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A coalition of organizations requests transparency regarding EDF Trading's involvement in CDM project 2716 and calls for the project's approval to be withdrawn. The letter cites a Ministry of Environment and Forest report indicating that the project fails to meet sustainable development criteria, harms local fishing and pastoralist communities, and causes significant air pollution. Additionally, the authors argue that the project lacks additionality and relies on a flawed crediting methodology that was suspended in 2011.

The document examines how international carbon offsets under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) have contributed to an oversupply of allowances in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). It highlights critical failures in 'additionality', noting that many projects would have occurred without offset funding, and points to a lack of sustainability and human rights protections. The author recommends a ban on industrial gas projects, large-scale power projects, and JI track 1 projects for the 2013-2020 period.

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and co-chairs from Ethiopia, Liberia, and Norway advocate for a global energy goal in the Post-2015 Development Agenda to address a severe energy gap. The communiqué highlights that four out of five people in LDCs lack electricity and nine out of ten lack modern cooking fuels. It argues that sustainable energy is essential for poverty eradication and climate mitigation, urging the international community to provide financial support and policy frameworks to facilitate a transition to a green economy.

The study analyzes the impact of partial CCS deployment in Europe by 2030, categorizing countries as pioneers or laggards based on their R&D projects and national roadmaps. Using a dispatch model, the authors find that the economic outcomes of pioneering are heterogeneous: while electricity suppliers in Poland, the UK, and the Netherlands may see increased producer surpluses, consumers in the UK could face higher wholesale prices due to the high cost of gas-fired CCS. Conversely, Romania is projected to experience lower wholesale prices and increased domestic production. The results suggest that being a pioneer does not automatically guarantee an advantage, as benefits are unevenly distributed between producers and consumers.

The Jädraås Onshore Windfarm, the largest in Scandinavian Europe at its May 2013 commissioning, was financed through a total of EUR 360 million in private investment. To overcome limited commercial bank lending capacity during the economic recession, a 'Synthetic Loan' structure was created: the Danish export credit agency (EKF) provided an AAA-rated state-backed guarantee that enabled the pension fund PensionDanmark to provide EUR 120 million in debt. The project's viability was further secured by the Swedish renewable electricity certificate scheme, providing a 15-year revenue stream. Risk was managed through hedging contracts for power and certificates and a 15-year operations and maintenance contract with turbine provider Vestas. The report argues that this model is replicable for other green infrastructure projects if simple structures and risk-coverage mechanisms are employed.

The document discusses financing as a primary tool for green economy transitions, utilizing grants, loans, and public-private partnerships. It highlights Costa Rica's Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and the PSA Solidario program as successful models for reducing deforestation and creating green jobs through fuel and water taxes and international agreements. For Manitoba, the text identifies the primary challenge as limited government budget capacity, suggesting recycled revenues, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and public-private partnerships as potential solutions.

The paper examines Russian interests in Barents Sea oil and gas, using the Shtokman field as a case study. It argues that turning hydrocarbon deposits into resources requires a supportive societal context, including technology, markets, and legal frameworks. The analysis highlights the tension between the Russian state's geopolitical goals and the commercial viability concerns of companies like Gazprom and foreign partners. Ultimately, the Shtokman project was postponed indefinitely due to high costs, falling European demand, and competition from North American shale gas.

The author outlines the ethical complexities of using publicly available internet data for research on the July 22 attacks, highlighting the tension between public availability and the perceived privacy of emotional utterances. Key concerns include the inability to verify the age of users, the risk of 'double victimization' of victims through media exposure, and the migration of private Facebook data into the public realm. The author advocates for a case-by-case ethical evaluation of data sensitivity and privacy to balance methodological rigor with the integrity of research subjects.

The document details how Sime Darby's palm oil operations in Liberia violate national laws and international human rights, specifically regarding land grabs and the lack of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). It highlights environmental risks to the Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystem and lists European banks and pension funds providing financial support to the company.

The report evaluates the 'Doha Gateway' decisions from a human rights perspective, noting that while human rights are not explicitly mentioned in the Doha outcomes, they are referenced via the Cancun Agreements. The analysis covers mitigation ambition, loss and damage mechanisms, REDD+ safeguards, the Clean Development Mechanism's lack of appeals processes, public participation under Article 6, and the adoption of 'gender balance' over 'gender equality'.

