Search Climate Insights Directory

Friends of the Earth urges President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing that public opposition is widespread and that political survival for Democrats depends on prioritizing environmental protection over oil industry interests.

This fact sheet by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) discusses the critical need for a precise legal definition of nanomaterials to ensure effective risk assessment and management. It examines the technical challenges of defining these materials based on size or properties and analyzes the current regulatory landscape, focusing on the European Union's efforts to establish a horizontal definition amidst industrial and scientific controversy.

This position paper by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) argues against the 'financialization of nature,' which it defines as the process of turning biodiversity and ecosystem functions into financial assets and tradable instruments. FoEI contends that pricing nature leads to the privatization of the commons, marginalizes Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and allows corporations to continue destructive activities through offsetting mechanisms.

This position paper by Friends of the Earth International (ATI) argues against the 'financialization' of biodiversity, which it defines as the process of converting nature into financial assets and commodities. The document critiques market-based mechanisms such as biodiversity banking, natural capital bonds, and payment for ecosystem services, asserting that these tools facilitate corporate control over nature, marginalize Indigenous and local communities, and provide 'false solutions' that allow continued environmental destruction through offsetting.

This executive summary from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) outlines the need for new business models for distributed solar photovoltaics (DPV) in the United States to move beyond customer-centric value toward system-wide optimization. It proposes three 'bridge' building blocks—increased access, treating DPV as a grid resource, and technology bundling—to align the interests of utilities, solar companies, and customers while transitioning toward broader regulatory reform.

This fact sheet describes the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP) Programme on Sustainable Lifestyles and Education (SLE). The programme aims to foster the uptake of sustainable lifestyles as a common norm to address global challenges such as climate change, resource efficiency, and biodiversity conservation through multi-stakeholder cooperation and education.

Friends of the Earth states that the United States and the world must rapidly transition to clean renewables, such as wind and solar, to avoid severe climate disruption and prevent long-term dependence on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.

This policy brief analyzes the differing health diplomacy approaches of China and the West during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It contrasts 'vertical' interventions, which target specific diseases, with 'horizontal' systems that build general healthcare infrastructure, arguing that a combination of both is necessary for long-term pandemic prevention.

This fact sheet provides a chronological timeline of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory actions regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2007 to 2015. It details the legal foundations established by the Supreme Court, the implementation of fuel economy standards for vehicles, and the development of the Clean Power Plan for the power sector.

This executive summary details a civil society event held on September 22, 2014, in New York, which brought together global health leaders to discuss the intersection of climate change and public health. The event focused on how health-centric decision-making can drive mitigation efforts across the agriculture, transportation, and energy sectors to improve human well-being and sustainable development.

This report investigates the application of performance-based specifications (PBSs) in public procurement within the European Union and the United States, focusing on their role in supporting sustainable development goals and environmental benefits.

This resource kit for the 2014 UN Climate Summit in New York frames climate change as a critical public health crisis. It advocates for a global transition to clean energy and active transport to save lives and reduce costs, encourages health organizations to divest from fossil fuels, and highlights England's cross-system health approach as a model for action.

This statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) calls for the business and insurance sectors to stop climate change denialism and support ambitious action ahead of the September 23, 2014, UN Climate Summit. The author highlights the role of fossil fuel companies in funding campaigns to subvert legislation and argues that the insurance industry should reconsider providing directors and officers (D&O) liability coverage for activities that undermine climate action.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) submitted a statement to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) arguing that the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could undermine environmental and public health protections. CIEL expresses concern that 'regulatory coherence' mechanisms and the prioritization of trade impacts over public interest could create a 'chilling effect' on the development of new laws and the implementation of existing ones, particularly regarding toxic chemicals, endocrine disruptors, and nanomaterials.

A policy brief by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzing a leaked 'chemicals annex' from the European Commission regarding the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The document argues that the proposed regulatory cooperation favors chemical industry interests over public health and environmental protections, potentially freezing the implementation of stronger laws and erasing the more protective standards currently found in the EU.

This fact sheet provides a chronological timeline of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory actions and associated court rulings regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary and mobile sources between 2007 and 2014.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development compares the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts of electricity sector regulations in Canada and the United States, specifically focusing on coal-fired power plants. It analyzes how these policies contribute to each country's Copenhagen Accord pledge to reduce 2020 emissions to 17 per cent below 2005 levels.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the radicalisation and recruitment processes of al-Shabaab in Somalia. Based on interviews with 88 former fighters and seven off-the-record sources, the study identifies a complex interplay of religious identity, socio-economic hardship, and political instability as primary drivers for recruitment, while highlighting the critical role of peer influence and the organisation's sophisticated intelligence capabilities.

This synthesis note summarizes a September 2014 practitioners' workshop focused on the design, reporting, and evaluation of Intended Nationally Determined Mitigation Contributions (INDCs) for the post-2020 climate agreement. The discussions centered on aligning national pledges with global temperature targets, integrating equity and effort-sharing, and establishing transparency standards for reporting.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing several environmental justice organisations, submitted comments on the draft National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory System (NAEIS) Reporting Regulations. The CER argues that the draft regulations contain overly broad confidentiality restrictions that hinder public access to emissions data, contradicting international best practices and South African constitutional and statutory principles.