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Neubauer, et al. v. Germany
The Federal Court of Germany ruled that parts of the Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG) were incompatible with fundamental rights because they lacked provisions for updating greenhouse gas emission reduction targets from 2031 onwards. While the court found that the government breached obligations by omitting post-2030 targets, it declined to compel a limit of 1.5°C over 2°C, citing IPCC uncertainty and legislative discretion. The court also affirmed that national climate action is required regardless of whether such action alone can stop global climate change, and it granted standing to complainants from Nepal and Bangladesh, though it did not establish a specific duty of protection for people abroad under the Basic Law.
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Document type: Case study
La Rose v. Her Majesty the Queen
The case of La Rose v. Her Majesty the Queen involved a claim by fifteen Canadian youths asserting that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and support for fossil fuel industries were incompatible with a stable climate and violated their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the public trust doctrine. The Federal Court of Canada dismissed the claim, ruling that the Charter-based arguments were not justiciable because they sought judicial intervention in overall government policy and that the public trust doctrine was not supported in Canadian law.
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Document type: Case study
Getting Started
The document outlines the reciprocal relationship between food systems and climate change, noting that agriculture and food systems contribute 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It encourages journalists to move beyond 'problem' stories by highlighting systemic solutions, such as regenerative agriculture and the reduction of food waste, while emphasizing the importance of climate justice and the role of women in agriculture. The guide specifically highlights the impact of industrial agriculture, the vulnerability of global food systems exacerbated by conflict and pandemics, and the critical need to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius to maintain food security.
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Document type: Guide
Low-Carbon Fuels Have a Limited Role to Play in New York’s Buildings
The document assesses the viability of low-carbon fuels for New York's building sector, concluding that they are inefficient and costly compared to direct electrification. It highlights that green hydrogen requires significantly more clean electricity than heat pumps and poses infrastructure risks like pipeline embrittlement. Additionally, it notes that biomethane supplies are insufficient to meet demand and that both biomethane and synthetic methane introduce new methane emission risks. The brief advocates for prioritizing energy efficiency and electrification to meet the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
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Document type: Policy brief
assemblee-generale-de-totalenergies-lopposition-monte/
Reclaim Finance criticizes TotalEnergies' climate plan as incompatible with the 1.5°C warming limit, noting that the company remains a leading developer of hydrocarbons. The statement highlights a growing opposition from investors, including Crédit Mutuel, and urges shareholders to reject the plan and oppose the reelection of directors to hold the company accountable for its continued fossil fuel expansion.
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Document type: Statement
Disaster Risk Reduction in an Unstable World
The document examines the evolution of disaster risk reduction (DRR) from a reactive emergency response model to a proactive strategy focused on reducing vulnerability and exposure. It highlights the disproportionate impact of disasters in countries with poor infrastructure, such as Haiti compared to Chile, and emphasizes the economic benefits of proactive investment, citing Bangladesh as an example. The brief traces the international policy trajectory from the 1960s through the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, noting a growing integration between DRR and climate change adaptation. It specifically advocates for the protection of wetlands as natural buffers against water-related disasters and calls for a 'whole-of-society' approach combining top-down institutional changes with bottom-up community actions to build resilience in a climate where extreme events are becoming the 'new normal'.
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Document type: Policy brief
Meeting Human Needs
The document argues that the global community must transition to a 'sustainability corridor' where human welfare is improved without overexploiting natural resources. It proposes the 'provisioning systems framework' to analyze the physical, institutional, and social structures that link human needs to resource use. The authors apply this framework to climate change mitigation, comparing different provisioning systems for charging cellphones (grid electricity versus portable solar panels) and different modes of transport (air versus road) to demonstrate why policy effectiveness varies across contexts.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate change exacerbated rainfall causing devastating flooding in eastern South Africa
A collaborative scientific study found that human-induced climate change approximately doubled the probability of the extreme 2-day rainfall that caused devastating floods in eastern South Africa in April 2022, increasing the event's intensity by 4-8%.
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Document type: Research paper
Clean Energy 101: Electric Trucks
The document outlines the transition to electric trucks across passenger pickups, delivery vans, box trucks, and heavy-duty rigs in North America, highlighting that several segments are economically viable for electrification now and could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Guide
The Energy and Climate Implications of Digital Assets
The document argues that proof-of-work digital currencies, specifically Bitcoin, cause significant environmental harm through soaring electricity demand, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and the generation of substantial electronic waste. It highlights the negative impacts on local communities, such as increased electricity prices and thermal pollution in water bodies, and notes that these operations can strain critical semiconductor supply chains. The authors propose several mitigation strategies, including stringent EPA permit reviews, the creation of a mining operation registry by the OMB, energy efficiency standards from the DOE, and transparency requirements from financial regulators like the SEC and CFTC.
