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The report examines the paradox of the mining sector, which is essential for supplying critical minerals for energy transition technologies but is itself a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. It analyzes the sector's impact on NDCs, with a focus on coal mining and critical minerals, and provides case studies from Chile, Indonesia, and South Africa to highlight the challenges of achieving a just transition. The document concludes with policy recommendations for improving data quality, creating sector-specific mitigation packages, and fostering shared responsibility between producing and destination countries.

The report analyzes MEL systems for climate change adaptation in Canada, France, Kenya, Namibia, Peru, Somalia, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. It finds that while all nine countries have initiated MEL efforts, most focus on monitoring and progress reporting, with evaluation and learning remaining less developed. The study emphasizes that MEL systems are iterative, context-specific processes rather than one-size-fits-all blueprints, and highlights a significant increase in the integration of MEL frameworks into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) over the last decade.

The document examines the synergy between the Kenya Flower Council's (KFC) voluntary Flower and Ornamental Sustainability Standard (FOSS) and the government's mandatory Kenya Standard 1758 (KS 1758). It highlights how this public-private collaboration reduces compliance costs for producers, improves market access to the EU and other global markets, and enhances worker welfare and environmental management. The authors argue that this model of benchmarking standards can be replicated in other Kenyan agricultural value chains, such as grains, to address safety and quality issues.

RMI conducted a pre-feasibility analysis on a coal power plant in Indonesia's Java-Bali region, evaluating four transition scenarios: baseline operation, early retirement without repurposing, early retirement with clean energy repurposing, and biomass co-firing. The analysis found that early retirement is financially feasible, especially with blended financing, and that clean repurposing via solar PV and battery storage offers the highest value and emissions reductions, provided land constraints are overcome. Conversely, biomass co-firing was found to be generally unprofitable due to high retrofit costs.

The document highlights the risk of insufficient electricity generation during summer heat waves in North America, driven by projected peak load growth of 38 GW through 2028. It proposes Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)—aggregations of distributed energy resources (DERs)—as a key tool to enhance grid reliability and community resilience. VPPs are presented as more affordable than gas peakers or batteries and can be deployed in 6-12 months. The briefing outlines three essential policy principles: expanding the DER asset base, ensuring fair compensation, and enabling value stacking. Case studies from the US and Canada demonstrate VPPs' ability to provide peak capacity, reduce infrastructure costs, and offer backup power during extreme weather.

China has positioned itself as a leader in green technology innovation, utilizing aid, trade, and investment to support the energy transition in the Global South. Through mechanisms like the Belt and Road Initiative and the South–South Climate Cooperation Fund, China has deployed renewable energy, electric vehicles, and sustainable agricultural technologies across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. However, the effectiveness of these partnerships is hindered by gaps between environmental commitments and actual impacts, limited local operational capacity, geopolitical tensions with Western nations, and difficulties in meeting global ESG standards.

The report argues that the World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have policy gaps regarding 'captive coal'—coal plants dedicated to industrial facilities. It highlights how these loopholes risk funding carbon-intensive processing of minerals like nickel, which are essential for the energy transition, thereby undermining global climate goals.

The report details the collapse of Steward Health Care, tracing its trajectory from a nonprofit system in Massachusetts to the largest for-profit private hospital operator in the US, and finally to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on May 6, 2024. It argues that the system was 'pillaged' through a combination of leveraged buyouts, sale-leaseback transactions with the real estate investment trust Medical Properties Trust (MPT), and massive dividend payouts to private equity investors and executives. These financial strategies resulted in over $9 billion in liabilities, including $6.6 billion in lease obligations to MPT. The report highlights the human cost of this financial engineering, citing hospital closures, service cuts in obstetrics and behavioral health, and critical patient safety failures, such as the repossession of essential medical equipment. It concludes with policy recommendations to increase financial transparency, limit debt-funded dividends, and restrict sale-leaseback transactions in healthcare to prevent similar failures.

In 2021, IDB Invest and Engie Energia Chile (EECL) implemented a blended finance package to retire two coal units at the Tocopilla plant early and finance the 151 MW Calama wind farm. The deal utilized a results-based concessional loan where interest payments at maturity are reduced based on verified carbon emissions abated through early retirement, using a pre-agreed carbon price of $3/ton. This transaction was enabled by Chile's top-down coal phaseout policy, the lower cost of renewable energy compared to legacy coal Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and the involvement of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF).

In 2022, Starwood Energy Group (now Lotus Infrastructure) accelerated the retirement of the Logan (225 MW) and Chambers (285 MW) coal plants by 30 months, moving the date from 2024 to 2022. This was achieved through a three-part strategy: renegotiating Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Atlantic City Electric (ACE), refinancing project debt with a $200 million loan from MetLife, and planning the redevelopment of the sites into grid-scale battery storage. The transaction resulted in an estimated reduction of 3.9 million tons of CO2 and saved ACE customers approximately $30 million.

