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Oportunidades y Barreras Domesticas a Las Energías Limpias en Chile
The report analyzes the Chilean electricity sector's transition toward clean energies, specifically Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE). It details the current dominance of fossil fuels and large hydro, the impact of the 2008 Law 20.257 establishing renewable quotas, and the role of CORFO in providing pre-investment incentives. While noting a positive investment climate and growing interest from foreign investors, the document identifies significant barriers, including high economic risk due to the lack of stable long-term pricing, high market concentration, and limited access to financing for small developers. It concludes by recommending a more comprehensive national strategy that internalizes environmental externalities and enhances technical and human capital.
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Document type: Report
Introducing the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP)
The Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP) is a software tool developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) that uses an environmentally extended input-output model to track greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, and ecological footprints based on consumption rather than just production. By distinguishing between domestic and imported goods across 178 sectors, REAP allows users to create quantifiable scenarios based on the IPAT formula (Population, Affluence, and Technology) to test policy interventions. The tool has been applied to various UK sectors, including the NHS and tourism, and used in regional planning, such as housing scenarios in the Tees Valley. SEI is expanding the tool's application to EU-27 members, Sweden, and the Basque Country.
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Document type: Research paper
Adaptation to climate change in Sweden: knowledge, policy and practice in decision-making
The document identifies a gap between the recognition of scientific knowledge and its practical application in Swedish climate adaptation. While County Administrative Boards coordinate regionally, local action is often hindered by a lack of political prioritization and a preference for short-term gains over long-term vulnerability management. Sector-specific analysis reveals that forestry lacks a formal adaptation strategy due to a focus on short-term productivity, and the water sector's investments are limited by a reliance on strict cost-benefit analyses and a lack of regulatory requirements.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Practical Guidance on the Use of Urine in Crop Production
The document outlines the nutrient composition, economic value, and safe application of human urine as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. It details a multi-barrier approach to manage health risks, provides evidence from global field trials showing yields comparable to mineral fertilizers, and offers a framework for developing local guidelines and large-scale collection systems.
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Document type: Guide
FACT SHEET
The 3C-SEI Partnership Programme (March 2010 – February 2012) is a collaboration between the business leaders' initiative 3C – Combat Climate Change and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). The programme conducts research at the intersection of climate policy and business across three thematic areas: technology development for a low-carbon economy, the impact of resource scarcity, and the analysis of global trade and financial flows related to emissions mitigation.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Overcoming the Challenges of ‘Doing Participation’ in Environment and Development
The document examines the complexities of 'doing participation' in environmental governance, arguing that effective engagement requires moving beyond 'tick-box' exercises to a holistic approach that accounts for power dynamics, social-ecological contexts, and the integration of scientific and local knowledge. It presents various case studies and methodologies, such as Q methodology for stakeholder selection and adaptive co-management frameworks, to address the tensions between representative democracy and deliberative practices.
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Document type: Research paper
SEI Strategy 2010 - 2014
The SEI Strategy 2010-2014 establishes a framework for the institute to act as a leading provider of systems understanding and policy solutions for sustainable development. The strategy reorganizes research into four multidisciplinary themes: managing environmental systems, reducing climate risk, transforming governance, and rethinking development. SEI aims to increase its institutional core funding to 40% by 2014 to enhance strategic flexibility and independence. The institute leverages a distributed structure of research centres across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA to link global expertise with local implementation, specifically targeting the needs of poor regions and the development of leadership capacities in the South.
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Document type: Report
Furthering the Understanding of the Adaptation Space of Organizations
The report examines climate change adaptation within the water supply and wastewater (WW) sector of the Stockholm region, focusing on four regional organizations: Norrvatten, Roslagsvatten, Käppalaförbundet, and Stockholm Vatten. Using a framework of organizational learning, the study distinguishes between building adaptive capacity and implementing adaptive decisions. Findings indicate that while the sector is actively building adaptive capacity through regional cooperation and research, there is limited evidence of implementing costly adaptive decisions. The 'actual adaptation space' is primarily constrained by 'price sensitive politics', where the high cost of infrastructure changes and the time lag between investment and benefit make it difficult to justify fee increases to municipal politicians. Additionally, uncertainties regarding the timing and magnitude of climate impacts lead some organizations to demand higher levels of factual evidence before committing to large-scale investments.
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Document type: Research paper
A Consumption Approach for Emissions Accounting - the REAP Tool and REAP Data for 2006
The REAP (Resources and Energy Analysis Programme) tool uses environmentally extended input-output analysis to calculate the carbon, greenhouse gas (GHG), and ecological footprints of residents across UK local authorities and regions. Unlike territorial accounting, which measures emissions where they occur, REAP allocates emissions to the consumers of products and services. The tool allows policy makers to model future scenarios by adjusting variables such as household energy demand, food consumption, and production efficiency. The 2006 data release includes a historical time series from 1992 to 2006 and introduces GHG footprints as a new indicator. The document also compares SEI's input-output methodology with the Global Footprint Network's (GFN) trade-volume and life-cycle coefficient approach, noting that while GFN estimates for the UK are typically 5% to 15% higher, the SEI approach provides more detailed supply chain analysis for manufactured goods and services.
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Document type: Guide
China’s Electrical Power Sector, Environmental Protection and Sustainable Trade
The document examines China's heavy reliance on coal-fired power, which makes it a global leader in sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide emissions. It analyzes the 'big up/small down' strategy to replace inefficient small thermal units with larger, cleaner ones and reviews international best practices—including carbon taxes, feed-in tariffs, and emission trading—to suggest policy options for China to reduce its carbon intensity and protect its exports from future climate-related trade barriers.
