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1,330 documents from Climate Policy Initiative
Understanding the impact of a low carbon transition on South Africa
South Africa faces a cumulative transition risk of over $120 billion in present value terms between 2013 and 2035, primarily driven by declining global demand for coal exports. While investors initially bear the majority of this risk, implicit transfers and contingent liabilities could shift more than half of the total risk onto the national government, potentially jeopardising its investment-grade sovereign credit rating. The report identifies significant risks to state-owned enterprises like Transnet and Eskom, and private entities such as Sasol and Exxaro. Conversely, a global transition could provide a $45.5 billion windfall for consumers through lower oil prices. The document recommends that the South African government avoid new carbon-intensive investments, develop fiscal tools to capture oil windfalls to offset coal losses, and implement transparent transition plans for workers and municipalities.
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Document type: Report
Understanding the impact of a low carbon transition on South Africa
The report finds that South Africa faces a cumulative transition risk of over $120 billion in present value terms between 2013 and 2035, primarily driven by falling demand and prices for coal exports. While the public balance sheet explicitly faces only 16% of this downside risk, implicit transfers—such as bailouts and social support—could increase the national government's share to over half. The analysis highlights that approximately 75% of these risks are external, and nearly 50% were already realized by 2017. Furthermore, current investment incentives may add another $25.8 billion in risk through projects like new oil refineries and coal infrastructure. The report recommends that the government adopt transition risk assessments, reconsider high-risk investments, and potentially tax oil price windfalls to offset losses.
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Document type: Executive summary
Financial Challenges and Proposals for Sustainable Production in Brazil
The document argues that Brazil can align economic growth with natural resource protection by modernizing farming and reforming rural credit. It identifies three main directives: improving risk management for intensified production, aligning credit with the Forest Code to support public goods, and simplifying the rural credit system to reduce costs and political interference. Specific proposals include expanding credit limits for producers complying with the Forest Code in the short term, extending planning horizons to three or five years in the medium term, and gradually shifting public subsidies from credit to insurance and financial derivatives in the long term.
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Document type: Executive summary
Combate ao Desmatamento Ilegal
The document argues that strengthening 'comando e controle' (command and control) is essential for protecting Brazil's native vegetation, which is critical for environmental conservation, international reputation, and the competitiveness of the agribusiness sector. It highlights the success of the DETER system in the Amazon, which helped reduce annual forest loss by over 80% and avoided the loss of more than 2 million hectares per year during its first five years. However, it identifies gaps such as the inability to detect small-scale deforestation (under 25 hectares) and the lack of monitoring for secondary vegetation. The authors recommend developing technology for small-scale detection and forest degradation, monitoring forest regeneration, expanding remote sensing to all national biomes, and implementing land tenure regularization in public lands and agrarian reform settlements.
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Document type: Report
COMBATING ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION
The document argues that strengthening 'command and control'—specifically through technological monitoring and law enforcement—is essential for protecting Brazil's native vegetation. It highlights the success of the DETER system in the Amazon and recommends expanding such remote sensing to all biomes, improving the detection of small-scale clearing and forest degradation, monitoring secondary vegetation, and addressing land tenure issues in public lands and agrarian reform settlements.
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Document type: Report
ALIGNING RURAL CREDIT WITH THE FOREST CODE
The report argues that Brazil can align agricultural growth with natural resource protection by linking rural credit access to compliance with the Forest Code. It proposes amplifying credit limits for producers without environmental liabilities or those with approved Environmental Regularization Programs (PRA). The authors assert that this alignment would require no additional treasury resources, as it merely redirects existing funds toward producers providing public goods like forest conservation. The document highlights that a significant portion of current credit contracts are near their limits, suggesting that such a policy would have a substantial impact. It draws parallels to the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, which conditions payments on environmental rules, and notes that previous Brazilian Central Bank resolutions linking credit to environmental compliance in the Amazon led to a 15% reduction in deforestation between 2008 and 2011.
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Document type: Report
ALINHAMENTO DO CRÉDITO RURAL COM O CÓDIGO FLORESTAL
The white paper proposes increasing credit limits for Brazilian rural producers who comply with the Forest Code, specifically those without environmental liabilities or those with approved regularization programs. It argues that this alignment would use public subsidies to provide public goods (environmental conservation), improve international trade competitiveness, and accelerate agricultural modernization. The authors suggest reinstating rules from previous Central Bank resolutions (4.106/2012 and 4.226/2013) to implement these limits. Analysis of 2016/2017 data shows that 14% of the total credit volume across ten analyzed lines was granted in contracts exceeding 95% of their limits, indicating a significant potential impact for producers who could benefit from expanded limits.
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Document type: Report
Developing a roadmap to a flexible, low‐carbon Indian electricity system: interim findings
India can integrate 390GW of wind and solar generation by 2030 at a lower total system cost than its current trajectory by increasing the flexibility of electricity supply and demand. The report identifies four primary flexibility needs: operating reserves, ramping, daily balancing, and seasonal balancing, all of which will grow as renewable energy penetration increases. A 'balanced portfolio' combining demand-side management, energy storage, and powerplant flexibility is found to be the most cost-effective approach, reducing energy waste by 82% to 97%, total system costs by 5% to 8%, and carbon emissions by 8% to 12% compared to a thermal-only approach. Regional analysis reveals that states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will face acute seasonal and ramping challenges, while Uttar Pradesh could act as a flexibility exporter due to its industrial base. The report concludes that urgent action on data, market design, and infrastructure is required to unlock these flexibility resources.
