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The Canadian Climate Institute examines how to integrate oil and gas decarbonization projects into a proposed national Climate Investment Taxonomy. While most global taxonomies focus on 'green' labels for net-zero activities, the authors advocate for a 'transition' category to unlock funding for hard-to-decarbonize sectors. The paper suggests a high-bar approach using specific criteria to ensure projects align with 1.5°C pathways and avoid carbon lock-in, focusing on three key areas: Scope 3 emissions risks, the distinction between new and existing facilities, and the alignment of project lifespans with climate targets.

The report argues that climate and biodiversity crises disproportionately affect marginalized groups and that nature-based solutions (NbS) must integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) to be effective. It outlines three core components of GESI in NbS: recognizing differences in needs and capacities, facilitating equitable participation in decision-making, and promoting the fair distribution of benefits. The document provides a five-step implementation cycle—system understanding, risk assessment, option identification, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)—supported by case studies from Vietnam, Cuba, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Bolivia.

The report analyzes the landscape of voluntary standards and initiatives for carbon management (VSICMs), categorizing them into four types: GHG inventories, carbon offsets, disclosure platforms, and carbon-neutrality certifications. It details the corporate carbon management cycle—from leadership decisions and inventorying to mitigation and offsetting—and identifies key drivers for adoption, including regulations, investment strategies, and consumer pressure. The document benchmarks 35 leading VSICMs and highlights challenges such as a lack of harmonization and the risk of greenwashing.

The report emphasizes the critical role of estuaries and mangroves in Central and South America for biodiversity, carbon capture, and coastal protection. It argues that these 'blue carbon' ecosystems are threatened by climate change, pollution, and urbanization, and calls for a comprehensive framework involving scientific diplomacy, transboundary cooperation, and community engagement. The document provides specific policy recommendations across four dimensions: ecology, ecosystem services, spatial governance, and community action, while highlighting the Coiba Archipelago in Panama and the Gulf of Nicoya in Costa Rica as case studies for sustainable management.

The document argues that current climate finance models, particularly the 'Billions to Trillions' (B2T) agenda, prioritise private profit and neoliberal de-risking over human rights and public goods. It proposes a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) to climate finance, organised into six clusters: national responsibilities, obligations to others, national sovereignty, financial flow responsibilities, crisis management, and procedural fairness. The toolkit specifically critiques South Africa's JET-IP for its heavy reliance on loans over grants and its focus on infrastructure over social justice elements like skills development. It provides 'How-to' guides for advocating for climate-responsive budgeting, technological transfer reform, parliamentary oversight of IFI loans, and the establishment of a progressive sovereign debt workout mechanism based on UNCTAD principles.

The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) proposes a comprehensive global AI auditing framework to address the lack of common standards in AI inspection. The framework emphasizes the need for auditor independence, stakeholder engagement, and the inclusion of environmental and labor impacts. It provides a seven-step approach covering audit scope, auditor roles, context identification, criteria development, evidence collection, methodology, and post-audit transparency to protect human rights and collective wellbeing, particularly for marginalized communities in the majority world.

The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) proposes a global framework for AI auditing to address the lack of consistent standards and the risk of AI perpetuating biases and environmental harm. The framework outlines seven key characteristics for effective audits: scope, auditor role, stakeholder engagement, context-adapted criteria, evidence requirements, methodology, and post-audit activities. It emphasizes the need for auditor independence, transparency of results, and the inclusion of marginalized communities, particularly those in the 'majority world', to mitigate systemic harms and protect human rights.

The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) recommends a comprehensive global AI auditing system to address the risks of bias, inequality, and environmental harm. The proposed framework emphasizes the need for independent auditors, transparent results, and a context-sensitive approach that includes diverse stakeholders and considers global impacts, particularly on marginalized communities.

The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) presents a global AI auditing framework designed to address the lack of common standards and the failure of current audits to account for global, disparate impacts. The framework outlines seven key features: audit scope, auditor roles, stakeholder engagement, context-specific criteria, evidence requirements, auditing methodologies, and post-audit activities. It emphasizes the need for auditor independence, transparent results, and the inclusion of environmental and labor impact assessments to protect marginalized communities and the collective well-being.

The report identifies a critical gap in the energy policy lifecycle, which it terms the "policy valley of death," where a lack of effective planning prevents financial incentives from achieving emissions targets. It argues that waiting for a decarbonized system to self-assemble through individual projects is inefficient and fails to address the scale of mid-century needs. To resolve this, the authors propose five principles for effective energy planning: being proactive and risk-aware, adopting a multi-jurisdictional and systems-perspective, co-creating plans with all stakeholders, utilizing comprehensive scenario-based analysis, and establishing actionable roadmaps with accountable progress tracking. The document further details five essential components for a durable plan: a stakeholder engagement roadmap, proactive risk-aware analysis, an implementation roadmap, progress tracking mechanisms, and knowledge-sharing centers.

