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The research paper examines the 'hybrid environment' of the Belt and Road Initiative, where binding 'hard law' (treaties and contracts) operates alongside 'soft law' (MoUs and policy frameworks). It highlights the risk of 'creeping obligations' where non-binding commitments harden into commercial obligations and discusses the dual identity of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as both commercial and sovereign actors. The author recommends that host countries strengthen domestic legal frameworks, reform outdated investment treaties, and explicitly clarify the legal status of SOEs in contracts to protect public interest regulation and avoid unexpected legal claims.

The report outlines seven key recommendations for ensuring a just transition away from fossil fuels, focusing on institutionalising social dialogue, enhancing transition modelling, implementing worker-centred planning, and pursuing sequenced economic diversification. It emphasises the need for collaborative governance, justice-oriented finance, and the integration of just transition principles into multilateral processes like the Belém Roadmap.

Ember recommends that governments mandate direct measurement and reporting for all coal mines, integrating satellite and independent data to identify super-emitters. The report advocates for banning venting from drainage systems, implementing binding reduction requirements for large emitters, and creating incentive mechanisms for ventilation air methane (VAM) mitigation. It further emphasizes the necessity of phasing down coal use and requiring comprehensive mine-closure plans to prevent ongoing emissions from decommissioned sites.

The report outlines a strategic framework for transforming African education, emphasizing a shift from rote learning to a system that integrates digital skills, vocational training, and foundational literacy. It argues that while education is strongly linked to income, growth requires the ability to apply knowledge through 'learning by doing'. The authors recommend a systematic approach to the 'education funnel', starting with early childhood development and progressing through tertiary education, supported by innovative financing and public-private partnerships to reduce the cost of digital connectivity.

The document argues that mangrove restoration requires more than planting seedlings, necessitating rigorous scientific planning, inclusive community engagement, and strong governance. It warns that poorly planned efforts can disrupt hydrological regimes, increase erosion, and exacerbate gender inequalities or tenure conflicts. Drawing on Convention on Biological Diversity guidelines, the brief recommends conducting long-term environmental monitoring, using native climate-resilient species, engaging Indigenous Knowledge holders, and upholding free, prior, and informed consent.

The ICJ has established that climate action is a binding legal obligation, meaning investment protections cannot override a state's climate duties. This ruling challenges the basis of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims against climate measures and suggests that investment treaties must be interpreted in light of these obligations. The document recommends that states implement climate change carveouts from ISDS, restrict forward-looking damages, and terminate outdated investment treaties to prevent the locking in of fossil fuel activities.

The document argues that climate adaptation is a binding legal obligation under international law and treaties, rather than a discretionary domestic policy choice. It outlines how states must demonstrate due diligence by using the best available scientific data, prioritizing vulnerable populations, and implementing national adaptation plans by 2030. Additionally, it recommends that developed nations provide financing, technology transfers, and capacity building to developing countries to meet these obligations.

The ICJ has ruled that end-use emissions from burning extracted fossil fuels must be factored into environmental impact assessments (EIAs). To mitigate legal risks, states are advised to update regulations to account for all downstream and Scope 3 emissions, regardless of whether production would have occurred elsewhere. The brief recommends that these emissions be assessed cumulatively and in alignment with global climate objectives.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines the implications of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, specifically regarding climate adaptation. It argues that adaptation is a binding legal obligation under customary international law and climate treaties, rather than a voluntary domestic policy choice, requiring states to exercise due diligence to prevent foreseeable climate harm.

The document analyzes how the ICJ's 2025 Advisory Opinion rejects the 'lex specialis' doctrine, establishing that the UN climate regime and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), human rights law, and customary international law mutually inform and reinforce one another. It argues that states must integrate climate considerations into the implementation of treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to demonstrate due diligence and avoid legal consequences for non-compliance.

