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2022-04-11
Inevitable Policy Response;
At the heart of the 2015 Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals is a theory of change which sees the delivery of critical environmental targets (such as the net-zero economy) as intrinsically connected with wider social objectives such as ending poverty, cutting inequality and achieving decent working conditions across the world. The result needs to be a 'just transition,' one that recognises the fundamental injustices of the current fossil-fuel based energy system, the ways in which climate change exacerbates many inequalities (notably in the developing world) and the opportunity of shaping the drive to net-zero so that it helps to overcome these structural failings. This report updates a 2019 IPR report on the just transition in light of growing policy and market action (notably around COP26), as well as the crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine.The shock of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is deepening existing energy inequalities through the sharp rises in energy and other commodity prices, worsening the livelihoods for large sections of the global population. It could also accelerate the shift to the net-zero economy by once again adding security to decarbonisation as key drivers for accelerated deployment of resource efficiency and renewable energy. This makes the just transition a strategic issue for investors and policymakers in 2022.
2022-05-15
Corporate Europe Observatory;
A new study commission by CEO and the Transnational Institute shows the EU's plan to drastically increase imports of renewable hydrogen from North Africa is not realistic from a cost or energy perspective, and instead diverts renewable electricity away from local needs and local climate targets.The study was written by energy expert Michael Barnard and sees production costs making renewable hydrogen potentially up to 11 times more expensive than using natural gas, and that's before storage and transport costs are factored in.The EU's unrealistic import targets are allowing Big Oil and Gas to sneak hydrogen from natural gas through the back door, using green hydrogen as a trojan horse to keep drilling and selling their main product.
2022-03-22
Global Alliance For The Future of Food;
Integrating food systems transformation into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – the national climate actions at the heart of the Paris Agreement, is critical to delivering on interconnected ecological, biodiversity, health, economic, social, and cultural goals. Taking a food systems approach builds climate resilience and results in a diversity of context-specific solutions for food production, distribution, consumption, and waste. Yet, food systems are rarely prioritized in climate policy. This catalogue of global Case Studies complements a suite of publications that are designed to centre food systems transformation in future climate debate and policy.
2022-05-02
Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea);
This mapping shows the growing diversity and number of networks that have embraced the mission to support and grow the development of the philanthropy ecosystem in the field of climate. The twenty-one organisations presented range from those that are solely dedicated to climate issues to more general networks that work in a range of areas. Each profile gives a flavor of the organisation or platform's activities and goals. This mapping exercise is part of the activities of the Philanthropy Coalition for Climate (https://philea.eu/how-we-can-help/initiatives/philanthropy-coalition-for-climate/), a group of foundations, philanthropy infrastructure organisations and other partners gathered around the aim to empower philanthropy to drive bold climate action and transformational change in Europe and beyond.
2022-06-07
International Institute for Sustainable Development;
This report outlines key implications for governments and investors aiming to align their policies and investments with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, based on different energy pathways published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Sixth Assessment Report, published in April 2022.This report shows that significant structural changes are required in the energy sector to align with pathways limiting warming to 1.5°C. The pathways consistent with the IPCC's assessment of feasible and sustainable deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal and Carbon Capture and Storage technologies leave no room for delayed action. The oil and gas phase-out timelines presented in this report constitute the ambition level consistent with the best estimates of the current and future capacity of mitigation technologies. Accordingly, this report presents the key implications for governments and financial institutions aiming to align their policies and investments with feasible 1.5°C pathways. Its recommendations are designed to guide the understanding of the Paris alignment, consistent with the IPCC findings, and should inform plans to strengthen and amplify policy interventions.
2022-03-04
Health Care Without Harm;
This report provides a strategic framework for building truly climate-resilient health systems and communities, and explores how health care institutions can leverage investments to support equitable decarbonization and build community resilience, health, and wealth. Through case studies, this paper outlines actions health systems can take to improve their ability to adapt and recover from climate-driven service impacts, strengthen long-term sustainability, and support health and equity in the communities they serve.
