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The report argues that while social protection is frequently used to respond to sudden-onset disasters, its potential to address slow-onset hazards like sea-level rise is underutilised. It highlights that the gradual nature of these hazards provides a unique window for transformative structural changes to address root causes of vulnerability. The authors identify significant knowledge gaps regarding urban coastal contexts and the adaptive functions of social protection, proposing three research principles: integrating slow-onset risks into social protection, prioritising transformative potential, and adapting mechanisms to specific coastal contexts.

The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) has supported 49 instruments that mobilized over USD 2.3 billion. This document identifies four critical success factors for scaling these innovations: establishing a track record, building economies of scale, assembling a robust team and governance structure, and securing strategic long-term partnerships. Through case studies of Climate Investor One, Energy Savings Insurance, and Long-Term Foreign Exchange Risk Management, the brief demonstrates how these factors enable instruments to move beyond initial implementation to broader geographic or sectoral replication.

The 2020 assessment concludes that the goal of restoring 150 million hectares of forest by 2020 is not on track, with global forest cover gain meeting only one fifth of the target. While political will is evident through 63 Bonn Challenge pledges totaling 172.82 million hectares, biophysical progress is hindered by data gaps and the fact that tree cover gains are often offset by ongoing deforestation. A case study of Central America highlights this dynamic, showing a net loss of 320 million hectares of tree cover between 2011 and 2018 despite significant gross gains. The report notes a growing trend of private-sector restoration pledges from companies like Amazon and Nestle, though financial transparency and systematic planning remain significant hurdles for scaling forest landscape restoration (FLR).

The report examines how shifting from a linear 'take, make, waste' model to a circular economy affects job creation and quality. It highlights that while circular production is generally more labour-intensive and can lead to net job gains—particularly in reprocessing and renewable energy—the transition requires 'just transition' policies to ensure jobs are 'decent' and inclusive. The document identifies specific sectors poised for growth, such as secondary steel reprocessing, and those facing decline, such as crude petroleum extraction, while noting a significant 'circularity gap' in the current global economy.

The report investigates how transitioning to a closed-loop economy affects employment, concluding that circular economy proxy measures are generally more labour-intensive than fossil-fuel-related jobs and can decouple economic activity from greenhouse gas emissions.

The report examines the 'adaptation gap,' noting that annual costs for adaptation in developing countries could reach USD 500 billion by 2050, while current flows remain insufficient and skewed toward mitigation. It analyzes how MDBs are transitioning from stand-alone climate projects to a 'Paris alignment' paradigm where all development finance is climate-resilient. Key barriers identified include a lack of technical expertise in developing countries, the high upfront costs of climate-proofing (10-20% of finance), and the difficulty of attracting private sector investment due to a lack of immediate revenue streams. The document recommends increased technical assistance for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and the use of innovative blended finance instruments to catalyze private capital.

The document argues that the transition to low-carbon energy systems does not inherently improve social fairness or inclusivity. It finds that renewable energy projects often fail to address structural inequalities and power asymmetries regarding resource distribution, meaning that without early intervention, existing socio-cultural and socio-economic inequalities are likely to be replicated in new energy regimes.

The report establishes that gender equality is both a co-benefit of and a tool for effective climate policy. Through an analysis of the Colombian coal sector, it finds that current climate and energy policies are largely gender-blind or rely on stereotypes, while gender policies often ignore the climate crisis. Field research reveals that while women—particularly Indigenous and Afro-Colombian women—are active grassroots leaders in defending their territories, they are structurally excluded from formal decision-making. The authors propose a GRCP that incorporates intersectionality, local expertise, and a 'just transition' framework to ensure that the phase-out of coal does not reproduce existing social inequalities.

The research paper examines the relationship between climate change and global instability, asserting that while climate change may not cause conflict in isolation, it intensifies problems like food and water insecurity, economic loss, and ethnic tensions. It highlights that the risk of conflict is heavily dependent on regional sociopolitical contexts, such as government corruption and historical grievances. The document also notes a correlation in the U.S. between residents of disaster-prone areas and higher levels of concern regarding climate change, suggesting that these insights should inform government policies on mitigation and conflict prevention.

The document details how authoritative climate data from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) is integrated into the SAVi Buildings model. It provides a literature review on climate impacts on buildings—covering energy demand, rainwater harvesting, and climate hazards—and explains the methodology for translating this data into performance indicators. Simulation results demonstrate that using CDS climate data significantly alters projections compared to 'no climate' scenarios, specifically showing a 23-fold increase in forecasted rainwater harvesting yields and a reduction in projected energy expenditures for heating and cooling.

