil fuel ports and terminals are particularly vulnerable, with over 40% expected to be at risk.

The document examines the ecological insecurity caused by military occupations, noting that hostile authorities often engage in the deliberate destruction of ecosystems and exploitation of natural resources. It analyzes the limitations of the 1907 Hague Regulations in the context of the modern 'triple planetary crisis' and provides examples of environmental damage in Georgia, Kuwait, Palestine, and Timor-Leste. The author proposes legal remedies through the International Criminal Court and the ICJ, as well as policy interventions such as environmental risk assessments and citizen science monitoring to enhance ecosystem resilience.

The 2024 assessment of 40 global banks reveals a slight increase in the average seafood policy score to 25%, up from 21% in 2023. While 48% of banks showed year-on-year improvements, the majority of policies remain insufficient to address key business resilience risks. European banks continue to lead in policy depth, while Asian banks are showing strong progress in sustainable finance frameworks. Despite 83% of banks recognizing general climate and nature risks, only 33% have seafood-specific policies. The report highlights a growing but still small market for 'blue' financial products, with 38% of assessed banks now disclosing blue-labeled products or eligibility criteria.

The document outlines how commercial banks, institutional investors, and insurers can use the NPOP framework to shift financial flows toward nature-positive outcomes in the blue economy. It details four primary entry points for financial institutions: exclusions policies, sector policies and due diligence, corporate engagement, and sustainable finance products. The briefing provides real-world case studies from institutions such as ING, BNP Paribas, and Standard Chartered to illustrate the application of the AR3T mitigation hierarchy—Avoid, Reduce, Restore & Regenerate, and Transform—across sectors including shipping, seafood, offshore wind, and coastal tourism.

The report provides a detailed overview of the EU's REACH and CLP regulations and the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, alongside China's evolving environmental law system and its management of new and existing chemical substances. It highlights gaps in the EU's data availability and the nascent state of China's environmental risk assessment system, ultimately recommending institutionalised annual exchanges and capacity-building activities under the EU-China Environmental Policy Dialogue to share technical expertise and policy lessons.

The document critiques proposed amendments to the Pest Control Products Regulations, asserting they fail to enhance environmental protections or public transparency. The authors argue that the regulations would illegally restrict access to confidential test data to Canadian residents for 'research purposes' only, undermining the Pest Control Products Act. They further claim the amendments do not mandate the consideration of cumulative environmental effects or species at risk, failing to advance Canada's commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Finally, the statement calls for separate domestic maximum residue limits (MRLs) and the elimination of the default GMRL to ensure better compliance and safety.

The 2023 assessment of 40 banks reveals that while 23% showed improvements in managing E&S risks in the seafood sector, overall performance remains low with an average score of 21%. Asian banks drove most of the year-on-year progress and the issuance of new blue financial products, while European banks maintained the most robust policies. Despite growing awareness of nature-related financial risks, only 30% of assessed banks have seafood-specific policies, and many lack granular expectations for aquaculture and downstream clients.

The document argues that achieving a just, decarbonized economy requires a cooperative, cross-sectorial approach to climate action that engages disenfranchised and underserved communities. It asserts that the most critical issues for these populations are those impacting health, economic wellbeing, and overall prosperity, resulting from compounding inequities and multifaceted environmental risks.

The guide outlines a four-phase methodology to identify and mitigate corruption in fisheries. Phase 1 focuses on selecting a methodology (adapting ISO 31000), identifying critical events in the value chain, and mapping management requirements and anti-corruption approaches. Phase 2 involves data collection through focus groups and interviews, followed by the creation of a draft diagnosis that describes corruption scenarios and categorizes risks. Phase 3 uses multi-stakeholder workshops for a second validation of findings. Phase 4 involves a final validation with public institutions before publishing the results. The guide emphasizes the need for anonymity, safety considerations for researchers, and the use of specific anti-corruption toolboxes to develop recommendations.

