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The study finds that while the South African Green Finance Taxonomy (SA GFT) shows high international interoperability regarding its 'Make Substantial Contribution' (MSC) pillar and climate change mitigation priorities, it faces significant usability and adoption challenges regarding the 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) and 'Minimum Social Safeguards' (MSS) pillars. The document recommends introducing more flexible classifications, such as an 'eligible vs aligned' system, increasing the use of quantitative thresholds and international standards (e.g., ISO), and integrating national regulations like the B-BBEE Act into the MSS framework to reduce ambiguity and compliance burdens for market participants.

The document provides examples of global climate progress to counter pessimism, citing significant emissions drops in the EU and UK, China's rapid expansion of renewables and electric vehicles, and the resilience of subnational climate policies in the United States.

The document provides examples of climate progress to counter pessimism, noting that European Union emissions fell 8% in 2023 and the UK has reduced emissions by over half since 1990. It highlights China's rapid adoption of electric vehicles and its achievement of 2030 renewable targets six years early. In the United States, the text notes that carbon-pricing programs and renewable energy mandates persist at the state level despite federal policy shifts.

RMI analysis indicates that electric vehicles (EVs) are generally more economical for fleets than fossil fuel vehicles, though the extent of this advantage varies by vehicle type and depends heavily on federal commercial vehicle and charger tax credits. While electric paratransit vehicles maintain a TCO advantage even without tax credits, other applications like patrol cars and private security vehicles require tax credits to be more economical than fossil fuel alternatives. For construction contractor and large medium-duty delivery vehicles, TCO parity is only approached or achieved at higher fuel prices (e.g., $3.75/gallon) and with the application of tax credits.

The research examines how green industrial policies and subsidies affect the cost of low-carbon steel production in the US and EU, concluding that subsidies have a more significant impact on cost reduction than renewable energy costs, which creates a tension between maintaining a level playing field and accelerating climate action.

The report evaluates the health integration of NDCs from several countries, finding that while many recognize the health benefits of climate mitigation, most lack measurable health targets, dedicated funding for health adaptation, and alignment with 1.5°C pathways. It provides specific analyses for countries including Brazil, the UK, and the UAE, and offers recommendations for 'Healthy NDCs 3.0' that prioritize health as a central pillar of climate action.

The report identifies a 'triple gap'—planning, finance, and data—in the transition of global agrifood systems. Top-down analysis estimates an annual need of USD 1.1 trillion to align with a 1.5°C pathway, while bottom-up estimates from NDCs total only USD 201.5 billion. Current annual climate finance flows of USD 28.5 billion are severely insufficient, requiring a 40-fold increase to meet top-down needs. The report highlights significant underestimations in national planning and a critical lack of granular data, particularly regarding adaptation and private finance.

The study tests the IPCC's carbon accounting methods for soil organic carbon (SOC) in the Argentinean Pampa Region, finding that a developed Tier 2 (T2) method using the RothC model significantly outperforms the Tier 1 (T1) method. While T1 showed poor performance at both sub-region and county scales, the T2 method demonstrated strong accuracy at the sub-region scale (R2 = 0.85) and improved accuracy at the county scale (R2 = 0.73) when excluding the Flooding Pampa region. The T2 method identified the highest average SOC losses in Central Pampa (35%), Southern Pampa – Eastern (28%), and Rolling Pampa (26%).

The document argues that increasing irrigation efficiency without restrictive policies can paradoxically increase overall resource use and aggravate water scarcity. It identifies three specific paradoxes: the efficiency paradox, where tighter water cycling increases use; the scale paradox, which manifests as scarcity and salinity in lower basin reaches; and the sectoral paradox, where declining ecological flows impact urban supply, energy generation, and ecosystems. These dynamics are examined through the lens of central Chile, the southwestern US, and south-central Spain.

The study evaluates four precipitation datasets in Bolivia, finding that the Combined Scheme (CoSch) provides the highest correlation and most accurate representation of surface observations. While CFSR and MERRA overestimated light to moderate rainfall and underestimated heavy precipitation, TRMM3B42 and CoSch showed more realistic distributions over the Amazon and Andes.