The document details how climate variables from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) are integrated into the SAVi Energy model to quantify the impact of climate change on various power generation technologies. It provides a comprehensive literature review of how variables like temperature, wind speed, and precipitation affect the load factor and thermal efficiency of coal, gas, nuclear, biomass, hydro, solar, and wind power, as well as the efficiency of the electricity grid. The report includes a simulation for Johannesburg, South Africa, demonstrating that rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns can significantly reduce the load factor and revenues for thermal and hydropower assets, while potentially increasing the load factor for wind energy.

The document details how climate indicators from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS)—including precipitation, temperature, and evaporation—are integrated into the SAVi Irrigation model. It provides a literature review on the impacts of temperature and precipitation on crop yields and water requirements, establishes the methodology for calculating net and total irrigation requirements, and presents simulation results for Johannesburg under the IPSL RCP8.5 scenario, projecting a 23% increase in net irrigation requirements by 2090-2100.

The document details how climate indicators from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) are integrated into the SAVi tool to improve the analysis of infrastructure resilience. It covers a literature review of climate impacts on energy, irrigation, wastewater, buildings, roads, and nature-based infrastructure, providing specific equations to link climate variables to asset performance. The report includes simulation results for Johannesburg, South Africa, demonstrating how climate variables like temperature and precipitation affect load factors, thermal efficiency, and maintenance costs, ultimately impacting the economic viability and societal costs of these assets.

The document details how authoritative climate data from the Copernicus CDS is integrated into the SAVi model for nature-based infrastructure. It provides a literature review on the impacts of precipitation, vegetation, and temperature on assets like green roofs, wetlands, and urban forests. The report demonstrates the model's application through simulations in Johannesburg, showing how temperature affects phosphorus removal in wetlands and how increasing vegetation cover can mitigate heat-related labor productivity losses.

The document details how climate data from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) is integrated into the SAVi Roads model to improve the analysis of climate-related risks. It focuses on three primary impacts: precipitation effects on road lifetime, weather effects on injury accidents, and precipitation-based road runoff. Simulation results for a 1,000 km road network between 2020 and 2100 show that CDS integration reveals higher cumulative road disruption, an increase in injury accidents, and significantly higher stormwater runoff compared to a 'no climate' baseline. The economic analysis indicates that the most substantial cost increase stems from stormwater management, totaling an additional USD 2.06 billion over 80 years.

The document details how climate indicators—specifically precipitation, runoff, and temperature—from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) are integrated into the SAVi Wastewater model. It provides a literature review on how these variables affect wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) capacity and efficiency, such as the impact of heavy rainfall on sewage overflows and the effect of temperature on nutrient removal. The report includes simulation results for Johannesburg, demonstrating that climate-induced sewage overflows and urban runoff increase energy use, energy costs, and the social cost of carbon, while also causing environmental damage through nitrogen leaching.

The report examines the socioeconomic impacts of industrial decline and evaluates the effectiveness of various transition responses. It argues that successful 'just' transitions require early strategic planning, multi-stakeholder governance, and a holistic approach to regional economic development that builds on existing local capabilities rather than seeking a single industrial replacement. Through case studies in the US, UK, Australia, and South Africa, the document highlights the risks of uneven benefit distribution, the importance of reskilling over simple monetary compensation, and the necessity of addressing environmental legacies to enable land reuse.

The document examines the role of local and community-based adaptation (CBA) in addressing climate risks, emphasizing that while local actions are often the most cost-effective and socially acceptable, they are frequently hindered by top-down planning and insufficient financing. It proposes a shift toward locally led processes that integrate indigenous knowledge, devolved financing, and multi-stakeholder governance to achieve sustainable and equitable resilience.

The research utilizes a water-energy-carbon nexus perspective to analyze renewable power curtailments in China. Through complete and partial depletion experiments, the study finds that reducing curtailments for wind, solar, and hydropower would significantly lower carbon emissions and save water resources compared to fossil-fueled thermal generation, with wind power offering the most substantial environmental benefits.

The report argues that a successful global low-carbon transition depends on addressing equity concerns to reduce resistance and ensure fairness. It distills seven principles from literature and historical case studies: actively encouraging decarbonization, avoiding carbon lock-in, supporting affected regions, supporting workers and communities, remediating environmental damage, addressing social inequalities, and ensuring inclusive planning. The authors emphasize that these principles must be pursued in parallel and that the need for social support does not justify delaying decarbonization. Historical analysis shows that poorly managed industrial declines lead to poverty, out-migration, and political instability, often with the public sector bearing the costs of private-sector environmental liabilities.