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The research paper analyzes clean cooking policies across 43 G20 countries, finding that 50%–70% of public spending is directed toward direct fiscal support, primarily LPG subsidies. It argues that these subsidies often fail to reach the poorest populations, create fiscal burdens, and undermine energy security and climate goals. The author recommends that G20 nations phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and implement national roadmaps prioritizing electricity, biogas, and solar energy to meet SDG 7 targets by 2030.

The document argues that renewable ammonia is becoming cost-competitive with fossil ammonia and proposes a framework for Brazil to achieve sustainable fertilizer production through strategic vision, policy alignment, investment mobilization, infrastructure expansion, and demand activation.

This research paper introduces a project by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) focused on the 'just transition' in South Africa and Brazil. It examines the need to reconcile climate action with economic development, specifically focusing on protecting vulnerable populations and addressing extreme inequality while shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

This research paper examines the role of green technology, specifically solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind energy, in decarbonisation and industrialisation. It argues that market forces alone are insufficient for scaling renewable energy and emphasizes the necessity of targeted industrial policy and government intervention to ensure equitable transitions, particularly in developing economies like South Africa and Brazil.

The document highlights that Africa contains over 80 percent of the global population without electricity, with over 600 million people lacking access. It posits that renewable energy provides a strategic opportunity to leapfrog to cleaner systems, though deployment is currently hindered by financing gaps, regulatory uncertainty, and weak institutions. The brief recommends integrated electrification, grid modernization, regional power pooling, and blended finance to unlock socioeconomic potential.

The UK's current hydrogen strategy is criticised for misaligning production targets with actual demand, leading to high public costs and inefficient funding. The author recommends prioritising hydrogen for industrial clusters and low-carbon fuels, strengthening methane emission standards, and redesigning the Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR) to support the entire value chain from production to end-use.

India has struggled to launch its offshore wind market despite a decade of policy efforts, with two major auctions called off in 2025. The brief identifies rigid pricing structures, a lack of local supply chains for high-capacity turbines, and transmission risks as primary barriers. It argues that India should move away from blunt competitive auctions for first-of-a-kind projects and instead adopt global best practices, such as flexible tariffs, 'ready-to-build' tender packages, and compensation for grid delays, to attract investment and develop domestic industry.

The document assesses the African debt crisis, noting that over half of African countries are in or at risk of debt distress, which undermines their ability to meet sustainable development goals and manage climate impacts. It critiques the G20's Common Framework for being slow and creditor-favourable, and argues that debt restructuring is too narrowly treated as a technical financial problem. To address this, the author proposes three actions for South Africa: commissioning a technical report on barriers to development finance, establishing an independent African Borrower's Club and Sovereign Debt Roundtable, and calling for a review of IMF operating principles and governance.

The document argues that ECOWAS fails to systematically include persons with disabilities (PWDs) in its core security and development agendas, despite the existence of a Regional Action Plan on Disability Inclusion (2022-2030). It highlights a critical lack of harmonised disability data, the exclusion of PWDs from emergency responses in the Central Sahel, and barriers to free movement caused by biometric systems and discrimination. The author recommends establishing a regional Disability Data Initiative and a Disability-Inclusive Crisis Framework to move from a welfare-based approach to a rights-based model of governance.

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, solar energy has transitioned from a marginal source to the fastest-growing electricity source globally, with leadership shifting from advanced economies to emerging markets. Brazil, China, and India have been central to this shift, collectively accounting for 60% of new solar capacity since 2015. The report highlights how national commitments (NDCs), international financing, and industrial policies—such as Brazil's renewable energy auctions and China's manufacturing scale—have drastically reduced costs and increased global deployment. By 2025, the world reached 2.2 TW of solar capacity, with the focus now shifting toward energy storage and grid reliability to ensure 24/7 availability.

The cement and concrete sector accounts for nearly 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, primarily due to clinker production. Decarbonization requires a three-pronged innovation approach: 'Make Less' (reducing demand through design and efficiency), 'Make Better' (improving existing processes via supplementary cementitious materials and carbon storage), and 'Make New' (developing disruptive, zero-clinker chemistries and electrified production). While near-zero emission cement currently represents less than 1 percent of the market, the report highlights that scaling these technologies requires overcoming fragmented markets, outdated prescriptive standards, and a significant funding gap, as the sector has received less than 1 percent of climate tech venture capital over the last five years.

