Search Climate Insights Directory

A letter from Ting Li, managing director of RMI's Beijing office, reflecting on the office's experience during the initial coronavirus outbreak in China and offering a message of solidarity and optimism to global colleagues.

This report presents the results of an expert consultation with 51 financial service providers (FSPs) to identify the sustainability and business criteria agricultural producers in developing countries must meet to be 'investment-ready'. The findings highlight a strong preference among investors for economic and governance factors over social and environmental ones when assessing financial risk.

This research paper examines the capacity of green bonds to bridge the global adaptation finance gap, specifically focusing on private sector involvement. The author concludes that while green bonds can finance adaptation, they currently do so to a very limited extent and are unlikely to significantly close the finance gap due to geographic mismatches, project scale issues, and a general lack of corporate climate risk awareness.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) has outlined a 10-year strategy (2020–2030) to catalyze systemic economic reform toward green and fair economies. The plan focuses on shifting social narratives, building public demand, and influencing policy across five key themes: governance, finance, economic sectors, inequality, and nature.

This briefing note from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues for the integration of procedural rights—specifically access to information, public participation, and access to justice—into climate governance and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It highlights the roles of the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement in promoting environmental democracy and provides specific recommendations for the COP-25 agenda to ensure climate policies are inclusive, rights-based, and gender-responsive.

This case study examines Russia's economic and fiscal dependence on fossil fuels, detailing the sector's contribution to government revenue, the role of state-owned enterprises, and the fiscal implications of energy transition and climate policies.

Host Hotels & Resorts issued a USD 650 million green bond on 26 September 2019, becoming the first US lodging REIT to do so. The funds are used for the acquisition and development of LEED-certified hotels (Silver, Gold, or Platinum) and energy/water efficiency refurbishments, specifically refinancing the LEED Silver-certified Andaz Maui and 1 Hotel South Beach.

This fact sheet details a EUR 300 million green bond issued by PostNL on September 23, 2019, to fund clean transportation, sustainable buildings, and innovation and efficiency projects.

A fact sheet detailing a EUR360m (USD398m) green bond issued by Akiem Group SAS on September 5, 2019, to finance or refinance electric-powered rolling stock.

This Green Bond Fact Sheet describes a EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.7 billion) green bond issued by E.ON SE on August 28, 2019, to finance or refinance renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean transportation projects.

This policy brief summarizes the IPCC's SRCCL report, detailing how human activity affects 75% of Earth's land surface and contributes to climate change. It highlights that while land currently acts as a net carbon sink, climate change and degradation (driven largely by agriculture and logging) threaten this capacity. The brief emphasizes that sustainable land management, incorporating indigenous knowledge and gender-proofing, is essential for limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C and ensuring future food security.

A guest opinion piece by Deirdre Duff of MedAct arguing that the fossil fuel industry is a primary obstacle to climate progress and that the UK health community, as highly trusted professionals, can help break this power through fossil fuel divestment.

This briefing note from the Center for International Environmental Law outlines the international legal frameworks and specific UNFCCC entry points for promoting public participation and access to information in climate policies. It emphasizes the need for procedural rights to prevent harm to communities, particularly within the mechanisms of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and suggests ways to enhance the inclusivity of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the intergovernmental negotiating process.

This fact sheet details a EUR 500 million green bond issued by Vesteda Finance BV on May 24, 2019, certified under the Climate Bonds Standard Version 2.1 for low carbon residential buildings and upgrades.

This fact sheet from the Climate Bonds Initiative details a EUR 750 million (USD 840 million) green bond issued by Vodafone on May 24, 2019, marking the first time a UK ICT company has entered the green bond market.

A research paper analyzing PM2.5 concentrations in Paris and the Île-de-France region from 2009 to 2018. It finds that while local emission reductions have decreased annual and daily PM2.5 levels, regional transport remains a major contributor, particularly for the highest hourly concentrations, suggesting that regional emission reductions are necessary to meet WHO air quality guidelines.

The San Giorgio Group's 7th Annual Meeting, held in March 2019 and organized by the Climate Policy Initiative, focused on scaling up green, low-emissions finance to align with the Paris Agreement. The discussions highlighted the need for systemic transformation across financial institutions, the role of green banks, the urgency of adaptation and resilience investment, and the potential of blended finance to mobilize private capital.

This research paper evaluates the effectiveness of market-based governance in the soy-meat value chain, arguing that current supply chain initiatives are fragmented and fail to address systemic drivers of environmental impact. The authors advocate for a shift toward network governance to improve coordination and trust between global actors.

A research paper quantifying tropical deforestation emissions from 2010–2014, finding that agriculture and forestry expansion caused ~2.6 gigatonnes CO2 per year. The study highlights that 29%–39% of these emissions were driven by international trade, with cattle and oilseeds as primary drivers and the EU and China as major importers.

Hitachi Capital Corporation issued a JPY10bn (USD89m) unsecured green bond on 28-Feb-2019 to finance solar PV and wind power projects in Japan. The funds are split between new loans (40%) and refinancing (60%). The issuer, which targets over 500MW of renewable capacity for 2018, will report on the allocation and environmental benefits annually.