Search Climate Insights Directory
1,367 results
The New Business Climate
The New Business Climate is a 2002 guide by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) designed to help corporations and institutions reduce carbon emissions while improving business performance. It argues that climate change presents both risks to asset values and opportunities for innovation, advocating for a transition from incremental thinking to radical resource efficiency and the use of emerging carbon markets to manage costs.
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Document type: Guide
Communicating Sustainable Development on the Web
This guide provides a framework for sustainable development organizations to integrate the Web into their communications strategies. It emphasizes that a website should be viewed as an extension of the organization rather than a separate project, advocating for a "Web first" approach to information delivery. The document details the creation of a common vocabulary for online content (files, clusters, modules, sections), provides guidance on information architecture and user-centric design, and outlines the management of technical and content development tasks. It also explores four models for collaborative joint module development: gateways, working sites, hub-and-spokes, and integrated modules.
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Document type: Guide
PROSPECTS OF CDM FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA
This report analyzes the potential for China to participate in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol. It evaluates the economic, environmental, and social benefits and costs, emphasizing that while the CDM offers short-term gains in foreign investment and technology, it poses a long-term risk of technology dependence if core R&D and manufacturing capabilities are not transferred. The authors provide strategic recommendations for China to ensure the CDM supports its long-term sustainable development goals.
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Document type: Report
CIEL BRIEF
This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) critiques the World Bank's proposed transition from Operational Directive (OD 4.30) to Operational Policy (OP 4.12) regarding involuntary resettlement. CIEL argues that the new policy relaxes standards for restoration of living conditions, prioritizes cash over land compensation, and removes protections for vulnerable groups and 'voluntary' settlers.
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Document type: Briefing
A CITIZENS GUIDE TO THE WORLD BANK INSPECTION PANEL
A 1999 guide by CIEL explaining how citizens can use the World Bank Inspection Panel to report policy violations in development projects. It details eligibility criteria, the investigation process, the limitations of the Panel's power, and the risks of borrower reprisals.
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Document type: Guide
Comments on Improving Identification of Prior Art Recommendations on Traditional Knowledge Relating to Biological Diversity
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) submitted comments to the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) arguing that traditional knowledge of biological diversity is frequently overlooked as prior art, leading to the improper granting of patents. The document recommends stricter disclosure requirements for applicants, the systematic use of ethnobotanical databases and herbarium specimens in searches, and the consideration of moral grounds for denying patents on sacred indigenous resources.
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Document type: Statement
AMICUS BRIEF TO THE APPELLATE BODY ON UNITED STATES – IMPORT PROHIBITION Of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products
This amicus brief, submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law and other organizations, argues that United States import prohibitions on shrimp harvested without turtle excluder devices (TEDs) are consistent with WTO rules. The brief contends that these measures are justified under GATT Article XX as necessary for the conservation of endangered sea turtles, a goal supported by international environmental law and the principles of sustainable development.
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Document type: Briefing
Pakistan: Environmental Impact of Cotton Production and Trade
This research paper examines the environmental impacts of cotton production and textile processing in Pakistan, analyzing the sector through the lens of global commodity chains. It highlights the ecological and health costs of heavy pesticide use in farming and the pollution caused by chemical dyes in textile manufacturing, while evaluating the governance structures that hinder or facilitate a transition to sustainable practices.
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Document type: Research paper
The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development
The research paper "The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development" argues that Asian development is hindered by the adoption of inefficient electrical equipment and a utility business model focused on increasing sales rather than customer satisfaction. The authors contrast this with a shift in the U.S. utility sector toward "negawatts"—saving electricity through efficiency and renewables—which is presented as a significantly cheaper and more sustainable alternative to building new power plants.
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Document type: Research paper
climate change is only possible with cheap renewable energy
Tariq Banuri, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development at the UN, argues that integrating climate and development goals requires making renewable energy affordable and competitive. He asserts that reducing the cost of renewables is the only way to ensure global economic growth and poverty reduction while lowering emissions.
