Search Climate Insights Directory

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) advocates for a legally binding international treaty to replace voluntary corporate social responsibility approaches, arguing that TNCs currently operate under a 'shield of special rights and privileges'. The proposal emphasizes the need for mandatory rules that prioritize human rights over trade and investment agreements, the establishment of a World Court on TNCs and Human Rights to end corporate impunity, and the legal recognition of 'Ecocide' and the rights of 'Affected Peoples'. FoEI specifically calls for the criminal and civil liability of TNC executives and the protection of environmental defenders.

The report evaluates National Climate Change Funds (NCCFs), finding that they currently play a limited role in global climate finance, accounting for less than 0.2% of total flows in 2013. It identifies key barriers to resource mobilisation, including weak institutional capacities and a lack of clear vision, and proposes a structured three-step approach—defining vision, building capacity, and engaging investors—to improve their sustainability.

The 2015 Climate Knowledge Brokers (CKB) Group workshop, held in Copenhagen, aimed to refine the CKB Manifesto and explore how to better meet the diverse needs of climate information users. Participants identified five user categories—unaware, ignored, without access, without time, and overwhelmed—and discussed tailored brokering strategies for each. The workshop also featured 'Knowledge Sharing Clinics' for peer-to-peer problem solving and proposed the creation of 'nodes' (working groups) to advance specific themes like monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Future goals include expanding the network's geographic diversity, particularly in Africa and Asia, and developing a 'Climate Knowledge Grid' to reduce information duplication and improve decision-making support.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) warns that Section 912(b)(15) of the Customs Bill would hinder climate mitigation by preventing trade agreements from requiring changes to U.S. law regarding global warming. CIEL argues this would leave domestic policies vulnerable to trade challenges, weaken U.S. bargaining power in UNFCCC and CITES negotiations, and block the use of trade agreements to phase out fossil fuel subsidies or promote green technologies, specifically citing risks to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and U.S.-China climate cooperation.

The report argues that while land use generates approximately a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and is highly vulnerable to climate change, current financial flows are predominantly 'business-as-usual' (BAU). To address this, the authors introduce three tools: the Landscape of Land Use Finance, the Financial Viability Gap Analysis tool, and the Public Finance Mapping tool. These tools are designed to help low and middle-income countries identify financial blockages, assess the viability of green projects, and ensure policy coherence to scale up private sector investment in climate-resilient agriculture and forestry.

The report details how Golden Veroleum (GVL), backed by Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), has expanded its palm oil operations in Liberia through a process of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and flawed consent mechanisms. It highlights a 'legal vacuum' in Liberia's agricultural sector and argues that the company's Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with local communities provide negligible benefits while stripping residents of their land rights. The document also notes a suspicious acceleration of land acquisition during the 2014 Ebola crisis and identifies financial ties between GVL and high-ranking Liberian politicians.

The document examines the revival of the Indian Ocean as a commercial and geo-strategic hub, driven by the strategic visions of China, India, and Indonesia. It details China's 'maritime Silk Road', India's focus on security and the 'cotton route', and Indonesia's 'global maritime fulcrum'. The brief highlights South Africa's 'Operation Phakisa' and its goal to expand its blue economy. It concludes that Africa must coordinate its maritime strategies through the AU and IORA to avoid further militarisation and to leverage economic opportunities from these emerging power strategies.

The Sarulla Geothermal Power Plant case study demonstrates how public risk mitigation, including guarantees and feed-in tariffs, can attract private investment for geothermal energy in Indonesia. The project benefited from access to proven resources, which reduced exploration risk and allowed the developer to pay USD 70 million for completed exploration. While the project is expected to increase Indonesia's geothermal capacity by 20% and save 1.3 mt of CO2 annually by 2018, its levelized cost of electricity (USD 7.8-8.2 ¢/kWh) remains 40-60% higher than coal in Indonesia when excluding emission and health costs. The study suggests that public finance should prioritize exploration and field development, as commercial lenders are more willing to fund construction once resource risks are mitigated.

Friends of the Earth International advocates for community-based biodiversity management, contrasting it with privatized approaches like bioprospecting and financial mechanisms such as carbon credits. The text highlights the failure of the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) in Costa Rica as evidence against the privatization of genetic resources and calls for the respect of community rights and traditional knowledge as outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity.

As of 31 March 2015, the Green Climate Fund Trust Fund had received total contributions of USDeq. 171.20 million, with USDeq. 128.00 million deposited by 23 contributors. The GCF Board approved funding totaling USD 65.11 million for administrative budgets and readiness activities, while the interim trustee transferred USD 19.62 million. Total funds available to support GCF Board funding decisions were USD 63,147,206.