2022-05-17
Health and Environmental Alliance (HEAL);
With the war in Ukraine, energy considerations have risen to the top of the EU policy agenda. There is an increased understanding that all fossil fuels, not only those imported from Russia, are an economic, political, security, climate and health risk.This briefing by health, environmental and climate NGOs quantifies for the first time the health impacts of burning fossil gas for power (and heat) generation, excluding private households. While coal combustion continues to be the most polluting, health-harming form of energy generation, the health impacts and cost from fossil gas have been grossly underestimated in public and policy discussions and cannot be neglected.Burning fossil gas is not pollution free. The price tag for the EU's and UK's reliance on electricity generation from fossil gas is up to 8.7 billion EUR in health costs in 2019 alone, with the largest health burden in Italy, Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Spain.These costs stem from direct impacts on health from air pollution by gas combustion, including 2,864 premature deaths, over 15,000 cases of respiratory impacts in adults and children, over 4,100 hospital admissions and over 5 million days in lost productivity because of illness. All of these impacts are preventable.This briefing underlines that the continued reliance on fossil gas is highly unhealthy. Given that gas power plants are located in areas of high population density, a large number of people are under threat from air pollution impacts.As the EU Commission is set to present the REPowerEU package, health, environmental and climate NGOs and think tanks urge for the adoption of a timeline and an ambitious deadline for the phasing out of all fossil fuels, including fossil gas, and the avoidance of false solutions in the process. A continued reliance on fossil fuels undermines the EU's zero pollution commitment included in the Green Deal, and accelerates climate change, when alternatives exist.All efforts, including financial ones, must now be concentrated on achieving a 100% renewable and energy efficient European Union as quickly as possible.
2022-05-12
Club of Rome;
The interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution cannot wait for humans to spend years discussing solutions, policies, and institutions. National and international systems have to change faster, which means redefining the goals that governments set themselves and the ways that everyone works to reach those goals.The International System Change Compass sets out the scope of the change needed. On their own, emissions reductions through incremental efficiency gains will lead to disaster. Minor changes within the current economic system won't solve the resource crisis; they won't solve the biodiversity crisis; and they won't address fundamental injustices across the world and within societies. Only a holistic approach toward system change that addresses the impact of Europe's resource usage and overall consumption footprint can achieve the inclusive transition needed to save our planet and provide a fair future for us all.
2022-06-06
International Institute for Sustainable Development;
While there is increasing policy momentum for NbS, criticisms and controversy cloud its application and upscaling. This guidance note clarifies the concepts behind NbS and related terms and shines a light on how to achieve equitable outcomes through a focus on gender responsiveness, social inclusion, and positive outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystems.As the world witnesses and experiences the impacts of climate change, turning to nature could be a pragmatic way to adapt. Governments are being urged to implement ecosystem-based approaches, which include conservation, restoration, and improved land management, in both adaptation and mitigation. Such approaches, framed under the umbrella concept of nature-based solutions (NbS), are expected to be a key component of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and are already integrated into many countries' National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).However, controversy remains about what constitutes as NbS and how to achieve equitable outcomes while enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Compounding this challenge is the unprecedented scale of biodiversity loss as a result of climate change and other interrelated drivers of change.This guidance note aims to clarify the concepts of NbS and nature-based climate solutions (NBCS) with an emphasis on climate adaptation. These adaptation-focused NbS are captured using the widely known term ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). Beyond awareness and knowledge of these terms, it is vital to unpack the social and biodiversity safeguards necessary for NbS to ensure that solutions are gender responsive, socially inclusive, and deliver biodiversity benefits. This guidance note is a knowledge product of the Nature for Climate Adaptation Initiative (NCAI).
2022-03-25
Conference Board;
The prospect of Brent crude oil prices rising to US$200 per barrel may not be as remote as it sounds. What could cause such a spike and what are the implications? Major disruptions to Russia's oil production and exports could result in prices at this height—even if other countries try to step in to offset the shortage. The economic implications of US$200 oil are severe and include widespread inflation and slower economic growth around the world.
2022-02-10
Independent Philanthropy Association of South Africa (IPASA);
The Toolkit has its genesis in a three-part webinar series on Future Proofing Philanthropy in South Africa Against Climate Change, which was run by IPASA. This series of engagements demonstrated that key reasons for inaction on climate change by philanthropic funders include the difficulties in understanding the issue, applying it to their strategic thinking, and in finding effective solutions. The webinar series culminated in the development of the Toolkit, which is aimed at helping funders overcome these challenges. The Toolkit provides a range of useful, accessible, and carefully curated resources to support your journey in understanding the climate crisis and how philanthropy can respond. Our hope is that this Toolkit will catalyse new thinking and will be the beginning of a South African climate philanthropy community of practice and movement. The toolkit contains rich information and practical advice for organisations on every stage of their climate journey.
2022-03-01
King Baudouin Foundation;
The publication presents key findings of focus group research involving more than 900 Europeans in nine countries for the Fair Energy Transition for All (FETA) project. Backed by six leading philanthropic institutions, FETA will use this input to recommend EU and national policies that can secure support across society and, notably, avoid placing a burden on the most vulnerable that would fuel opposition to efforts to protect the planet.