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Document type: Statement
Roadmap and Initial Reflections on CHR’s Final Report in the Philippines National Inquiry on Climate Change
The Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) concluded a seven-year inquiry finding that 47 'Carbon Majors' companies contributed significantly to global emissions and engaged in 'willful obfuscation' of climate science despite knowing the risks since at least 1965. The report details severe human rights impacts in the Philippines, including threats to the rights to life, health, food security, and water, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as women, children, and Indigenous Peoples. The CHR asserts that these companies, and the financial institutions that fund them, have a responsibility to respect human rights and provide remediation for climate-driven harms. It recommends that states implement punitive laws for environmental harm, put a price on pollution, and transition to renewable energy by 2030 to meet the 1.5°C limit.
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Document type: Briefing
Peak CO2 & Heat-trapping Emissions
The document reports that atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane levels continue to rise, with CO2 expected to break records in May 2022 and methane seeing its largest annual increase in 2021. It identifies the energy sector as the largest global emitter (34%) and the transportation sector as the largest U.S. emitter (27%), arguing that rapid and deep emission cuts across all sectors are necessary this decade to limit warming to 1.5C or below 2C.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Decoding the coming AGM
Reclaim Finance asserts that Equinor's climate plan is insufficient to meet 1.5°C targets, noting that the company will exceed its carbon budget by 2037. The statement criticizes Equinor for continuing to develop new fossil fuel resources, including unconventional and Arctic projects, and for relying on unproven CCUS scalability. It recommends that shareholders reject the company's transition plan and support resolutions calling for absolute GHG reduction targets and a cessation of exploration.
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Document type: Statement
Call on TotalEnergies’ financiers and shareholders to push for a 1.5°C-aligned climate plan and the end of oil and gas expansion
A coalition of NGOs argues that TotalEnergies' climate strategy is incompatible with the 1.5°C goal, citing insufficient decarbonization targets and continued fossil fuel expansion. They call on investors to vote against the company's climate strategy and the reappointment of specific directors at the May 2022 Annual General Meeting, and to suspend new financial services to the company.
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Document type: Statement
Charting the Course for Early Truck Electrification
The report analyzes trucking telematics data from Geotab to determine the feasibility of early electric truck adoption in California and New York, finding that emissions per mile for electric trucks are significantly lower than diesel alternatives regardless of charging schedules.
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Document type: Report
Green Decent Work Agenda, Social Protection and Land Reform: The Bedrock of Climate Crisis Transformative Resilience
The authors argue that South Africa's vulnerability to climate change is rooted in its political economy, specifically the fossil-fuel-dependent 'minerals-energy complex' (MEC). To move beyond simple coping strategies toward 'transformative resilience,' the paper outlines three pillars: a Green Decent Work Agenda (GDWA) to create sustainable livelihoods, social protection (specifically a universal basic income guarantee) to provide safety nets, and radical, state-led land reform to reduce exposure to risk and enhance adaptive capacity.
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Document type: Research paper
ENEL’s AGM: Will good intentions lead to climate action?
The briefing examines ENEL's climate commitments, noting that while the utility has announced a coal phase-out by 2027 and a gas exit by 2040, it continues to plan new gas projects and the potential revival of an LNG terminal in Sicily. It urges shareholders to use the upcoming Annual General Meeting to demand a more robust transition plan that avoids selling or converting coal assets and accelerates the gas exit in EU/OECD countries to 2035.
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Document type: Briefing
Model answers: Studies reveal EU must revamp Emissions Trading System to live within its carbon budget
The briefing asserts that the EU's current 55% emissions reduction target for 2030 is insufficient and that the proposed reforms to the EU ETS will fail to meet even their own targets. Based on research from Climact and the Öko Institute, the document advocates for a 65% overall reduction target by 2030 and an EU ETS target of at least 70%. To achieve this, it proposes a 'three-stage rocket' approach: a one-off reduction of 350 million allowances, increasing the Linear Reduction Factor to 4.4%, and revising Market Stability Reserve thresholds downward to zero by 2030.
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Document type: Briefing
Country Diagnostic Report: MALAWI
The report identifies a high prevalence of extreme poverty (69%) and undernourishment (19%) in Malawi, driven by the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to crop failure and climate shocks. Projections to 2030 suggest that while chronic hunger may decrease, poverty will remain extremely high, and agricultural GHG emissions—particularly from livestock—are expected to rise by 4.4% annually. The Malawian diet is heavily reliant on maize, leading to significant micronutrient deficiencies and a lack of dietary diversity, especially in low-income households. The document notes the absence of a national definition for a 'healthy diet' and highlights the critical role of Official Development Assistance (ODA), with USD 360 million disbursed annually (2014–2018) to food system projects. Climate change impacts, including increased floods and droughts, are exacerbating food insecurity, prompting the government to implement adaptation strategies such as crop diversification and climate-smart agriculture.
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Document type: Report
Country Diagnostic Report: NIGERIA
The report examines Nigeria's food systems, highlighting a projected increase in chronic hunger and extreme poverty by 2030. It identifies livestock as the primary source of agricultural GHG emissions and notes significant climate vulnerabilities, particularly for rice yields. The analysis reveals a stark dietary divide between income groups, with wealthier households consuming more animal-based proteins. While national dietary guidelines and climate policies exist, the report finds a substantial gap in Official Development Assistance (ODA) required to meet SDG 2 targets.
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Document type: Report