Executive Summary Are climate finance contributor countries, multilateral aid agencies and specialized funds using widely accepted best practices in foreign assistance? How is it possible to measure and compare international climate finance contributions when there are as yet no established metrics or agreed definitions of the quality of climate finance? As a subjective metric, quality…

With negotiations underway to agree on a new global climate change treaty by 2015, international leaders will meet this November, again next year, and in France in 2015 to build consensus on what such an agreement should look like. On October 11, Global Economy and Development at Brookings will host a discussion on the challenges…

At the end of the month, governments from nearly 200 nations will convene in Paris, France for the 21st annual U.N. climate conference (COP21). Expectations are high for COP21 as leaders aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on limiting global temperature increases for the first time in over 20 years. Ahead of this…

Editor’s Note: Nonresident Senior Fellow Jane McAdam says that climate change-related displacement is happening now and band aid solutions to natural disasters are simply not enough. The time is now to be proactive, because the cost of inaction will be much higher. This article was originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald and on smh.com.au.…

At the end of the month, governments from nearly 200 nations will convene in Paris, France for the 21st annual U.N. climate conference (COP21). Expectations are high for COP21 as leaders aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on limiting global temperature increases for the first time in over 20 years. Ahead of this…

The new international climate change agreement has received largely positive reviews despite the fact that many years of hard work will be required to actually turn “Paris” into a success. As with all international agreements, the Paris agreement too will have to be tested and proven over time. The Eiffel Tower is engulfed in fog…

In Paris this past December, 195 nations came to an historical agreement to reduce carbon emissions and limit the devastating impacts of climate change. While it was indeed a triumphant event worthy of great praise, these nations are now faced with the daunting task of having to achieve their intended climate goals. For many developing…

This election cycle, what will separate Democrats from Republicans on energy policy and their approach to climate change? Republicans tend to be fairly strong supporters of the fossil fuel industry, and to various degrees deny that climate change is occurring. Democratic candidates emphasize the importance of further expanding the share of renewable energy at the…

The catastrophic wind and rain of Hurricane Dorian not only left thousands of people homeless but also children and adolescents without schools. The Bahamas is not alone; as global temperatures rise, climate scientists predict that more rain will fall in storms that will become wetter and more extreme, including hurricanes and cyclones around the world.…

On October 16, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings hosted Laurence Tubiana, special representative of France for the Paris 2015 Climate Conference and ambassador for climate change, for the 11th annual Raymond Aron Lecture. In her remarks, Tubiana offered a multilevel governance perspective for building a more dynamic climate regime. She reflected on economically…

With thirteen months to go until the climate negotiations in Paris in December 2015, there are signals for optimism of where global negotiations might lead. During her speech at Brookings on October 16th, French ambassador for climate negotiations Laurence Tubiana emphasized a multi-actor, multi-level approach to governing climate change. After her remarks, US Special Envoy for…

Editor's Note: As part of the 2014 Midterm Elections Series, experts across Brookings will weigh in on issues that are central to this year's campaigns, how the candidates are engaging those topics, and what will shape policy for the next two years. In this post, William Antholis and Han Chen discuss the importance of climate and…

Editor's Note: As part of the 2014 Midterm Elections Series, experts across Brookings will weigh in on issues that are central to this year's campaigns, how the candidates are engaging those topics, and what will shape policy for the next two years. In this post, William Antholis and Han Chen discuss the importance of climate and…

It’s rare in international diplomacy today that dramatic agreements come entirely by surprise.  And that’s particularly the case in economic negotiations, where corporate, labor, and environmental organizations intensely monitor the actions of governments – creating a rugby scrum around the ball of the negotiation that seems to grind everything to incremental measures. That’s what makes…

This article was written before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lockdowns throughout the world, including Denmark. However, the points it raises about the co-option of the climate movement by the forces of the establishment remain unchanged – and are all the more relevant given the global health emergency posed by COVID-19.

