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The report assesses gender-based vulnerabilities and socioeconomic baselines in Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles to ensure that climate information services (CS) and early warning systems (EWS) are inclusive. It identifies systemic barriers, such as gendered access to information, time poverty, and gender-based violence, which can hinder the effectiveness of climate adaptation. The assessment recommends tailoring CS products to end-users in vulnerable sectors like agriculture and fishing, utilizing local knowledge, and addressing the specific socioeconomic disparities of each member state to maximize regional resilience.

The report analyzes how fossil fuel subsidies create direct and pass-through trade effects, distorting markets for crude energy products, refined energy carriers, and energy-intensive industries. It provides empirical evidence on the massive scale of these markets—with fossil fuel product trade alone representing over 10% of worldwide trade value in 2018—and argues that current WTO rules are ineffective at constraining these measures. The document proposes five options for WTO engagement: improving transparency, building capacity, establishing a pledge-and-review process, clarifying existing rules, and negotiating new binding subsidy disciplines.

The document analyzes policy coherence between the Paris Agreement's NDCs and the 2030 Agenda's SDGs in Germany, Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the Philippines. It finds that while synergies exist, significant conflicts often emerge around energy transitions, economic growth, and inequality (SDG 10). These incoherencies are driven by institutional fragmentation, conflicting national ideologies, and vested interests. The authors argue that achieving both agendas requires moving beyond institutional fixes to address deep structural changes and political dynamics.

The report identifies systemic gender inequalities and capacity gaps in Vietnam's climate and agricultural sectors, proposing a Gender Action Plan (GAP) to ensure equal access to water, climate information, and credit for vulnerable smallholders.

The document examines Ukraine's pursuit of EU and NATO integration, contrasting the assertive rhetoric of the Poroshenko administration (2014-2019) with the more pragmatic, technocratic approach of the Zelensky administration (2019-present). It details the 'three pillars' of Poroshenko's strategy—pro-integration rhetoric, technical harmonisation with EU/NATO standards, and expanding third-country partnerships—and notes that Zelensky has shifted priority toward sectoral integration in digital, energy, and customs markets. The text also discusses the challenges of the war in Donbas, the Normandy Four diplomatic framework, and the potential for the European Green Deal to serve as a framework for future Ukraine-EU cooperation.

The document reviews the state of adaptation finance as of early 2020, highlighting the Adaptation Committee's projections of rising costs and the Adaptation Fund's operational milestones. It addresses the difficulty of tracking adaptation flows, noting that while finance increased by 35% in 2017-2018, it represents only 5% of tracked climate finance. The brief also contrasts the massive business opportunities in adaptation solutions with the urgent needs of vulnerable populations, arguing that adaptation requires a rethinking of production and equity.

The report analyzes the services sector's role in African development and the implications of the AfCFTA. It identifies Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria as the continent's largest services exporters. The study highlights a significant gap in comprehensive services trade data, particularly for Mode 3 (commercial presence), and recommends implementing the 2010 Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services. For South Africa, the report finds that services value added in gross exports is more than double the share of services exports, emphasizing the sector's role as an input for manufacturing. It argues for a developmental trade strategy that integrates services with industrial policy and warns against premature deindustrialization.

The paper finds that while green bonds can finance adaptation, they do so to a very limited extent, with mitigation receiving approximately 95% of current funding. Between March 2010 and April 2019, only 5% of all green bonds issued included adaptation as an eligible project category. The study identifies significant mismatches in geography, project scale, and the types of activities funded, noting that adaptation needs are often too small-scale or lack the revenue streams required for traditional bond issuance. Furthermore, a low level of corporate understanding of physical climate risk limits the adoption of these instruments. The author concludes that green bonds alone will be too slow to close the adaptation finance gap but can serve as awareness-raising tools to encourage broader risk management and investment.

The document traces the development of the bioeconomy concept from its roots in biotechnology and life sciences to a broader policy framework aimed at sustainability and climate goals. It highlights the EU's leadership in establishing bioeconomy strategies, which have influenced national policies globally. The text distinguishes between biotechnology-centered and transformation-centered approaches, while emphasizing that bio-based products are not inherently sustainable. It also discusses the rise of regional bioeconomy clusters and the need for participatory governance and life-cycle assessments to ensure genuine ecological benefits.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides a table of comments and proposed amendments to the 2019 Draft Mine Community Resettlement Guidelines. The CER argues that the guidelines must move beyond simple consultation toward Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), expand the definition of compensation to include non-material losses, and ensure that resettlement processes are enforceable through amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).