The study examines administrative management levels and regulations regarding land-use planning in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, and Uruguay, noting significant diversity in instruments and legal frameworks. Spain is identified as having the most extensive experience and regulation due to its national history and membership in the European Community. In the Americas, Mexico and Brazil are noted as pioneers in creating land-use planning norms and plans, while Spain and Argentina are highlighted for their experiences in rural land-use planning.

The document examines the environmental and health impacts of a 2014 acid leachate spill from the Buenavista del Cobre mine into the Sonora River. It evaluates groundwater quality by comparing data from the Fideicomiso Río Sonora portal against the Norma Oficial Mexicana and WHO water quality guidelines, with a specific focus on arsenic levels.

The study analyzes climate change adaptation plans in two Andean mountain water tower regions, finding that these plans often reinforce existing hydrosocial disparities and exclude marginalized groups, such as those with informal water access or non-dominant livelihoods.

The research evaluates beach governance in Uruguay and Brazil, finding that while Pocitos beach employs a participative committee-based approach, Central beach suffers from weak integration between municipal divisions and stakeholders. The study recommends a formalized, integrated, and participatory management model for both locations and other beaches in these countries.

The study evaluated the accuracy of ordinary kriging versus regression-kriging for mapping soil attributes in a Brazilian tropical dry forest. While stepwise linear regression models showed the best fit for grain size fractions and water retention properties, ordinary kriging demonstrated higher accuracy for 21 out of 33 attribute-depth combinations, suggesting that adding a linear trend model does not always improve predictions.

The study identifies southeastern South America (SESA), specifically the Pampas ecoregion, as a strong land-atmosphere (L-A) interaction hotspot. Using AMSRE-LPRM soil moisture and MODIS land surface temperature products alongside climate models, the research found that L-A interactions are more intense and cover a larger spatial extent during dry summers compared to wet summers. While both X and C band soil moisture data identify the same hotspot location, they differ in intensity due to ecoregion characteristics.

The study finds that the 2015/16 El Niño led to a 4% increase in global burned area and a 5% increase in fire emissions compared to a 'No El Niño' scenario, resulting in a 4% reduction in the terrestrial carbon sink. South America experienced the most significant impact, with a 13% increase in burned area and emitted carbon, primarily driven by temperature increases between August and October in central-southern Brazil.

The report finds that while many global banks have committed to net-zero by 2050, their disclosures lack standardisation and transparency. Key issues include inconsistent sectoral coverage, the omission of facilitated emissions, and a failure to align sectoral targets with 1.5°C benchmarks. The report highlights that a significant portion of bank balance sheets remains uncovered by net-zero targets and that current levels of sustainable finance are insufficient to meet the 10-to-1 clean energy to fossil fuel investment ratio recommended by the IEA.

This policy brief examines the gap between registered and off-register land rights in South Africa, defining land administration as the management function that executes land governance policies. It contrasts the formal common-law property system with customary and informal rights, noting that the latter lack formal registration, precise demarcation, and integrated information management. The brief evaluates two international models for bridging this gap: the World Bank and UN-Habitat's 'Fit-for-Purpose' approach, which emphasizes flexibility and affordability, and the 'Talking Titler' evolutionary design approach, which focuses on social networks and context-specific adaptability. While the Fit-for-Purpose model saw success in Rwanda, critics argue it may overlook local power dynamics in South Africa, suggesting that a more flexible, adaptive system may be necessary to address the country's complex land-rights situation.

The four lower Snake River dams cause an average additional water loss of approximately 30,000 acre-feet per year due to evaporation compared to free-flowing conditions. This loss is valued at roughly $110 million as a water right and is equivalent to the water needed to grow 8,000 acres of apples or supply the household needs of 240,000 people. Future projections (2025–2055) suggest these losses will persist or slightly increase, ranging from 30,100 to 32,800 acre-feet per year across eight global climate models.