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2,970 results
2024 in Review
The document reports that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. In the U.S., 24 billion-dollar disasters occurred through November 2024, resulting in at least 418 deaths and $61 billion in damages, excluding the costs of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The analysis highlights a shrinking interval between such disasters, falling to an average of 12 days in 2024 compared to 82 days in the early 1980s.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Addressing Carbon Leakage: A toolkit
The document examines the challenge of carbon leakage, where carbon pricing in one jurisdiction drives emissions to others. It evaluates several policy responses: international carbon pricing frameworks, Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs), carbon cost containment (such as free allocations in ETS), subsidies, and product standards. Each tool is analyzed based on its effectiveness in preventing leakage, its impact on decarbonization incentives, administrative complexity, and potential conflicts with WTO law or international principles like 'common but differentiated responsibilities'.
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Document type: Guide
Reality Check of a Just Energy Transition
The author contends that the green energy transition cannot rely on markets alone or the leadership of fossil fuel producers, who lack the incentive to undermine their core business. Instead, the transition must be driven by consumers reducing global demand through policies like carbon pricing. The text outlines four geoeconomic scenarios for this transition: 'survival of the fittest', 'geopolitical preferences', 'green preferences', and 'development preferences', suggesting that the latter two—which prioritize low-carbon footprints and the socio-economic needs of lower-income producers—are the most just and realistic pathways to meeting Paris Agreement goals.
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Document type: Statement
Country Brief: Sustainable Cooling for All in Ghana
Ghana faces significant cooling gaps, with 12.9 million people at high risk and 16.6 million at medium risk due to lack of access to cooling and electricity. While refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) demand is projected to rise from 7.04 TWh in 2015 to 20.9 TWh by 2050, the country aims to align this growth with its net-zero 2060 target by shifting toward renewables and energy-efficient cooling.
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Document type: Briefing
Challenges to Fostering Low-Carbon Agriculture Through Public Policies and Support in Brazil
Brazil has implemented a series of public policies, most notably the ABC and ABC+ (RenovAgro) plans, to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience. While the original ABC Plan exceeded its 2010-2020 goals, the more ambitious ABC+ Plan aims to cover 72.68 million hectares by 2030. However, a significant gap remains in financing, with only 6.2% of rural credit in 2022/23 dedicated to low-carbon investments. Recent 2023 regulations have tightened credit access by requiring stricter environmental compliance across all biomes. The authors argue that achieving climate goals requires increased rural credit and improved monitoring and verification of technology adoption.
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Document type: Research paper
Renforcer l’adaptation Harmoniser le plan national d’adaptation avec les contributions déterminées au niveau national
The document analyzes the synergy between NAPs and NDCs, finding that while most countries show partial alignment, the 2025 NDC update offers a strategic opportunity to better integrate adaptation priorities, improve data quality, and attract international finance.
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Document type: Briefing
Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action: Report from the Baku Climate Conference COP29
The report argues that COP29 failed to advance human rights-based climate action, citing a weak new climate finance goal, the operationalization of flawed carbon markets, and a restrictive civic environment in the host country. It highlights the removal of references to the right to a healthy environment and the lack of progress on just transition and gender justice, calling for stronger legal obligations and human rights safeguards in future UNFCCC processes.
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Document type: Report
HISTORIC CLIMATE HEARINGS AT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE DAILY DEBRIEFS COMPENDIUM
The compendium details the legal arguments presented from December 2 to December 13, 2024, at the ICJ. It highlights a fundamental divide between climate-vulnerable nations and several high-emitting States. Vulnerable nations, including many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), argue for a 'harmonious interpretation' of international law, asserting that obligations to prevent transboundary harm and protect human rights exist independently of and complement the Paris Agreement. They demand accountability for historical emissions and full reparations, including debt cancellation. Conversely, a minority of high-emitting States, such as the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, argue that the UN climate treaty regime (UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement) is the exclusive source of State obligations, seeking to limit liability and reject the applicability of customary international law or human rights law to climate mitigation.
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Document type: Report
Retos para Promover la Agricultura con Bajas Emisiones de Carbono A Través de Políticas Públicas y Medidas de Ayuda en Brasil
Brazil has implemented a series of public credit policies, most notably the ABC Plan and its successor ABC+ (RenovAgro), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase agricultural resilience. While the original ABC Plan (2010-2020) exceeded its targets—reducing 193.67 million Mg of CO2eq—the current ABC+ Plan sets more ambitious goals for 2030, including recovering 30 million hectares of degraded pastures. However, data from Agroicone indicates that only 6.2% of total rural credit in 2022/23 was directed toward low-carbon investments. Since 2023, access to credit has become more restrictive, requiring strict environmental compliance across entire properties, including the mandatory Rural Environmental Registry. The authors argue that Brazil must increase the volume of available rural credit and improve the monitoring of technology adoption to meet its climate goals.
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Document type: Research paper
Addressing Carbon Leakage
The document examines the phenomenon of carbon leakage, where carbon pricing in one jurisdiction leads to increased emissions in others. It evaluates several mitigation tools, including Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs), carbon cost containment measures (such as free allocations in ETS), subsidies, and product standards, while noting the political and practical hurdles of achieving a coordinated global carbon price.
