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This briefing discusses the challenges of meeting 2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) standards, proposing high-octane, low-carbon fuels as a cost-effective compliance pathway for the automotive industry and consumers.

This report by the NewClimate Institute analyzes the progress of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) implementation in emerging and developing countries. Based on expert surveys, it highlights a discrepancy between the optimism of national-level negotiators and the reservations of sector-level experts regarding policy alignment, funding, and technical capabilities. The report advocates for a new diagnostic tool to assess a sector's 'fitness' for decarbonization and suggests an 'enhanced benefits approach' to build political will by linking climate mitigation to broader development goals.

This research paper discusses the need to rebuild trust in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanisms to scale up climate mitigation. It proposes applying guiding principles from financial accounting—such as relevance, faithful representation, and comparability—to REDD+ impact reporting to attract private sector investment and ensure environmental and social robustness.

This briefing discusses the role of cities as primary vehicles for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing that urban governance and knowledge-sharing between cities can address global societal problems. It highlights how decentralization and municipal empowerment enable cities to implement pragmatic solutions, which is particularly relevant for Africa's rapidly growing urban centers.

This briefing describes the objectives and challenges associated with negotiating the implementation guidelines, often called the 'Paris rulebook', for the Paris Agreement during COP23. It outlines the core components of these guidelines, the primary technical and political sticking points, and the expected outcomes required to finalize the rules by 2018.

This working paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) examines how emerging and exponential technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) can accelerate the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement in developing countries.

This technical note from the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) provides guidance on developing baselines for scaled-up crediting programs under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, focusing on quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions while maintaining environmental integrity.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) audits data on energy subsidies, energy use, and gender in Indonesia, specifically focusing on the reform of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumer subsidies. It examines how the current subsidy regime fails to reach the poor and near-poor, particularly women, and analyzes the potential gender-differentiated impacts of removing these subsidies, such as increased health risks from indoor air pollution and economic vulnerability.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the African Union's (AU) use of mediation as a conflict-prevention tool. It analyzes the institutional gaps, the tension between formal and informal approaches, and the need for a more structured, long-term strategy to address the root causes of conflict in Africa.

This policy brief from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) argues that violent conflict in Africa is driven by the politics of water distribution and poor governance rather than physical water scarcity. While the continent faces significant environmental vulnerability and water stress, the authors find that scarcity often leads to cooperation rather than conflict. Instead, insecurity arises when water is managed as a 'club good,' favoring politically connected groups and allowing informal service providers, such as gangs and militias, to control access in urban areas.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the evolution of relations between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), arguing that the relationship remains a model of dependency rather than a true partnership. It analyzes the history of various conventions and agreements, evaluates the Joint Africa–EU Strategy (JAES), and discusses the priorities of the fifth AU–EU Summit held in Abidjan in November 2017, specifically regarding youth, migration, and investment.

This working paper by the World Resources Institute outlines a menu of options for countries to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020 to better align with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This policy brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute outlines the potential for Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) to address asymmetrical climate efforts between countries, mitigate emissions leakage, and incentivize global climate action.

This text is a brief overview from the NewClimate Institute regarding a Climate Action Tracker examination of the steel and cement sectors, highlighting the insufficiency of current technologies to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C limit.

This working paper by Charlotte Ellis and Kamleshan Pillay discusses the necessity of private sector finance to meet global climate goals, outlining key lessons from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) on creating enabling environments for such investment.

This report by Ember examines the use of biomass co-firing in several European countries, detailing the subsidies that support the practice and its impact on the transition away from fossil fuels.

This discussion paper examines the European Union's role in climate leadership following the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU.

This research paper by Energy Innovation analyzes the potential costs to electricity customers of a US Department of Energy (DOE) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that would provide out-of-market subsidies to power plants with a 90-day on-site fuel supply, specifically targeting coal and nuclear facilities.

This research paper examines the 'utility information problem'—the lack of data regarding the locational value of distributed energy resources (DERs)—which obscures the boundaries of the electric distribution utility's natural monopoly. The author proposes that integrated distribution planning (IDP) is necessary to reveal this information, enabling a transition toward a Distribution System Optimizer (DSO) role. The paper evaluates two pathways to this transition: an information-intensive approach compatible with cost-of-service regulation and an outcome-focused approach utilizing performance-based regulation (PBR).

This report by Friends of the Earth International explores the synergies between Community Forest Management (CFM) and agroecology, arguing that these integrated approaches are more effective for forest conservation and food sovereignty than industrial models or market-based conservation schemes.