Search Climate Insights Directory
1,281 results
Rethinking development: sustainable consumption, production and trade
The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) develops consumption-based accounting tools, such as multi-regional input-output (MRIO) models, to reveal environmental costs often ignored by territory-based emissions tracking. SEI argues that while consumers play a role, systemic shifts driven by government and business are essential to overcome infrastructure and business models that lock in unsustainable patterns. Their research also highlights how complex global supply chains can transfer vulnerabilities and environmental risks between producer and consumer regions.
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Document type: Briefing
Charting a Sustainable Path for Renewable Energy Development
The report examines the water-energy nexus, focusing on the trade-offs associated with hydropower and bioenergy. It highlights the role of hydropower in grid stability and the water-intensive nature of bioenergy feedstock, while emphasizing the need for integrated water management and strict sustainability criteria for private sector investments, particularly in developing countries.
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Document type: Report
Energiasäästupotentsiaal Eesti transpordis ja liikuvuses
The report analyzes Estonia's transport energy consumption from 2000–2012, noting a 33% increase driven primarily by road transport, which accounts for approximately 90% of the sector's energy use. It evaluates 24 measures across four categories: vehicle fuel efficiency, sustainable modes of transport, land-use planning, and fiscal measures. Key findings suggest that the highest energy-saving potential lies in shifting to more efficient conventional vehicles (A-B energy classes) and implementing smart fiscal tools like kilometer-based road charges and a Tallinn congestion charge. The report concludes that while electric vehicles have marginal impact in the short term, systemic changes in urban planning and public transport are essential for long-term demand management.
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Document type: Report
Water and Risk: Developing Sustainable and Resilient Communities
The report advocates for Sweden to shift its approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) from a humanitarian-led response model to one integrated with sustainable development and resilience building. It highlights that disaster risk is driven more by increasing vulnerability and 'risk blindness' than by natural hazards alone. The authors recommend that the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Sida move DRR activities out of purely humanitarian departments to address underlying structural causes of risk, particularly in urban areas and among the most vulnerable populations.
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Document type: Report
PROJECT BRIEF People and Environment – Development and Resilience in Asia (PEDRA)
The PEDRA research group focuses on the human dimensions of environmental and socio-economic risks in Asia, employing systems-oriented approaches to promote inclusive governance and resilient development. Its current work includes nine diverse projects addressing climate change adaptation in peri-urban Southeast Asia, gender inequalities in environmental conditions, disaster risk reduction in WASH systems, and the governance of the Bali Cultural Landscape.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Reducing climate risk: Climate change mitigation and bioenergy
The document details SEI's multi-scale approach to climate mitigation, focusing on sub-national policy for cities, the necessity of limiting fossil-fuel infrastructure to meet the 2°C target, and the strategic use of modern bioenergy in developing countries. It highlights the use of the LEAP system for low-carbon planning and describes ongoing efforts to integrate social variables into technical climate analysis.
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Document type: Briefing
Managing environmental systems: supporting sustainable urbanization
The document details SEI's efforts to support sustainable urbanization through the development of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) tool, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission tracking frameworks, and the promotion of ecological sanitation. It highlights specific projects in cities such as Bangalore, Seattle, and Leeds, while emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement and the co-benefits of urban green infrastructure.
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Document type: Briefing
Transforming governance: improving livelihoods
The document argues that conventional formal institution building is insufficient for sustainable development and calls for new collaborations between governments, civil society, and the private sector. It emphasizes the need to link livelihoods in low-income regions with consumption patterns in affluent regions and to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development planning to build resilience. SEI highlights various projects, including palm oil governance in Southeast Asia, Arctic resilience, and sanitation in East Africa, to illustrate the need for 'hybrid accountability' and 'institutional bricolage' in governance.
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Document type: Briefing
Transformative Learning and Engagement with Climate Change Adaptation: Experiences with Sweden’s Forestry Sector
The study examines the role of transformative learning in engaging 24 Swedish forestry stakeholders from Kronoberg and Västerbotten counties with climate change adaptation. While focus group discussions increased general knowledge and awareness, they had limited impact on the perceived urgency of action, as many stakeholders viewed climate impacts as distant or contradicted by personal experience. The findings suggest that engagement is highest when scientific knowledge is linked to stakeholders' specific objectives and past experiences with extreme weather, and that deep-rooted distrust in climate science remains a significant barrier.
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Document type: Research paper
Green Climate Fund Trust Fund Financial Report
As of September 30, 2013, the Green Climate Fund Trust Fund had total pledges and contributions of USDeq. 10 million, with USDeq. 8.31 million deposited. The GCF Board approved USD 8.43 million for administrative budgets from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2013, and the interim trustee transferred USD 5.68 million to cover these costs. While USD 2.65 million was held in trust, no funds were available for new funding decisions as of the reporting date, pending outstanding pledges from Norway and the Republic of Korea.