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Document type: Policy brief
Fossil Fuel Production, Renewable Energy, and Subsidy Reform in Nationally Determined Contributions 3.0
The policy brief outlines three critical benchmarks for 1.5 °C-aligned NDCs: tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, phasing out new fossil fuel projects with production declines of 65-95% by 2050, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 for G7 nations and 2030 for others. It highlights a significant 'production gap' where major producers plan to increase output despite climate imperatives. The authors recommend that new NDCs include quantitative phase-out targets, commitments to no new exploration licenses, and national roadmaps for subsidy reform that prioritize social protection and clean energy investment.
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Document type: Policy brief
The Role of Multilateral Development Banks for Low-Carbon Procurement in the Infrastructure Sector
The report analyzes how MDBs can leverage their financial influence to drive low-carbon procurement in infrastructure. While MDBs are increasingly integrating sustainability into policies, they face hurdles such as misalignment with borrowers' socio-economic priorities, limited technical capacity in developing nations, and a lack of market readiness for low-carbon technologies. The authors recommend harmonizing procurement standards across banks, expanding capacity-building for borrowers, and developing systematic monitoring frameworks to track greenhouse gas reductions.
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Document type: Report
Advancing Adaptation Action
The document analyzes the synergy between NAPs and NDCs, proposing a continuum of alignment from 'no alignment' to 'full alignment'. It finds that while most countries exhibit partial alignment, the timing of document submission significantly impacts coherence. It urges countries to use the 2025 NDC update to integrate detailed NAP findings, including costs and capacity gaps, to improve adaptation ambition and attract international finance.
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Document type: Briefing
Avances en las acciones de adaptación
The document analyzes the degree of alignment between NAPs and NDCs, categorizing countries into 'no alignment', 'partial alignment', and 'full alignment'. It finds that while 82% of countries with multisectoral NAPs reference the NAP process in their NDCs, most (68%) only achieve partial alignment. The briefing argues that the 2025 NDC update is a critical opportunity to use NAPs as operational vehicles to implement high-level NDC goals, improve the quality of adaptation data, and communicate financial and capacity needs to the international community.
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Document type: Briefing
FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET
The report finds that Canadian financial institutions are major global contributors to LNG expansion, with nine banks providing US$16.7 billion and 21 investors holding US$15.8 billion in LNG assets between 2021 and May 2024. Despite commitments to a 1.5°C pathway, major banks like RBC and Scotiabank have increased their financing for LNG export development. The document highlights the climate risks of this expansion, including methane leakage and the potential for stranded assets, particularly in Europe. It calls for an immediate end to financial services for new LNG projects and the adoption of transition plans aligned with the IEA's Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario.
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Document type: Report
FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET
The briefing reveals that German financial institutions continue to pour billions into LNG expansion despite climate pledges. Between 2021 and 2023, nine German banks provided US$7.6 billion in financing, with Deutsche Bank and LBBW accounting for 65% of this total. Additionally, eight German investors held US$5.8 billion in assets of top LNG developers as of May 2024, led by Allianz and Deutsche Bank/DWS. The report highlights a significant gap between these institutions' net-zero commitments and their actual financial activities, noting that Deutsche Bank's financing to LNG expansion rose by 35% between 2021 and 2023. Reclaim Finance argues that this infrastructure locks in long-term fossil fuel dependence and risks creating stranded assets, especially in Europe where gas consumption is declining.
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Document type: Briefing
FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET
The report finds that Japanese financial institutions are among the world's largest supporters of LNG expansion, providing billions in financing despite public commitments to carbon neutrality. It highlights a significant gap between these climate pledges and actual financial flows, particularly from four major banks and the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). The document argues that this support locks in long-term fossil fuel dependence and risks creating stranded assets, especially in Europe and South Korea where gas demand is declining.
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Document type: Briefing
FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET
The report details how 18 South Korean investment banking institutions provided US$7.4 billion to LNG expansion between 2021 and 2023. It specifically highlights DB Financial, Kyobo Life Insurance, and KDB Financial Group as the primary contributors, accounting for 44% of this total. The document argues that this support fuels a climate disaster by locking in long-term fossil fuel dependence and increasing the risk of stranded assets, particularly through the financing of the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS).
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Document type: Report
FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET
The report finds that French financial institutions are among the top global supporters of LNG expansion, with four banks providing nearly all of the US$14 billion in financing between 2021 and 2023. It highlights a significant gap between these institutions' net-zero pledges and their continued funding of LNG export and import terminals, including support for TotalEnergies. The document argues that current sector policies are insufficient due to loopholes regarding corporate financing and import terminals, and calls for a comprehensive end to financial services for new LNG projects.
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Document type: Report
Oil and gas production narratives in Colombia and Nigeria after the Paris Agreement
The document analyzes how Colombia and Nigeria employ narratives of development, energy security, and energy transition to justify oil and gas production, arguing that these stories often rely on inaccurate or outdated premises that entrench carbon dependency. It suggests that civil society and researchers can counter these narratives by demanding transparency, challenging flawed evidence, and promoting science-based alternatives for a just transition.
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Document type: Briefing