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This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes how the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) addresses climate change in relation to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It focuses on the Committee's 2018 activities, highlighting a trend of increasing climate-related recommendations in State reporting procedures and the specific human rights obligations States must uphold regarding mitigation, adaptation, and procedural rights.

This briefing note, prepared for a dinner discussion at the June 2019 Climate Negotiations (SB50), outlines the necessity of integrating human rights into climate action to ensure policy coherence and the protection of vulnerable populations. It traces the evolution of human rights recognition within the UNFCCC framework, from the 2010 Cancun Agreements to the 2015 Paris Agreement, and identifies specific opportunities at SB50 to implement social safeguards and review human rights-related workstreams.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes the activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change in 2018. It details how the Committee uses General Recommendations and the State reporting procedure to define the human rights obligations of States to protect women from the disproportionate impacts of climate change, focusing heavily on adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

This guidebook by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) in agriculture can be leveraged to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in alignment with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Analyzing five key standards, the document identifies opportunities for VSSs to improve women's working conditions and decision-making, while warning that without gender-sensitive implementation, they may inadvertently increase women's unpaid labor burdens or reinforce patriarchal norms.

This policy brief analyzes South Africa's assumption of the African Union (AU) chairship in 2020. It examines the opportunities for South Africa to drive continental priorities—such as regional integration and peace and security—while highlighting significant challenges, including the need to build consensus among member states and the negative impact of domestic xenophobic violence on its international legitimacy.

This report by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) analyzes the financing needs for electricity and clean cooking access in Madagascar to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) by 2030. It evaluates current access levels, identifies financial gaps for off-grid solar, mini-grids, and improved cookstoves, and provides policy recommendations to overcome barriers such as low household purchasing power and lack of quality standards.

This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute discusses the 'production gap'—the divergence between planned fossil fuel production and the levels consistent with Paris Agreement temperature goals. It argues that supply-side policies, such as production limits and subsidy removals, are essential to avoid carbon lock-in and achieve cost-effective emission reductions.

A statement by Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute regarding the conclusion of COP24 in Katowice, Poland, noting that while negotiations were contentious, they established the necessary rulebook and foundations to implement the Paris Agreement.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the current state of climate adaptation finance, identifying significant funding gaps and barriers to investment, particularly in developing countries. It proposes a framework for increasing investment by boosting demand for adaptation services, supporting suppliers, and de-risking investments, while urging developing country governments to improve risk assessment and tracking.

This document consists of a series of letters and a report summary from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) addressed to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). The CER, representing various environmental groups, argues that the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) has failed to improve air quality since its 2007 declaration. The CER demands the urgent implementation of regulations to enforce the 2012 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP), the elimination of 'rolling postponements' for emission standards granted to major polluters like Eskom and Sasol, and a formal response to the 'Broken Promises' report regarding the ongoing violation of constitutional rights to a healthy environment.

This fact sheet from the Green Economy Coalition describes the challenges and opportunities for transitioning to a green economy in Peru. It highlights a gap between private sector dynamism and slow public sector policy implementation, while identifying specific barriers facing green small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This briefing by the NewClimate Institute examines the transition from traditional climate finance, focused on mobilizing funds for mitigation and adaptation, toward 'Paris-aligned investing'. It evaluates the eligibility criteria used by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) against a framework that categorizes investments as 'Paris-aligned', 'misaligned', or 'conditional'.

A report by NewClimate Institute, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and IIASA analyzing whether 25 major emitting countries and regions are on track to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by 2030 based on current policies.

This discussion brief outlines early research findings regarding the alignment of long-term adaptation plans with emissions reduction goals, noting a systemic lack of integration between low-emission development strategies and adaptation strategies.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law summarizes advocacy for human rights during the COP-24 climate conference in Katowice. It details the efforts to integrate human rights into the Paris Agreement Implementation Guidelines, reports on civil rights infringements by Polish authorities against conference attendees, and reviews the inclusion of human rights in other policy outcomes such as the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss & Damage.

This technical report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the intersection of rural credit and environmental protection in Brazil. It argues that while Brazil has successfully modernized its agriculture and reduced deforestation, the current financial system is overly complex, dominated by public banks, and lacks sufficient risk management tools. The authors propose a phased transition to align financial incentives with the 2012 Forest Code, increase private sector participation, and shift public subsidies toward the provision of public goods and insurance instruments.

This briefing by Energy Innovation examines how utility depreciation accounting and regulatory asset management influence the transition from coal-fired power plants to clean energy in the United States. It details the mechanisms regulators use to handle 'stranded assets'—plants that become uneconomic before their useful life ends—and the trade-offs between accelerated and extended depreciation schedules regarding consumer rates and investor returns.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the role of rural infrastructure in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (zero hunger). It identifies four priority infrastructure categories and proposes diverse financing mechanisms to attract private capital and ensure long-term sustainability in rural agricultural regions.

This briefing outlines the critical climate finance priorities for COP24 in Katowice, Poland, focusing on the scaling of dedicated funds, the establishment of transparency rules for tracking financial flows, and the timeline for setting a post-2025 collective quantified goal.

This discussion paper evaluates four potential accounting approaches for the international linking of emissions trading systems (ETSs) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, aiming to guide negotiations and bilateral agreements.