Search Climate Insights Directory

The document outlines a comprehensive approach to soil remediation in China, combining international technical standards for risk assessment and remediation with an analysis of China's specific legal and financial landscape. It details the process of identifying contaminated sites—using mercury (Hg) as a primary example—and evaluates various remediation technologies and their costs. The guide examines the role of stakeholders under the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Soil Contamination (LPCSC) and identifies significant financing gaps, suggesting a mix of public funds, green bonds, and blended finance to address the high costs of land rehabilitation.

The document analyzes Indonesia's energy landscape, highlighting a projected increase in LPG subsidies to IDR 66.3 trillion in 2022 and a decline in diesel subsidies. It examines the National Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) 2021–2030, noting that while it targets a 24.8% renewable energy share by 2030, coal remains dominant. The briefing also discusses the challenges of coal phase-out, the introduction of a carbon tax, and the gap between Indonesia's COP 26 commitments and its actual NDC targets.

The paper assesses how the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the sustainability movement shape the industrialisation trajectory of the SADC region. It argues that while 4IR technologies offer opportunities for leapfrogging legacy industries and formalising the informal sector, they also risk creating high-tech enclaves, global monopolies, and 'gig-economy sweatshops'. The authors propose a reimagined strategy that integrates 4IR and green economy goals to achieve broad economic wellbeing rather than focusing solely on job creation.

The Stockholm Environment Institute argues that current global efforts are inadequate, highlighting a significant 'production gap' where fossil fuel plans exceed 1.5°C limits. The report emphasizes the need for 'just resilience' in adaptation, the urgent requirement for dedicated loss and damage financing, and the necessity of aligning financial flows with low-emission pathways while ensuring equity for developing nations.

The report details WWF's strategic efforts to reverse the decline of wild tigers through political advocacy, landscape-scale conservation, and community-centered approaches. Key achievements include the development of the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS), the implementation of the 'Safe Systems' approach to human-wildlife conflict, and the creation of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online. While global tiger numbers have shown an upward trend, the report warns that gains are fragile and uneven, with severe declines continuing in Southeast Asia due to snaring. WWF highlights the co-benefits of tiger conservation, including carbon sequestration and water provisioning, and outlines future goals such as the first international tiger reintroduction in Kazakhstan by 2025.

The briefing analyzes the Biden Administration's 2021 climate security reports, identifying climate change as a 'shaping threat' that necessitates a reexamination of national security assumptions. It argues that climate risks are current and future, wide-ranging, and exacerbate other security concerns, particularly in competition with China. The authors propose five 2022 priorities: mainstreaming climate security in regional strategies, linking adaptation with conflict prevention, maximizing whole-of-government science collaboration, increasing support for allies, and utilizing strategic foresight for worst-case scenarios.

The project aims to mitigate 6.7 million tCO2eq over 3.5 years by expanding sustainable forest and agricultural practices to six provinces in Northern Lao PDR. It focuses on reducing deforestation driven by shifting cultivation and agricultural expansion through participatory land-use planning, the promotion of 32 sustainable farming models (the 'White List'), and the integration of agri-micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into low-emission value chains. The project also emphasizes climate adaptation, targeting 153,700 direct beneficiaries through ecosystem-based adaptation and climate-resilient agriculture to combat risks from floods, droughts, and wildfires.

The report finds that most of the 21 analysed European power utilities are failing to align their strategies with IEA Net Zero benchmarks. Only 43% have coal phase-out plans aligned with the 2030 EU/OECD target, and 100% are expected to operate fossil gas plants in EU/OECD countries beyond 2035. While total wind and solar capacity is projected to quadruple by 2030, this falls short of the required six-fold growth, and only 10% of companies are on track to achieve that minimum. The report highlights a lack of transparency regarding fossil gas and warns against speculative 'hydrogen-ready' claims used to justify continued fossil fuel use.

The document reports that improvements in forest governance are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, noting that illegal deforestation increased from 49% to 69% between 2014 and 2020. While some progress has been made in establishing environmental frameworks and demand-side regulations, systemic challenges such as corruption, weak rule of law, and a failure to legally recognize IPLC land rights persist. The report highlights that weak forest governance causes over USD 17 billion in annual economic losses and calls for accelerated action to address legal weaknesses and enhance the participation of women and IPLCs in decision-making.

The document identifies significant risks in the DRC's emerging lithium sector, including a lack of public environmental impact assessments, the involvement of politically exposed persons (PEPs) in mining concessions, and a lack of transparency regarding contracts and beneficial ownership. It highlights the role of companies like AVZ Minerals, Tantalex Resources, and Critical Resources, and argues that the energy transition must not be underpinned by predatory economic models or environmental harm. The report recommends that companies and the Congolese government adopt OECD due diligence standards and ensure full transparency of payments and ownership to prevent corruption and human rights abuses.

