Search Climate Insights Directory

This policy briefing analyzes the decline of Nigeria's regional and continental diplomatic influence, arguing that a 'perverse hiatus' between its domestic instability and its foreign policy goals has led the country to punch below its weight despite being Africa's nominally largest economy as of May 2014.

This report describes the March 10-14, 2014, Bonn Climate Change Conference, where parties under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) worked to identify elements for a universal climate agreement intended for 2015. The document also includes unrelated sections regarding Germany's overseas gas project funding and energy transition lessons for Canada.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) issued a statement responding to President Obama's 2014 State of the Union address, supporting the administration's plan to enact new emissions standards for existing power plants and emphasizing the economic benefits of transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

This guide, published by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) in November 2013, provides a synopsis of key climate finance discussions and deliverables for negotiators attending the 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) in Warsaw. It outlines the progress of the Work Programme on Long-Term Finance, the activities of the Standing Committee on Finance, the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, and the financial challenges facing the Adaptation Fund.

The report examines the intersection of ICTs and sustainability, arguing that the information revolution has fundamentally altered social and economic structures in ways that the sustainable development community has largely ignored. While ICTs offer potential for carbon reduction through 'smart systems,' they also create significant environmental harms via short device life cycles and energy-intensive data centres. The authors criticize the Rio+20 Summit for treating ICTs as incidental tools rather than systemic drivers of change and call for a shift away from formal UN summits toward more adaptive, multistakeholder dialogues to bridge the gap between the ICT and sustainability sectors.

The report analyzes the impact of bilateral trade agreements on copyright and access to knowledge, noting that agreements involving the U.S. often impose protections (such as 70-year terms and anti-circumvention of TPMs) that exceed multilateral standards. It also summarizes IP disputes in the WTO regarding pharmaceutical compulsory licensing and genetic resource disclosure, as well as tensions at WIPO over the Substantive Patent Law Treaty.

This report reviews risk factors to quantify the potential health impacts of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from various Eskom operations. It synthesizes global epidemiological data from organizations like the WHO and USEPA to establish risk estimates for mortality and morbidity, while incorporating South African provincial population and health data to support a health risk assessment.

This briefing by the Climate Bonds Initiative examines how European financial centres can leverage green bonds to enhance their competitiveness and scale up sustainable finance. It details the role of stock exchanges, sovereign and sub-sovereign issuers, and regulators in developing green bond markets, providing specific case studies from cities such as London, Luxembourg, Stockholm, Milan, Paris, and Dublin.

An open letter from the WHO-Civil Society Working Group on Health and Climate Change calling for the integration of climate and health education into medical curricula and professional training to prepare healthcare workers for the impacts of environmental degradation.

The WHO-Civil Society Working Group issued an open letter calling for the mandatory integration of climate and health education into all health professional curricula. Citing a global lack of such programs and institutional barriers, the group urges academic leaders and accreditation bodies to equip health workers to handle climate-related health risks. The document provides examples of existing courses in the Caribbean, Latin America, Brazil, and Kiribati, and references core competencies developed by the Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education (GCCHE).

The IAI report (July 2016 - May 2017) outlines progress in transdisciplinary climate research and science-policy integration in the Americas. Key achievements include the evaluation of the TISG seed grant program, the management of 17 CRN3 research networks, the launch of a climate impact MOOC with over 6,500 participants, and the establishment of a Science-Policy Liaison Office in Buenos Aires to measure scientific impact on regional governance.

This report traces 50 years of UN sustainable development and climate policy, detailing the transition from the 1992 UNFCCC and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 2015 Paris Agreement. It examines the shift from rigid distinctions between industrialized and developing nations toward a more dynamic model of 'common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities' (CBDR-RC). While the Paris Agreement achieved universal participation through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the document notes that current collective promises remain insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C, potentially leading to a temperature rise exceeding 3°C if not significantly increased.

The World Resources Institute presents a set of suggestions for the legal text of the 2015 Paris Agreement, developed by the Agreement for Climate Transformation (ACT) Consortium. The proposal advocates for a holistic approach linking mitigation, adaptation, and support through five-year cycles of continuous improvement and a long-term goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

This working paper, produced by the Agreement on Climate Transformation 2015 (ACT 2015) consortium, proposes a framework for the 2015 Paris Agreement. It suggests a structure based on two long-term goals, three continuous improvement cycles (mitigation, adaptation, and support), and a foundation of transparency and accountability to drive a global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

This executive summary outlines a global dialogue on ensuring that the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. It argues that the pandemic serves as a warning for the climate and biodiversity crises and advocates for a 'green and resilient recovery' that prioritizes people, nature-based solutions, and the phase-out of high-carbon industries.