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Spain's coal industry has seen a massive decline in employment from 45,000 in 1990 to approximately 1,700 by 2017, driven by EU mandates and the economics of renewable energy. To address the resulting economic distress and depopulation in rural mining towns, the Spanish government implemented the 2019 Just Transition Strategy and the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030. These frameworks utilize 'Just Transition Agreements'—participatory regional action plans—to diversify local economies and support workers through reskilling and early retirement. While the government has established a transparent process and strong stakeholder coordination, challenges remain in redressing decades of economic decline and securing funding for new projects without a dedicated funding pool.

The 247Solar project in Queensland, Australia, aims to deploy a hot-air-driven Brayton Cycle system to provide 100% of the electricity for a mine, its campsite, and an export jetty, while meeting 50% of a local aboriginal community's demand. The project expects to reduce the carbon footprint by 90%, lower energy costs by 25%, and create approximately 350 local jobs, supported by funding from the Queensland State Government and the Australian Federal Government (ARENA).

CrossBoundary Energy is implementing a hybrid-renewable energy grid for a mine in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, to replace unreliable heavy fuel oil (HFO) power. The project includes 8 MW of solar PV, 12 MW of wind turbines, and an 8 MW battery storage system (BESS), financed by EUR 24,152,505 in equity.

The Cook Islands, a Small Island Developing State highly vulnerable to climate change and economic shocks, utilized GCF readiness support to overcome capacity gaps. Between 2016 and 2019, the country received four grants totaling USD 1.9 million to strengthen its National Designated Authority (NDA), accredit the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) as a Direct Access Entity, and develop a national country programme. These efforts aimed to improve the country's ability to design and implement transformative climate projects and access larger funding streams.

The document advocates for a whole-of-government approach to climate change in Canada to ensure coherent policy implementation across diverse departments. Based on a survey of eight countries and in-depth analysis of the United Kingdom, the United States, and British Columbia, the report outlines five essential requirements for success: sustained executive leadership, adequate funding and mandates, empowered personnel, aligned departmental mandates, and public transparency.

The document examines China's Digital Silk Road (DSR) strategy and its implementation through ICT projects in Tanzania and Cambodia. It finds that while environmental impacts are generally limited, socioeconomic outcomes are mixed and transparency remains a significant deficiency across projects.

The case study emphasizes that because mining is a significant water user and potential contaminant source, governance must occur at the watershed scale rather than the individual user level. It highlights that climate change increases risks to water quality and availability through rainfall variability and extreme weather. The text notes that while legal frameworks are essential, challenges remain regarding the ownership of water as a common resource, mentioning an emerging trend of granting legal rights to nature in countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, India, and New Zealand. Specifically, Mongolia and the Antofagasta region of Chile are identified as jurisdictions that have implemented watershed-level management frameworks to balance mining's economic importance with water demands in arid environments.

The document outlines the environmental and social risks associated with mine waste—such as reactive mineralization affecting air and water—and highlights the leadership of Ghana and British Columbia in implementing legal frameworks and risk response strategies. It emphasizes that both jurisdictions, despite different mining histories, can provide lessons on effective waste management to avoid catastrophic impacts on ecosystems and communities.

The document analyzes the NEW 4.0 project in northern Germany, which demonstrated that a highly industrialized economy can operate on 100% renewable energy using digital management tools and industrial flexibility. It argues that Canada faces similar non-technical barriers—specifically rigid regulatory and financial frameworks—that hinder the integration of clean energy and innovation.

Friends of the Earth International highlights a global rise in authoritarianism and neoliberal economic expansion that has increased violence against environmental defenders, citing 227 deadly attacks in 2020 alone. The organization details its support for specific struggles, including the Garifuna people in Honduras facing land grabbing, social movements in Colombia resisting neoliberalism, Palestinians fighting for food sovereignty under Israeli occupation, and fishing communities in Mozambique affected by Total's LNG project. The document advocates for national protections for defenders and a binding UN treaty to hold multinational corporations accountable for human rights and environmental violations.

