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The report introduces the Just Transition Financing Framework (JTFF), a strategic model to manage the shift to a net-zero economy in fossil-fuel-reliant regions of India. Focusing on Jharkhand, the framework aims to prevent socioeconomic disruption by coordinating policy support, capacity building, project preparation, and capital mobilization. It outlines a governance structure involving a state-level Secretariat and a Project Management Unit (PMU) to channel diverse funding sources—including grants, concessional loans, and private equity—into targeted transition assistance for workers, communities, and industries.

The report examines the application of JETP Just Transition Standard 9 in Air Buaya and Pasir Putih, Maluku. It identifies risks for diesel plant workers in Air Buaya and severe cold-chain infrastructure gaps in Pasir Putih's tuna fishery. To address these, the authors propose a 'Self-Sustaining Workforce Transition Model' for worker reskilling and a three-phase financing strategy—moving from grants to de-risking instruments—to establish solar-powered cold-chain facilities.

The document highlights the Amazon solar farm in Rajasthan, India, which has 210MW of capacity and avoids an estimated 280,000 tonnes of CO2e annually by providing zero-carbon electricity to a carbon-intensive grid. It argues that expanding renewable energy in coal-reliant systems is a highly effective way to reduce power-sector emissions and improve air quality.

The document examines how electrifying heating systems and improving energy efficiency in buildings can reduce urban emissions, highlighting Copenhagen's achievement of reducing building-related emissions by over 60% between 2019 and 2023. It notes that while such measures reduce emissions at the source, they can increase induced emissions if the electricity grid remains carbon-intensive.

The Glenbrook Steel Mill in Auckland, New Zealand, plans to install an electric arc furnace (EAF) by 2026 to replace half of its coal-based ironmaking. Supported by a $300 million investment and GIDI co-funding, the project will use a 30 MW renewable-energy agreement with Contact Energy to leverage New Zealand's approximately 90% renewable grid. This transition is expected to reduce the mill's annual emissions by up to 1 million tonnes of CO2e.

The Jardim Gramacho project in Rio de Janeiro, managed by COMLURB, has transitioned from being Latin America's largest landfill to a climate mitigation site. By implementing a landfill-gas capture system and large-scale mangrove restoration along Guanabara Bay, the project avoids an estimated 850,000 tonnes of CO2e annually. The document highlights that while conventional landfill closure is often mistaken for mitigation, active systems that capture methane for combustion or energy use, combined with biocovers and vegetation restoration, can effectively curb emissions from legacy waste sites.

Carbon Market Watch argues that Verra's VM0052 methodology for coal transition credits is flawed and risks issuing low-quality credits that do not represent real emission reductions. The briefing identifies critical failures in additionality testing, baseline setting, leakage prevention, and just transition safeguards, specifically highlighting risks in the Philippines' energy context. It recommends a total suspension of the methodology until significant revisions are made to prevent overissuance and carbon leakage.

Carbon Market Watch concludes that Verra's VM0052 methodology for coal-to-clean carbon credits is inadequate and should not be used to issue credits in its current form. The report identifies critical risks of carbon leakage, over-estimation of emission reductions due to static baseline assumptions, and potential double counting. It also finds that the 'just transition' requirements are too vague and susceptible to manipulation, particularly regarding benefit-sharing and worker compensation. Using the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) project in the Philippines as a case study, the report illustrates how independent power producers could build new coal plants to replace retired capacity, nullifying climate benefits. The author urges Verra to suspend the methodology and implement substantive revisions.

Carbon Market Watch argues that Verra’s VM0052 methodology for coal transition credits is significantly flawed and should be put on hold. The briefing identifies critical risks of carbon leakage due to low renewable energy pairing requirements, weaknesses in baseline-setting and additionality tests, and inadequate safeguards against double issuance. It also finds that just transition provisions are unreliable, particularly regarding benefit-sharing and stakeholder mediation. Using a case study of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) in the Philippines, the document illustrates how the methodology could allow for the overissuance of credits that do not represent real emission reductions.

The paper examines how AI tools for climate adaptation, primarily designed and governed by global North institutions, impose top-down risk representations that exclude the lived experiences and indigenous knowledge of global South communities. Using Cape Town's informal settlements as a case study, it illustrates how algorithmic abstraction can lead to ineffective policies and epistemic injustice. The author calls for a paradigm shift toward data sovereignty, participatory design, and epistemic pluralism to prevent 'smart' adaptation from replicating historical colonial patterns of exclusion.

