Search Climate Insights Directory
2,116 results
Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry: Review and assessment of mitigation drivers through 2070
The document argues that fully decarbonizing global industry is essential for limiting global warming to 2°C, noting that 33% of global anthropogenic emissions in 2014 came from industry. It identifies a small number of industries as the primary sources of these emissions and proposes a blueprint involving energy efficiency, carbon capture, electrification, and zero-carbon hydrogen, supported by policies that ensure a just transition and economic development for low- and middle-income countries.
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Document type: Research paper
Mapping India’s Energy Subsidies 2020
The report finds that while India has shifted resources toward clean energy since FY 2014, subsidies for fossil fuels remain over seven times larger than those for renewables and electric vehicles. Oil and gas subsidies rose by over 65% between FY 2017 and FY 2019, driven by higher oil prices and LPG use, while renewable energy subsidies fell by 35% in the same period. Electricity transmission and distribution subsidies doubled, primarily due to under-priced electricity for residential and agricultural users. Electric vehicle subsidies grew over 400-fold since FY 2014. A special analysis of coal indicates a massive net cost of INR 3,36,446 crore in FY 2018 when accounting for social costs like air pollution and GHG emissions, far outweighing tax revenues and charges.
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Document type: Report
Distributional impacts of mining transitions: learning from the past
The paper analyses the socio-economic effects of mine closures on women and youth, highlighting how traditional gender roles and lack of skills create vulnerabilities. It argues that past policy responses, such as retraining and job placement, often failed to address these inequities, and recommends more inclusive, multi-stakeholder planning for future low-carbon transitions.
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Document type: Research paper
PROPOSED DETERMINATIONS FOR NEW GENERATION CAPACITY 2020
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has written to Minister Gwede Mantashe seeking clarification on two draft determinations for new generation capacity. The CER questions whether the Minister has conducted or intends to conduct public participation as required for administrative actions affecting the public. Additionally, the CER seeks to determine if the proposed 1500 MW coal capacity allocation includes the 900 MW already appointed to 'preferred bidder' projects Thabametsi and Khanyisa, which would leave only 600 MW of new capacity available.
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Document type: Statement
Oil and gas industry bailout: why funds must go directly to Canadians and protecting our health
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) opposes providing public funds to the oil and gas industry, suggesting that support should instead be directed toward workers and environmental cleanup to protect public health and address climate change.
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Document type: Statement
Bold action required in South Africa in the face of COVID-19 economic fallout
The Institute for Economic Justice argues that South Africa must implement bold, decisive economic stimulus measures focused on four objectives: supporting households and communities, protecting workers, sustaining businesses, and managing the economy for long-term transformation. The authors advocate for universal income transfers, emergency paid sick pay, conditional business relief, and a 'Green New Deal' to ensure a more equitable and sustainable recovery. They emphasize that financing these measures should avoid austerity-driven reprioritization and instead rely on solidarity taxation and increased borrowing.
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Document type: Research paper
Report of proceedings Envisaging a New Path for State-Owned Enterprises
The document records a dialogue on the crisis facing South African State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), focusing on the need for clear mandates, financial sustainability, and the removal of political interference. Panelists and officials highlighted systemic failures in entities like Eskom, PRASA, and SAA, attributing their decline to state capture, corruption, and poor governance. Proposed solutions include rationalizing the number of SOEs, implementing forensic audits, adopting 'just transition' plans for energy, and strengthening the role of civil society in institutional oversight.
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Document type: Report
Breaking Hard Earth: A Social History of Green Politics in Poland
The author traces the trajectory of Polish green politics, noting an initial wave of activism in the 1980s that faded during the 1990s transition due to rapid deindustrialisation and a political culture that prioritised modernisation over ecology. The text details the failure of 'neoliberal environmentalism' under the Buzek government and the subsequent struggle of the Zieloni 2004 party to overcome a restrictive electoral system. Despite these hurdles, the Greens acted as 'pioneer species' by introducing gender parity, supporting LGBT rights, and exploring 'just transition' concepts. The analysis concludes with the 2019 entry of Greens into Parliament via a coalition with Civic Platform (PO), while noting the ongoing tension between achieving political relevance and risking ideological assimilation.
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Document type: Research paper
Incorporating just transition strategies in developing country Nationally Determined Contributions
The report identifies significant barriers to implementing just transition strategies in developing countries, including a lack of conceptual consensus, the misconception that the concept only applies to developed nations, and weak institutional capacity. It proposes a structured template for NDCs that includes labour market planning, stakeholder engagement, and the creation of inter-departmental coordinating committees. Through case studies of Latin American countries and a policy roundtable, the document emphasizes that no 'one size fits all' approach exists, particularly due to the prevalence of informal economies and varying levels of social protection in low- and middle-income economies.
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Document type: Report
NATURAL GAS: A BRIDGE TO CLIMATE BREAKDOWN
The report argues that natural gas is not a viable 'bridge' fuel but rather a risk to climate stability and shareholder value. It highlights that new gas infrastructure is increasingly incompatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal and faces significant economic threats from the falling costs of renewables and storage. The document details how utilities face 'stranded asset' risks, regulatory pressure from state and city decarbonization mandates, and customer defection to community choice aggregations and corporate clean energy contracts. It suggests that 'steel for fuel' strategies—replacing fossil fuel generation with capital investment in renewables—offer a more sustainable financial model. The report concludes by urging investors to demand better disclosure on emissions and transition plans and to support policies like performance-based regulation and securitization to facilitate a just and rapid energy transition.
