Search Climate Insights Directory

This January 2021 briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines coordination and accountability mechanisms within Kenya's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. It identifies a gap between active group-specific platforms and dormant broad-based forums, notes a prevalence of 'soft accountability' lacking sanctions, and analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sector collaboration and financial transparency.

A study by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Tallinn, conducted as part of the Waterdrive project, analyzed agriculture-related water policy recommendations for the Baltic Sea from 2014 onwards. The research found that a significant portion of recommendations focus on governance but are often too general and lack specific addressees, hindering their effectiveness in combating eutrophication.

This policy brief, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute in June 2015, defines 'frontier landscapes' as remote, sparsely populated areas undergoing rapid transformation due to agricultural expansion and socio-economic shifts. Based on a multi-stakeholder forum at the Global Landscapes Forum in Lima, Peru, the document outlines six propositions to foster sustainable, inclusive, and legitimate development in these regions, emphasizing the need for early action, common ground, institutional capacity, political support, valuation of actor diversity, and robust monitoring.

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute proposes a new governance paradigm called "strategic resilience" to address the failures of traditional climate change adaptation. The authors argue that adaptation is currently hindered by its placement within relatively weak environment ministries and a narrow focus on territorial impacts. By relocating adaptation to the center of government and integrating it into a broader resilience agenda, states can better manage complex, cross-border climate risks and avoid a "securitization" approach dominated by defense logics.

This working paper analyzes 32 REDD+ readiness proposals submitted to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the UN-REDD Programme to evaluate how countries are addressing governance challenges in programs designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

This issue brief analyzes the governance of India's appliance efficiency standards and labeling (S&L) program, managed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). It identifies gaps in the program's effectiveness since its 2006 inception and proposes improvements in transparency, accountability, stakeholder participation, and institutional capacity to better mitigate growing residential electricity demand.

This working paper from the World Resources Institute proposes a new expectations-based framework to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of government-led cooperative climate initiatives, addressing a gap in formalized transparency and accountability mechanisms.

This working paper examines the international governance of technological carbon removal, focusing on three main challenges: mitigation deterrence, equity in deployment and benefits, and the lack of standardized measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) processes. It notes that while 26 of 62 LTSs submitted to the UNFCCC as of May 2023 consider technological CDR, there is little guidance on how to scale these technologies equitably and sustainably to meet the 1.5 degrees C goal of the Paris Agreement.

This policy brief by the World Resources Institute argues that effective climate adaptation for the rural poor requires an 'enabling environment' characterized by fair governance and secure rights to resources. It posits that governance failures and lack of resource rights are often more significant drivers of vulnerability than climate change itself, and proposes specific national and local investment priorities to build resilience through natural resource management.

This report analyzes the integration of open governance principles—transparency, participation, and accountability—within the climate finance system. It finds that while multilateral institutions have consistent approaches, bilateral and private finance governance is less transparent and accountable. Key barriers include the lack of a common definition for climate finance and the fact that final investment decisions often occur without public participation. The report concludes that current international finance lacks sufficient enforcement mechanisms and that improvements must come from domestic laws and institutional policies rather than UNFCCC negotiations alone.

This report by the World Resources Institute analyzes the legitimacy of climate finance institutions, focusing on the redistribution of power, responsibility, and accountability between developed contributor countries and developing recipient countries. It argues that for climate finance to be effective and legitimate, existing institutions must be reformed and new mechanisms created to enhance recipient country ownership and national capacity.

This Expert Note by the World Resources Institute analyzes the enabling conditions required for countries to implement ocean-based climate actions within their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), based on trends in updated NDCs and 358 implementation support requests from 59 countries submitted via the NDC Partnership between 2017 and 2026.

This research paper by the World Resources Institute presents a 'New Climate Federalism' framework developed through dialogues with U.S. government officials. It outlines a collaborative model where federal, state, and local governments leverage their respective strengths to achieve decarbonization, emphasizing that federal standards should act as a floor rather than a ceiling to allow for more ambitious subnational action.

This research paper examines the governance and institutional arrangements necessary to support long-term, low-emissions development strategies (LTSs) to bridge the gap between current decisions and long-term climate goals.

This research paper by the World Resources Institute examines the integration, or 'mainstreaming', of climate change adaptation into sectoral development plans and budgets in India. Using case studies from Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the paper identifies key drivers for successful adaptation, such as the role of political and administrative leadership, the importance of programmatic over project-specific funding for sustainability, and the necessity of capacity building and inter-sectoral coordination.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute argues for the integration of transparency, public engagement, and accountability measures into the regulations of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol to ensure its success and legitimacy.

This research paper by Nancy Peluso explores the complex relationship between the decentralization of resource management and violence in Indonesia. Using the forest and land sectors as primary examples, Peluso argues that decentralization often shifts the locus of power to local elites who may use violence to secure resource control, while the legacy of the repressive Suharto regime has normalized violent conflict and weakened the state's capacity to enforce law and order.