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Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals
The Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals, published by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), is a comprehensive guide designed to empower healthcare workers to act as educators and advocates. It details the science of anthropogenic climate change, the disproportionate health risks faced by vulnerable populations, and the specific regional vulnerabilities across Canada. The document emphasizes 'health co-benefits'—the immediate health improvements resulting from climate mitigation, such as reduced air pollution from phasing out coal and improved cardiovascular health through active transportation. It provides a framework for health care facilities to assess their own climate resiliency and reduce their carbon footprints, while offering strategies for health professionals to engage patients, peers, and policymakers in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Document type: Guide
Boîte à outils sur les changements climatiques pour les professionnels de la santé
The document is a comprehensive guide for healthcare professionals to address climate change. It covers the science of climate change, its global and Canadian health impacts, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends in Canada, and practical solutions. It emphasizes 'co-benefits'—where climate actions like promoting plant-based diets or active transport immediately improve public health. The guide provides specific strategies for making healthcare facilities more resilient and sustainable, such as reducing the carbon footprint of anesthesia and supply chains, and offers a framework for community-level adaptation and professional advocacy.
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Document type: Guide
CRACKING EUROPE’S HARDEST CLIMATE NUT
The document assesses the failure of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to reduce emissions in heavy industry due to free pollution permits and inadequate sectoral plans. It proposes a transition based on electrification, circular economy models, and breakthrough technologies like hydrogen-based steelmaking, while calling for the phase-out of free allowances and the introduction of green public procurement.
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Document type: Policy brief
Measuring the Benefits of Green Public Procurement in Canada
The report finds that Green Public Procurement (GPP) in Canada provides significant benefits over business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios, particularly in reducing operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions. By 2035, sustainable procurement for buildings and vehicles could save nearly CAD 2 billion annually in operating costs. While a 'sustainable plus domestic' scenario for steel and cement increases production costs due to the replacement of imports, it generates higher domestic revenue and employment. The report concludes that GPP reduces total emissions and provides substantial savings when measured by the social cost of carbon.
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Document type: Report
Green Cooling – Accelerating the transition to climate-friendly and energy-efficient air conditioning (Kigali First Movers Project)
The Kigali First Movers (KFM) project seeks to shift the air conditioning (AC) market in Costa Rica, Indonesia, and Ghana away from high-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants and energy-inefficient models toward 'green AC' (defined as having GWP < 10 and utilizing best available technology for energy efficiency). The project is structured in two tranches: Tranche 1 focuses on Costa Rica (2020-2026), and Tranche 2 covers Indonesia and Ghana (2022-2028), supported by a global component. It targets a total mitigation impact of 37 MtCO2eq over its 20-year lifespan (2020-2040), with the bulk of reductions expected in Indonesia. The project addresses five main barrier categories: policy and regulatory frameworks, consumer behavior, technical capacity, technology availability, and finance. Key interventions include updating Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), training and certifying RAC technicians, implementing green public procurement, and providing financial mechanisms such as on-bill financing and installation subsidies. The total indicative cost is USD 133.4 million, with USD 43.7 million requested as GCF grants and USD 85.7 million in co-finance.
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Document type: Report
UGANDA
The document outlines Uganda's green economy efforts, noting the development of the Third National Development Plan and a Draft Climate Change Bill. It emphasizes the economic risk of climate inaction, which could cost between US$ 3.2 and 5.9 billion over ten years, and details the degradation of the River Rwizi catchment due to farming and mining.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi)
The Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) tool by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) integrates system dynamics simulation with project finance models to value risks and externalities typically ignored in traditional financial assessments. It applies to asset types including energy, roads, buildings, irrigation, sewerage treatment, and nature-based infrastructure. The tool aims to support the goals of the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals by optimizing value for money across an asset's life cycle. Case studies demonstrate its application in valuing climate-risk-related road disruptions in Morocco, the economic gains of wetland conservation in India, and the internal rate of return for wind energy in Senegal.
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Document type: Guide
FOOD WASTE WARRIORS
The Food Waste Warriors project analyzed plate waste in 46 US schools, finding that students waste an average of 39.2 pounds of food and 28.7 cartons of milk per year. The study highlights the significant environmental and financial costs of this waste, estimating a national impact of 530,000 tons of food waste and 45 million gallons of milk waste annually. Results indicate that simple interventions and awareness can reduce waste, with elementary schools seeing a 14.5% reduction. The report recommends policy reforms to National School Lunch Program (NSLP) portion sizes and the adoption of bulk milk dispensers to mitigate these losses.
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Document type: Report
cm-report-dirty-viscose-spotlight-china-chinese-final-web-1-f722854ec4a1d485.pdf
The report critiques the Regenerated Fiber Green Development Alliance's three-year roadmap for Chinese viscose producers, finding it insufficient compared to international standards like the EU BAT. It highlights ongoing pollution from alliance members and recommends adopting more rigorous auditing and emission limits.
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Document type: Report
The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Finance
The document outlines four primary categories of financial interventions for regional governments to accelerate the energy transition: increasing capital availability, implementing first-cost solutions, creating market incentives, and reducing procurement costs. It details specific mechanisms such as green investment banks, energy savings performance contracts, carbon pricing, and reverse auctions, providing examples of legislation and programs from various global jurisdictions to illustrate their application.
