Search Climate Insights Directory
371 results
LEADING ON AMBITION: OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE CLIMATE VULNERABLE FORUM
The document argues that while individual CVF countries have low emissions, their collective impact is significant, equivalent to the world's fifth largest emitter. It provides a 'menu of options' for updating NDCs across key sectors—energy, transport, forests, and agriculture—while emphasizing the need for enhanced international finance, technology transfer, and robust national legal frameworks to implement these ambitions.
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Document type: Research paper
Battery Electric Buses: Benefits Outweigh Costs
The document examines the transition from diesel to battery-powered electric buses (BEBs), highlighting that while upfront costs remain higher, BEBs offer lower operating and maintenance costs, higher fuel economy, and zero tailpipe emissions. It details the current global deployment—dominated by China—and the growing adoption in U.S. cities like Los Angeles and New York. The text also discusses the health risks of diesel exhaust, particularly for children, and outlines available federal and state funding mechanisms, such as FTA grants and Volkswagen settlement funds, to support the transition.
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Document type: Fact sheet
The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Mobility
The document outlines six key actions for regional governments to decarbonize mobility: expanding electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, electrifying commercial and government fleets, implementing clean vehicle manufacturing standards, improving freight delivery efficiency, investing in public transit, and promoting non-motorized travel alternatives.
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Document type: Guide
mayors-california-carb-letter-supporting-zebs-eb258d8d28714e2f.pdf
Mayors from across California are calling on the California Air Resources Board to move beyond incentives and implement regulatory measures to transition transit fleets to zero-emission buses. They argue that these vehicles are technologically viable, cost-competitive, and essential for reducing toxic air pollution and meeting the state's 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goals.
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Document type: Statement
FACT SHEET A Plan Is Needed to Reduce Emissions, Boost Revenue, and Ensure Reliable Transit
The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a transportation-based cap-and-invest program for New York State, citing the success of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the power sector. The document highlights that transportation is the largest source of emissions in New York and a major cause of health issues in New York City. It suggests that such a program could raise over $1.2 billion annually to fund electric vehicle infrastructure, public transit, and climate resilience.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Pay As You Save® (PAYS®)
The document introduces Pay As You Save (PAYS) as a financing model to accelerate the transition from diesel to electric buses in South Africa. By shifting the cost of batteries and charging infrastructure from the bus operator's balance sheet to a municipality-managed on-bill tariff, PAYS removes the primary barrier of high upfront capital costs. The model benefits bus service providers through immediate operational savings, utilities through increased electricity revenue and secure cost recovery, and capital providers through reduced risk by lending to creditworthy municipalities.
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Document type: Briefing
Measuring Winnipeggers’ Convenient Access to Public Transportation
This policy brief develops a metric for 'convenient access' to public transit by combining spatial (distance to stop) and temporal (bus frequency) data. Applying this to Winnipeg, the analysis finds that only 53% of the population has convenient access during peak hours. It further demonstrates that proposed cuts to 22 bus routes would have resulted in 5.6% of residents losing convenient access and 5.54% losing all access to transit. The brief argues that such quantitative monitoring is essential for informing sustainable urban development and evaluating the impact of policy changes on ridership.
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Document type: Policy brief
Parking: Reflections for growing and developing cities
The document examines how parking policies, particularly minimum parking requirements, incentivise private car use and increase greenhouse gas emissions. It contrasts these with maximum parking requirements and effective management strategies seen in Pasadena, Portland, and London, suggesting that South Africa update its 1985 standards to promote sustainable transport.
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Document type: Briefing
Brazilian Law Sets Standards for Compact, Connected, Coordinated Social Housing
The World Resources Institute (WRI) collaborated with the Brazilian government to implement a new law in March 2017 that mandates 3C standards for the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) social housing program. This law aims to prevent the isolation of low-income housing from urban centers, promoting public transport, walking, and cycling to benefit approximately 1.8 million people and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Case study
Zagreb is OURS! Green Municipalism in Action
The 'Zagreb is OURS!' platform, established in February 2017, secured four seats in the Zagreb city assembly and significant representation in district and neighbourhood councils by employing a grassroots, participative approach to policy-making and campaigning. The movement sought to challenge the long-term authoritarian rule of Mayor Milan Bandić and the neoliberal policies of the Croatian Left through a strategy of 'one foot in the institutions, the other on the streets.' Its programme focused on sustainability, equality, and participation, specifically proposing reforms for waste management, public transport, and the decentralisation of decision-making power to local councils.
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Document type: Case study
Taking on City Hall: The Challenges of Greening Prague
The Czech Greens, as part of Prague's governing coalition since 2014, struggle to implement sustainable urban visions against pro-business forces and a legacy of neoliberalism. Key conflicts center on restricting the power of private developers to ensure the provision of public goods and expanding public transport to reduce car dependency. While the party has successfully lowered public transport costs and improved developer transparency through new planning centers and public participation, they face significant opposition from coalition partners and developers who favor suburban expansion. The party also views the improvement of regional transport links as a strategic way to bridge the political divide between pro-European urban centers and Eurosceptic rural areas.