The document examines the 'vicious cycle' where climate shocks force African nations to borrow, increasing debt service costs and limiting investments in climate resilience and social needs. It argues that the current creditor-led focus on binding contracts ignores the environmental and social impacts of debt. The author posits that the July 2025 ICJ advisory opinion establishes customary international legal obligations—specifically the duty to prevent significant environmental harm and the duty to cooperate—which should apply to debt restructuring. The brief recommends that African policymakers use this legal grounding to push for a new conceptual framework, such as the DOVE Principles, which integrates due diligence and common but differentiated responsibilities into debt negotiations.

Adaptation finance for Africa remains critically insufficient, with 2023 flows to Sub-Saharan Africa reaching only USD 12.9 billion against an annual need of USD 51 billion. Public finance is the dominant source, providing 95% of Africa's adaptation funding in 2023, as adaptation projects are often small-scale, localised, and lack the standardised metrics or predictable returns required to attract private investors. Structural barriers, including complex international funding procedures and fragmented government coordination, have led to less than half of committed adaptation funds in Africa being disbursed between 2014 and 2018. While the private sector's contribution grew to USD 654 million by 2023, it remains a supporting role, with the document emphasizing that grants and concessional loans are essential to avoid exacerbating debt distress in countries where debt interest spending already exceeds health or education budgets. The briefing highlights the upcoming COP30 as a critical juncture to finalise the Global Goal on Adaptation and establish standardised indicators to improve the tracking and bankability of resilience investments.

Expanding Canadian LNG capacity is projected to increase domestic emissions, potentially raising British Columbia's total emissions by nearly 20% by 2035. The impact on global emissions is described as ambiguous, as there are no guarantees that Canadian LNG will displace higher-emission fuels like coal or other LNG sources, especially given the rapid growth of renewables in key markets like China, India, and Japan. The author argues that LNG exports should not be viewed as a substitute for domestic climate policy and recommends stringent methane regulations, transparent industrial carbon pricing, and the avoidance of public subsidies for LNG projects.

The document details how the MAGA administration is using public lands for immigration enforcement through mass surveillance and militarization. It highlights specific executive orders, proposed legislation like the FLASH Act, and the transfer of public land jurisdiction to the U.S. Army. The report also criticizes the operation of a detention center in the Big Cypress National Preserve and the construction of a border wall in the Coronado National Forest, arguing these actions violate environmental laws and tribal sovereignty while enriching private contractors.

The document details how executive orders and proposed legislation are being used to install surveillance technology in public parks and transfer land jurisdiction to the U.S. Army for border enforcement. It highlights the impact of these policies on civil liberties, indigenous sovereignty, and environmental conservation, specifically citing the Everglades detention center and the San Rafael Valley border wall.

The document examines how Poland's high-carbon, energy-intensive economy leads to higher power and gas prices for businesses compared to the EU average, as well as significant costs from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). It posits that transitioning to renewables and improving energy efficiency can lower production costs, stabilize energy prices through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and increase GDP. The briefing highlights that achieving net-zero emissions could add 0.2% to Poland's annual GDP through 2050. It also discusses the role of emissions transparency and the growth of the service sector as additional avenues for competitive differentiation.

The document examines how the lack of harmonised digital identification and health information exchange systems in West Africa hindered the ECOWAS free movement regime during the Ebola epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes integrating vaccine certification with foundational digital IDs—such as the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) and the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) initiative—to create a 'health passport'. Drawing on examples from the EU's Digital COVID Certificate and ASEAN's Universal Verification Mechanism, the author recommends that the ECOWAS Commission and the West African Health Organization (WAHO) develop a regional digital health certification framework that includes members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to ensure comprehensive regional health security.

COP30 in Belém, Brazil, is positioned as a critical inflection point for the global climate regime, occurring ten years after the Paris Agreement. The briefing highlights a tension between the summit's goals and local environmental degradation, such as the construction of the Avenida Liberdade expressway through a rainforest protection area and Brazil's pursuit of oil exploration in the Equatorial Margin. Key negotiation priorities include updated NDCs, the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, and a new collective quantified goal for climate finance estimated at USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035. The document also underscores the influence of non-state actors, such as YOUNGO and the Women and Gender Constituency, and argues that recent advisory opinions from the ICJ and IACHR have transformed climate action from a political choice into a binding legal responsibility for states.

The document details the three main priorities for COP30 in Belém: closing the ambition gap for 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to limit warming to 1.5ºC, mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries by 2035, and concluding the global adaptation indicators program. It also highlights the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF) led by Brazil to protect forests through innovative financing, and a broader global action agenda focusing on renewable energy, just transition, and urban resilience.