Search Climate Insights Directory
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Trade and Environment at the World Trade Organization: State of Play and Entry Points
The document maps the various 'entry points' for environmental policy within the WTO, ranging from formal committees and negotiating groups to newer, member-led plurilateral initiatives. It highlights that while no single environmental agreement exists, the WTO manages this nexus through general exceptions (GATT Article XX), monitoring bodies (TBT and SPS committees), and specific negotiations on fisheries subsidies and environmental goods. The brief also details three recent ministerial statements from December 2021 focusing on environmental sustainability, plastic pollution, and fossil fuel subsidy reform, which aim to foster cooperation ahead of the Thirteenth WTO Ministerial Conference.
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Document type: Policy brief
Five Key Elements for a Gender Lens in Trade
The author argues that for the WTO's efforts on trade and gender to be effective, members must adopt a comprehensive 'gender lens' that distinguishes between economic empowerment and broader gender equality. The proposed framework includes identifying women's multiple economic roles, analyzing the bidirectional relationship between trade and gender, recognizing domains of inequality (capabilities, resources, and security), and applying this analysis across all stages of trade policy from negotiation to implementation.
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Document type: Research paper
Microsoft Word - IMechE letter SGR.docx
Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has written to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) expressing concern over its continued financial ties to the arms and fossil fuel sectors. SGR calls for a rapid phase-out of investments and sponsorships from companies whose carbon targets are not aligned with the Paris Agreement's 2C goal, as well as the elimination of links to the military technology industry. The letter demands greater transparency regarding corporate payments and investments, and encourages IMechE to join climate initiatives like the Pledge to Net Zero and the Professional Bodies Climate Action Charter, noting that other professional bodies such as the British Medical Association and the Royal Meteorological Society have already implemented similar divestment policies.
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Document type: Statement
El metano importa: un enfoque integral hacia la mitigación del metano
The document argues that reducing methane emissions by at least 45% by 2030 is essential to meet the 1.5°C target. It details sector-specific interventions: transitioning to agroecology and plant-based diets in agriculture, eliminating fossil fuels and fixing leaks in the energy sector, and implementing a waste hierarchy focused on organic waste prevention and composting in the waste sector. It further proposes a global governance framework based on monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), national action plans, and financial assistance for developing countries.
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Document type: Report
Methane Matters
The report argues that while the Global Methane Pledge aims for a 30% reduction by 2030, a 40–45% reduction is necessary to meet the 1.5°C target. It details sector-specific interventions: shifting to plant-rich diets and improving livestock management in agriculture; phasing out fossil fuels and implementing leak detection in energy; and prioritizing organic waste prevention and composting in the waste sector. It further advocates for a global governance framework based on monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), national action plans, and financial assistance for developing countries.
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Document type: Report
Societal and Security Implications of Ecosystem Services Declines
The report examines how the decline of pollination and seed dispersal services threatens global food security, economic stability, and political order. It highlights that while global production tonnage may only drop by 5-8%, the impact is acute for pollinator-dependent nations and critical for nutritional health. The document also warns that seed dispersal failure undermines forest integrity and carbon sinks, potentially destabilizing fragile states where populations are highly dependent on forest resources.
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Document type: Report
IPCC Sixth Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
The document outlines the escalating impacts of human-induced climate change on humans and ecosystems, emphasizing that the most marginalized populations are hit hardest. It highlights the role of 'attribution literature' in linking extreme weather to human activity and discusses the critical need for transformative adaptation and nature-based solutions. The briefing warns that the costs of inaction far exceed those of mitigation and adaptation, noting significant GDP losses in vulnerable nations and the potential for mass migration and biodiversity loss.
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Document type: Briefing
Surface Water Monitoring for the Mining Sector: Frameworks for governments
The document outlines key water security issues in mining—quality, quantity, and social impacts—and proposes a comprehensive approach for governments to manage these risks. It reviews international monitoring frameworks from Canada, the EU, Australia, New Zealand, and the US, highlighting the Canadian Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program as a detailed model. A central theme is the value of Participatory Monitoring Programs (PMPs) and Community-Based Water Monitoring (CBWM) in reducing power imbalances and building social license. The report concludes with five key actions for governments: establishing clear monitoring requirements, defining baseline conditions, setting response thresholds through adaptive management, implementing rigorous reporting, and engaging stakeholders through PMPs.
