Search Climate Insights Directory

The Mexican government, via the Instituto Nacional de Ecología, proposes three primary research lines for the IAI: integrated assessments of climate variability and its impacts on health, agriculture, tourism, and ecosystems; the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the energy and forestry sectors; and the study of co-benefits from reducing local and global emissions on human health and urban ecosystems.

The report 'Fuelling Failure' argues that fossil fuel dependence makes it impossible to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by driving climate change and causing widespread pollution. It details specific negative impacts across all 17 SDGs, including pushing 122 million more people into extreme poverty by 2030 and causing 8.7 million premature deaths annually from air pollution between 2012 and 2018. The authors propose a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to end new exploration, equitably phase down existing production, and accelerate a fair transition through financial and technological assistance, particularly from wealthy nations.

The report identifies 'coronavirus profiteers' across the meat, auto, airline, logging, and fossil fuel industries who lobbied for deregulation and subsidies during the pandemic. It contrasts these with 'climate heroes'—including certain European automakers, EU leadership, and specific palm oil companies—who continued to pursue emissions reductions and forest protection. The text emphasizes that weakening environmental protections, such as allowing deforestation and air pollution, increases public health vulnerability to respiratory diseases and future pandemics.

Natural Justice argues that the Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment Bill (B5-2022) requires stronger penalties, better enforcement mechanisms, and more transparent exemptions to effectively protect South Africa's marine ecosystems. The organization specifically criticizes exemptions for ship trials and offshore mineral processing as contradictory to South Africa's Paris Agreement commitments and the national energy transition. It further calls for the inclusion of local communities and traditional leaders in the legislative process and the involvement of local authorities and specialized maritime police in enforcement.

The Declaration of the African Caravans for Climate Justice argues that colonialism is a primary driver of climate change and calls for a transition from debt-based climate finance to grants. It demands that wealthy nations meet the $100 billion annual pledge, establish a dedicated loss and damage financing mechanism, and halt new investments in fossil fuels and nuclear power. The document emphasizes the need for peasant agroecology, community land security, and the meaningful inclusion of women and youth in climate governance.

The 'Three Ps' framework (Principles, Policies and laws, and Practicalities) outlines a community-centric approach to the Just Energy Transition in Africa. It argues that for a transition to be truly 'just,' it must move beyond simple decarbonization to address historical injustices, ensure energy democracy, and protect the land and human rights of local communities. The guide emphasizes the necessity of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), the implementation of community-owned renewable energy (CORE) models, and the provision of climate finance in the form of grants rather than loans to avoid further debt for Global South countries.

Reclaim Finance critiques the ACPR's climate pilot exercise, warning that the exclusion of solvency requirements, the use of a dynamic balance sheet, and the focus on extreme weather events over chronic risks may artificially reduce measured climate risks. The organization recommends including the year 2030 in projections, expanding the geographic scope beyond France, Europe, and the US, and conducting a more granular analysis of the fossil fuel sector.

The document outlines a step-by-step process for participating in an EU consultation and provides template answers advocating for stricter regulations on the financial sector. It argues for the creation of a 'brown taxonomy' to identify and exclude fossil fuels and polluting activities, the implementation of a 'social taxonomy' to protect labor rights, and the alignment of all EU financial activities with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. It specifically suggests that the European Central Bank's monetary policy and post-COVID-19 recovery measures should exclude the most polluting sectors.

The fact sheet argues that many climate scenarios used by financial actors act as 'greenwashing tools' by underestimating renewable energy, relying on unlikely negative emissions technologies, and omitting significant portions of global greenhouse gas emissions. It asserts that these scenarios often lead to warming exceeding 1.5°C and calls for a complete phase-out of fossil fuel financing by 2040 in Europe and 2050 globally.

The document argues that many climate scenarios used by financial actors and large companies serve as tools for greenwashing by underestimating renewable energy and relying on improbable negative emissions to justify continued fossil fuel investment.

