Policy Reports

We merge creativity & research excellence to develop high-quality policy reports presenting new ideas for transformative solutions to our world’s most pressing urbanization & climate challenges.

Policy Reports

Climate Induced Migration and Instability: The Role of City Governments

In the coming years, we will see increasing numbers of climate migrants moving to fragile cities characterized by weak governance and limited capacities to provide their residents with adequate infrastructure, security, or social services. As a result, climate migrants are likely to experience exclusion from services and employment opportunities, which may increase the risk of crime and violence at the city level. This report presents innovative city government solutions to address the peace and security challenges associated with internal climate induced migration.

Policy Reports

Community Agreements and Mining: A New Frontier and Social Impact Investments

The One Earth Future Foundation and the RTC Impact Fund developed this report to explore the role that an impact investment fund may have in the negotiation of mining-related community agreements. As mining investments expand into the developing world, they also result in negative impacts for the natural environment and for local communities. The exclusion of community members from decision-making processes are sources of disputes and conflicts around mining projects. I conducted research about the legal and regulatory frameworks for the mining sectors in Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, and Ghana; environmental legislation relevant to the mining sector in these countries; legal frameworks governing citizen participation; and the role of community agreements to protect a community’s interests.

Policy Reports

Green Growth City Development Strategy (GG-CDS) for Da Nang City, Vietnam

The Green Growth City Development (GG-CDS) for Da Nang City in Vietnam, funded by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and UN-Habitat, is an urban masterplan which aims to create the first green growth city in Vietnam and in the Asia-Pacific region. As the editor of the GG-CDS for Da Nang, I gained knowledge about the urbanization, climate, and green growth challenges in Da Nang, strategies for the greening of key urban sectors, the mainstreaming of innovative green growth principles and approaches to Da Nang’s city development plans, and funding mechanisms to mobilize resources for the city’s green growth strategic initiatives.

Policy Reports

Low Carbon Jobs For Europe: Current Opportunities and Future Prospects

Europe finds itself at a critical confluence of climate crisis and economic crisis. Solving both of these crisis provides new opportunities for Europe to transition towards low carbon jobs in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable transport, and energy efficient goods and services. The report gathers evidence of existing green jobs and future assessments of potential job growth as the EU pursues its 2020 target of cutting carbon emissions by 20% below its 1990 emissions and increasing the share of renewables by 20%. The report argues that making a strong commitment to reduce emissions will also support the creation of green jobs in Europe.

Policy Reports

Whatever the Weather: Media Attitudes to Climate Change

The media play an important role in stimulating discussion about climate change in developing countries. Journalists in Sri Lanka, Honduras, Zambia, and Jamaica surveyed by the Panos Institute say that the media have a poor understanding of the climate change debate. The report concludes with policy recommendations to improve the engagement of the media in the climate change debate. I conducted in-depth interviews with journalists from Sri Lanka, Honduras, and Jamaica with the goal to better understand existing attitudes and perceptions of climate change among local journalists and the status of the media in these countries.

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