The document defines sustainable material management infrastructure as assets that reduce waste generation by promoting recovery, reuse, and recycling. It distinguishes between 'grey' infrastructure (e.g., unregulated landfills, incineration without energy recovery) and 'green' infrastructure (e.g., sorting facilities, composting, waste-to-energy). The guide details the environmental, economic, and social shortcomings of business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios—such as GHG emissions, resource scarcity, and public health risks—while highlighting the benefits of green investments, including carbon footprint reduction and green job creation. It also analyzes risks to project financing, such as volatile commodity prices and regulatory uncertainties, and provides a comprehensive overview of policy interventions, measurement indicators, and a detailed breakdown of costs and revenues for various waste management technologies.

The report investigates the potential for a new on-tax financing model (EuroPACE) to drive deep energy efficiency retrofits in European residential buildings. It identifies significant market failures, such as long payback periods and knowledge gaps, that hinder private investment. Through analysis of four target countries and three successful case studies (Energiesprong, Oktave, and KfW), the document highlights that success depends on low-cost, long-term financing and the ability to aggregate demand. It projects a total lending potential for EuroPACE of nearly €4bn over ten years across the four primary countries, provided that penetration and renovation rates increase.

The report assesses the Philippines' green finance landscape, highlighting a strong private-sector-led green bond market and significant investment potential in renewable energy, low-carbon transport, sustainable water, and waste management. It details existing policy frameworks, such as the ASEAN Green Bond Standards, and provides a sample pipeline of 79 green projects to attract international and domestic capital.

The document argues that solar PV is a financially viable option for South African businesses, capable of reducing electricity costs by approximately 15% with payback periods between 3 and 12 years. It highlights that larger systems benefit from economies of scale, with capital costs for systems over 500 kWp falling below R10k per kWp. The brief also details various financial incentives, including tax benefits (12i and 12b) and VAT deductibility, and notes that the Western Cape is a leader in implementing regulations and feed-in tariffs for Small Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG).

Saudi Arabia is ranked lowest among G20 non-OECD member countries due to high levels of fossil fuel support, totaling an annual average of $77 billion between 2017 and 2019. This support is primarily driven by state-owned enterprise (SOE) investments, with Saudi Aramco providing approximately $33 billion annually for oil and gas and the Saudi Electric Company investing $8.2 billion annually in fossil fuel-based power. While the government introduced energy subsidy reforms in 2016 and 2018 under Vision 2030, domestic fuel prices remain significantly below international benchmarks. Transparency remains low regarding direct budgetary transfers and tax expenditures, leading to likely underestimations of total support.

The annex updates data on electric vehicle GST concessions, power transmission infrastructure in Ladakh, LPG and kerosene subsidies, and a comprehensive list of coal producer and consumer taxes in India between FY 2014 and FY 2019.

The report finds that while India has shifted significant public resources toward clean energy since FY 2014, fossil fuel subsidies in FY 2019 remained over seven times larger than those for alternative energy. Key trends include a 65% increase in oil and gas subsidies between FY 2017 and FY 2019, a 35% decrease in renewable energy subsidies due to falling costs and policy constraints, and a rapid increase in electric vehicle support. The authors recommend further swapping fossil fuel resources for clean energy, targeting consumption subsidies for energy access, and addressing the full net costs of coal.

The analysis of 19 NAPs reveals that while all reviewed documents integrate ecosystem considerations and vulnerabilities, the explicit link between ecosystem services and societal adaptation benefits remains generic. Latin American countries show the strongest integration of EbA and links to biodiversity strategies. Key gaps include limited monitoring of outcomes, insufficient private sector engagement, and under-representation of urban EbA and hybrid grey/green infrastructure. The report suggests that NAPs should move beyond business-as-usual conservation to explicitly address climate hazards and target specific vulnerable groups.

The report finds significant progress in positioning women as adaptation stakeholders and using gender analysis for planning, but notes limited progress in establishing inclusive stakeholder engagement platforms and gender-equitable institutional arrangements. It emphasizes that while more countries are recognizing the link between gender and climate change, sustained investment in capacity development, vertical integration, and gender-responsive finance is required to ensure equitable adaptation outcomes.

The Climate Solutions Partnership (CSP) report details the results of a five-year philanthropic commitment to scale climate innovation and nature-based solutions. Key achievements include unlocking US$635.4 million in finance, avoiding 7.81 million tonnes of GHG emissions, and managing 13 million hectares for biodiversity. The program implemented diverse projects, such as renewable energy aggregation for SMEs in China, solar-powered dairy cooling in India, and the development of environmental compensation laws in Mexico and El Salvador. It also focused on supply chain transparency in the palm oil sector and the creation of financial toolkits to combat environmental crimes.