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This executive summary highlights a significant gap between projected fossil fuel production for 2030 and the levels required to meet the Paris Agreement goals, warning that current expansion risks locking in infrastructure that makes emission reductions more costly.

This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute discusses the 'production gap,' where planned fossil fuel production exceeds the levels consistent with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals, potentially undermining global emission reduction efforts.

This report provides an assessment of the Kyrgyz Republic's readiness and capacity to implement the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework (MPF). Conducted between December 2017 and May 2018, the study analyzes national laws, policies, and administrative processes across six thematic areas: legal and policy framework, financial benefit optimization, socio-economic benefit optimization, environmental management, mine closure, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The assessment identifies strengths in the general tax regime and the existence of 'social packages' for communities, while highlighting critical gaps in outdated technical standards, unpredictable fiscal changes, and a lack of comprehensive mine closure regulations.

This report assesses Namibia's readiness to implement the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework (MPF). It evaluates the country's mining laws and policies across six thematic areas: Legal and Policy Environment, Financial Benefit Optimization, Socioeconomic Benefit Optimization, Environmental Management, Post-Mining Transition, and Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM). The assessment identifies strengths in geological data and revenue generation, but highlights critical gaps in mine closure legislation, occupational health and safety, and the formalization of the ASM sector.

The Cooling for All Policy Review, published by Sustainable Energy for All in March 2018, examines the global landscape of cooling policies, focusing on Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for air conditioners and refrigerators, building efficiency codes, urban heat island mitigation, and cold chain infrastructure.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 3 of the New York Declaration on Forests: significantly reducing deforestation derived from economic sectors other than agriculture by 2020. It highlights the roles of infrastructure and mining as primary drivers of forest loss and identifies critical data gaps that prevent a global aggregate assessment of these impacts.

This policy brief examines the implementation gap of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) in national legislation, particularly in low-income countries. It identifies regulatory capacity and GDP per capita as primary barriers to implementation and proposes strategies such as regional collaboration, integration into national chemicals strategies, and alignment with the Agenda 2030 to increase global coverage.

This briefing paper introduces the Technology Needs Database (TND, Version 1.1, June 2017), which categorizes technology needs identified by developing countries in Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs) and (intended) Nationally Determined Contributions ((i)NDCs) to support the National Designated Entity (NDE) of Germany.

This report, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in August 2017, evaluates the legal and policy framework of the mining sector in Mauritania. Using the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework, the assessment analyzes six thematic pillars: legal and policy environment, financial returns, socio-economic returns, environmental management, post-mining transition, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The report identifies strengths in the country's geological information systems and fiscal attractiveness, but highlights significant gaps in legislative consolidation, environmental monitoring capacity, and the formalization of the emerging ASM sector.

This report provides an assessment of Rwanda's mining laws and policies against the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework (MPF). Conducted between December 2016 and February 2017, the evaluation identifies strengths in Rwanda's regulatory framework and government willingness to improve the sector, while highlighting significant gaps in environmental monitoring, socioeconomic impact assessments, and mine closure planning. The report concludes that while Rwanda has robust laws, it lacks the technical and human capacity to fully implement and enforce them.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes post-issuance reporting practices for green bonds issued before April 1, 2016. It evaluates the availability, frequency, and quality of reporting on the use of proceeds and environmental impact, comparing practices against market guidelines like the Green Bond Principles and the Climate Bonds Standard.

This report assesses Suriname's readiness to implement the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) Mining Policy Framework (MPF). Conducted between August and November 2016, the assessment identifies a legislative environment that is largely out of date, relying on a 1986 Mining Decree, and notes a critical lack of a national environmental authority. While the report highlights strengths in environmental assessment guidelines and the management of small-scale mining tensions, it emphasizes significant gaps in financial transparency, indigenous rights legislation, and mine closure requirements.

This briefing paper proposes a systematic, science-informed methodology to assess the adequacy of Canadian public policy in addressing threats to freshwater resources and aquatic biodiversity. It introduces a hierarchical threat classification system and a framework for identifying gaps between existing management instruments and scientific research needs to inform a pan-Canadian approach to freshwater management.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) evaluates the preliminary implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across 11 countries in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). It synthesizes data from OECD, UN ECE, and other expert reviews to identify regional strengths, weaknesses, and organizational challenges in governance and monitoring.

This insight brief by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) provides a systemic framework for understanding sustainable finance, specifically focusing on the global energy transition to a low-carbon future. It decomposes financial transactions into five core elements and identifies three primary categories of barriers—risk/return, information, and scale—that impede the flow of capital into sustainability initiatives. The document proposes a matrix of 26 broad strategies, utilizing both policy and non-policy approaches, and applies this framework to case studies on U.S. residential solar and electric vehicles (EVs).

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute explores the process of translating the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into a national agenda for Sweden. Through a screening of 169 targets, the authors argue that the SDGs are universally applicable and require significant domestic policy changes even in high-income countries. The paper identifies key challenges in target interpretation, such as ambiguous wording and the need for political judgment, and recommends a government-led, cross-sectoral approach to implementation to ensure the SDGs become a real policy agenda rather than a mere reporting exercise.

This report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) provides a critical review of the Zero Draft of the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The authors argue that while the draft has advanced in areas like the inclusion of vulnerable groups, it remains disjointed in its organising logic and fails to sufficiently integrate DRR with sustainable development, climate change, and conflict.

This report presents a rapid institutional analysis of the readiness of Trinidad and Tobago's food production, coastal zone management, and tourism sectors to adapt to climate change. Using the Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) tool, the study evaluates these sectors across five indicators: vulnerability assessment, prioritisation, coordination, information management, and mainstreaming. The findings reveal significant institutional gaps across all three sectors, including a lack of comprehensive vulnerability assessments, inadequate prioritisation of adaptation strategies, and the absence of formal mainstreaming processes in sectoral planning.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute outlines lessons from the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia (AKP) regarding the gaps between climate research and practical adaptation. It highlights systemic failures in knowledge dissemination, the scarcity of sub-national and sector-specific data, and the critical need to integrate local traditional knowledge and multi-language materials to support decision-makers and practitioners across Asia.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the state of research on the interface between trade and the environment. Based on a survey of 315 publications from 2002 to 2003 and consultations with an expert group, the document identifies significant gaps in current research—particularly regarding developing countries and specific WTO negotiating options—and proposes a new research agenda to better support sustainable development.