The report analyzes Investment Dispute Prevention and Management Agencies (DPMAs), which are government bodies designed to prevent or manage investor-state disputes. It critiques the assumptions of international institutions—such as the World Bank and UNCTAD—that promote DPMAs, arguing that these bodies often overlook the tension between public interests and investor rights. The authors propose a four-part typology (Aftercare, Treaty Compliance, Litigation Management, and Administrative Review) and provide case studies from seven countries, including South Korea, Brazil, and Peru, to illustrate how these agencies function in practice.

The report finds that South Africa's energy fiscal policies are largely misaligned with its climate goals, with fossil fuel subsidies totaling ZAR 172 billion in FY 2020/21. These subsidies, particularly Eskom bailouts and carbon tax exemptions, outweigh the ZAR 100.5 billion in fossil fuel revenues. The social costs of fossil fuel combustion—estimated at a minimum of ZAR 550 billion annually—far exceed both revenues and subsidies. While the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has successfully lowered renewable energy costs, investment has been hindered by political opposition and Eskom's financial instability. The report recommends tying bailouts to transition reforms, phasing out carbon tax exemptions, and using fossil fuel tax revenues to support vulnerable households and a just transition.

The report argues that African states must transition from being 'junior partners' in global cyber diplomacy to active participants by developing common continental positions and leveraging their demographic position as a future technology market. It highlights the risks of 'norm colonisation' from cyber superpowers and the vulnerability of fragile democracies to information warfare. The author recommends that the African Union recruit 'cyber champions' from digitally mature states and uncouple trade negotiations from cyber diplomacy to ensure a unified approach to digital governance and security.

The briefing analyzes the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya and the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail (HSR) in Indonesia, finding that both projects suffered from poor environmental mitigation, problematic land acquisition, and governance failures. It argues that weak recipient institutions in the Global South compound the reputational and material risks for Chinese contractors.

The report identifies a lack of coherence between the coding systems used for procurement (such as UNSPSC and CPV) and those used for reporting (such as OECD DAC CRS and IATI). This fragmentation creates barriers for innovators attempting to enter the humanitarian and development markets, as it is difficult to track what products are being procured and how they are reported. The authors recommend harmonizing reporting formats, clarifying stakeholder responsibilities, and developing user-friendly platforms to match solution providers with donor needs.

The document examines the 'digital divide' and the rise of 'surveillance capitalism,' arguing that digital technologies often reinforce existing social, racial, and gender inequalities. It calls for the creation of 'democratic public communication spaces' that prioritize human dignity over corporate profit and proposes global regulations to ensure digital justice and the protection of communication as a basic human right.

The report argues that South African agriculture faces urgent climate risks, including temperature rises of 2 to 4 °C by 2050, but suffers from a significant climate finance gap. It highlights opportunities in AgTech, regenerative agriculture, and renewable energy, while recommending the use of innovative instruments like blended finance and sustainability-linked loans to overcome barriers such as high transaction costs and a lack of bankable project pipelines.

The document examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, highlighting a tension between the continent's role as a provider of raw materials and labour and its dependence on foreign AI technologies from the Global North and China. It identifies significant risks associated with AI adoption, including the misuse of biometric digital IDs in Namibia and South Africa, the deployment of facial recognition for surveillance in Uganda and South Africa, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations through 'click work' in Kenyan refugee camps. The author analyses emerging national AI strategies in Egypt, Mauritius, and Rwanda, as well as the SMARTAfrica Blueprint, noting that while these frameworks address infrastructure and talent, they often overlook the labour rights of gig workers and the specific impact of automation on women. The brief evaluates the potential for policy transfer from the EU, specifically the AI Act and GDPR, warning that such frameworks may not account for African socio-economic rights or the technical constraints of local start-ups. It concludes by recommending that African policymakers focus on building inclusive digital infrastructure, fostering regional cooperation for data sharing, and implementing beneficiation frameworks to ensure local communities profit from the data used to train AI systems.

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) has developed a guide containing 10 educational activities for high school students, aligned with BC3's research lines. The activities use active methodologies to cover topics such as carbon footprints, planetary boundaries, climate justice, and urban heat islands. The guide includes a conceptual overview of climate change, emphasizing the need to limit global warming to 1.5ºC, and provides structured lesson plans with specific goals, competencies, and resources.

The catalog consists of 10 independent educational activities linked to five BC3 research lines: Climate Basis, Low Carbon, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Adaptation Laboratory, and Integrated Models of Human and Natural Systems. These activities employ active methodologies, such as cooperative learning and research-based learning, to develop students' scientific and social competencies. Key topics include carbon footprint calculation, planetary boundaries, climate justice, degrowth, and urban heat islands. The guide also provides a conceptual overview of climate change, citing IPCC AR6 data to emphasize the need to limit global warming to 1.5 ºC by reducing global emissions by 43% and methane emissions by 34% by 2030.