Search Climate Insights Directory

The report synthesizes findings from 49 peer-reviewed articles and 72 distinct analyses to determine what factors drive individuals to aspire to migrate. It employs a two-step model distinguishing between the formation of aspirations and their conversion into actual migration. The review identifies 32 determinants across demographic, socio-economic, individual, contextual, and migration-related domains. Key findings indicate that migration aspirations are most strongly and consistently driven by youth, male gender, the presence of migration networks, a history of international travel, and exposure to violence or insecurity. Conversely, aspirations are consistently lowered by increasing age, higher subjective well-being, and strong social attachment to the community of origin. The document also notes a significant research gap in the 'conversion' phase—how aspirations translate into actual movement—due to the logistical challenges of longitudinal panel data collection.

The analysis asserts that the current environmental acquis of the Energy Community Treaty is inadequate to prevent biodiversity loss and water deterioration caused by energy projects. It recommends the adoption of selected articles from the EU Birds, Habitats, and Water Framework Directives, arguing that such measures would not impose significant additional burdens since many Contracting Parties already have existing obligations under the Bern Convention or EU accession processes. The document details the specific risks posed by various energy sources—including coal, nuclear, wind, and hydropower—and provides a tailored legal framework for implementation within the Energy Community.

The author argues that EU enlargement in the Western Balkans has stalled due to a 'dull reality' where local leaders benefit from the status quo and the EU lacks the political will or understanding to enforce genuine rule of law. The Berlin Process is critiqued as a 'plan B' that prioritised technical compliance over substantive reform. The document highlights specific failures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania, while warning that an economic and strategic vacuum is being filled by China, Russia, Turkey, and the USA. It further expresses concern over Croatia's 2020 EU presidency given its nationalist tendencies and strained relations with neighbours.

The document details various direct and indirect U.S. tax subsidies for coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as federal R&D funding and overseas financing. It highlights the contradiction between these subsidies and global climate targets, noting that global fossil fuel subsidies reached $5.2 trillion in 2017. The text also analyzes the 'externalities' of fossil fuels, including the social cost of carbon, public health crises, and environmental degradation, while reviewing legislative efforts in the 116th Congress to reform energy tax credits.

The document advises Energy Community Contracting Parties on integrating various climate and energy planning efforts, such as National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), NDCs, and sectoral strategies, to reduce resource burdens and ensure policy alignment.

The study finds that internal armed conflict generally leads to a net negative change in women's labour rights during and immediately after conflict. While some qualitative literature suggests conflicts can create opportunities for women's employment, this large-n analysis indicates that negative mechanisms—such as post-conflict insecurity, violence, and a return to traditional gender roles—outweigh potential gains.

The OSCE has struggled to implement its 2004 Gender Action Plan due to increased political polarisation, a consensus-based decision-making rule that grants all 57 participating States veto power, and budget constraints. While conservative states and the Holy See have resisted the 'gender' agenda, the document argues that the OSCE's field missions provide a critical opportunity to implement gender-oriented policies on the ground, provided their autonomy is protected from political turmoil.

The document defines key gender concepts and outlines the policy framework—specifically UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security—that mandates the integration of gender perspectives in peace operations. It provides a four-part operational framework for police personnel to implement gender mainstreaming, improve participation, and ensure professional conduct in the field.

The document analyzes the ideological shift within European green parties—specifically in Belgium, France, and Germany—from a foundation of anti-militarism and nuclear disarmament in the 1980s toward a complex tension between pacifism and the 'responsibility to protect' human rights. It highlights how events such as the Kosovo conflict, the September 11 attacks, and the 2011 intervention in Libya created internal divisions between those advocating for absolute non-violence and those supporting legal military intervention to prevent massacres. The author argues that green parties must now address new complexities of modern warfare, including privatization and environmental consequences, to pursue their ultimate goals of world peace and global disarmament.

The document examines the ideological shift within European Green parties regarding the use of force, moving from 1980s antimilitarism and anti-nuclear activism toward a complex debate between strict pacifism and humanitarian interventionism based on international law.

The report assesses the UNAMID Police component, consisting of formed police units (FPUs), individual police officers (IPOs), and senior leadership. It highlights the mission's struggle to implement its protection of civilians (PoC) mandate due to severe obstructions by the Sudanese government, budgetary constraints, and personnel shortages. Key findings include the success of new tailored recruitment and performance management systems, but significant gaps in pre-deployment training and gender mainstreaming. The document recommends improved communication of the mission's mandate to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and enhanced training for language assistants and government police.