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Document type: Report
Large-Scale Reforestation: Starting With Public Lands In The Brazilian Amazon
The policy brief proposes using public lands in the Brazilian Amazon as a starting point for large-scale reforestation, leveraging natural forest regeneration to meet Brazil's Paris Agreement commitments. It highlights that protected territories offer a strong regulatory framework and biophysical advantages, while undesignated public lands, despite higher conflict risks, present a significant opportunity to address wasteful land use and illegal occupation.
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Document type: Policy brief
Reflorestamento em Larga Escala: Terras Públicas na Amazônia São um Ponto de Partida
The report proposes using public lands in the Amazon as a starting point for large-scale reforestation in Brazil. It highlights that natural regeneration is already occurring, with regenerated areas in the Brazilian Amazon increasing from 10 million to 17 million hectares between 2004 and 2014. The authors suggest that the 3 million hectares of deforested land within protected territories are ideal for initial efforts due to established governance and proximity to primary forests. Additionally, the document identifies approximately 13 million hectares of deforested non-designated public lands as potential areas for reforestation combined with land tenure regularization. This strategy is presented as a necessary complement to the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (Planaveg), which focuses on private lands, to help Brazil achieve its Paris Agreement commitment to restore 12 million hectares by 2030.
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Document type: Executive summary
Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2019
The report finds that while electricity finance in 20 high-impact countries reached a record USD 36 billion in 2017, it remains far below the USD 51 billion annual requirement for universal household access. Clean cooking finance saw a critical decline, dropping 73 percent in 2017 compared to the 2015-16 period. The analysis highlights a systemic failure to direct funds toward the most vulnerable, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and emphasizes the need for innovative financing mechanisms like results-based financing and pay-per-service models to bridge the gap.
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Document type: Report
IDFC Green Finance 2019
In 2019, IDFC members committed $197 billion in green finance, a 47% increase from 2018. The vast majority of this funding (95%) was dedicated to climate finance, with green energy and GHG mitigation receiving 87% of those funds. While 87% of commitments remained in the home countries of member institutions, the East Asia and Pacific region received the largest share of total commitments at 69%.
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Document type: Report
ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2019
The report finds that while electricity finance reached a high of USD 36 billion in 2017, only one-third benefited residential users, and clean cooking finance plummeted by 73% compared to 2015-16. It highlights severe underinvestment in Sub-Saharan Africa and the need for innovative financing to reach vulnerable groups, including women and displaced persons.
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Document type: Report
The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2019
The document details the operational framework for the 2019 Global Landscape of Climate Finance, defining climate finance as resources aimed at reducing emissions, enhancing greenhouse gas sinks, and increasing resilience to climate impacts. It establishes a standardized accounting methodology to avoid double counting and ensure data consistency across public and private sectors. The methodology prioritizes primary capital flows and financial commitments over disbursements, excluding secondary market transactions and investments that risk carbon lock-in. It provides a comprehensive sectoral breakdown for mitigation (e.g., renewable energy, energy efficiency, low-carbon transport) and adaptation (e.g., water management, coastal protection), and defines the geographic classification of countries into OECD and non-OECD regions.
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Document type: Guide
Understanding and Increasing Finance for Climate Adaptation in Developing Countries
This report by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the current state of climate adaptation finance, identifying significant funding gaps and barriers to investment, particularly in developing countries. It proposes a framework for increasing investment by boosting demand for adaptation services, supporting suppliers, and de-risking investments, while urging developing country governments to improve risk assessment and tracking.
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Document type: Report
Ensuring Greener Economic Growth for Brazil
The report argues that Brazil can align economic growth with its Paris Agreement commitments by investing in more productive land use, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and improved transportation logistics. It concludes that the returns from climate-friendly investments will outweigh the costs of inaction.
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Document type: Report
DESAFIOS FINANCEIROS E PROPOSTAS PARA PRODUÇÃO SUSTENTÁVEL NO BRASIL
The report argues that Brazil can align economic growth with natural resource protection by intensifying production on underutilized pasture lands. It identifies three main directives for reform: improving risk management tools (insurance and derivatives), aligning rural credit with the 2012 Forest Code to incentivize environmental conservation, and simplifying the complex, public-sector-dominated credit system to increase private bank participation and predictability.
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Document type: Report
FINANCIAL CHALLENGES AND PROPOSALS FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL
The document argues that Brazil can align economic growth with environmental protection by reforming its rural credit system to support the 2012 Forest Code. It identifies inefficiencies in the current credit design, such as annual planning horizons and a dominance of public banks, and proposes a phased transition toward risk management tools, private sector participation, and subsidies strictly tied to the provision of public environmental goods.
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Document type: Report
Understanding and Increasing Finance for Climate Adaptation in Developing Countries
The report highlights a significant gap between current adaptation finance—totaling USD 22 billion annually in 2015-16—and the estimated USD 140 billion to USD 300 billion needed per year by 2030 for developing countries. It identifies context, business model, and internal capacity barriers that hinder private and public investment. To address these, the report recommends improving climate risk disclosure, harmonizing tracking methodologies, and deploying innovative financial instruments such as resilient infrastructure bonds and index insurance.
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Document type: Report
CRESCIMENTO ECONÔMICO MAIS SUSTENTÁVEL PARA O BRASIL
The report argues that Brazil can align its economic growth with climate commitments by increasing agricultural productivity on degraded lands, diversifying its energy matrix with renewables, and improving transport infrastructure. It concludes that the financial returns of climate-friendly investments will outweigh the costs, with specific opportunities to double agricultural production without further deforestation and reduce total energy system costs through decarbonization.
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Document type: Executive summary