Environment and Society Centre

Discussing the interplay between critical raw materials and geopolitics – and the challenges associated with extraction.

By exempting certain critical minerals from his latest tariffs, Trump has demonstrated the fragile interdependence underpinning modern industrial economies – and provided a wake-up call for the EU and UK.

What are the aims of COP30, and what does Brazil’s diplomatic strategy look like?

Washington wants to secure Ukraine’s valuable raw materials in a headline-grabbing deal, but a joint partnership with the EU and Kyiv is mutually beneficial in the long term.

Discussing the role of China in international climate negotiations and the production of green technologies.

Sharing British climate policy know-how could help the world’s largest emitter decarbonize faster. But the UK government must find the political courage to collaborate, writes Chris Aylett.

The fires showed US vulnerability to severe climate events – and the need to prioritize financing for climate resilient infrastructure, regulation of construction, and funding of emergency services.

Former US Climate Envoy Todd Stern joins a conversation about prospects for climate action in 2025.

Assad’s departure could help Turkey become a key point of transit for natural gas. But renewable energy may offer the more promising avenue for cooperation with a new Syrian regime.

What do the outcomes of COP29 mean for climate finance and multilateralism?

Plastics producers at the INC-5 talks resisted curbs on production that others insist are essential. But negotiators have another chance early next year.

An internship at Chatham House offers an invaluable learning experience through a six-month placement in one of our teams.

The COP29 summit will see negotiators try to agree how to finance the climate action the world urgently needs.

COP29 must raise countries’ ambitions to deploy vastly more low-cost modular renewable technologies to help meet the tripling of renewables target set at COP28 and reduce our reliance on expensive carbon capture systems.

The outcome of the US election is consequential for the global climate agenda, through its potential impact on environmental governance and perhaps more importantly, its consequences for global trade and tensions.

Explaining the link between heatwaves and climate change, the impacts of extreme heat, and what governments and cities are doing to adapt.

In this episode, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition in key sectors, including non-energy uses of fossil fuels.

The UK’s once serious claims to climate leadership have been severely damaged in recent years. Rebuilding its standing will be a challenge, at home and abroad.

A new UK government must confront these issues to meet voter expectations.

By following the United States and applying significant tariffs on EVs from China, the EU is risking its ambitious decarbonization goals.

Far right parties’ vote share did not increase on the scale some expected. But in the long-term, their ideas may affect EU policy on migration, environment, security and enlargement.

The judgement shows litigation can be used to hold governments to account on their climate ambitions – but much will depend on policy outcomes.

France’s proposed bill to slow down fast fashion and set higher standards for environmental supply chain transparency is an important first step in addressing the hidden water crisis in global trade.

£1000 grants are available for innovative and engaging ideas to deliver a fair and sustainable future.

The pledge was an important signal to international partners about future energy policy. Dropping it increases doubts about the credibility of UK plans should Labour win the election later this year.

Events in France and Germany show that policies to deliver sustainable food, transport and energy systems need to take far better account of the needs of rural communities.

The UAE Consensus is both groundbreaking in scope, and insufficient for the most climate vulnerable groups. Now countries must prepare ambitious new national climate plans to build on the agreement.

As an agriculture powerhouse and future G20 and COP president, the country can lead the effort to change the way the world produces food.

Greater focus must be given to the potential economic and climate risks of reliance on ’abated’ fossil fuel production.

The country has enjoyed economic development and stability, but with opposition parties banned and protest continuing, a peaceful election is uncertain.

International cooperation can help governments manage the costs and risks of reliance on BECCS and DACCS in net zero strategies. But even where costs are minimized, this does not mean that these technologies are low-cost solutions.

As COP29 host, Azerbaijan must dispel doubts about its own capability and commitment by helping countries reach an ambitious climate finance deal.

Sustainable bioeconomies can play a significant role in the climate transition and in protecting nature, but this will only be possible with more strategic coordination on innovation, investment and international policy.

Amid concern about lack of progress on the SDGs, an opportunity is emerging to put the ‘circular economy’ at the heart of international action on everything from tackling climate change to reducing poverty.

As climate change and the trade of water-intensive goods exacerbate global water scarcity, how can importers of commodity products improve the sustainable use of water at sites of production?

Competing demands for land will increasingly complicate resource security and climate action, threatening international and environmental stability. This report explores the pressures, and sets out how the risks can be mitigated.

Cutting aviation carbon emissions is vital for achieving net zero, but near-term, scalable decarbonization options are limited. This paper explores the possibility of reducing demand for flights to help keep the sector on track for net zero.

The war is making the challenges of climate change harder to overcome, both in Ukraine and worldwide.

By putting in place climate change adaptation measures, NATO has an opportunity to both strengthen operational resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Sustainable finance taxonomies could help incentivize additional investment for circular economy initiatives. The EU’s taxonomy offers lessons on how to leverage taxonomies to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Public facilities are key to managing human displacement crises. With strained resources, sustainable upgrades to buildings can enable states to meet multiple welfare objectives.

This paper explores the opportunities in China for innovative approaches to climate action that incorporate gender equality and social inclusion.

This paper analyses the contentious and complex issue of Loss and Damage finance by examining the perspectives of different countries.

While current food systems hinder efforts towards climate and biodiversity goals, a transformation in the way food is produced could enable progress on these crises this decade.

International trade is an essential component of the transition to a circular economy. Collective action at the global level can help ensure that all countries benefit equally from the circular economy transition.

The global ambition of SDG 7 to provide clean, safe and sustainable energy for all cannot be achieved if displaced people are left outside energy policy and planning in host countries.

From the international through to the local level, inclusive approaches are needed to ensure effective governance of forests and promote the sustainable use of land.

What might a transformed, healthy and sustainable global food system look like? Two contrasting models of sustainability show the options for targeting policy and investment.

While the war in Ukraine is having significant global impacts for energy, food and fertilizer markets, it may also aggravate wider economic and social upheaval.

This paper examines the collection and disbursement of forest sector revenues in three African countries following efforts to improve transparency and accountability.

Venezuela’s recovery from economic collapse and the future prosperity of its citizens depend on the reconstruction of its crisis-ridden electricity system.

A new paper assesses the impacts of the pandemic on UK food and nutrition security, as the country establishes its post-Brexit priorities for trade and agriculture.

The international community must partner effectively with Brazilian stakeholders to conserve the Amazonian forest and foster sustainable economic development.

In the near term, climate change adaptation efforts must prioritize tackling socio-economic vulnerabilities in the most at-risk regions. Failure to act will worsen climate impacts across the world.

The use of forest biomass for energy is growing rapidly, but existing EU and UK policies ignore its contribution to increased carbon emissions.

An ambitious outcome at COP26 is critical to avoiding the most extreme impacts of climate change.

With climate action increasingly reliant on unproven carbon removal options, such as BECCS, there is a clear risk of policies developing without a robust scientific basis.

Ahead of COP26, the world is dangerously off track to meet the Paris Agreement goals. The risks are compounding, and without immediate action the impacts will be devastating in coming decades.

This paper examines investments in the circular economy and the need for new financial instruments to support further development.

This paper investigates the extent to which international organizations, including UN agencies, are incorporating climate change risks into their strategic planning and risk management.