The document analyzes the 2014 annexation of Crimea, arguing that while Russia violated the political commitments of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the Crimean authorities violated Ukrainian constitutional law, the legal status of the annexation is complex due to the nature of 'memorandums' versus treaties and the restrictive application of the 'right to self-determination' in international law. It concludes that the Security Council is unable to act due to Russia's veto, leaving the region in a state where it is legally considered part of Ukraine by most states but practically controlled by Russia.

The policy brief contends that international efforts to combat sexual violence in war have focused excessively on victim protection and criminal prosecution, leaving the motivations of perpetrators largely unexamined. To move toward effective prevention, the author proposes three focused approaches: analyzing individual personality traits during military recruitment, holding military leadership accountable to dismantle the perception that sexual violence is a permissible wartime activity, and challenging militarized masculinities that may justify such crimes. The document emphasizes that understanding the intersection of personal traits and the coercive environment of war is essential for identifying preventive remedies.

The report examines flooding in Cape Town's informal settlements, specifically in the Philippi area, highlighting how social dynamics, political conflict, and poor infrastructure exacerbate vulnerability. It argues for a shift from top-down, technocratic 'government' to a 'collaborative governance' approach that integrates community leadership and various city departments. Additionally, it addresses the long-term threat of sea level rise and storm surges, advocating for 'set back lines' and buffer zones over hard engineering solutions.

The study examines how insurgent violence influenced electoral manipulation during Afghanistan's 2009 presidential election. Using a forensic 'last-digit' test validated by a physical recount, the authors find an inverted-U shaped relationship: moderate violence increases fraud by limiting the presence of election observers, but extreme violence decreases fraud by disrupting the loyalty networks required to manipulate results. The analysis further distinguishes between the incumbent and the challenger, finding that the challenger's fraud exhibits 'spatial displacement'—shifting to neighboring districts when local violence is too high—whereas the incumbent's fraud, tied to official state apparatus, does not.

The document analyzes the Austrian Model Investment Treaty, noting that while it introduces innovations to protect public welfare and limit 'treaty shopping,' it retains problematic features such as an expansive umbrella clause, a vague Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) standard, and a lack of transparency in investor-state dispute settlement.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) advocates against the Keystone XL pipeline, citing the high greenhouse gas emissions of Alberta's tar sands and concerns over political influence in the State Department's permitting process. The statement also details CIEL's efforts to eliminate coal funding in international finance institutions, specifically criticizing World Bank loans for coal projects in South Africa and Kosovo, while referencing IPCC findings that renewables could meet nearly 80 percent of global energy supply by mid-century.

The report traces the conceptual shift of sexual violence in conflict, moving from the 'lootpillageandrape' nexus of early 20th-century wars to the systematic 'rape camps' of the 1990s. It examines the role of the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides in establishing rape as a weapon of war and a crime against humanity. The document analyzes three theoretical frameworks—essentialism, structuralism, and social constructionism—to explain the motivations of perpetrators and the targeting of victims. It further details the development of international legal mechanisms, including the ICTY, ICTR, and the ICC, and the impact of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, and 1888 on the protection of women and the institutionalization of gender units in peacekeeping missions.

The document examines the concept of 'national ownership' within the context of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, arguing that while the treaty mandates state responsibility, the reality is often dominated by international organizations. It proposes a model where national ownership is viewed as a relational process involving the relative strengths of state institutions and civil society, the actual scope of the mine problem, and the strategies of international donors. The author suggests that sustainable ownership is more likely to be achieved by engaging local civil society and indigenous capacities early in the process rather than relying solely on Western-style state-building.

The document analyzes the application of gender mainstreaming in mine action, focusing on the Cambodian context. It argues that current efforts often rely on superficial indicators, such as head counts of female staff, rather than achieving genuine empowerment or influence for women in community consultations. The author critiques the tendency to equate gender issues solely with women's issues, noting that men also face gender-specific challenges as mine victims. The report suggests transitioning toward a rights-based approach to ensure that gender mainstreaming promotes equal access to benefits and decision-making power for all marginalized groups.