Search Climate Insights Directory

A case study regarding the 2019 legal action brought by Milieudefensie, six other organizations, and over 17,000 Dutch citizens against Royal Dutch Shell PLC to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.

This report by Ember analyzes electricity trends in the European Union during 2021, focusing on the impact of the fossil gas crisis, the growth of solar power, and the effect of declining nuclear output on decarbonization.

This report by Ember analyzes the trends in the EU-27 power sector for 2021, focusing on electricity demand, the shift in fuel sources, the growth of renewables, and the resulting impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Electricity Review 2022 by Ember analyzes EU-27 electricity generation data for 2021, highlighting a 'paradigm shift' where new renewable energy replaced expensive fossil gas instead of coal due to a price crisis. While wind and solar reached record generation, the report warns that the EU's power sector emissions are declining at less than half the rate required to meet 1.5°C targets, partly because renewables are replacing gas and declining nuclear capacity rather than coal.

This fact sheet analyzes financial instruments for sustainable urban investment in nine Swedish cities. It highlights a significant funding gap for climate neutrality by 2045, noting that while these cities have raised 31.2 billion SEK through 52 green bonds for projects like renewable energy and clean transport, current investment plans are insufficient. The report details municipal funding inflows (taxes, grants, debt) and outflows, and notes that alternative financing like blended finance and crowdfunding are not yet utilized in the studied Swedish context.

The Turkey Electricity Review 2022 report by Ember analyzes the trends in Turkey's power generation, noting a three-year decline in coal generation and a record increase in wind and solar power. However, it highlights that renewable growth has not kept pace with surging power demand, and carbon intensity has not significantly improved since 1990, leaving Turkey lagging behind several European peers.

This document outlines the methodology used by Ember for the European Electricity Review 2022, detailing the data sources, definitions, and calculation methods for electricity generation, capacity, and carbon intensity across European countries from 2000 to 2021.

This document presents results from Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessments of nature-based solutions. In the Netherlands, the Hondsbossche Dunes project was found to offer greater net benefits than a conventional sheet pile wall. Additionally, the text mentions that sustainable tourism in Geopark Teskei outperforms mass tourism and references a resilience assessment in the Dechatu River Catchment in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

This statement from the Africa Policy Research Institute and other signatories condemns the travel restrictions imposed on Southern African countries following the detection of the Omicron variant. The authors argue that these bans are scientifically unjustified, racially biased, and economically damaging, while highlighting a systemic failure in global vaccine equity.

A statement by several African policy leaders criticizing the imposition of unilateral travel bans on Southern Africa following the detection of a COVID-19 variant, arguing that such measures are ineffective, economically damaging, and ignore the systemic inequities in global vaccine distribution.

This legal briefing examines the impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Komstroy decision on intra-EU investment disputes under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). It argues that the ruling, alongside the Achmea and PL Holdings decisions, effectively bars investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) between EU investors and Member States, creating significant legal and financial obstacles to the enforcement of arbitration awards. The document specifically analyzes how these rulings and EU State aid laws could impede claims by energy companies RWE and Uniper against the Netherlands regarding its coal phase-out policy.

The 'Klimaataksie Handboek' is a guide published by Natural Justice in December 2021 to help South African communities build climate resilience through legal empowerment. It explains the science of climate change, identifies vulnerabilities, and provides a comprehensive toolkit for using legal mechanisms, public participation, and community organizing to protect environmental and human rights.

The Climate Action Handbook is a guide published by Natural Justice in December 2021 designed to help communities in South Africa build climate resilience through legal empowerment. It provides educational material on the causes and impacts of climate change, outlines the legal framework of South Africa, and offers a ten-step practical toolkit for communities to advocate for their rights and hold governments and corporations accountable.

A case study detailing the legal action brought by four NGOs against the French government for failing to implement sufficient measures to address climate change, resulting in a court order for immediate corrective action.

This briefing from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the European Union's upcoming methane regulation must encompass the petrochemical sector and the entire supply chain of fossil fuel imports. The document highlights a growing trade in natural gas liquids (NGLs), specifically ethane and propane, from the United States to Europe to fuel plastics production, which the author contends undermines EU climate goals and bypasses domestic fracking bans.

This policy brief by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the increasing import of fracked natural gas liquids (NGLs)—specifically ethane and propane—from the United States to Europe is undermining the European Union's climate and plastics reduction goals. The document details the supply chain from US fracking basins to European petrochemical plants and contends that current EU regulations, such as the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), contain loopholes that allow the plastics industry to offshore emissions and avoid carbon pricing.

This research paper explores the intersection of trade policy and the transition to a low-carbon circular economy, arguing that circular solutions are indispensable for achieving global decarbonization goals. The authors advocate for government incentives to prioritize secondary materials over primary resources, the scaling of business models focused on product longevity and reuse, and the use of bilateral and regional trade agreements to eliminate barriers to circular goods and services.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyses the decarbonization potential of the heavy-duty vehicle sector in the EU up to 2030. It evaluates three indicative pathways to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, comparing the EU's 'Fit for 55' plan, an adjusted IEA scenario, and a linear reduction pathway. The authors conclude that while individual measures like electrification, energy efficiency, and biofuels are available, they must be combined to achieve significant reductions, though even a combined approach falls short of the most aggressive linear pathway to zero.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) identifies perceived knowledge gaps and barriers hindering the adoption of 'gridless' (decentralized) water, sanitation, and energy services. Based on workshops with 48 global stakeholders, the report argues that project failures often stem from socio-technical and systemic issues—such as regulatory mismatches, lack of user-centric design, and unsustainable business models—rather than technical performance.

The UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), held on 24 September 2021, convened over 130 global leaders to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) and the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. The event resulted in the first-ever global roadmap for SDG7 and the announcement of over 160 Energy Compacts, which committed more than USD 400 billion in new finance and investment to combat energy poverty and decarbonize energy systems.