Search Climate Insights Directory

The document outlines the targets and metrics for the Coolfood Pledge, focusing on GHG emissions reductions and the increase of plant-based foods in procurement by 2030, 2035, and 2050.

The report details a regional meeting held in Thailand in October 2023, bringing together stakeholders from China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It showcases various climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies—such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)—aimed at reducing water footprints and methane emissions in rice farming. The document outlines national policy approaches, identifies barriers like limited finance and technology access, and recommends a shift toward community-centric climate finance and enhanced interagency collaboration to build regional climate resilience.

The project launch meeting, held on June 26, 2023, in Bangkok, aimed to align stakeholders on the project's scope and work plan for implementing climate-smart water technologies in the Lancang-Mekong Region. Key discussions centered on the practical application of technologies for farmers, the identification of drought-prone areas such as northeastern Thailand, and the challenges of implementing Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) in rainfed regions. The meeting also addressed the organization of regional meetings and the selection of demonstration sites in China, Thailand, and Lao PDR, emphasizing the need for gender-inclusive data and the involvement of youth and farmers' organizations.

The document examines the global water and sanitation crisis, noting that 673 million people lack toilets and 2.1 billion lack safe drinking water. It critiques previous international efforts, such as the Millennium Development Goals, for using low-ambition indicators, and advocates for the more holistic Sustainable Development Goal 6. The brief emphasizes the intersection of water security with climate change, environmental degradation, and social inequality, calling for increased financing, better governance, and a human rights-based approach to ensure no one is left behind by 2030.

The document outlines a request for USD 642,600 from the Green Climate Fund's Project Preparation Facility to prepare a larger investment project (estimated at USD 83 million) focused on climate-smart agriculture in Colombia. The proposed project aims to reduce economic losses from extreme weather events and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by scaling up technologies such as agro-climatic forecasting, site-specific agriculture, and low-carbon farming practices. It targets seven priority crops: rice, maize, banana, sugarcane, coffee, potato, and forage. The preparation phase, led by CAF and executed by CIAT, involves feasibility studies, impact assessments, and the development of a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) mechanism for carbon footprints.

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.

The report argues that reintegrating livestock into diversified cropping systems can improve farmer profits and reduce environmental degradation. Using economic and environmental modeling, it demonstrates that transitioning from corn-soy monocultures to perennial pastures and complex rotations can sequester soil carbon, reduce synthetic fertilizer and fuel use, and lower water footprints. However, the author notes that these systems typically produce less beef per acre, suggesting that the greatest benefits occur when improved management is paired with a reduction in overall beef consumption. The report concludes with policy recommendations for the USDA and Congress to incentivize regenerative practices through conservation programs, crop insurance reform, and increased agroecological research.

The paper identifies five key levers—power and leadership, communication and engagement, capacity building, financing implementation, and demonstration effect—essential for successful climate action in cities. Drawing on seven CDKN-supported projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, it argues that city governments face significant barriers, including short political cycles, fragmented governance, and limited financial resources. The framework serves as a checklist for donors and practitioners to create investable and implementable climate propositions, highlighting the importance of local champions, tailored business cases, and cross-city collaboration to scale successful interventions like India's Heat Action Plans.

The document describes a comparative study of carbon and water footprints in La Paz, Quito, and Lima, highlighting how these measurements informed urban planning and the creation of municipal action plans. It identifies high-level political will, stakeholder buy-in, and the transition from planning to implementation as critical factors for successful urban climate resilience.

The Cities Footprint Project measured the carbon and water footprints of La Paz, Quito, and Lima to support municipal climate mitigation and adaptation. Findings revealed that transport is the primary carbon contributor and residential grey water the primary water footprint driver across all three cities. While the project led to action plans and pilot projects, implementation faced challenges such as administrative changes and data gaps. Success was linked to high-level political will and the presence of internal champions.

The report investigates water constraints in the Berg Water Management Area (WMA) and Saldanha Bay, South Africa. It finds that traditional linear planning—based on generalized growth percentages—fails to account for the 'stepped' water demand of large industrial projects, potentially leading to supply shortfalls between 2017 and 2019. The document argues for a 'smart' allocation model that links water productivity (GDP/jobs per drop) to resource allocation and explores a Water Exchange Network (WEN) to reduce freshwater intake by up to 15% through industrial water cascading. It also highlights that high salinity in the Berg River poses a significant operational cost and production risk to the steel processing industry in Saldanha.

