Search Climate Insights Directory

The Center for International Environmental Law argues that the UNFCCC requires urgent reform to overcome the limitations of its consensus-based decision-making process, which allows a small number of countries to obstruct progress on fossil fuel phase-outs and climate finance.

This briefing note by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines how the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) can collaborate to reform global governance, specifically the UN Security Council (UNSC), amidst a period of systemic rupture and geopolitical fragmentation.

This issue note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is paralyzed by its reliance on consensus-based decision-making. The report contends that this model allows a small minority of states to block ambitious climate action and proposes transitioning to a qualified majority voting system to accelerate progress and fulfill legal obligations to cooperate on climate change.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) issued a statement on February 6, 2025, criticizing the Trump administration's actions to reduce U.S. climate action and foreign assistance, including the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the freezing of international climate finance.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International and partners arguing that the current multilateral system, led by the United Nations, has failed to address global crises due to the dominance of corporate interests and geopolitical power struggles, calling for a democratic restructuring of global governance.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International, Transnational Institute, and IT for Change criticizing the current UN-led multilateral system as a failure that prioritizes corporate interests and neoliberalism over the needs of the Global South and the planet.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International, Transnational Institute, and IT for Change arguing that the current UN-led multilateral system has failed due to corporate capture and geopolitical conflict, and calling for a democratic global government to address climate and social crises.

Minutes from the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) Steering Group meeting on May 31, 2023, detailing the strategic framework for the 2023-2027 phase. The discussion focuses on two primary programmes: 'Renegotiating Social Contracts' to build societal support for green transformation, and 'Promoting a Shared Global Green Deal' to create a multilateral economic architecture that prevents trade wars between major powers and supports developing nations.

This executive summary, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute in May 2022, evaluates the progress made 50 years after the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment. It argues that while knowledge and goals have increased, an 'action gap' persists, with only about one-tenth of global environmental targets achieved. The document proposes three systemic shifts—redefining the human-nature relationship, ensuring lasting prosperity for all, and investing in a sustainable future—alongside improvements in global governance to unlock transformative change.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) evaluates the feasibility and desirability of transitioning United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings to online formats. Based on stakeholder surveys and interviews, it argues that while the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many UNFCCC activities can be held virtually, a meaningful transition requires addressing deep-seated issues of trust, power imbalances, and the digital divide to avoid exacerbating existing inequities.

The report 'État de la gouvernance environnementale mondiale 2021' analyzes the state of global environmental governance during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting a shift toward voluntary commitments, the challenges of virtual diplomacy, and the exacerbation of socio-economic inequalities that hinder environmental progress.

This policy brief, based on a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, examines transboundary climate risks to global food security through the trade of six key agricultural commodities. It argues that traditional risk management strategies like diversification are becoming ineffective due to the systemic nature of climate change, necessitating a shift toward multilateral cooperation and a global systemic view of adaptation to prevent geopolitical tension and protect import-dependent, low-income countries.

This briefing describes the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, as the foundational event for modern environmental diplomacy. It details the conference's origins, the tensions between developed and developing nations, the resulting Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan, and the subsequent establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In a speech delivered at the PAGE Ministerial Conference in Berlin on March 27, 2017, IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan critiques current trade and investment models, specifically focusing on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in sustainable development.

This book chapter, part of the Research Handbook on Climate Governance, examines the increasing institutional fragmentation of global climate governance and argues for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to transition from a high-regulatory role to one of a complexity 'manager' or 'orchestrator'.

This policy brief by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) examines the role of climate diplomacy in securing a global climate agreement by 2015. It argues that integrating climate change into foreign policy and building diplomatic capacity—particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs)—is essential for advancing multilateral action both within and outside the UNFCCC process.

This policy brief outlines the necessary components for implementing a multilateral, global program to reform fossil-fuel subsidies, following widespread support for phasing out such subsidies by the G-20 and other entities in late 2009.

The Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) is a regional initiative launched by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) to strengthen the interface between science and policy in the Americas. The center aims to provide government officials and experts with the tools and knowledge necessary to address complex, transboundary global change challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, through multinational collaboration and evidence-based decision-making.

This report summarizes the activities of the Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) Steering Committee during the 2022-2023 intersessional period. It details two primary meetings held in Uruguay and the United States to define the SDC's vision, mission, and goals, and to identify priority activities aimed at strengthening the science-policy interface across the Americas.

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development analyzes the shift in international trade and climate discussions from abstract principles to practical application. It focuses on the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in managing Climate-related Trade Measures (CTMs), specifically carbon border adjustment mechanisms and deforestation regulations, ahead of the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14).