The ESPM Manual provides a comprehensive framework for FSD Africa to manage environmental and social risks and drive intentional positive impact across its intervention lifecycle. It details specific procedures for both grant funding and risk capital investments, including screening, due diligence, and monitoring. A central feature is the Gender Lens Investing (GLI) Framework used by the FSDAi pillar to promote women's economic empowerment. The system employs a risk-based approach, categorizing investments from low to high risk to determine the depth of due diligence required, and mandates strict incident reporting and periodic system reviews every two years.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach to soil remediation in China, combining international technical standards for risk assessment and remediation with an analysis of China's specific legal and financial landscape. It details the process of identifying contaminated sites—using mercury (Hg) as a primary example—and evaluates various remediation technologies and their costs. The guide examines the role of stakeholders under the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Soil Contamination (LPCSC) and identifies significant financing gaps, suggesting a mix of public funds, green bonds, and blended finance to address the high costs of land rehabilitation.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach for Chinese financial institutions to manage environmental and social (E&S) risks in BRI projects. It emphasizes that proactive stakeholder engagement—comprising environmental information disclosure, public consultation, and the establishment of grievance mechanisms—reduces the likelihood of project delays and cancellations. The guide details the responsibilities of both financial institutions and their clients across the project lifecycle, from initiation and evaluation to construction and decommissioning. It aligns these practices with international standards such as the Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards, while also mapping relevant Chinese regulatory requirements from bodies like the PBOC and CBIRC. A significant portion of the text is dedicated to the operationalization of an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) and provides case studies on tailoring engagement to local contexts in the DRC, Russia, and the Philippines.

The Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio analyzed four federal transport projects in Pará—EF-170 Ferrogrão, BR-155/158, BR-163/230/MT/PA, and BR-230—using project life cycle mapping and a market access approach to quantify deforestation risks. The study emphasizes that local governments must engage with federal authorities to mitigate negative impacts, though the window for dialogue varies by project stage: early-stage projects like BR-155/158 offer more opportunities, while implemented projects like BR-163/230/MT/PA and BR-230 require political articulation rather than project-level discussion.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) supports the creation of a National Mine Closure Strategy but argues that the draft must prioritize 'mining affected communities' over 'mining dependent communities' and ensure that closure planning begins at the pre-feasibility stage. The CER emphasizes the need for meaningful public participation, the integration of land reform and economic diversification to support a just transition, and the alignment of the strategy with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) to prevent 'temporary closure' from becoming a gateway to mine abandonment.

The Ferrogrão (EF-170) project is a proposed 930 km railroad designed to lower soy export costs from Mato Grosso by routing cargo through the Amazon rainforest to the Miritituba terminal. While intended to reduce carbon emissions, the project faces significant socio-environmental challenges, including a 2017 proposal to withdraw public access from BR-163/MT/PA that would have impacted nearly one million hectares of forests in conservation units. Despite legal challenges to environmental studies and public consultations between 2017 and 2018, the project's concession model was approved in July 2020. The analysis highlights a tension between the Brazilian government's push for infrastructure-led economic recovery and a global trend toward more rigid, sustainable socio-environmental investment standards, which are increasingly viewed by investors as a means to reduce financial risk.

The document argues for a total ban on chlorpyrifos in Canada, asserting that the PMRA's proposed re-evaluation decision does not go far enough. The authors claim that risks to pollinators, birds, mammals, and aquatic life are unacceptable and that current risk assessments underestimate exposure due to a lack of surface water monitoring data. They specifically challenge the safety of continued use in mosquito control and greenhouses, citing evidence of biodiversity in temporary pools and the inefficiency of label restrictions to prevent runoff.

The authors argue that the European Commission's Strategic Approach to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment is insufficient to address the risks of pharmaceutical pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). They highlight that AMR causes over 25,000 deaths annually in the EU and costs the economy more than €1.5 billion. To address these threats, the letter proposes five specific measures: increasing supply chain transparency to prevent double standards in developing countries, expanding Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) to include compulsory environmental criteria for overseas factories, requiring compulsory environmental risk assessments (ERA) for all human and veterinary medical products, adding pharmaceuticals to the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) Directive, and establishing a mandatory EU monitoring system for antimicrobials and AMR microorganisms in the environment.

The 4th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) focuses on 'Innovative Solutions to the Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production' to advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12. The assembly integrates input from the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF), including the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), and technical data from the 6th Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6) report. Key highlights include the exhibition of innovative projects such as the Flipflopi Dhow, a vessel made from waste plastic, and South African environmental risk and anti-poaching technologies.

A coalition of organizations urges the European Commission to strengthen its strategic approach to pharmaceuticals in the environment, citing the grave global health and economic threats of antimicrobial resistance. The authors call for broadening Good Manufacturing Practices to include environmental impacts, using Watch List data to identify priority substances under the Water Framework Directive, and implementing robust Environmental Risk Assessments for marketing authorizations.