Category: Climate Policy & Environment
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Critical political ecology (CPE)
– The concept of critical political ecology highlights the link between the moral and practical concerns of the environmental movement and contemporary theories about the state, democracy, and justice. – Liberal democratic states are constrained in their ability to implement their green transition by growth imperatives. – By reframing state imperatives as politically contested rather…
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The Green Transition in the Western Balkans
The 2026 CBAM implementation confronts the Western Balkans with a fundamental paradox: coal-dependent economies face €1.2bn in annual costs yet lack carbon pricing systems. Can regulatory constraint catalyse modernisation? Three pathways emerge: national carbon pricing (€2.8bn revenue 2026-30), ETS integration with free allocations (€10-20bn), and renewable valorisation. Success requires EU support, political will, and geopolitical…
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COP30: Europe Under Pressure Without the US
MQ: How has Europe navigated COP30’s climate negotiations and energy transition amid the US absence? MA: With the US absent, Europe took center stage, balancing climate ambition with strategic, geopolitical, and energy constraints; youth engagement added perspective but could not replace careful negotiation planning. C: COP30 shows European leadership is contingent; ambition must be paired…
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Power Struggles in the Energy Transition
How does China’s dominance in critical minerals and clean-tech manufacturing reshape global power in the energy transition? This brief argues that China’s control across the entire mineral-to-technology supply chain creates asymmetric dependencies that influence national climate strategies and create inequalities. As mineral geopolitics rises, securing diversified and resilient supply chains becomes essential for global climate…
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Climate Linked Instability in the Sahel and Horn
How does climate stress reshape patterns of authority and instability in high-risk African states? Using Burkina Faso and Somalia, the brief shows that climate shocks amplify existing governance weaknesses, alter mobility, and expand the space for non-state armed actors. Climate change is a multiplier: instability emerges not from climate stress alone, but from how it…
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The Pacific’s Climate Financing Dilemma
How do Pacific Small Island Developing States assess the COP29 Triple Finance Framework ahead of COP30? Climate finance supports PSIDS in reducing their vulnerability to climate impacts; however, more ambitious actions by other countries remain essential for their survival. At COP30, PSIDS plan on advocating for more stringent climate commitments (NDCs) in light of this…
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Ambition at Risk
“- How does the EU’s failure to submit a binding 2035 climate target affect its ability to agree on a 2040 target and maintain credibility in international climate negotiations? – Main argument: EU’s failure to submit a binding 2035 target weakens its credibility in climate diplomacy, complicates the 2040 goal, and risks its leadership at…
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Critical Raw Materials in Argentina and Brazil
Main Question: How do Argentina and Brazil balance climate rhetoric with mining policy on critical raw materials? Argument: Despite opposite discourses (Lula’s pro-environment stance vs. Milei’s climate skepticism) both prioritize mining expansion over sustainability. Conclusion: Ideology matters less than material interests. Both governments converge on economic gains, risking the goals of the energy transition.
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Editorial: EPIS Report on Climate Policy & Environment Issue II
The environment is a silent victim in conflict that is beaten and abused with long-term consequences, acting as a threat multiplier for the effects of the climate crisis. The destruction of dams is a common theme in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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Competing Futures
International Criminal Lawis ineffective at protecting the environment in conflict, perhaps stronger solutionsshould be in place, should the environment have their own rights in conflict?