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Procuring Green in the Public Sector: A checklist for getting started
This guide provides a comprehensive checklist and business case for public-sector procurers and policy-makers to implement sustainable public procurement (SPP). It emphasizes shifting the procurement mindset from 'best value for money' at the point of purchase to 'best value across the project/product life cycle,' utilizing life-cycle costing (LCC) to justify the higher upfront costs of green assets through long-term efficiency gains and reduced environmental externalities.
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Document type: Guide
SEI Response to Criticism Raised about the SEI Working paper on Adipic Acid CDM Projects
This document is a formal response by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to critiques of a working paper concerning Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects for adipic acid. The authors, Anja Kollmuss and Michael Lazarus, defend their findings regarding the competitive advantages provided by Certified Emission Reductions (CER) revenues and the resulting risk of carbon leakage.
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Document type: Statement
Industrial N2O Projects Under the CDM: The Case of Nitric Acid Production
This research paper evaluates the environmental integrity of nitric acid projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), specifically examining risks of carbon leakage and baseline emission manipulation. The authors conclude that while the CDM successfully fostered abatement in a sector that previously lacked such practices, the current methodologies are complex and lead to significant credit issuance delays. The paper recommends transitioning to a common benchmarking approach for baseline emissions to simplify the process and safeguard against leakage.
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Document type: Research paper
plantations are not forests position paper
This position paper by Friends of the Earth International argues that tree plantations are monoculture agricultural systems, not forests, and that they cause significant biological, social, and cultural damage globally. The document criticizes the use of plantations as carbon sinks under the Kyoto Protocol and denounces the role of international organizations like the FAO in legitimizing these systems.
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Document type: Statement
Trade lessons for Africa in the aftermath of the flight disruptions
This research paper examines the economic impact of the 2010 European airspace closure caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland on African trade. It highlights the vulnerability of agricultural exports—specifically perishables like flowers—and argues that the crisis serves as a wake-up call for African nations to diversify their export destinations beyond Europe to include South-South trade partners like Brazil, India, and China.
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Document type: Research paper
CRED: A New Model of Climate and Development
This research paper introduces the Climate and Regional Economics of Development (CRED) model, an integrated assessment model (IAM) designed to analyze the intersection of climate mitigation and international economic development. The model's primary innovations include a focus on global equity through a concave utility function and the use of McKinsey marginal abatement cost curves to project mitigation costs. The authors argue that achieving climate stabilization requires either a very low discount rate or significant capital transfers from high-income to developing nations.
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Document type: Research paper
On Proliferation, Climate, and Oil: Solving for Pattern
The author argues that the United States can simultaneously address nuclear proliferation, climate change, and oil dependence by rejecting nuclear power in favor of energy efficiency and renewable 'micropower.' He asserts that nuclear power is economically unviable, retards climate progress compared to cheaper alternatives, and inherently drives proliferation. The author suggests that the U.S. should shift its foreign policy and NPT obligations to help developing nations achieve energy security through non-nuclear, least-cost green technologies.
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Document type: Report
New Contexts, New Players in European Energy Efficiency Programmes
This research paper examines the evolving landscape of energy efficiency intermediaries within the European Union, analyzing the shift from government and utility-led programs to a diverse array of new actors and the implications of integrating energy efficiency into broader sustainability agendas.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate Change Adaptation: A Case for Preventative Action and Risk Transfer
This research paper by Andreas Spiegel of Swiss Re argues for a balanced climate adaptation strategy that combines cost-effective risk prevention measures with risk transfer mechanisms, such as insurance. Using data from the Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) working group, the author demonstrates that a significant portion of climate-related losses can be averted through preventative action, while residual risks should be managed via public-private partnerships and innovative financial instruments to protect vulnerable economies, particularly in developing nations.
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Document type: Research paper
Learning from Water Wars: Development Assistance for a Changing Climate
This research paper by Mike Muller provides guiding principles for development agencies to support national-level decision-making in developing countries facing climate change. Muller argues that adaptation should be integrated into existing national development goals and governance processes rather than treated as a separate, sectoral, or externally driven priority.