The report analyzes the role of Global North private equity firms in maintaining fossil fuel assets across the Global South, highlighting a pattern of extracting profits while offloading environmental and social risks onto local communities. Using data from the 2024 Climate Risk Scorecard, it identifies 13 firms with assets in 32 Global South countries, with a significant concentration of risky assets in Latin America, particularly Mexico. The document details specific instances of pollution in India, social displacement in Brazil, and financial instability in the Philippines, while providing a comprehensive case study on Mexico's LNG and pipeline infrastructure. It concludes that the private equity model's lack of transparency and short-term focus exacerbate climate injustice and expose institutional investors, such as public pensions, to significant financial risk.

The report examines how activists and civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean use climate litigation to block fossil fuel expansion and promote policies aligned with the Paris Agreement. It highlights a predominantly rights-based approach, emphasizing the right to a healthy environment and the protection of Indigenous communities. The analysis identifies significant institutional barriers in the region, including high litigation costs, structural violence against environmental defenders, and a lack of specialized judicial training. While the region leads the Global South in climate litigation volume, it lags behind the Global North in lawsuits targeting private corporations directly. The document also warns of 'backlash' through investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, where companies use international arbitration to challenge decarbonization policies.

The report examines the role of risk mitigation and transfer (RMT) instruments in supporting utility-scale wind and solar projects in East Africa. Through six case studies, it finds that while RMT tools—such as political risk insurance, guarantees, and blended finance—are essential for reaching financial close, risks remain high due to macroeconomic instability, currency volatility, and utility financial strain. The analysis highlights a 'start-stop cycle' in countries like Kenya, where rapid deployment led to overcapacity and subsequent government moratoriums on new contracts. Conversely, the GET FiT program in Uganda is presented as a successful model of systematic de-risking through transparent procurement and institutional support.

The report identifies critical gaps in the implementation of mining laws in Chile, Colombia, and Peru, where energy transition mineral extraction often leads to human rights violations and environmental degradation. To address this, it proposes ten specific safeguards covering areas such as prior consultation, water rights, and the protection of environmental defenders. It advocates for a multi-level governance framework and international cooperation to ensure that the energy transition does not replicate historical extractivist patterns.

The document examines conservation efforts in the Santa Fe and Alto Acre communities of Pando, Bolivia, highlighting the role of Brazil nut harvesting and diversified livelihoods in protecting the Amazon rainforest.

The document examines conservation efforts in the Bolivian Chaco, focusing on private livestock properties (Las Malvinas and Atajado Ancasoro) and the Reciprocal Water Agreement (ARA) in the Guaraní community of San Antonio del Parapetí. It highlights the tension between traditional sustainable livestock practices and the expansion of industrial agro-industry, while demonstrating how community-led agreements can protect critical water recharge areas through non-monetary incentives. The study emphasizes the need for legal recognition of these local efforts to ensure land tenure security and long-term environmental sustainability.

The TCO Monte Verde, a territory of the Chiquitano Indigenous People in Bolivia, maintains 98% forest cover through a combination of indigenous governance and formal forest management plans. Despite facing severe pressures from agricultural expansion, land grabbing, and massive forest fires in 2024, the territory serves as a critical barrier to deforestation in the Chiquitanía region. Conservation is driven by cultural identity, the need for water security, and the goal of preserving resources for future generations. While sustainable logging provides primary income, the community is exploring non-timber forest products and carbon markets to diversify their economy and further protect the forest.

The document examines the synergy between agroextractive settlements (PAEs) and community fishing agreements in the Lower Amazon, specifically focusing on PAE Lago Grande and APes Curuai. It highlights how these hybrid governance structures support biodiversity and traditional livelihoods but are threatened by land tenure insecurity, illegal mining, and insufficient state monitoring. The report argues that recognizing such areas as Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM/OMEC) could strengthen territorial defense and inclusive conservation.

The document examines how traditional communities in western Bahia, such as the Fecho de Pasto Clemente and Beira Rio, maintain the Cerrado biome through sustainable practices like extensive cattle grazing. It highlights the severe threats posed by industrial agribusiness, including land grabbing and water depletion, and argues that formal recognition of these territories as Omecs or TICCAs is essential for inclusive conservation and social justice.

The document examines three private natural reserves in Brazil (Legado das Águas, Reserva Natural Vale, and Parque das Neblinas) as models of private sector contribution to biodiversity conservation. It details their histories, governance, and ecological impacts, while discussing the challenges of social inclusion and the potential for these areas to be recognized as OECMs to support global and national biodiversity targets.