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Document type: Report
Rethinking Eskom: Lessons from electricity sector reform in India and Mexico
The report argues that South Africa should avoid a strict 'standard model' of electricity reform—which emphasizes full unbundling and privatization—in favor of a pragmatic approach that balances economic efficiency with social and environmental priorities. By analyzing India and Mexico, the document finds that unbundling alone does not resolve financial distress or lower prices if tariffs remain regulated below cost. It highlights that while private sector participation via auctions has accelerated renewable energy deployment in India and Mexico, it has also created tensions regarding public ownership. The report recommends that South Africa implement targeted subsidies for the vulnerable and explore community or municipal ownership models to ensure a just transition and successful decarbonization.
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Document type: Report
South Africa’s carbon tax: Balancing climate action and economic development
South Africa introduced a carbon tax in 2019 to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025. The policy primarily targets the energy sector, which is responsible for approximately 80% of the country's emissions due to a heavy reliance on coal. While the tax aims to incentivize a shift toward renewable energy, it faces challenges including potential conflicts with WTO non-discrimination principles, the risk of carbon leakage due to a lack of border price adjustments, and negative socio-economic impacts such as increased consumer prices and potential job losses in energy-intensive industries like mining and steel. The document argues for a balanced approach that includes worker re-skilling, targeted incentives for renewables, and regional coordination through agreements like the AfCFTA to prevent protectionism and ensure a just transition.
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Document type: Policy brief
Reaching climate neutrality in Estonia
The document argues that climate neutrality in Estonia by 2050 is feasible and likely profitable, provided the government implements early, ambitious investments and supportive regulatory frameworks. Key priorities include decarbonizing the energy supply by shifting away from oil shale, increasing energy efficiency in buildings, industry, and transport, and leveraging natural assets for carbon sequestration in the LULUCF sector. The transition is estimated to cost EUR 17.3 billion between 2021 and 2050, with 76% of funding expected from the private sector. To ensure a just transition, the report emphasizes the need for targeted support in the oil-shale dependent North-East region and workforce retraining.
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Document type: Briefing
Assessing the gender and social equity dimensions of energy transitions
The report finds that low-carbon energy transitions do not automatically improve social equity and can replicate existing structural inequalities if power asymmetries are not addressed. While some technologies like household solar provide benefits, others—particularly large-scale hydropower and biofuel plantations—often lead to land loss, displacement, and precarious employment. The authors argue that institutional frameworks and participatory processes, rather than the technology itself, determine whether a transition is just.
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Document type: Report
Increasing policy coherence between NDCs and SDGs: a national perspective
The document analyzes policy coherence between the Paris Agreement's NDCs and the 2030 Agenda's SDGs in Germany, Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the Philippines. It finds that while synergies exist, significant conflicts often emerge around energy transitions, economic growth, and inequality (SDG 10). These incoherencies are driven by institutional fragmentation, conflicting national ideologies, and vested interests. The authors argue that achieving both agendas requires moving beyond institutional fixes to address deep structural changes and political dynamics.
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Document type: Policy brief
TO HIS EXCELLENCY SHINZO ABE, THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN
A statement from the We Mean Business coalition to the Prime Minister of Japan calling for more ambitious 2030 emissions targets, the phase-out of coal power, and the alignment of overseas financing with the Paris Agreement to provide certainty for business investment.
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Document type: Statement
Civil Society Organisations’ recommendations for the new EU Industrial Strategy - Making the new European industrial strategy an enabler of a just transition to a carbon neutral, circular and zero-pollution economy
A coalition of European civil society organisations urges the EU to align its Industrial Strategy with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target, advocating for climate neutrality by 2040 and a 65% emissions reduction by 2030. The recommendations emphasize a transition to a circular economy, the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, and the prioritisation of renewable electrification over hydrogen and CCS. The authors call for a 'just transition' that protects vulnerable communities and workers through retraining and the exclusion of fossil fuel investments from the Just Transition Mechanism.
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Document type: Statement
A Roadmap for the Power Supply Sector in Argentina
The report evaluates the energy transition in Argentina's power sector, highlighting the need to align long-term Paris Agreement temperature goals with NDC processes to avoid carbon lock-in. It identifies opportunities for leadership in renewables-based hydrogen and synthetic fuels, while noting that grid limitations are the primary short-term barrier to increasing renewable energy participation.
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Document type: Report
A vision for US climate policy
WWF argues that the United States must implement a legally mandatory pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050, including a carbon price and a 50% emissions reduction below 2005 levels by 2030. While supporting the Climate Leadership Council (CLC) roadmap as a starting point for bipartisan negotiations, WWF emphasizes the need to strengthen the EPA's authority to regulate stationary sources and ensure a just transition for indigenous people and frontline communities.
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Document type: Statement
Canada's Federal Fossil Fuel Subsidies in 2020
The report finds that federal fossil fuel subsidies in Canada for FY 2019/20 totaled nearly CAD 600 million, though this is a conservative estimate due to missing data on tax-related subsidies and specific projects. It highlights a shift in government support from exploration toward infrastructure and exports, particularly for the natural gas sector. Key examples include a CAD 275 million transfer to LNG Canada and ongoing support for the Trans Mountain pipeline. The document also identifies carbon pricing exemptions as effective subsidies for fossil fuel consumption and notes that provincial subsidies generally outpace federal ones. It recommends that Canada include subsidy reform in its next Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and complete its G20 peer review by 2020.
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Document type: Report