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Document type: Report
Offener Brief an die MinisterInnen und Abgeordneten der UNFCCC Unterzeichnerstaaten
The document is an open letter addressed to ministers and delegates of UNFCCC signatory states, urging them to adopt ambitious climate protection measures and stop the use of emissions trading to weaken climate commitments. The signatories, representing 33 countries, demand the rejection of a pilot phase for emissions unit trading under the Framework for Various Approaches (FVA), the prevention of double counting, and the exclusion of non-additional projects and coal from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). They also call for the cessation of fossil fuel subsidies and the implementation of human rights safeguards in climate projects.
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Document type: Statement
Decarbonising urban transportation
The research paper evaluates strategies to decarbonise urban transportation, focusing on modal shifts, fuel switching, and electricity decarbonisation. Using a Spanish urban area as a model, it finds that aggressive measures—including a 50% reduction in car demand, improved fuel economy, and a shift to nuclear or CCS-equipped power—are necessary to significantly lower emissions and health burdens from particulate matter.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate finance negotiations at COP19 in Warsaw
The document outlines the state of climate finance negotiations leading up to COP19, focusing on the mobilization of US$100 billion per year by 2020 and the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund. It details the work of the Standing Committee on Finance, the challenges facing the Adaptation Fund due to falling carbon prices, and the need for 'enabling environments' in both developed and developing countries to attract and deploy investment. The guide emphasizes that providing financial assurance to developing countries is critical for securing their commitment to a new global climate agreement in 2015.
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Document type: Guide
Impacts of Emissions Trading on Energy Intensive Industries (EII) and Industrial Restructuring – Lessons learned from EU ETS for South Korea
The document examines the evolution of the EU ETS through its first three phases, focusing on how carbon pricing affects the international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries. It analyzes the phenomenon of 'carbon leakage'—where production relocates to countries with laxer environmental rules—and argues that while this risk exists for specific sectors like steel and cement, it is often mitigated by free allowance allocations and broader economic restructuring trends. The author suggests that for countries like South Korea, the EU experience shows that the risk of leakage is manageable if policy focuses on the most vulnerable sectors and the decarbonization of the energy mix.
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Document type: Policy brief
Pioneer countries in the transition to alternative transport fuels: comparison of ethanol programmes and policies in Brazil, Malawi and Sweden
The document analyzes ethanol fuel transitions in Brazil, Malawi, and Sweden, treating them as pioneer countries. It examines how these nations developed physical and institutional infrastructure through the interaction of niche, regime, and landscape levels, while considering spatial and temporal path dependencies.
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Document type: Research paper
San Giorgio Group Case Study: Jädraås Onshore Windfarm
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.
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Document type: Case study
The EU Biofuel Policy and Palm Oil: Cutting subsidies or cutting rainforest?
The report finds that EU biofuel policies have significantly increased palm oil consumption, with the biofuels sector accounting for 80% of the total increase in EU palm oil use between 2006 and 2012. It argues that the low cost and high yield of palm oil make it a 'marginal vegetable oil' that replaces domestic feedstocks like rapeseed. The authors warn that without reducing subsidies for food-based biofuels, the EU will likely see a 40% increase in palm oil consumption by 2020, potentially exacerbating deforestation and carbon emissions in tropical forests and peatlands.
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Document type: Research paper
Biofuels—At What Cost?
The document updates the 2011 subsidy estimates for EU biofuels, reducing the total estimated support from €9,272–€10,653 million to €5,515–€6,896 million. This correction stems from an overestimation of the volume of biofuels eligible for fuel excise tax exemptions. While budgetary support figures for bioethanol and biodiesel were lowered, other support elements, such as market transfers, remain unchanged. The report also details the calculation methodologies for excise tax exemptions and market price support via blending mandates.
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Document type: Report
More federalism, more autonomy, more connections
The author contends that the current European crisis cannot be solved with less federalism, but rather through a renewed federalist pact that balances autonomy, cooperation, and solidarity. Using Belgium as a model, the text proposes the creation of federal districts for elections to foster a common vision and the implementation of a common industrial policy and the IRENE project to strengthen EU climate policy.
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Document type: Statement
mapping the green transformation
The document argues that a green transformation requires a comprehensive political project combining technological innovation with social change. It examines the tension between 'green growth' and 'degrowth', the need for a European Green New Deal, and the role of federalism in managing ecological and social crises. The text also addresses the challenges of migrant integration and the necessity of expanding solidarity to include nature and future generations.
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Document type: Report