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1,247 results
Preserving Scientific Integrity in Federal Policymaking
The report examines the systemic challenges to scientific integrity in the US federal government, contrasting the widespread suppression of science during the George W. Bush administration with the partial progress made under Barack Obama. It argues that while the Obama administration established scientific integrity policies and improved morale, significant gaps remained in implementation, transparency, and the prevention of political interference in rulemaking. The document provides a framework and specific recommendations for the Trump administration to protect independent science, increase government transparency, and enhance public participation to ensure evidence-based decisionmaking.
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Document type: Report
THE POTENTIAL OF BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE FOR ACHIEVING CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TARGETS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
The document argues that while behavioural change alone cannot meet the European Union's climate targets, it can significantly reduce the policy costs of deep decarbonisation. It identifies 16 behavioural options across food, mobility, and housing, estimating that gradual changes could reduce the mitigation burden by 20% to 25% without upfront investment. The brief highlights co-benefits such as improved public health and food security, and suggests that combining technological transformations with public awareness campaigns and targeted taxes is the most efficient path to mitigation.
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Document type: Policy brief
2017_lancet_canada_brief-d5b350a3c2f6d2aa.pdf
The document outlines the intersection of climate change and public health in Canada, highlighting risks such as extreme heat, wildfires, and food insecurity, particularly in the Arctic and among Indigenous populations. It advocates for a rapid phase-out of coal-powered electricity by 2030, the implementation of a National Active Transport Strategy, and the integration of Health Impact Assessments into federal environmental processes to mitigate health risks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Policy brief
Climate attribution science: a useful tool to plan for extreme heat events
The document discusses the increasing frequency and magnitude of extreme heat events in India, highlighting the role of climate attribution science in identifying the human-induced causes of these events. It emphasizes that such science helps decision-makers create targeted heat action plans that account for vulnerability, exposure, and local factors like the urban heat island effect, air pollution, and humidity. The brief notes that while aerosols can temporarily lower peak temperatures, their reduction through clean energy policies may increase heat wave intensity. It advocates for coordinated government responses, early warning systems, and capacity building to protect marginalized populations, such as slum dwellers and outdoor workers, who are most at risk.
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Document type: Policy brief
The heat wave in Phalodi, Rajasthan, India, 19 May 2016
The report investigates the 51°C record temperature in Phalodi, Rajasthan, on 19 May 2016. While annual mean temperatures in India are increasing, the analysis found that human-induced climate change did not play a statistically significant role in this specific event or a similar 2015 event in Andhra Pradesh. The authors suggest that the warming effect of greenhouse gases may be masked by the cooling effects of aerosols and increased irrigation. However, the report warns that as energy policies shift away from fossil fuels, the diminishing cooling effect of aerosols could increase the intensity of future heat waves.
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Document type: Report
Review of Current and Planned Adaptation Action in Nepal
Nepal is addressing its high vulnerability to climate change through a combination of national policies, such as the 2010 National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) and the 2011 Climate Change Policy, and decentralized, bottom-up initiatives like Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPAs). The country faces significant risks from increasing temperatures, rainfall variability, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), particularly affecting agriculture, water resources, and energy. While the Government of Nepal has demonstrated strong political leadership in establishing coordinating bodies like the Climate Change Council, there remains a gap in adaptation efforts for public health and urban settlements. Adaptation is heavily supported by international finance, with a strong focus on community-based projects in the agriculture and water sectors, though private sector participation remains minimal.
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Document type: Research paper
Regionalism in the Southern African Development Community: Integration for better health?
The paper examines the intersection of health and regionalism within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It finds that while SADC has established frameworks like the Protocol on Health (1999) and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the SADC Secretariat has a limited role, acting primarily as a facilitator for member states and international donors. Policy implementation is left to individual governments, often outsourced to NGOs and CBOs via donor funding. Case studies in Swaziland and Zambia reveal a lack of regional policy embeddedness at the national level. However, specific cross-border initiatives targeting HIV/AIDS, malaria (E8), and tuberculosis in mining have shown progress through dedicated funding and political commitment.
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Document type: Research paper
Adaptation Futures 2016: Practices and Solutions
The Adaptation Futures 2016 conference, held in Rotterdam, convened over 1,700 experts to address the urgency of climate adaptation. The synthesis highlights a critical gap where risks are being created faster than they are reduced, calling for more radical and experimental adaptation strategies. Key findings emphasize the necessity of diverse partnerships, the integration of the private sector, and a shift in monitoring from measuring process to measuring progress. The report details thematic outcomes across ten areas, including urban infrastructure, food security, public health, and the Arctic, while advocating for a reinforcing relationship between research 'on' and 'for' adaptation.
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Document type: Report
The Case for Presidential Action to Reform the Farm and Food System
The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that US farm and food policies are uncoordinated and often work at cross-purposes, leading to economic stagnation in rural areas, environmental degradation, and high public health costs. The brief urges the Trump administration to realign these policies to ensure access to healthy, sustainably produced food while supporting the livelihoods of farmers and food system workers.
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Document type: Policy brief
A Good Week for People and the Planet
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) supports the 2030 phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Canada and Alberta, citing significant reductions in premature deaths, healthcare costs, and mercury emissions, as well as an 8% reduction in national greenhouse gas emissions to help meet Paris Agreement commitments.