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Document type: Research paper
Life Cycle Costing in Sustainable Public Procurement
The report examines the barriers and opportunities for implementing life cycle costing (LCC) in sustainable public procurement (SPP). It finds that while LCC is used in some industrialized nations, its application is often non-systematic and hindered by conflicting capital and revenue budgets, a lack of procurer expertise, and data gaps. The authors argue that LCC should be integrated into high-level public expenditure policy to shift the procurement mindset from 'best value for money' at purchase to 'best value across the asset life cycle.'
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Document type: Report
Summary Report
The seminar, co-organized by the Institute for Security Studies and the Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development, highlighted Africa's vulnerability to climate change and the necessity of a united African position for the Copenhagen talks. Key discussions centered on the EU's commitment to a 30% emission reduction by 2020 and a pledge of 100 billion Euros for developing countries, as well as the need for technology transfer and financial compensation for Africa. The event also detailed the institutional framework of the African Union's common position, including the role of a ten-country committee headed by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
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Document type: Report
A DANGEROUS OBSESSION
The report argues that carbon trading is a fundamentally flawed mechanism that fails to drive real emissions reductions or technological innovation, instead creating risks of financial speculation and locking economies into high-carbon infrastructure. It specifically critiques the use of offsetting as an unjust 'escape hatch' that shifts responsibility from developed to developing nations. The authors advocate for a shift toward direct government interventions, including carbon taxation, strict regulation, and massive public investment in low-carbon infrastructure, while calling for developed countries to provide at least €200 billion per year in new and additional climate finance to the global South.
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Document type: Report
Going Clean – The Economics of China’s Low-carbon Development
The report argues that China can achieve a deep carbon reduction by 2050 through sectoral transformations in electricity, industry, transport, and buildings, provided it receives international financial and technological support. It proposes a combination of domestic carbon taxes, a future cap-and-trade system, and a new 'Inter-country Joint Mitigation Plan' to facilitate technology transfer. The analysis emphasizes that a low-carbon transition is essential for China's modernization, offering opportunities to move up the value chain and improve energy security, though it will require active labour market policies to manage job losses in heavy industry.
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Document type: Report
THE CHALLENGE OF UNIONISATION AND DEMOCRATISATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE
The report details a seminar on the complexities of unionisation within the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). It examines the tension between constitutional rights to freedom of association and the requirements of military discipline and national security. Key discussions focus on the adversarial relationship between the Department of Defence (DOD) and unions like SANDU, the impact of underfunding and deteriorating equipment on soldier morale, and the need for improved grievance mechanisms and a National Defence Force Service Commission to address service conditions.
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Document type: Report
The Role of Sustainable Development Indicators in Corporate Decision-making
The research finds that while sustainable development indicators are widely reported in corporate documents, their actual integration into decision-making processes remains limited. At the Board level, indicators are primarily used for risk management, such as health and safety. In corporate strategic management, senior executives have access to indicators—sometimes via Balanced Scorecards—but concrete examples of their use in guiding decisions are scarce. Supply chain management is in an "embryonic stage," relying more on codes of conduct and certifications than quantitative indicators. The author recommends further research into Board accountability, the development of context-specific supply chain metrics, and the integration of sustainability targets into individual performance appraisals.
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Document type: Research paper
Background paper on Vattenfall v. Germany arbitration
The document analyzes the 2009 arbitration brought by Swedish utility Vattenfall against Germany over environmental restrictions on a coal-fired power plant in Hamburg. It explains the legal mechanisms of the Energy Charter Treaty and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), contrasting international investment law's broad protections—such as 'fair and equitable treatment' and 'regulatory expropriation'—with the more restrictive protections under German domestic law. The author argues that such arbitration can create a 'regulatory chill,' hindering the implementation of environmental policies and EU directives.
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Document type: Report
Opening Remarks, SCCR, 18th Session
CIEL advocates for an international treaty on copyright exceptions and limitations, specifically to benefit the disabled, libraries, and education. The organization supports the World Blind Union's proposed treaty to improve cross-border access for the visually impaired and promotes open-source standards, such as the DAISY Standard, to accelerate innovation. CIEL criticizes the current Secretariat survey for lacking empirical depth and argues that discussions on a new internet broadcasting agreement are premature due to the significant digital divide between industrialized and developing countries.
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Document type: Statement
A Deep Carbon Reduction Scenario for China
The report compares a Baseline scenario, where China's energy sector emissions grow to 18.9 GT by 2050, with a Deep Carbon Reduction Scenario (DCRS). The DCRS aims to reduce 2050 emissions to 1.9 GT by implementing aggressive energy efficiency, electrification of transport, large-scale renewable deployment, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the power sector. The analysis concludes that while technically possible, the DCRS requires the simultaneous and rapid implementation of all proposed measures to meet the 230 GT cumulative emissions budget.
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Document type: Report
Energy Access, Climate and Development
The document highlights that 2.5 billion people lack modern energy services, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It argues that energy access is a prerequisite for economic development and climate adaptive capacity. The authors advocate for a shift toward decentralized energy systems—including both renewables and LPG—to reduce the health and environmental burdens of traditional biomass, while emphasizing that energy access should be integrated into climate financing and development goals to avoid compromising poverty reduction in the pursuit of climate mitigation.
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Document type: Briefing