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Document type: Guide
10 affordable ways to become a green business
The guide outlines low-cost strategies for businesses to become 'green', focusing on energy efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable procurement. Key recommendations include switching to LED lighting, installing low-flow water fittings, reducing paper waste through digital receipts, and incentivising reusable coffee cups. It also suggests dietary shifts toward locally-sourced vegetarian options, eliminating standby power consumption, implementing bike-to-work schemes, composting food waste, and purchasing second-hand furniture. Additionally, it advises employers to select ethical, green investment funds for employee pensions.
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Document type: Guide
Filling gaps in the policy package to decarbonise production and use of materials
The production of basic materials, including cement, iron, steel, aluminium, and chemicals, accounted for approximately 25% of global CO2 emissions in 2014. The author contends that deep decarbonisation has been limited by a lack of knowledge regarding climate-friendly alternatives and a policy focus on carbon leakage risks. To overcome this, the brief identifies three primary policy gaps: incomplete incentives for recycling, a lack of short- and long-term markets for climate-friendly options, and missing signals regarding the phase-out of carbon-intensive production. Proposed solutions include green public procurement, project-based carbon contracts for difference (CfD), and a consumption charge on basic materials integrated into the EU ETS. The document emphasizes that the European materials sector is in a 'precarious limbo' where investment decisions over the next 10 to 15 years will determine whether assets are closed or transitioned to climate-friendly options.
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Document type: Policy brief
Filling gaps in the policy package to decarbonise production and use of materials
The report identifies that the production of basic materials accounted for approximately 25% of global CO2 emissions in 2014, yet progress in decarbonisation has been modest due to carbon leakage concerns and limited political support for resource efficiency. It proposes a portfolio of seven mitigation options, ranging from sharing and reuse to low-carbon production processes. To unlock these, the authors identify three primary policy gaps: incomplete incentives for recycling, a lack of markets for climate-friendly options, and missing signals for phasing out carbon-intensive production. Recommended solutions include project-based carbon contracts for difference (CfDs), Green Public Procurement (GPP), and the introduction of consumption charges on carbon-intensive materials to reinstate carbon price signals muted by free allowance allocations in the EU ETS.
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Document type: Report
Barriers to Industrial Decarbonisation
The report identifies that while decarbonisation opportunities exist, they are hindered by a low EU ETS carbon price, restrictive product benchmarks, and a lack of shared infrastructure. Stakeholders argue that the current ETS design encourages incremental improvements over breakthrough technologies and often penalises early adopters or those using low-carbon substitutes. Proposed solutions include updating benchmarks with recent data, expanding green public procurement, and integrating carbon pricing with trade policy to ensure global competitiveness.
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Document type: Report
NEW YORK DECLARATION ON FORESTS PROGRESS ASSESSMENT GOALS SUMMARY
The report finds that while infrastructure and mining are major drivers of forest loss, a lack of aggregate data prevents a global assessment of progress. It highlights the role of transport networks and mineral extraction in tropical deforestation and details emerging sustainability standards and data initiatives intended to fill these research gaps.
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Document type: Report
Purchasing Power
The document details the positive outcomes of institutional food procurement policies, showing that local sourcing increases regional economic output and job creation. It highlights environmental benefits, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and water use through meat reduction, and projects significant health improvements—including lower sodium intake and reduced risks of type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer—for students and adults in Los Angeles County. Additionally, it analyzes the increasing availability of antibiotic-free chicken in the US supply chain and compares the cost of procuring such meat against the high medical costs of treating antibiotic-resistant infections.
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Document type: Report
How Green Public Procurement Became a Crucial Pillar for Bhutan’s Sustainable Development Strategy
The GPP Bhutan (GPPB) project, led by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), worked over 3.5 years to scale up public demand for environmentally and socially preferred goods and services. The project focused on research, policy support, and capacity building, resulting in the training of nearly 100 civil servants and 57 representatives from higher educational institutions. Key achievements include the official endorsement of GPP recommendations by the Ministry of Finance in 2015, the establishment of a parliamentary working group, and the institutionalization of a GPP curriculum at the Royal Institute of Management (RIM). The project also provided technical assistance for pilot projects with the City of Thimphu and the Ministry of Works and Human Settlements, emphasizing life-cycle costing and green infrastructure criteria.
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Document type: Case study
Traçabilité des antibiotiques en France
The report highlights a critical lack of transparency in the antibiotic supply chain for the French market, noting that while formulation often occurs in Europe, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are primarily sourced from India and China. It documents severe environmental pollution and the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria around production sites in these countries, linking specific manufacturers like Aurobindo and Mylan to these impacts. The document argues that current French public procurement processes fail to account for these environmental risks and calls for a global audit and stricter transparency requirements to combat antimicrobial resistance.
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Document type: Report
WRI Sustainable Catering & Events Policy
The WRI Sustainable Catering & Events Policy mandates that food ordered with WRI funds for U.S. office events be vegetarian and vegan. It provides a framework for selecting vendors based on sustainability, outlines strict rules against high-impact meats like beef, lamb, and goat, and sets protocols for reducing food and material waste. The policy is grounded in WRI research indicating that shifting away from animal-based proteins is essential for limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and reducing agricultural land-use change.
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Document type: Policy brief
Innovation and use policies required to realize investment and emission reductions in the materials sector
The report argues that achieving the EU's 2050 climate targets requires a broad portfolio of innovative production processes, material substitution, and efficiency gains. It proposes an integrated policy approach combining EU ETS reform—specifically the 'inclusion of consumption' to ensure carbon price pass-through—with public procurement and targeted innovation support, such as carbon contracts for differences, to overcome investment risks and the 'technology valley of death'.
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Document type: Report