Reclaim Finance responds to the Bank of England's consultation on the Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme (CBPS), urging the Bank to prioritize the exclusion and divestment of fossil fuel assets to mitigate climate-related financial risks. The organization argues that engagement is often ineffective for high-carbon companies and recommends that the Bank set ambitious, short-term portfolio targets, integrate scope 3 emissions, and implement a heavy negative tilt strategy. Reclaim Finance further suggests that the Bank should lead the market in climate risk management by increasing capital requirements for fossil fuel exposures and expanding its environmental focus to include nature-related financial risks.

A survey of 1,026 French citizens reveals that 60% believe sustainable or ISR-labeled investments should not finance oil companies developing new fossil fuel fields, and 64% consider such financing to be a form of greenwashing.

The document details a bottom-up methodology for sizing global energy waste using 2019 IEA World Energy Balance data and IIASA's PFUDB dataset. It estimates that of $12 trillion in gross global energy spending, approximately $4.6 trillion (40%) is spent on fuels that are wasted before becoming useful energy. The authors note that while the second law of thermodynamics prevents total elimination of waste, this $4.6 trillion figure represents a significant upper bound for efficiency opportunities.

The Reimagine our Future Declaration, authored by over 150 South African youth aged 14-24, calls for systemic reforms to address youth unemployment, climate change, and social inequality. The authors advocate for a 'youth-centred green recovery' from the COVID-19 pandemic, urging the South African government to divest from fossil fuels, invest in renewable energy, and integrate climate education into school curricula. Economically, the declaration highlights a youth unemployment rate of 32.5% and demands greater transparency, accountability in public spending, and increased funding for youth-led businesses. Socially, it emphasizes the need for free, decolonised education and urgent action against gender-based violence and femicide.

The G20 Energy Access Action Plan focuses its first phase on improving electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 620 million people lack power. The plan proposes six key areas for collaboration: policy and regulatory environments, technology deployment, investment and finance, capacity building, regional integration, and coordination. It emphasizes a flexible, voluntary approach that respects national sovereignty over energy mixes. The document also compiles 'good practice' case studies from G20 members—including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, and Turkey—and details specific international development projects in Africa led by the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as the African Union's Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility.

The report finds that while electricity financing in 20 high-potential countries rose by 56% to $30.2 billion annually between 2013-2014 and 2015-2016, this remains far below the $52 billion needed for universal access by 2030. Financing is heavily skewed toward non-residential consumers and grid-connected technologies, with a concerning increase in fossil fuel investments, particularly coal. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a widening investment gap, receiving only 17% of total electricity funding. Meanwhile, clean cooking financing declined by 5% to $30 million, a fraction of the $4.4 billion required annually.

The world faces a 'triple crisis' of cost of living, energy security, and food security, which disproportionately affects developing countries and is exacerbated by rising energy prices. While the energy transition offers a path to address these issues, renewable energy deployment in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) is lagging behind the Global North and China/India. This disparity is driven by a lack of access to capital and prohibitively high interest rates, which increase the cost of technology. For example, the cost of solar PV in Pakistan is 57% higher than in the United States due to capital costs. To unlock renewables, the document proposes systemic financial solutions focused on identifying investment pipelines, developing innovative financing mechanisms to crowd in private capital, and improving climate risk pricing and local currency investing.

Transformation calculations operate on a demand-driven basis, where modules are processed sequentially to determine the primary fossil and renewable resources needed to meet domestic and export demands. The order of modules in the system tree is critical to the accuracy of the results, as outputs from one module decrement the requirements for the next while adding their own fuel inputs.

The document analyzes China's high carbon intensity and rapidly increasing per capita emissions, noting that China was one of the world's largest emitters in 2005. It highlights a reversal in the trend of falling energy intensity relative to GDP growth since 2000. While current policies aim for a 20% reduction in energy intensity by 2010, the brief argues that further mitigation and a proactive approach in climate negotiations are required to keep global temperature rise within 2 °C. It also identifies the 2008 financial crisis as a strategic window to redirect investment toward energy conservation and renewables to avoid locking in energy-intensive infrastructure.

The document proposes a series of reforms to the U.S. energy permitting process, including the designation of at least 25 high-priority projects across various energy types, the imposition of strict timelines for NEPA and Clean Water Act reviews, and measures to reduce litigation delays. It specifically suggests enhancing FERC's authority over interstate electric transmission and hydrogen facilities, and mandates the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.