Back when Whole Foods CEO John Mackey weighed in on-slash-stuck his personal foot in his professional mouth about healthcare, I stayed out of the debate. I assumed, wrongly in hindsight, that most people already knew that

A modest proposal

One of the most venerated scientists of our time, James Hansen is the head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, a position he's held for three decades. Long before climate change was a household term, Hansen was one of the first to talk about

This eco-wine is bursting with red fruit aromas and vanilla. And it's minty finish is subtle yet clean so you won't mind a second glass. Which isn't a bad thing as this Pinot comes in under the $15 mark. And the winery is 100-percent solar-powered.

Here's the manifesto by the Spanish wine industry to fight climate change by making wineries more eco-friendly. Vines are very sensitive to climate change and so their environment, landscape, culture and tradition need protecting.

The nose is dancing with floral highlights and warm peach aromas that you half expect it to be a dessert wine. But it's surprisingly elegant for a wine just under $10. The winery is 100-percent solar-powered, as is its sister winery, Jacuzzi.

If we are really going to make a dent in emissions we have to take real estate away from people who drive and redistribute it to people who walk and bike.

Australians may be world leaders in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, but with their new government signing Kyoto as one of its first acts in power, it seems change may well be in the air. So, is Australia about to go green in a big way? UK-based

Ozone, is a substance that like CO2, seems not only to require international treaties, but it likes cleaning stuff. Apparently NASA discovered it works a treat as a disinfectant, killing bacteria and making stains soluble at low temperatures. The

Ben Richmond at Motherboard highlights a climate change success story.

One of the more invasive geoengineering methods that's been proposed to avert global warming is spraying clouds with seawater to whiten them, reflecting solar radiation. New research presented at the European Geosciences Union meeting urges caution

Plus, spewing sulfate into sky to stop warming won't fully work (redux); what Singapore's doing to make sure sea level rise doesn't swamp their city. Here's what caught our eye this morning.

Geoengineering can be more than doing stuff to the environment. We could try leaving it alone.

Naomi Klein's latest book is about more than just science. She explores the extractivist mentality and historic decisions that have led us to where we now find ourselves, living in a totally unsustainable way.

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was expected to delivery its fifth Assessment Report (AR5) next month, but over the past weekend, a draft of that report was leaked to Reuters, which reported the early findings.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its fifth assessment report (AR5), which surely must be one of the most important science documents of all time.

A massive public-private partnership pledges over $1 billion to cut deforestation and mitigate climate change.

Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called upon heads of state to make “bold” announcements at today’s Climate Summit.

Some of the most frequently used jargon you’ll want to know before the Paris climate change talks, accompanied by user-friendly definitions.

Ahead of the U.N. climate negotiations in Paris, hundreds of marches were held around the world to call for strong climate action.

Today, the United Nations climate talks reached an agreement, and committed to fighting devastating levels of climate change.

Architects, engineers, landscape architects and urban planners all have a role to play and should be acting now.

Would you let corporations decide how climate science gets taught in your kids' classroom? That's what's happening in Tennessee.

Woops.

It's an all-natural TreeHugger-approved carbon capture and storage plan.

We still have to reduce our carbon emissions.

Paul Gilding has penned an optimistic and uplifting piece on the progress the climate movement has made and why he thinks we're on the verge of victory.

A new report finds reducing meat consumption is as important as tackling transportation emissions, but the politics are daunting.

Because they started setting aggressive goals early, it still leaves Germany ahead of schedule on Paris Climate Agreement commitments

It's a good time of year to look at the benefits of slowing down.

It looks more like a temple than a bar.

Basically, Pakistan's hydroelectric reservoirs are drying up. Several are reported to be at "dead level," which means the turbines can only use run-of-the-river flows, and have lower output as a result. Because natural gas supplies are also low,

People often write of climate associated flooding, loss of agricultural productivity, spread of tropical disease, and so on. The City of Lahore, Pakistan is experiencing