Search Climate Insights Directory
243 results
Redefining prosperity
The document examines the limitations of GDP as a measure of progress, noting that the pursuit of material gain leads to social inequity and environmental degradation. It identifies systemic roadblocks to redefining prosperity—including national reliance on GDP for revenue, cultural associations of success with consumption, and business models based on consumerism. The authors propose a suite of actions, such as the adoption of complementary well-being indicators, the potential introduction of wealth taxes to decouple growth from resource use, and a shift in corporate marketing to reshape societal values. Case studies from countries like Bhutan, Australia, and the UK illustrate various ways beyond-GDP indicators have been implemented.
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Document type: Research paper
North Sea oil and gas transition from a regional and global perspective
The report examines the global and regional context of oil and gas transitions, focusing on the North Sea region. It identifies a significant 'ambition gap' between national net-zero targets and actual industrial strategies in the UK and Norway, while noting Denmark as a first-mover with a 2050 phase-out date. Using a scorecard analysis based on seven just transition principles, the report finds that while Scotland leads in support for workers and communities, the UK and Norway struggle with carbon lock-in due to continued licensing and a lack of comprehensive regional support policies.
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Document type: Report
Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling
The document analyzes the resource requirements and potential externalities of direct air capture (DAC) at both a single-plant (1 MtCO2/year) and a system-wide (0.5 GtCO2/year) scale. It finds that while on-site emissions are low, significant impacts arise from energy demand, land use, and the materials supply chain. The authors argue that responsible scaling requires project-specific social and environmental impact assessments, robust community engagement, and the use of legal agreements like Community Benefits Agreements to ensure equitable distribution of benefits, such as job creation.
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Document type: Research paper
Should European Green Parties go into government?
The author examines the electoral impact of government participation for European Green parties, arguing that while simple 'before and after' comparisons often show a drop in vote share, this is frequently a reversion to a party's base performance rather than a punishment for governing. The analysis finds no significant correlation between electoral outcomes and the number of portfolios held, party ideology, or the ideology of coalition partners. However, a strong link is identified between 'defecting' (leaving government early) and poor election results, suggesting that internal divisions and perceived incompetence during premature exits lead to voter punishment.
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Document type: Research paper
PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN CLIMATE ACTION: REPORT FROM THE GLASGOW CLIMATE CONFERENCE (COP26)
The report analyzes COP26 outcomes, noting that while some progress was made in referencing human rights within Article 6 rules and the CTCN Advisory Board, overall results were marred by exclusionary participation modalities and a failure to effectively confront the fossil fuel industry. It highlights significant gaps in loss and damage finance, the removal of human rights language from the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) work program, and superficial progress on gender-responsive climate action. The document concludes by outlining critical 2022 milestones, including the first Global Stocktake and the revision of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as key opportunities to embed human rights and climate justice.
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Document type: Briefing
Public Participation in Environmental Matters in the UK/England & Wales
The document provides a detailed guide on the rights of individuals and NGOs to participate in environmental decision-making in the UK, primarily through the framework of the Aarhus Convention. It outlines the specific requirements for three types of decisions: specific activities (Article 6), plans and policies (Article 7), and legislation (Article 8). The guide also discusses domestic UK consultation standards, such as the Sedley/Gunning principles and Cabinet Office Consultation principles, and provides advice on challenging deficient consultations through judicial review or the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee.
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Document type: Guide
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
False solutions prevail over real ambition at COP26
The Center for International Environmental Law argues that COP26 failed to address the root causes of the climate crisis, specifically fossil fuels, and instead relied on 'false solutions' like carbon offsets. The statement highlights the exclusion of civil society and Indigenous Peoples from negotiations, the inadequacy of climate finance for adaptation and loss and damage, and the persistence of 'greenwashing' by corporate interests. While noting some progress in marginal alliances like the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, the author concludes that the official negotiated outcomes lack the ambition and equity required to keep global warming below 1.5°C.
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Document type: Statement
Birleşik Krallıkta Referandumlar: Caveat Emptor
The article argues that referendums are alien to the UK's tradition of parliamentary sovereignty and have been used by politicians to resolve internal party disputes or by campaigners to simplify complex issues through misinformation. It highlights the 2016 Brexit vote and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum as examples where binary choices reduced nuanced decisions to 'support/oppose' options, leading to voter regret and democratic weakening.
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Document type: Research paper
Il referendum nel Regno Unito: caveat emptor
The author argues that referendums are historically alien to the UK's tradition of representative democracy and parliamentary sovereignty. The text identifies three drivers for their recent use: addressing constitutional questions like Scottish independence, seeking political legitimacy to resolve internal party conflicts (as seen with David Cameron and Brexit), and as a tool for those seeking epochal change through binary choices. The author concludes that the lack of civic experience with referendums led to campaigns based on fear and disinformation, ultimately damaging the UK's democratic health.
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Document type: Research paper
Communicating climate change adaptation
The document outlines a values-based approach to communicating climate change adaptation, emphasizing the need to align messages with audience values, avoid doom-based narratives, and leverage social norms and extreme weather events to increase personal relevance and political cross-spectrum engagement.