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Document type: Statement
Trends in Adaptation Planning: Observations from a recent stock-taking review
The document analyzes adaptation efforts in 15 countries across Africa and Asia, highlighting a universal prioritization of the agricultural sector and significant gaps in subnational planning and monitoring systems. While national-level policy frameworks are advancing, the review identifies a persistent lack of adaptation programming in health, forestry, and fisheries, and notes that progress is driven more by political leadership and donor priorities than by development status or climate risk levels.
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Document type: Briefing
Unlocking Africa’s potential
The paper argues that effective governance is a primary determinant of poverty reduction in Africa. Using the International Futures (IFs) forecasting system, it demonstrates that improving governance effectiveness (aligned with SDG 16.6) would lift more than 60 million people out of poverty by 2050, outperforming other targeted health and sanitation interventions.
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Document type: Research paper
FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL DUST CONTROL REGULATIONS
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) is calling for a review of South Africa's National Dust Control Regulations, arguing that current monitoring methods are inadequate and that the government is incorrectly treating fugitive dust as a 'nuisance' rather than a health risk. CER specifically highlights the danger of toxic substances like arsenic and uranium in gold mine residues in Gauteng and opposes a proposal to double the allowable 30-day average dust limit from 600mg/m2 to 1200mg/m2. The letter also demands that the scope of regulated activities be expanded to explicitly include gold mine tailings re-mining operations.
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Document type: Statement
Comunidad latina ignorada en la respuesta a la crisis del agua en Flint
The statement highlights the systemic failure to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate health warnings to the Latino community during the Flint water crisis. It notes that fear of deportation and a lack of Spanish-language information prevented many undocumented families from accessing safe water and medical services. The author advocates for a national lead prevention strategy and immediate federal funding of approximately 1.5 billion dollars to replace corroded water infrastructure in Flint.
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Document type: Statement
Frequently Asked Questions about Hurricane Matthew and Climate Change
The document argues that while climate change does not cause hurricanes, it fuels stronger North Atlantic storms and increases their damage through sea level rise and heavier rainfall. It highlights specific risks to US military installations, power grids, and historic sites, while noting that low-income and minority communities face disproportionate hazards and recovery challenges.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Resistencia a los antibióticos
The report identifies pharmaceutical manufacturing as a critical third driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), alongside human and animal misuse. Field research in India revealed high levels of drug-resistant E. coli near factories in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Delhi, specifically linking Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs & Pharmaceuticals to these hotspots. The document details a complex global supply chain where Chinese firms produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) under poor environmental conditions, which are then processed in India and exported to Western healthcare systems, including the UK's NHS and US distributors like McKesson. It concludes that current regulatory inspections focus on product safety rather than environmental impact, allowing pollution to accelerate a global health crisis.
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Document type: Report
LIFTING EUROPE’S DARK CLOUD
The report 'Lifting Europe’s Dark Cloud' examines the health consequences of coal power emissions in Europe, highlighting that 22,900 premature deaths were caused by these plants in 2013. It argues that current EU legislation, specifically the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), is undermined by widespread 'derogations' that allow over half of European coal plants to exceed safety limits. The authors model three scenarios, demonstrating that adopting the most stringent 'Best Available Techniques' (BAT) could reduce annual premature deaths from 8,900 (under proposed BREF limits) to 2,600, while slashing annual health costs from 24.3 billion to 7.1 billion euros. The document calls for the removal of legal loopholes, the immediate adoption of revised LCP BREF standards, and a total phase-out of coal in favor of renewable energy.
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Document type: Report
Strengthening Federal Science for the Public Good
The report argues that political, ideological, and financial interests have undermined science in US federal decision making, harming public health and environmental protections. It defines scientific integrity as the practice where independent science, free from undue influence, informs policy transparently. To address persisting issues such as political interference and barriers to information flow, the document proposes a comprehensive blueprint for the next administration. Key recommendations include appointing a respected science advisor with direct access to the president, establishing a dedicated assistant director for scientific integrity within the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and requiring agencies to appoint scientific integrity officials who report publicly on violations. The report also calls for strengthening whistleblower protections, reforming the federal scientific advisory committee system to increase transparency, and ensuring that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) does not override agency scientific expertise. Additionally, it suggests enhancing public participation in rulemaking through better technology and strengthening environmental justice requirements by making scientific analysis of equity consequences mandatory for significant rules.
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Document type: Report
Double Jeopardy in Houston
The report identifies a 'double jeopardy' for residents of Harrisburg/Manchester and Galena Park in east Houston, who face both higher daily exposure to toxic air pollutants and greater proximity to high-risk chemical facilities than residents of West Oaks/Eldridge and Bellaire in west Houston. This disparity results in significantly higher cancer and respiratory illness risks for east Houston residents, exacerbated by a lack of comprehensive zoning laws and socioeconomic determinants.
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Document type: Executive summary
Doble peligro en Houston
The report identifies a 'double jeopardy' for residents of Harrisburg/Manchester and Galena Park in east Houston, who face both significantly higher daily exposure to toxic air pollutants and a greater risk of catastrophic chemical accidents due to their proximity to high-risk industrial facilities. In contrast, wealthier communities in west Houston, such as Bellaire and West Oaks/Eldridge, have far lower exposure levels and fewer nearby hazardous facilities. The document advocates for systemic regulatory changes, including the adoption of safer technologies, improved emergency communication, and the implementation of health impact assessments to address these environmental justice disparities.
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Document type: Executive summary