In 2022, ACEN Corporation sold its equity in the SLTEC coal plant to a special purpose vehicle (SPV), reducing the plant's operating life by 25 years to a retirement date of 2040. The transaction was enabled by the use of domestic financial institutions to provide low-cost debt and equity, as international lenders often have coal exclusion policies. The SPV re-levered the capital structure, increasing the debt/capital ratio from 0.58 to 0.79, with $247 million in debt provided by RCBC and BPI. This structure allowed ACEN to divest the asset and reinvest proceeds into renewable energy, aligning with its corporate goal of 100% renewable energy by 2025.

The case study examines how the 2020 flooding of Lake Naivasha and subsequent water level rise exacerbated vulnerabilities in the Kihoto informal settlement. Findings indicate that the combined impact of floods, displacement, and the COVID-19 pandemic severely eroded long-term resilience, particularly for women aged 18-35 and those employed in horticulture and agriculture. The report highlights that a lack of official response capacity and limited access to basic services like sanitation and healthcare further increased displacement risks and slowed economic recovery.

The 2024 update study by Perspectives Climate Group finds that while CAR, Verra, and ACR have improved their grievance processes since 2023, significant shortcomings persist across all analysed VCM programmes. Key issues include limited accessibility, lack of independent review guardrails, and a general absence of detailed potential remedies. The report specifically highlights the case of the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA) in Guyana under the ART mechanism, which was dismissed on formal grounds, illustrating the risks of ad hoc procedural changes and biased reviewer appointments. The study concludes that most VCM mechanisms remain insufficient in providing a fair, predictable, and independent path to redress for affected stakeholders.

The report argues that a proposed shift toward unverified company-led emissions reporting (Method 2) in Australian open-cut coal mines allows operators to significantly understate their climate impact. By analyzing eight operating and two proposed mines, Ember finds that some company-led estimates are up to 135 times lower than state-based averages, leading to the 'erasure' of millions of tonnes of CO2-e from national inventories. The document criticizes the Australian government for proposing to expand this self-reporting regime without implementing the Climate Change Authority's recommendations for mandatory top-down verification and increased transparency.

The report highlights that while the EU has reduced territorial emissions, it has become a net importer of CO2 emissions since 2015, with a significant portion of its carbon footprint originating outside its borders, particularly from China, Russia, the United States, and India.

The document argues that the EU's territorial emission reductions underestimate its true carbon footprint due to emissions embedded in imports. It identifies food, housing, and mobility as primary consumption 'hotspots' and calls for a shift from a focus on production efficiency to policies that target consumption patterns and behavioral change. Key barriers include a lack of standardized monitoring and supply chain transparency, while opportunities lie in leveraging the EU's market influence to set common CBE targets and support developing countries in transitioning to low-carbon production.

The document examines the structural exclusion of Inuit from Canada's federal climate policy and proposes a shift toward an 'Indigenous resurgence paradigm' to ensure equitable representation. It identifies barriers such as tokenistic engagement and the failure to differentiate between northern and southern regional needs. The study highlights existing frameworks, such as the National Inuit Climate Change Strategy and the Circumpolar Inuit Protocols for Equitable and Ethical Engagement, as essential guides for achieving Inuit-led climate justice.

The document examines Indigenous seed keeping in Canada as a critical tool for climate adaptation and food sovereignty. It highlights how colonialism and climate change jointly threaten the preservation of culturally significant seed varieties and the transmission of traditional knowledge. The analysis reveals a significant gap between the needs of Indigenous seed keepers—who require multi-year, flexible, and self-determined funding—and the prescriptive, market-oriented models used by Canadian government and philanthropic actors. It specifically critiques the National Adaptation Strategy and the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy for failing to recognize seed adaptation as a key climate action. The report concludes with recommendations for Indigenous-led governance models and low-barrier resource distribution to support the resilience of Indigenous food systems.

The document examines the role of First Nations' Ceremony in shaping climate policy in British Columbia, highlighting the disconnect between colonial policy frameworks and Indigenous worldviews. It argues that Ceremony is not merely symbolic but a pragmatic governance tool that fosters interconnectedness and responsibility toward the Land. The authors critique historical and current Canadian policies for marginalizing Indigenous rights and recommend a paradigm shift that centres the well-being of the Land, implements UNDRIP, and integrates Ceremony into co-development processes between governments and First Nations.

The document examines the role of Indigenous Ceremony as a foundational framework for climate policy in British Columbia. It argues that colonial policy structures, characterized by inequality and a disconnect from the land, are inadequate for addressing the climate crisis. By integrating Ceremony—which emphasizes reciprocity, responsibility, and interconnection with the Earth—into governance, the author suggests a paradigm shift from profit-centered to Earth-centered decision-making. The text highlights historical colonial harms, such as the potlatch ban and forced relocation to flood-prone reserves, and recommends that federal and provincial governments support First Nations-led policy development aligned with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.