The document examines the challenges and opportunities for geothermal energy in Indonesia, highlighting the Sarulla Geothermal Power Plant as a model for private sector involvement. It argues that while Indonesia has the world's largest geothermal potential (29GW), utilization remains below 5% due to regulatory hurdles, funding gaps, and high exploration risks. The Sarulla project, with a planned 330MW capacity, demonstrates how proven resources, public guarantees, and long-term feed-in tariffs can attract private investment and lower costs. The report concludes that public finance should be strategically focused on the high-risk exploration and field development phases to meet Indonesia's 2025 target of 7.6GW installed capacity.

The report assesses the global climate finance landscape, highlighting the critical role of public finance in catalyzing private investment. It examines various financial tools—including green bonds, carbon pricing, and risk mitigation instruments—and analyzes the performance of multilateral development banks and bilateral agencies. The document emphasizes that while global flows have increased, significant gaps remain in tracking private finance and achieving the USD 100 billion goal due to low carbon prices and a lack of stable enabling environments in developing nations.

The Sarulla Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) in Indonesia serves as a model for mobilizing private finance in the geothermal sector. By utilizing a combination of public guarantees, a long-term feed-in tariff, and concessional loans, the project attracted significant private debt and equity despite the high risks associated with field development. The study highlights that access to proven resources significantly reduced developer risk, while the government's Business Viability Guarantee Letter (BVGL) addressed bankability concerns regarding the state-owned offtaker, PLN. While the project's levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is competitive with other geothermal projects, it remains more expensive than coal in Indonesia. The report concludes that to meet Indonesia's 7.6GW target by 2025, the government may need to take a larger role in early-stage exploration to further reduce risks for private investors.

The document provides a comprehensive introduction to Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), distinguishing them from carbon offsetting mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It details the NAMA lifecycle—from concept to implementation—and examines the financial landscape, including the role of the NAMA Facility and the Green Climate Fund. The guide highlights the current state of NAMA deployment, noting that while many are in the design phase, few have reached implementation. It emphasizes the critical role of civil society in ensuring sustainable development and accountability through stakeholder engagement and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) processes.

The document reviews Claude Martin's analysis of tropical rainforests, highlighting the shift from viewing commercial logging as the primary driver of deforestation to recognizing the central role of agriculture and agro-industrial land conversion. It details the importance of biodiversity, the role of protected areas and remote sensing in conservation, and the emerging threat of climate change, which risks turning forests into net greenhouse gas sources. The text also emphasizes the human rights risks faced by environmental advocates and the need to integrate natural capital into economic policy.

The report argues that carefully designed investment contracts can bridge gaps in national legislation to ensure that large-scale agricultural investments in developing countries promote sustainable development. Drawing on research from UNCTAD and the World Bank, it identifies five key benefits—such as job creation and the integration of local farmers—and five primary risks, including land loss and poor environmental management. The document outlines a three-stage contractual process (preparation, negotiation, and monitoring) and provides specific legal options, such as 'satellite plantation' clauses and community development agreements, to ensure investors meet their social and environmental obligations.

The document reports that the Indonesian economy remained resilient following fuel subsidy reforms in late 2014, including a shift to a 'managed floating rate' pricing system. While these reforms improved Indonesia's credit outlook and shifted consumption toward non-subsidized fuels, the briefing warns that political intervention in pricing continues to cause financial losses for PT Pertamina and risks undermining the new system's stability.

The report analyzes the impact of large-scale agricultural investments in developing countries, identifying five key positive outcomes and five primary downsides. It argues that while domestic laws are the best foundation, investment contracts can fill regulatory gaps to ensure responsible conduct. The authors propose a three-stage contracting process—preparation, negotiation, and monitoring—and provide specific legal options to embed social, environmental, and economic safeguards into these agreements to prevent project failure and community conflict.

The document refutes claims that WRI miscalculated biomass energy potentials and solar efficiency comparisons, arguing that solar PV is significantly more land-efficient than bioenergy. It challenges the existence of abundant 'marginal land' for biofuels, asserting that such lands often provide critical carbon storage or face economic and legal constraints. WRI further argues that bioenergy does not inherently reduce greenhouse gas emissions unless it drives yield increases beyond what is already required to feed the global population, and that it does not reliably reduce poverty or increase food availability.

The Climate Policy Initiative outlines a framework for mapping climate finance flows to establish investment baselines, reveal interactions between public and private finance, and identify opportunities for policy improvement. The guide emphasizes tracking project-level primary financing and total investments over additional costs, while cautioning against double-counting by excluding revenue supports like feed-in tariffs and private R&D. The author notes that data gaps, particularly in the land use sector, remain a challenge, leading to a collaboration with the European Forestry Institute and Climate Focus to develop specific mapping tools for that sector.