Wilmar International, a major global palm oil producer, is accused of systemic environmental and human rights violations despite its stated CSR strategy. The document details specific land-grabbing and deforestation cases in Indonesia, Nigeria, and Uganda, and lists the major banks and pension funds providing financial support. It highlights the gap between the ESG policies of these financiers and the reported actions of Wilmar, noting that the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global divested from the company in 2012 due to sustainability concerns.

The research investigates why South Africa is a founding member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) but remains absent from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). It argues that the South African government's justifications—namely the existence of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA)—are insufficient because these frameworks do not provide the specific, multi-stakeholder corporate-state payment reconciliation that the EITI requires. The author suggests that South Africa's reluctance is partly ideological, tied to perceived double standards in the global North, and that the country may only join the EITI if it sees it as a means to bolster its status as an emerging global power.

Civil society organizations are urging the World Bank to integrate the Inspection Panel's twenty years of experience into its safeguard policy review, arguing that the Panel's investigations provide a critical feedback loop for institutional learning.

The report assesses how carbon pricing affects the competitiveness and investment strategies of energy-intensive industries (EIIs). It finds that while carbon costs are a factor, they are often secondary to energy and raw material prices. The analysis highlights the risk of carbon leakage, where production shifts to regions with lower emissions costs, particularly as demand grows in Asia. The report emphasizes that current short-term policy horizons, such as the EU's 2020 targets, are insufficient for the 20- to 40-year investment cycles typical of these sectors, suggesting a need for longer-term regulatory certainty and support for breakthrough technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

The report details the Green Climate Fund's administrative spending and trust fund status through the end of 2012. It tracks expenditures for the Board, Interim Secretariat, and Interim Trustee, while noting that all received contributions and anticipated pledges had been allocated to administrative budgets through December 31, 2013, leaving no funds available for new funding decisions.

The document argues that Uganda's current legal framework, specifically the Companies Bill of 2009 and the Petroleum Bills of 2012, is insufficient for the governance of its proposed national oil company (NOC) because it focuses on shareholders rather than a broader range of stakeholders. By contrasting this with Norway's model—which utilizes the Department of State Ownership to enforce transparency, performance targets, and independent board control—the author recommends that Uganda enact mandatory corporate governance guidelines for SOEs and establish a central supervisory institution to prevent corruption and government interference.

The report argues that stricter chemical laws do not impede innovation but rather accelerate it by pushing companies to develop safer alternatives. Using case studies on phthalates and CFCs, it demonstrates that regulatory pressure correlates with spikes in patent filings. However, it highlights the danger of 'regrettable substitution,' where hazardous chemicals are replaced by structurally similar ones with unknown risks. The document concludes that for innovation to create a safer marketplace, laws must shift the burden of proof for safety to manufacturers, internalize environmental and health costs, and ensure transparent access to hazard information.

The author argues that the European Commission's proposal for the 7th EU Environment Action Programme is a 'mockery' of environmental policy because it contains no concrete actions, instead repeating existing Treaty provisions and vague objectives. The text claims this approach prioritizes economic growth over environmental protection and warns that the EU's failure to provide strong environmental leadership may lead to the renationalization of environmental issues by Member States.

The COP18 summit in Doha resulted in incremental progress, primarily the agreement of a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol (KP2) from 2013 to 2020. While the EU and several other nations committed to an average emission reduction of 18% below 1990 levels, major emitters including the US, China, Russia, Japan, Canada, and New Zealand did not approve or opposed the commitment. The summit failed to establish a concrete roadmap for the $100 billion annual climate finance target for 2020, though it introduced a new agreement to establish an international mechanism for "loss and damage" by COP19. The document highlights ongoing tensions regarding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) and the dispute over "hot air" carbon credits, particularly involving Poland and the EU.

The report analyzes the failure of early political inclusion in Afghanistan, the limited impact of amnesty programs, and the constraints on Norway's role as a peace facilitator due to its military commitments to NATO and the U.S.