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Document type: Report
PRIVATE EQUITY’S DIRTY DOZEN
The report profiles 12 private equity firms—including Blackstone, Carlyle, and KKR—detailing their substantial portfolios of oil, gas, and coal assets. It argues that these firms fuel the climate crisis and environmental injustice while their executives accumulate immense wealth and social prestige. The document provides specific examples of environmental violations, such as oil spills and methane leaks, and highlights the firms' tendency to avoid global climate pledges like those made at COP26.
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Document type: Report
Republic of Nauru National Adaptation Planning – Phase One
The Republic of Nauru is seeking USD 1,304,546.00 from the Green Climate Fund to implement Phase One of its National Adaptation Planning. This 18-month project focuses on strengthening governance, updating climate projections, and developing a robust evidence base to inform the updated Republic of Nauru Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Framework (RONAdapt). Key activities include establishing a Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group, conducting private sector risk assessments, and creating a centralised climate information database. The project addresses critical vulnerabilities including sea-level rise, extreme heat, and the legacy of phosphate mining, which acts as a 'threat multiplier' for climate risks.
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Document type: Report
Making Good Green Jobs the Law: How Canada can build on international best practice to advance just transition for all
The paper argues that Canada should implement federal legislation to mandate a comprehensive just transition strategy, embedding International Labour Organization principles of social dialogue and decent work. It recommends linking this transition to a 1.5°C-aligned pathway, ensuring the respectful inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, and establishing independent advisory bodies with adequate authority and accountability. Beyond legislation, the author suggests mainstreaming just transition principles across government departments, improving corporate accountability, and planning a managed wind-down of fossil fuel production to support workers.
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Document type: Research paper
Who says it's a climate emergency?
The document catalogues endorsements of the term 'climate emergency' across different sectors. It notes that nearly 14,000 scientists from 156 countries have signed a warning stating 'planet Earth is facing a climate emergency'. In the media, The Guardian updated its style guide to recommend terms like 'climate emergency, crisis or breakdown', and Noticias Telemundo adopted 'climate emergency' over 'climate change' in 2019. Politically, 23 national governments, including Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the European Union, have declared a climate emergency, alongside 2,060 towns, cities, and counties globally. Additionally, the UN Secretary General and Pope Francis have called for emergency declarations, and a 2021 poll indicated that two-thirds of the global population views climate change as a 'global emergency'.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Climate-Washing Litigation: Legal Liability for Misleading Climate Communications
The report defines 'climate-washing' as a subset of greenwashing specifically targeting climate change claims and examines the rising trend of litigation used to hold state and non-state actors accountable. It categorizes misleading communications into three areas: corporate/governmental commitments (such as net-zero pledges), product attributes (such as labeling natural gas as 'clean'), and the disclosure of financial risks and investments. The authors highlight a gap between public climate pledges and actual emission reductions, noting that many companies continue to invest in fossil fuels while advertising clean energy. The document provides recommendations for companies, policymakers, NGOs, and lawyers to combat disinformation and increase transparency.
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Document type: Research paper
Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Investment Program Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga
The Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Investment Program, funded with USD 17 million in GCF grants, aims to transition seven Pacific SIDS—the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga—away from diesel power. Component 1 focused on installing Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in the Cook Islands to improve grid stability and load shifting, while Component 2 provided technical assistance for sector reform and capacity building across all target countries. The evaluation finds that while BESS installation has progressed, the lack of timely procurement for solar independent power producers (IPPs) has left some storage capacity idle. Component 2's effectiveness was significantly hampered by COVID-19 travel restrictions, though progress was made in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. The report highlights the need to synchronize BESS and solar procurement and suggests a 'portfolio approach' to regional utility reform to diversify risk.