The paper argues that the dominant 'Billions to Trillions' agenda, which prioritises private sector mobilisation and de-risking, often conflicts with international human rights standards. It evaluates this architecture through five principle clusters: national responsibilities, national sovereignty, procedural fairness, responsibilities of financial investment, and obligations during crises. The author contends that this model commodifies public goods, undermines state policy autonomy through investment treaties, and lacks transparency. Using South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) as a case study, the report highlights gaps in public transport funding and the risks of private-sector dominance. It concludes by proposing a research agenda to bridge the gap between human rights norms and the actual implementation of climate investment plans.

The report examines decarbonization efforts in heavy industry, noting that as of May 2023, companies with carbon neutrality targets cover between 18% and 31% of emissions in the steel, cement, petrochemicals, and aluminum sectors globally. It introduces the PTAM framework to evaluate performance and targets, and recommends six specific actions for Chinese state-owned enterprises to accelerate their transition to zero-carbon operations.

The 'Clean and Productive Village' (VPP) framework aims to advance rural sanitation beyond the elimination of open defecation by integrating risk management (the 'Clean' pillar) and resource recovery (the 'Productive' pillar). In Burkina Faso, the framework focuses on the safe reuse of human excreta, animal waste, organic waste, ash, and greywater to enhance soil fertility and crop yields. Pilot implementations in three villages demonstrated high community interest in recycling nutrients, though perceptions of risk vary between human and animal waste. The report details participatory tools for diagnosis and capacity building, a monitoring system based on specific indicators, and emphasizes the necessity of collaborating with the agricultural sector to ensure the safe and effective application of recovered nutrients.

The report presents a comprehensive four-component framework—Baseline and Ambition, Initiatives, Instruments, and Governance and Implementation—designed to help countries safeguard and restore natural capital. It details 14 subcomponents, ranging from natural capital assessments and the creation of a national vision to the deployment of regulatory and financial instruments. The framework emphasizes an iterative process, utilizing tools like marginal abatement cost curves for prioritizing initiatives and gap assessments to identify policy voids. It specifically highlights the economic risks of nature loss in Africa, such as the potential for nature-related risks to double expected financing losses in agriculture by 2030, while noting opportunities in the blue economy. The framework was piloted in Ghana with a wide range of government and private sector stakeholders.

The document outlines a framework for seafood jurisdictional initiatives (JIs) as a complement to traditional certification, ratings, and improvement (CRI) efforts. It defines JIs as place-based approaches that combine governance reform and market-based strategies to address systemic barriers—such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and labor rights—that individual farm or fishery certifications cannot solve alone. The guide details the necessary elements for success, including multistakeholder collaboration, robust monitoring and verification frameworks, and the importance of aligning geographic boundaries with decision-making authority.

The document outlines the concept of seafood jurisdictional initiatives (JIs) as place-based, multistakeholder approaches that combine policy reform with market-based mechanisms to address systemic sustainability barriers. It emphasizes the pivotal role of government authorities in defining boundaries, leading policy changes, and aligning national and international conservation targets. The guide details the incentives for governments to adopt JIs, such as fulfilling UN SDGs and UNCLOS commitments, and provides practical steps for policy-makers to prioritize actions, maximize impact, and monitor progress through collaborative frameworks.

The Canadian Climate Institute argues that for Canada to meet its net-zero goals, the oil and gas sector requires transformational investment. It proposes a two-tier requirement system for the federal government's Sustainable Finance Action Council (SFAC) climate investment taxonomy: company-level net-zero targets and project-level emissions-intensity benchmarks. Specifically, it argues that "transition" labels should only apply to projects that reduce emissions from existing production, as 1.5°C pathways necessitate "no investments in new production."

The document examines the historical shift of national investment laws from domestic development tools in the 1950s-70s to instruments for integrating international protection standards between 1980 and 2010. It identifies seven primary functions of contemporary investment laws—ranging from admission and incentives to dispute resolution and monitoring—and argues that there is no one-size-fits-all model. Instead, it proposes a multi-step framework for policymakers to align the structure and content of investment laws with specific national policy goals and sustainable development objectives.

The document analyzes adaptation planning across 136 large coastal cities, finding that over 50% lack formal plans and most existing policies fail to align with actual climate risks. It introduces the ARPA and APC frameworks to measure policy alignment and credibility, noting a significant gap between planning and implementation. Furthermore, it highlights a critical lack of outcome-based monitoring and evaluation, with 95% of indicators focusing on outputs. The brief argues for the integration of 'subaltern' knowledge to improve the social legitimacy and effectiveness of urban adaptation.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach to integrating biodiversity co-benefits into nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate adaptation. It proposes a six-stage implementation cycle—ranging from system understanding and risk assessment to monitoring and learning—and emphasizes the need for a mix of biodiversity, structural, and functional indicators to measure success. The report highlights the importance of traditional knowledge, inclusive governance, and long-term monitoring to avoid socio-ecological trade-offs and ensure the sustainability of adaptation projects.