The document examines the Bui Dam in Ghana and the Stung Tatay project in Cambodia, analyzing how ESG standards were applied. It finds that while Chinese firms led construction, the implementation of ESG standards was dominated by local actors, leading to outcomes that reflected the institutional capacities and transparency levels of the host governments. Both projects resulted in significant habitat destruction for endangered species and loss of local livelihoods, though Ghana exhibited higher levels of transparency and stakeholder engagement than Cambodia.

The 'Closing the Loop on Textile Waste in Kenya' partnership, led by Enviu, PurFi, and Upset Sourcing East Africa, utilizes a chemical recycling technology to process textile waste into high-quality materials for new manufacturing. The initiative has sold 100,000 kg of textile cotton waste and employs a sorting team of women processing 36,000 kg per month. By collaborating with Kenya's Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), the partnership aims to integrate circular waste-to-value solutions into the country's expanding textile industry to reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The document analyzes the NEW 4.0 project in Northern Germany, which demonstrated that large-scale industrial economies can technically operate on 100% renewable energy through digital load management, sector coupling, and innovative storage. It argues that while the technology for a net-zero grid exists, the primary barriers in both Germany and Canada are outdated regulatory, legal, and financial frameworks that discourage innovation and flexibility.

The report examines the tension between the adoption of advanced mining technologies by large-scale industrial producers in the DRC and the struggle of local suppliers to capture value from these investments. While projects like the Kibali gold mine and Kamoa-Kakula copper project implement high levels of automation and green technology, the local procurement market remains dominated by foreign firms due to gaps in capital, specialized skills, and infrastructure. The document analyzes the 2018 Mining Code's attempts to mandate local content and identifies systemic barriers—including poor intellectual property enforcement and a weak manufacturing base—that hinder the transfer of technology to Congolese enterprises.

The report examines how the adoption of advanced mining technologies—such as automation and smart sensors—affects local procurement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While industrial projects like the Kibali gold mine and Kamoa-Kakula copper project showcase world-leading innovation, local suppliers struggle to benefit due to gaps in capital, specialized skills, and a weak manufacturing base. The document analyzes the 2018 Mining Code's local content requirements and identifies systemic barriers, including poor infrastructure and an outdated intellectual property framework, that hinder the transition from foreign-dominated supply chains to a robust local industry.

The report finds that community-based organisations (CBOs) in South Africa provide violence prevention and youth development services at a low cost—under R7,000 per family per year—while generating significant tangible and intangible social benefits. Using case studies of Net vir Pret and Seven Passes Initiative, the analysis suggests a benefit-to-cost ratio of more than 2:1. The authors highlight the adaptability of CBOs compared to state institutions and call for the South African government to develop funding benchmarks to sustainably support these organisations.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected a constitutional challenge by the D.G. Khan Cement Company against a Punjab government notification barring cement plant construction or expansion in "Negative Areas". The court ruled that the ban was a proper climate resilient measure based on a consultant report warning of groundwater depletion and other environmental harms. The decision integrated the precautionary principle, the rights of nature, and the concept of "climate democracy" into the interpretation of fundamental rights under Pakistan's Constitution, emphasizing intergenerational justice and the need to protect water resources from climate change.

Global Legal Action on Climate Change (GLACC) filed a lawsuit against several Philippine government agencies, including the Climate Change Commission, seeking a writ of mandamus to force compliance with Republic Act 6716 and Act 7160. These laws mandate the maintenance of rainwater collectors and define local government water management responsibilities to mitigate flooding risks intensified by climate change. To avoid a court order, the defendant government departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding and submitted a work plan committing to the required actions.

The Supreme Court of Spain rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by environmental activists who argued that Spain's National Energy and Climate Plan failed to align with the Paris Agreement and IPCC recommendations. The court ruled that the government's inactivity persists because it has not fully complied with the Paris Agreement, allowing the challenge to the plan's ambition to proceed.

The case of Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan centered on the government's failure to implement the National Climate Change Policy of 2012 and the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-2030). The Lahore High Court ruled in September 2015 that this delay violated citizens' fundamental rights to life and human dignity. To ensure compliance, the court mandated the appointment of climate change point-persons in government ministries and established a Climate Change Commission. By January 2018, a report indicated that 66% of the priority actions from the Framework had been implemented between September 2015 and January 2017. The case is noted for emphasizing climate adaptation rights in the global south.