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Document type: Research paper
New Streams of Thought: Managing Water and Ecosystems for Climate-Sustainable Development
This research paper by Yolanda Kakabadse, former environment minister of Ecuador and President of WWF International, argues that traditional water infrastructure design—based on the assumption of a stationary climate—has led to the degradation of freshwater ecosystems and increased societal vulnerability. The author proposes a shift toward climate-sustainable development by integrating ecosystems into infrastructure planning, managing water at a basin scale, and moving away from sectoral silos in policymaking.
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Document type: Research paper
Question Six: What Types of Information Are Needed for Adaptation Decision Making?
This briefing from the World Resources Institute outlines the types of information required for climate change adaptation decision-making. It categorizes climate risks into three types—responsive, proactive, and robust—and uses specific regional examples to solicit expert input on the data and stakeholder involvement necessary for effective adaptation interventions.
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Document type: Briefing
Information Needs for Climate Risk Management
This research paper by Molly Hellmuth explores the specific information requirements for climate risk management, categorizing decision-making into responsive, proactive, and robust frameworks. It argues that while these approaches have different horizons, they all rely on identifying vulnerabilities, hazards, and risks to improve development outcomes and resilience.
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Document type: Research paper
RTEA Namibia Sectoral Paper - Ecotourism and the Informal Carbon Market: Is the Climate Right for Change?
This policy brief discusses the results of a rapid trade and environment assessment in Namibia, highlighting the risk that climate change concerns among international tourists—particularly from Europe—could damage the national tourism economy. It argues that Namibia must move beyond 'business as usual' to become a world-leading destination by implementing a national policy on climate change and tourism, promoting carbon-neutral products, and integrating climate considerations into existing regulatory bodies and development plans.
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Document type: Policy brief
The Montreal Protocol and Its Implications for Climate Change
This 2009 briefing by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute examines the Montreal Protocol's success in ozone recovery and its failure to address the climate impacts of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and their substitutes, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It highlights the risk posed by existing ODS 'banks' and the rapid growth of HFC emissions, while discussing proposed legislative responses in the United States and internationally.
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Document type: Briefing
THE CHALLENGE OF UNIONISATION AND DEMOCRATISATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE
This report documents a seminar held by the Institute for Security Studies on September 19, 2009, regarding the unionisation and democratisation of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The discussions focus on the tension between constitutional labour rights and military discipline, the adversarial relationship between the Department of Defence (DOD) and military unions, and the systemic grievances of soldiers leading to protests.
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Document type: Report
Carbon Embedded in China’s Trade
This research paper analyzes the relationship between China's trade success and its carbon emissions, arguing that China's comparative advantage is based on labor costs rather than carbon intensity. The author contends that border tax adjustments on carbon-intensive imports would have minimal impact on China's economy and suggests that a global carbon price could provide an opportunity for China to lead in sustainable technologies.
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Document type: Research paper
South Africa's and the World's Second Dance of Freedom
The author reflects on three major shifts in global history—the end of Eurocentrism and Empire, the end of the Cold War, and a current shift away from Anglo-Saxon dominance—while arguing that South Africa's future depends on an active, self-reliant citizenry rather than a reliance on 'great men' leaders.
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Document type: Statement
The relative sensitivity of ecosystems in Europe to acidic depositions
The provided text consists of a bibliographic reference for a 1991 report by Kuylenstierna and Chadwick regarding the sensitivity of European ecosystems to acidic depositions, followed by unrelated fragments concerning a project for the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and a journal article on climate adaptation stakeholder engagement.
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Document type: Report
Technology Partnerships for Renewables: A Key to Energy Security
This document is an abstract for a volume based on the 3rd roundtable of the Asia-Europe Environment Forum, held in Stockholm in August 2004. It outlines the strategic importance of renewable energy cooperation between Europe and Asia to address energy security, economic competitiveness, and climate change, focusing particularly on the electric power sector and the transition of technologies from research and development to large-scale commercialisation.
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Document type: Report