Search Climate Insights Directory

This policy brief advocates for the creation of an international fund and a no-fault insurance fund, financed by user fees, to help countries manage invasive alien species. It emphasizes the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development as a critical juncture for transitioning from policy development to implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, citing high economic costs of invasive species in Australia, Africa, and the United States as justification for action.

This policy brief by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms act as a major legal and financial barrier to climate action. It contends that ISDS allows fossil fuel investors to sue governments for implementing climate regulations, creating a "chilling effect" that deters states from phasing out fossil fuels and aligning financial flows with the Paris Agreement.

The document outlines various definitions of nanomaterials used by the ISO, OECD, the European Union, and agencies in the US and Canada. It notes that while many rely on a size range of 1nm to 100nm, specific criteria (such as particle distribution percentages in the EU or property-based definitions in the US and Canada) vary. The author argues that these differing definitions lead to legal uncertainty and inconsistent safety assessments across different jurisdictions and product types.

This research paper examines the intersection of international intellectual property (IP) rights, global trade, economic development, and environmental protection. It analyzes how IP regimes—specifically patents, copyrights, and trademarks—impact the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the conservation of biological diversity, focusing on the tensions between industrialized nations (led by the US) and developing countries within frameworks like GATT, NAFTA, and the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

This research paper, published in November 1999 by WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature and authored by experts from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), examines the conflict between World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and trade measures used in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The authors argue that uncertainty regarding WTO consistency is used by some nations to 'chill' the development of effective environmental laws, specifically citing the Biosafety Protocol and the POPs Agreement. The paper recommends that WTO members adopt a political statement of consistency and negotiate a separate agreement to grant MEAs equal status with WTO rules.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law outlines several reform options for Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) to be considered by UNCITRAL Working Group III. The document argues that current ISDS mechanisms are asymmetrical, often ignoring state obligations and public interest, and proposes alternatives such as multilateral treaty termination, the allowance of state counterclaims, public interest carve-outs, 'clean hands' clauses for investors, the requirement to exhaust local remedies, and expanded third-party access to proceedings.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the adoption of webcasting in judicial proceedings, detailing the motivations for its use, the benefits it provides, and the associated technical and financial concerns. It specifically highlights the lag in webcasting adoption within international economic dispute settlement bodies compared to other domestic and international courts.

This statement from the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the World Health Organization (WHO) must actively analyze and intervene in the intellectual property (IP) provisions of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs). The document asserts that these agreements often impose standards that exceed the TRIPS Agreement, potentially undermining the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health and restricting access to affordable medicines in developing countries.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative details the rapid growth of the labeled green bond market in 2014, which saw issuance triple from the previous year to 366 billion USD, driven by international financial institutions, corporations, and municipal issuers.

This briefing by the Climate Bonds Initiative, produced for COP22, analyzes the growth and governance of the green bond market. It highlights the shift toward private sector issuance, the increasing role of emerging markets like China, and the necessity of reaching USD 1 trillion in annual green emissions by 2020 to support Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes how sustainable finance taxonomies integrate mechanisms to support the transition of high-emission sectors toward net-zero emissions by 2050. It identifies six specific 'Taxonomy Transition Mechanisms' used to define and evaluate the credibility of transition activities, providing a framework for taxonomy designers, investors, and market professionals to ensure robust and science-based decarbonization pathways.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes how financial taxonomies can facilitate the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors. It introduces six 'transition mechanisms'—including forward-looking criteria, expiry dates, and transition plan requirements—to help developers create credible benchmarks. Through case studies of the EU, China, and Australia, the report illustrates different taxonomy archetypes (binary, traffic-light, and mixed) and emphasizes the need to integrate these technical tools with broader national climate policies and science-based pathways.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes how sustainable finance taxonomies incorporate transition mechanisms to support the shift to net-zero emissions by 2050. It identifies six key 'Taxonomy Transition Mechanisms'—including forward criteria, sunset dates, and transition plan requirements—and examines their application across traffic-light, binary, and mixed taxonomy archetypes. Through case studies of jurisdictions like Singapore, the EU, Australia, China, and Rwanda, the report demonstrates how these mechanisms can be used to provide granular, science-based criteria for hard-to-abate sectors, distinguishing between point-in-time 'transition labels' for financial instruments and the long-term 'transition process' of entities and sectors.

The Healthy NDC Scorecard is a visual tool designed to evaluate whether national climate commitments (NDCs) are sufficient to protect human health, measuring them against the Paris Agreement and science-aligned targets.

This policy brief by the Global Climate and Health Alliance explores the intersection between climate change and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), arguing that interventions to mitigate climate change offer significant 'co-benefits' for public health. The document advocates for multisectoral government action and a whole-of-society approach to integrate health priorities into climate plans and vice versa, focusing on energy, transport, and food systems.

This report by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) provides reflections from its members on the outcomes of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) in May 2025. It details key policy achievements, such as the adoption of the Global Action Plan on Climate and Health and the first pandemic agreement, while highlighting critical gaps regarding fossil fuel phase-outs and implementation uncertainties.

This guide explains the mechanics, applications, and implementation requirements of securitization as a tool for climate finance. It details how pooling fragmented green assets into tradable securities can mobilize institutional capital, recycle balance sheets for originators, and manage credit risk through tranching. The document provides a framework for assessing financial market readiness across shallow, emerging, and mature markets, and outlines the specific capacity needs for ministries of finance and regulators to support these instruments.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative and the Global Center on Adaptation analyzes international public climate adaptation finance for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) between 2021 and 2022. It identifies a significant funding gap, noting that current annual flows of approximately $2 billion are far below the estimated annual need of $11.7 billion. The report highlights that a large portion of this finance is provided as debt, posing macroeconomic risks, and calls for a shift from GNI-based ODA eligibility to a multidimensional vulnerability index to improve financial access.

This white paper by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the exposure of the Indian financial sector to climate-related risks and outlines a pathway for integration and product innovation. It highlights the vulnerability of India's economy to climate change, the current gaps in risk management and data within the banking, insurance, and capital markets, and provides a framework for implementing climate stress tests and disclosures aligned with international standards like the TCFD.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the role of lithium as a critical mineral for clean energy, its global supply chain, extraction and processing methods, and the environmental and social externalities associated with its production.