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Document type: Guide
The future is built on the past: just industrial and energy transitions in the UK and Scotland
The report identifies a significant gap between the UK government's high-level climate policy intentions and their practical local delivery, noting that initiatives like the North Sea Transition Deal lack the overarching coordination needed to effectively support workers and communities.
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Document type: Report
Floundering Around: Europas größte Einzelhändler zwischen ersten Erfolgen und Scheitern an ökologischen und sozialen Herausforderungen der Fischzucht
The report evaluates 33 major European retailers on their aquaculture procurement practices. It finds a systemic failure to address ecological and social challenges, with 76% of retailers falling into a 'red zone' of insufficient action. Key failures include a lack of targets to eliminate wild-catch fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) from feed, inadequate fish welfare monitoring, and poor transparency regarding the origin of products. While some UK and French retailers show slight progress, retailers in Spain, Austria, and Switzerland performed particularly poorly.
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Document type: Executive summary
Floundering Around
The report finds that the majority of European retailers are failing to implement substantive policies for sustainable aquaculture. Three-quarters of the 33 retailers assessed were placed in the 'red zone', with none achieving 'frontrunner' status. Key failures include a lack of targets to eliminate wild-caught fish from feed, inadequate fish welfare protections, and poor transparency in labelling and sourcing. While UK retailers showed more progressive approaches in feed and welfare, and some French and German retailers joined industry initiatives, Spanish retailers performed the worst, with all 11 assessed companies landing in the red zone.
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Document type: Executive summary
Floundering Around
The report evaluates 33 European retailers across three priority areas: the elimination of wild fish in aquaculture feed, the monitoring of fish mortality, and supply chain transparency. It finds that 76% of the companies are in the 'red zone,' indicating a near total lack of substantive policies. No retailer achieved 'Leader' status in any category. While some UK and French retailers show more progress, Spanish supermarkets performed exceptionally poorly, with all 11 evaluated companies in the red zone. Key issues identified include the impact of fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) on West African food security and a general failure to provide transparent labeling to consumers.
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Document type: Executive summary
Floundering Around
The report finds that European retailers are failing to perform adequate due diligence on their farmed fish supply chains, with 76% landing in a 'red zone' of poor performance. No surveyed retailer has a clear target to eliminate wild-caught fish in feed, and none have policies to blacklist farms with high mortality rates. While some UK retailers show progress in transparency through the Ocean Disclosure Project, overall industry standards for fish welfare and labelling remain inadequate, often relying on insufficient third-party certifications.
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Document type: Report
Empty handed or leader of the pack?
The author asserts that the United States' ability to lead globally on climate at COP26 depends on the passage of the Build Back Better Act. The text highlights the Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP) as a key mechanism for accelerating renewable energy deployment and notes that 17 companies and the America is All In coalition have urged Congress to prioritize these climate provisions. The document warns that without legislative progress, the US will remain viewed with skepticism by the international community following its previous withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
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Document type: Statement
Why a public engagement strategy on climate change is so important
The briefing emphasizes that reaching net zero ambitions and maintaining a 1.5°C world requires significant individual behavioral changes, which in turn require public buy-in and government-led structural support. It highlights that the UK lacks a centrally-led public engagement strategy despite commitments under the UN's Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) protocol. The document recommends a strategy that is broad-based, utilizes trusted and diverse spokespeople, emphasizes two-way communication over top-down messaging, and focuses on internalizing reasons for change rather than relying on behavioral 'nudges'. It suggests the UK use COP26 to lead internationally on public engagement and invigorate the ACE protocol, noting that few nations, such as Italy, Costa Rica, and Scotland, currently have considered public engagement policies.
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Document type: Briefing
Public Support for International Climate Action
A September 2021 survey of 898 registered U.S. voters shows broad support for international climate action. A majority of voters believe the U.S. should reduce greenhouse gas emissions regardless of other countries' actions (66%) and support the government's pledge to reduce carbon pollution by 50% by 2030 (73%). There is also significant support for pressuring other nations to reduce pollution (78%) and providing financial and technical aid to developing countries for both mitigation (66%) and adaptation (61%). While there is cross-partisan agreement that developing and other industrialized nations should do more to address global warming, support for U.S.-led action varies significantly by political ideology, with the lowest support found among conservative Republicans.
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Document type: Report
ClientEarth’s submission to The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee’s inquiry into Ofgem and net zero
ClientEarth argues that Ofgem's current statutory objectives are outdated and prioritize competition over decarbonisation, hindering long-term climate investments. The submission proposes narrowing Ofgem's principal objective to focus on security of supply and greenhouse gas reduction, introducing sector-specific carbon budgets, and requiring the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to issue periodic Strategy and Policy Statements. Additionally, ClientEarth highlights a failure to regulate and verify non-carbon dioxide emissions, specifically methane and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), and advocates for a consumption-based emissions accounting approach to include extraterritorial emissions from imported energy.
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Document type: Statement