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Document type: Report
Making Good Green Jobs the Law
The report argues that Canada requires comprehensive federal just transition legislation to provide certainty for workers and communities as the country moves toward a low-carbon economy. It identifies critical gaps in Canada's previous approach to the coal transition, such as a lack of negotiating power for advisory bodies and insufficient monitoring. Drawing on case studies from Spain, New Zealand, the US, South Africa, and the EU, the authors recommend that new legislation entrench International Labour Organization (ILO) principles, mandate a comprehensive just transition strategy, and establish a dedicated implementation agency. Key priorities include the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as full partners, the use of 'tripartite-plus' social dialogue, and the enforcement of corporate accountability to ensure the polluter-pays principle is upheld.
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Document type: Report
Engaging Decision-Makers in Moving Beyond GDP and Toward Wealth
The document outlines the conceptual and practical framework for moving beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) toward comprehensive/inclusive wealth (C/IW) measurement. It argues that GDP is biased toward short-term market growth and ignores critical determinants of well-being, such as environmental degradation and social capital. C/IW is presented as a portfolio of human, natural, social, produced, and financial capital that allows countries to determine if their development is sustainable. The briefing provides a three-step implementation strategy: informing decision-makers through tailored briefings, compiling official estimates via national statistical offices, and integrating these measures into ex ante and ex post policy analysis.
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Document type: Briefing
States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change
The report analyzes the 2020-2021 outputs of seven UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTBs), noting a significant increase in climate-related references despite COVID-19 disruptions. It highlights a shift toward questioning developed nations on mitigation and fossil fuel extraction, alongside a consistent focus on adaptation and the participation of vulnerable groups. The document also examines key individual communications, such as Teitiota v. New Zealand and Sacchi et al. v. Argentina et al., which establish precedents for climate-induced human rights violations and extraterritorial jurisdiction.
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Document type: Report
Human Rights Obligations of States in the Context of Climate Change
The Human Rights Committee (CCPR) has increased its focus on climate change, issuing more recommendations and questions to states between 2019 and 2021. While early outputs primarily targeted Small Island Developing States and developing countries, the Committee has expanded its scope to include developed nations like Germany and Canada. Key areas of inquiry include mitigation, adaptation, procedural rights, and the regulation of private actors, with specific concerns raised regarding fossil fuel extraction in Guyana, Tanzania, and São Tomé and Príncipe. In the case of Teitiota v. New Zealand, the CCPR recognized that climate change could trigger non-refoulment obligations if it creates real threats to the right to life, though it found no breach in that specific instance. Additionally, the Pereira Benega v. Paraguay ruling established a precedent for state obligations to prevent environmental threats to private, family, and cultural life.
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Document type: Briefing
Auf Odysee: Die Rolle von Blockchain-Technologie für die Monetarisierung im rechtsextremen Onlinemilieu
The report analyzes the Odysee platform as a case study in how blockchain-based 'incentivised' social media allows right-wing extremists to bypass traditional demonetization and generate income. Through content and financial analysis, the authors find that while the platform is not exclusively right-wing, its libertarian architecture and LBRY Credits (LBC) provide financial incentives and a 'censorship-resistant' haven. Findings show that established scene figures benefit most, with some accounts earning significant sums, though total earnings are highly volatile due to LBC price fluctuations. The report argues that 'decentralized' marketing often masks the platform's ability to perform central moderation like geoblocking and delisting, and recommends that regulators include these monetization affordances in action plans against right-wing extremism.
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Document type: Report
Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future
The report presents a vision for a healthy planet based on solidarity, equality, and living within planetary boundaries. It argues that current economic metrics like GDP fuel environmental degradation and calls for a shift toward health and well-being. Based on a survey of over 900 youth from 89 countries, it highlights widespread climate anxiety and a perceived lack of youth agency in global governance. The authors propose specific policy pathways, including a Global Resilience Mechanism for social security, inclusive disaster risk reduction, and a rapid low-carbon transition. It emphasizes the need to move beyond tokenistic youth representation toward meaningful decision-making power and comprehensive climate education.
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Document type: Report