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Urban air pollution in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) poses a severe risk to children's health and development, with significant burdens found in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Children are more vulnerable due to their developing bodies and higher inhalation rates per unit of body weight. Key pollution sources include inefficient biomass combustion for cooking and heating, vehicle emissions, and waste burning, with residents of informal settlements facing the highest risks. The document advocates for integrating air quality management into climate change commitments (NDCs), investing in monitoring infrastructure—including citizen science—and adopting multi-sectoral interventions that target pollution sources rather than just symptoms.

The Land Accelerator South Asia program, launched by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 2020, supports entrepreneurs developing business models to restore degraded lands. The 2021 cohort grew to 58 entrepreneurs, with women's participation increasing from 13% in 2020 to 31% in 2021. The program provides mentorship, grants, and connections to impact investors to scale solutions in sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and agritech. This booklet highlights eleven specific startups, detailing their technological solutions—such as AI-based weeding robots, drone-based precision agriculture, and bio-economic waste conversion—and their reported socio-economic and environmental impacts, including increased farmer incomes and carbon sequestration.

The document details 15 on-the-ground projects in Brazil, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. These initiatives focus on improving water security through rainwater harvesting and irrigation, enhancing food security via conservation agriculture and school gardens, and diversifying livelihoods to reduce pressure on natural ecosystems. The projects are co-designed with local communities based on data collected through key informant surveys to address specific threats such as drought, erratic rainfall, and soil degradation.

The report details the restoration of biological corridors in Nepal's Terai Arc Landscape from 2001 to 2021. It highlights the transition from fragmented habitats to functional corridors through community-based conservation, forest restoration, and transboundary cooperation with India. Key successes include the doubling of tiger numbers and the identification of high-altitude climate refugia. However, the report warns that linear infrastructure development, such as highways and irrigation canals, poses a significant emerging threat to connectivity.

The Sustainable Landscape Finance Coalition, a partnership between WWF South Africa and Wilderness Foundation Africa, employs a four-stage 'Finance Solution Approach' to bridge the funding gap for biodiversity and landscape conservation. The Coalition has launched six incubators investigating tools such as biodiversity tax incentives, carbon payments, and green bonds, while scaling existing successes like the Section 37D tax deduction, which is projected to release R1.4 billion into protected areas by 2026.

The report uses a case study of 62 South African pasture-based dairy farms to argue that sustainable management practices lead to higher gross margins and lower environmental impacts. Key findings indicate that optimizing milk production relative to cow size and land area, rather than maximizing production per cow, reduces carbon footprints and increases profitability. The study highlights a strong negative correlation between soil carbon and nitrogen fertiliser application, suggesting that healthy soils reduce the need for chemical inputs. Projections suggest that widespread adoption of these practices in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal could reduce total carbon emissions by 10% and excess nitrogen by 27% over five years.

The report finds that while the industrial fishing sector in South Africa was better able to absorb the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic due to existing resources and networks, small-scale fisheries faced devastating impacts. These included severe income loss, food insecurity, and harassment by law enforcement despite being designated as essential workers. The study highlights that historical exclusions from formal policy processes left many traditional fishers without essential permits, exacerbating their vulnerability. While some functional co-operatives showed potential for building resilience, the report argues that a lack of infrastructure, education, and formal market access continues to hinder small-scale fishers. It recommends a collaborative governance approach to address historical inequities and empower local co-operatives to withstand future shocks.

Earthjustice and Vote Solar successfully challenged several utility proposals in New Mexico to protect the growth of rooftop solar and prevent fossil fuel expansion. Key actions include blocking El Paso Electric's attempt to create a separate, higher rate class for solar customers in 2015 and defeating a rate hike by Southwestern Public Service Company in 2016. Additionally, in 2021, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission denied El Paso Electric's application to expand the Newman Generating Station, avoiding a projected $160 million cost to ratepayers.

The document examines the challenges and opportunities for private investment in Peru's waste sector to meet NDC goals. It evaluates specific technology options for landfills in Trujillo and San Juan Bautista, develops financial investment cases, and identifies systemic barriers such as high tax delinquency and lack of regulatory capacity. To address these, the paper proposes three priority measures: integrating waste tax collection into public utility bills, creating a national methodology for calculating waste service costs, and expanding the 'Work for Taxes' (OxI) scheme to final waste disposal infrastructure.