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Document type: Case study
Carbon-Free City Handbook: Transportation and Mobility
The transportation sector accounts for 36% of greenhouse gas emissions in large cities. To address this, the handbook outlines several strategic actions: electrifying municipal fleets, reducing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles through bans or restrictions, managing urban freight emissions, expanding EV charging infrastructure, creating car-free downtown zones, and enhancing public transit and mobility alternatives like bikeshare and pedestrian-friendly streets.
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Document type: Guide
The Carbon-Free City Handbook
The Carbon-Free City Handbook outlines a strategic framework for cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through immediate, economically viable actions. It categorizes recommendations into buildings, transportation and mobility, electricity, industry, and biological resources, emphasizing the importance of setting bold 100% targets to drive transformational change rather than incremental progress.
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Document type: Guide
Proposition A First Tier Senior Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2017-A (Green Bonds) and Proposition A First Tier Senior Sales Tax Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2017-B
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issued $556,850,000 in Series 2017 bonds. The Series 2017-A Green Bonds ($471,395,000) are designated for rail transit improvements, including the Southwestern Yard maintenance facility, the Universal City Station pedestrian bridge, and the procurement of light and heavy rail vehicles. The Series 2017-B Bonds ($85,455,000) are used to refund Series 2011-B bonds. Both series are limited obligations secured by a first lien on Pledged Revenues, primarily derived from the Proposition A Sales Tax (a 0.5% retail transactions and use tax). The Series 2017-A bonds are 'Climate Bond Certified' based on the Climate Bonds Standard. The issuance is supported by a Reserve Fund, which as of the issuance date was expected to be approximately $160 million, consisting of a $85.5 million AGM Reserve Policy and $74.5 million in cash and investments.
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Document type: Report
Choosing to Ditch the Car Commute: What Helps Office Workers Decide
RMI implemented a parking cash-out program at its Boulder Commons North office, allowing employees to choose between a parking spot or cash to support alternative commuting. During a three-month pilot, 64% of employees opted for the cash-out, with 60% of those switching from single-occupancy vehicles to biking, walking, or busing. This shift is estimated to avoid 950 single-occupancy vehicle miles and 415 kg of carbon emissions weekly. The program leverages a 'green-lease' structure that decouples parking costs from rent, demonstrating that transportation demand management can provide cost savings for employers and developers even in smaller urban settings.
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Document type: Case study
Independent Verification Statement for Los Angeles County MTA and Climate Bonds Standard Board
First Environment, Inc. conducted a pre-issuance verification of the LACMTA's Proposition A First Tier Senior Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2017-A (Green Bonds) between August 14 and October 2, 2017. The verification assessed the bonds against the Climate Bonds Standard Version 2.1 and the Low Carbon Land Transport sector criteria Version 1.0. The verifier concluded that the bonds, intended to fund public transport rail infrastructure, conform in all material respects to the required standards.
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Document type: Report
Clean Transportation Can Protect Our Environment and Grow Our Economy
The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a regional emissions limit for the Northeast US transportation sector, modeled after the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for electricity. The document highlights that transportation is the region's largest pollution source, contributing over 40% of global warming emissions and causing significant health costs. It recommends a cap-and-invest strategy to hold oil companies accountable and fund clean mobility solutions, including electric vehicles and expanded public transit.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Ülevaade erakondade keskkonnalubadustest valimisplatvormides Eesti 2017. aasta kohalike omavalitsuste volikogude valimistel
The report analyzes environmental pledges from seven parties and two alliances for the 2017 Estonian local elections. It finds a strong focus on urban mobility—specifically cycling and public transport—in Tallinn and Tartu, but a general lack of comprehensive strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. While some parties like the Social Democrats (SDE) and the Greens (Rohelised) provided more detailed environmental sections, the report notes a recurring conflict between promises to increase parking/road infrastructure and the goal of preserving urban green spaces. Nationally, platforms focused more on regional development and organic farming than on specific climate targets.
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Document type: Report
Cities – The engines for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals
The briefing argues that cities are critical for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and presents an IISD tool that uses official Statistics Canada data to monitor SDG indicator trends in 13 major Canadian cities. Because global indicators cannot be directly applied to cities due to data limitations, the initiative identifies 12 specific indicators to track progress from 1995 to 2030. The tool aims to help policy-makers identify performance gaps, assess the feasibility of targets, and facilitate cross-scale coordinated action between municipal, provincial, and federal governments.
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Document type: Briefing
INDIA LEAPS AHEAD: TRANSFORMATIVE MOBILITY SOLUTIONS FOR ALL
India can reduce its passenger road-based energy demand by 64% and carbon emissions by 37% by 2030 by adopting a 'transformative' mobility paradigm. This approach emphasizes a shift from private vehicle ownership to a system based on shared, electric, and connected services. The report outlines a three-phased implementation strategy (2017–2032) focusing on system integration, shared infrastructure, and scaled manufacturing. Key recommendations include establishing a central data sharing institution, implementing 'feebates' and ZEV credits, and developing standardized swappable batteries for 2- and 3-wheelers. The proposed 'change model' utilizes a national learning platform and regional 'lighthouse' change labs to scale economically viable solutions from the state to the national level.
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Document type: Report