The report evaluates water consumption in peach and plum orchards in the Western Cape, finding that while South African farmers are significantly more water-efficient than global averages, local improvements are possible through better irrigation scheduling and the adoption of drip irrigation over micro-sprinklers. It also details a pilot project testing the AWS standard across nine farms, identifying drought, social risks (theft), and regulation as primary concerns for farmers, and recommending the alignment of the AWS standard with other agricultural certifications like GlobalGAP.

The document details the first carbon and water footprint assessments for the city and municipal government of La Paz, Bolivia, using 2012 as a base year. It identifies the transport sector as the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions and the residential sector as the main contributor to the water footprint. The project led to the creation of a reduction action plan, the inclusion of environmental measures in the 2014 municipal budget, and the implementation of pilot projects such as a waste-to-energy system at the Municipal Zoo and peri-urban organic farming. Key challenges identified include data scarcity, the need for high-level political commitment, and the impact of a polarized political environment.

The document argues that shifting to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is essential for global sustainable development and proposes a comprehensive set of science-based targets and indicators. It examines the role of SCP as either a stand-alone goal or a cross-cutting issue, emphasizing the need to decouple economic growth from resource use and environmental degradation. The paper provides specific quantitative targets across various sectors, including agriculture, water, energy, and urban construction, while highlighting the differentiated responsibilities of developed and developing nations.

The Living Planet Report 2014 highlights a critical decline in global vertebrate populations and an ecological overshoot where humanity requires 1.5 Earths to sustain its current consumption. It emphasizes the interdependence of food, water, and energy security with healthy ecosystems and proposes a 'One Planet Perspective' to align human development with planetary boundaries.

The report analyzes the transition of water from a public commons to a financial asset, examining how privatization, commoditization, and financialization are driven by corporate interests and international financial institutions. Through case studies from Palestine, Australia, Sri Lanka, the US, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Switzerland, England, Mozambique, Mexico, and El Salvador, it documents the social and ecological impacts of this shift, including water scarcity, pollution, and the violation of territorial rights. It advocates for a public/community-based management model that prioritizes the human right to water over profit.

The report by Friends of the Earth International analyzes how water is being transformed from a common good into a financial asset through corporate capture, international trade agreements, and extractive projects. It provides case studies from various regions—including Palestine, Australia, Sri Lanka, the US, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Switzerland, England, Mozambique, Mexico, and El Salvador—to illustrate the social and environmental impacts of this trend. The document concludes that the 'financialization' of water allows transnational agents to speculate on natural resources, often with the complicity of states, and advocates for the recognition of water as a common good managed through community-led and public systems.

The report argues that EU biofuel policies, particularly those supporting conventional food-based biofuels, are not cost-effective and often fail to meet their stated public good objectives. It finds that significant public subsidies—estimated between EUR 5.5 and 6.9 billion in 2011—support an industry where benefits are increasingly captured by non-EU suppliers rather than EU farmers. The analysis highlights that conventional biofuels can lead to net increases in greenhouse gas emissions when indirect land use change (ILUC) is considered and contribute to higher global food prices. The report suggests that tightening vehicle emission standards to 95 gCO2/km by 2020 would be a significantly cheaper and more effective way to abate carbon emissions than subsidizing biofuels. It recommends phasing out support for food-based biofuels and implementing a 5 per cent cap on their contribution to renewable energy targets.

The report examines water governance in four European countries, focusing on the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). It finds that while there is a general shift toward integrated, river-basin-based management, significant challenges remain in coordinating freshwater and marine policies, managing spatial boundaries, and ensuring meaningful stakeholder participation. The study highlights diverse models of service delivery, from the privatized system in the UK to the public-private partnerships and user associations in Spain, and the strong tradition of community-led water protection in Finland.

Friends of the Earth Europe asserts that the EU is economically vulnerable due to its high dependence on imported resources and a lack of measurement tools to track resource use. The report proposes four specific indicators—land, materials, water, and greenhouse gas emissions—to measure the EU's total resource footprint, including imported goods. It highlights the social and environmental costs of overconsumption, such as human rights abuses in Indonesia's palm oil sector and energy poverty within Europe, while criticizing the EU's Raw Materials Initiative for prioritizing resource access over efficiency.