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Document type: Statement
Enhancing direct access to the Green Climate Fund
This policy brief examines the 'direct access' and 'enhanced direct access' modalities for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), analyzing the institutional capacities required for developing countries to manage climate finance independently. It draws on the experiences of the Adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to identify barriers to accreditation—such as fiduciary standards and project management track records—and provides recommendations for the GCF Board to streamline access and support country ownership.
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Document type: Policy brief
How will the Green Climate Fund allocate its money?
This briefing by Benito Muller of Oxford Climate Policy provides recommendations for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board on how to allocate resources. Drawing on lessons from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the author argues against a single unified allocation formula in favor of separate funding envelopes for different objectives to balance efficiency and equity.
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Document type: Briefing
Policymakers must consider risk from slow-onset processes, as well as extreme weather
This report summarizes the first part of a two-part document detailing a July 2012 UNFCCC regional expert meeting on Loss and Damage held in Mexico City. It highlights the disparity in policy attention between extreme weather events and slow-onset climate processes in Latin America and the Caribbean, and calls for integrated risk-management approaches to address these gaps.
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Document type: Report
10 propositions for success
This report by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) proposes ten propositions to help countries integrate their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into national development planning. Drawing on evidence from seven countries—Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Peru, and Uganda—the paper argues that successful integration requires a combination of policy coherence, institutional leadership, and transparent resource management to ensure climate actions are not isolated from mainstream economic development.
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Document type: Report
Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Eschborn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Workshop report
This report details a workshop held in Eschborn, Germany, from 3-5 June 2011, focused on improving collaboration among 'Climate Knowledge Brokers'—online initiatives that facilitate the sharing of climate and development information. Organised by CDKN, GIZ, and PIK, the event brought together 35 participants from 21 global and regional web initiatives to address 'portal proliferation syndrome', where fragmented and under-resourced platforms lead to duplicated efforts and information overload for users.
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Document type: Report
Alliance pour le Climat et le Développement Aider les pays en développement à concevoir et à mettre en œuvre des activités de développement compatibles avec le climat
This guide describes the mission, strategic themes, and operational approach of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), an alliance managed by six organizations to help developing countries implement climate-compatible development activities.
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Document type: Guide
Climate and Development Knowledge Network Helping developing countries to design and deliver climate compatible development
This fact sheet describes the mission, strategic themes, and operational achievements of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), an alliance of six organisations dedicated to helping developing countries implement climate compatible development.
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Document type: Fact sheet
cdkn_brochure_portuguese-6c09e7ea6dbb550b.pdf
This fact sheet describes the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), an alliance of six organizations providing research, advisory services, and knowledge sharing to help developing countries implement climate-compatible development. The CDKN focuses on four strategic themes: climate-compatible development strategies, improving access to climate finance, strengthening climate resilience through disaster risk management, and supporting climate negotiators from Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
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Document type: Fact sheet
EXPOSING THE GENDER GAPS IN FINANCING CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION – AND PROPOSING SOLUTIONS
This report by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network examines the historical lack of gender consideration in climate change mitigation financing and proposes solutions for integrating gender equality to improve project effectiveness. Through case studies in Nepal, Mali, and Colombia, it demonstrates how gender mainstreaming—including the use of disaggregated data and gender-sensitive action plans—can enhance the sustainability and social impact of emission reduction initiatives.
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Document type: Report
Minimum Standards for local climate-smart Disaster Risk Reduction – enabling integration of local capacities into national climate adaptation strategies
This policy brief introduces 'Minimum Standards' designed to transition local disaster risk reduction (DRR) from 'business as usual' to 'climate-smart' practices. The standards aim to bridge the gap between national climate adaptation strategies and local capacities by providing practical, achievable benchmarks for communities, civil society organizations, and governments to integrate changing climate risks into their planning and implementation.
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Document type: Policy brief