The report 'POLLUTED PR' details how advertising and PR firms work covertly for the fossil fuel industry to block climate action. It highlights a significant spending gap, noting that the fossil fuel industry spent at least $1 billion on PR and advertising between 2014 and 2018, outspending clean energy trade groups by over 400:1. The document provides case studies of firms like Edelman, Porter Novelli, and FTI Consulting, illustrating tactics such as 'astroturfing' and the promotion of 'false solutions' like algae biofuels to maintain the industry's social license. It concludes by calling for professionals in the creative industry to divest from fossil fuel contracts.

The document argues that while Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE aggressively market surveillance solutions (Safe City/Smart City) that can impinge on rights, there is little evidence that the Chinese government is imposing a specific authoritarian blueprint on African states. Instead, it finds that African governments often drive the demand for these technologies to strengthen their own power, and that the actual effectiveness of Chinese surveillance tech in reducing crime is often overestimated and fails to account for local socio-political complexities.

Colombia faces challenges from rapid urbanisation and hydroelectric uncertainty while attempting to decarbonise its building sector. Current policies, including building codes and energy efficiency measures, are insufficient to achieve this goal. The document proposes using Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to launch a Net Zero Energy Buildings pilot in social housing, which could reduce emissions, energy poverty, and subsidy payments. While the building sector is not a major emitter, the author suggests that international cooperation and climate finance are necessary to mobilise private capital and align the sector with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.

This report by the Alliance for Renewable Electrification (ARE), supported by GET.invest, examines the intersection of gender equality (SDG-5) and affordable, sustainable energy (SDG-7) within the decentralised renewable energy (DRE) sector. It utilizes 17 case studies from ARE members to provide recommendations for DRE companies, civil society organisations, private investors, and international funding partners to implement gender-sensitive approaches across the DRE supply chain.

Fiji is implementing nature-based solutions, specifically the use of vetiver grass, as part of its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) to combat climate risks such as flooding and erosion. Vetiver grass is used to stabilize soil, protect riverbanks, and contribute to 'nature-based seawalls' to protect coastal and inland communities.

The document defines transitional justice as a response to widespread human rights violations and argues that women's access and power in these processes are vital for sustained peace. It identifies core principles for gender justice, including gender equity and accountability for crimes against women and girls. Through case studies of Tunisia and Colombia, it demonstrates how women's participation can expand the definition of victimhood to include socio-economic harm and prohibit amnesty for sexual violence. The briefing also lists methods for active participation and identifies various barriers to women's engagement, such as cultural norms, physical distance from political centers, and the risk of re-victimization.

This case study examines how Rwanda's domestic policy frameworks, tariff structures, and utility restructuring have increased electricity access, using the World Bank's Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) index as a benchmarking tool.

This case study examines the clean cooking landscape in Bangladesh, highlighting the country's success in attracting finance despite significant gaps in access and the investment requirements needed to reach universal access by 2030.

This briefing from the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (The Lab) outlines the challenges and success factors associated with scaling innovative financial instruments for climate action. Based on the experience of 49 launched instruments and three specific case studies, the document identifies four critical success factors—track record, economies of scale, robust governance, and strategic partnerships—that can accelerate the transition from early-stage development to large-scale investment mobilization.

The paper examines the management of Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa, asserting that misappropriation occurred due to ineffective controls despite multiple early warnings. It highlights the vulnerability of the health sector to procurement fraud and the failure of governance regimes to prevent corruption during the crisis.

The document argues that existing village-level evaluation tools in Indonesia, such as the IDM and IPD, are inadequate for measuring environmental performance and mainstreaming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To address this, the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) proposes the Sustainable Village Development Index (IDM+), which adds 10 ecological indicators covering land-use, natural resource management, and climate actions to the existing index. Using Berau District in East Kalimantan as a case study, the paper demonstrates how IDM+ can be linked to fiscal instruments like Village Fund Allocation (ADD) and Financial Assistance (Bantuan Keuangan Kabupaten) to reward high-performing villages while providing affirmative support to low-performing ones. The author recommends that the central government incorporate IDM+ into the national IDM and that local governments ensure transparent implementation and capacity building.