The document argues that while governments and civil society commit to Indigenous rights, these are not always reflected in practice. It advocates for a collaborative approach based on reciprocity, transparency, and the recognition of Indigenous science to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

The document outlines outcomes from a May 2025 workshop involving 27 Swedish stakeholders to address vulnerabilities in electric bus fleets. Key challenges identified include grid capacity constraints, the impact of cold weather on battery range, and fragmented data standards. The guide proposes a 'prepare-absorb-recover-adapt' framework and offers specific recommendations, such as conducting depot-grid capacity studies before tenders, establishing reduced-service plans for power outages, and creating a common data standard for monitoring state-of-charge and charger uptime. It further suggests aligning contract terms with the longer lifespan of depot infrastructure and developing decision-support tools for backup power options like battery storage or hybrid generators.

The document outlines a framework for the ethical mobilization of Indigenous knowledge in climate and nature projects, emphasizing rights-based approaches, the necessity of free, prior, and informed consent, and the importance of direct funding and leadership for Indigenous peoples, particularly women and youth.

The report identifies that the current EU public procurement framework is fragmented and voluntary, leading to missed opportunities for emissions reductions despite nearly EUR 2 trillion in annual public spending. It proposes a roadmap for the European Commission to revise the directives, specifically recommending a 'comply-or-explain' approach to make green public procurement the default, tying 'Buy European' preferences to environmental performance, and simplifying legal requirements to reduce uncertainty for buyers.

The document outlines five key strategies to make Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects more investable, focusing on risk-sharing through corporate commitments, the use of take-or-pay contracts to attract lenders, and the implementation of robust 'Book and Claim' systems for tracking Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs). It emphasizes the need for cashflow stability for both physical fuel and EACs, and argues that projects delivering higher carbon intensity reductions should be able to capture the value of their innovation through tradability.

The report outlines a framework for sovereign transition planning based on five pillars: robust targets, a whole-of-government approach, green public financial management (PFM), a diverse policy mix, and transparency. It argues that integrating climate considerations into core budgetary processes (green PFM) is essential for coordinating action across all government departments. To address fiscal constraints and debt overhang, the report suggests alternative financing mechanisms, including carving out transition spending from deficit limits, utilizing GSS+ and sustainability-linked bonds, leveraging national development banks and sovereign wealth funds, and employing central bank monetary tools such as green asset purchases and adjusted collateral frameworks.

The report argues that climate change threatens decades of global health progress and calls for the embedding of health priorities into all UNFCCC negotiations. It recommends operationalising the Global Goal on Adaptation with health indicators, phasing out fossil fuels to prevent millions of pollution-related deaths, and establishing a global mechanism for just transitions. The document highlights a severe finance gap, noting that current climate finance is insufficient to protect health, and suggests redirecting fossil fuel subsidies toward health-protective climate resilience. It also advocates for a transition to agroecology in food systems and the implementation of a robust Gender Action Plan to address gender-differentiated health impacts.

The policy brief by Friends of the Earth International advocates for a UN Binding Treaty to replace corporate self-regulation with enforceable legal obligations for transnational corporations (TNCs). It argues that TNCs across sectors like fossil fuels and agribusiness have driven the climate crisis and used 'green' branding to evade responsibility. The brief outlines five key recommendations: recognizing environmental rights as human rights, establishing direct corporate obligations for global value chains and emissions, mandating prevention and precaution measures, ensuring full ecological reparation and restoration, and rejecting ESG schemes as 'false solutions'.

Friends of the Earth International argues that transnational corporations drive the climate crisis through legal loopholes and voluntary codes of conduct. The organization advocates for a UN Binding Treaty that establishes legally enforceable obligations for companies to prevent environmental harm, recognize the right to a healthy environment as a human right, and provide full reparations for ecological damage, moving beyond corporate self-regulation and 'greenwashing'.

The policy brief outlines five strategic recommendations for Western U.S. governors to address rising energy demand driven by electrification, industrial reshoring, and AI data centers. It advocates for the deployment of clean firm energy technologies, the acceleration of interstate transmission, the fostering of private investment through policy innovation, the implementation of multi-use public land planning, and the modernization of regulatory frameworks and federal coordination.