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The report addresses the surge in US electricity demand, noting that utility integrated resource plans covering 48% of sales expect load to grow 20% from 2023 to 2035. It argues that traditional forecasting is inadequate for new large loads—specifically data centers and industrial reshoring—which possess unique load shapes, high uncertainty, and 'flight risk'. The authors recommend that regulators shift toward scenario-based forecasting, increase the frequency of updates (e.g., quarterly), and implement 'least-regrets' capital investments and risk-shifting tariffs to protect ratepayers from the costs of forecast errors.

Argentina lacks a comprehensive territorial planning law, which results in the allocation of territorial resources being primarily driven by market forces rather than active policy. The text examines existing regulations, the function of territorial policies in aligning sectoral goals, and current national projects aimed at addressing this gap.

The report examines the integration of nature-based solutions (NbS) in Swedish municipal stormwater management. It finds that while NbS principles are embedded in most municipal steering documents, the specific term 'nature-based solutions' is rarely used. There is a significant lack of standardized cost data, particularly for operations and maintenance (O&M). While co-benefits like flood risk control and water quality are widely recognized, others such as the heat island effect and carbon sequestration are underrepresented. The report highlights complexities in the division of responsibilities between municipal departments and private landowners and notes that current regulatory frameworks often fail to fully account for the multiple co-benefits of NbS.

The report identifies the waste sector as a critical source of methane in Brazil, primarily due to the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in landfills and open dumps. While Brazil has an ambitious regulatory framework, including the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) and the PLANARES plan, implementation is hindered by financial constraints, lack of technical expertise, and a failure to meet the 2024 deadline for closing open dumps. The document highlights opportunities in biomethane production, organic waste diversion (composting and anaerobic digestion), and international climate financing to help Brazil meet its NDC and Global Methane Pledge commitments.

The document analyzes the spillover of conflict-related online risks—such as disinformation, hate speech, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence—into domestic environments. It argues that while the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) and UK's Online Safety Act (OSA) were not primarily designed for conflict settings, their systemic risk assessments and crisis protocols can be leveraged to hold platforms accountable. The brief highlights critical gaps, including the erasure of war crime evidence due to over-moderation and the role of engagement-driven algorithms in amplifying harmful content. It recommends structured cross-border cooperation, the development of evidence-preservation protocols, and a shift toward outcome-based metrics in platform risk reporting.

The report provides a detailed overview of the EU's REACH and CLP regulations and the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, alongside China's evolving environmental law system and its management of new and existing chemical substances. It highlights gaps in the EU's data availability and the nascent state of China's environmental risk assessment system, ultimately recommending institutionalised annual exchanges and capacity-building activities under the EU-China Environmental Policy Dialogue to share technical expertise and policy lessons.

The report examines a range of legislative and regulatory efforts to address private equity's role in the US healthcare system, highlighting a shift toward increased oversight of mergers and acquisitions at the state level. It details successful laws in Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, and New York, while noting failures in states like California and Massachusetts. Federally, it discusses proposed acts to penalize corporate looting and increase transparency, alongside CMS rules on staffing and spending. The document also tracks antitrust and fraud enforcement actions and concludes with policy recommendations to curb financialization through stricter transparency, debt limits, and joint liability.

The briefing examines the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) proposed amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), specifically a new limit on credits for crop-seed oil-based biofuels. While acknowledging the limit as a positive step, the authors argue that exemptions for alternative jet fuel and existing pathways, along with the use of the annual carbon intensity benchmark for surplus fuels, undermine the policy's effectiveness. The document recommends assigning fossil diesel carbon intensity to surplus fuels and implementing a comprehensive framework to monitor and limit global impacts on food markets and ecosystems.

The AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol (AfCFTA DTP), adopted in February 2024, establishes a comprehensive framework to integrate digital trade across Africa. The protocol covers 52 articles across 11 parts, addressing market access, data governance, digital inclusion, and trade facilitation. While it aims to unlock significant economic potential—with Africa's digital economy potentially reaching USD 712 billion by 2050—its success depends on the completion of eight ongoing annex negotiations and the ability of state parties to overcome infrastructure gaps and regulatory fragmentation. Key features include a focus on digital inclusion for MSMEs and the establishment of trust frameworks for cybersecurity and data protection, though some critics argue its data flow provisions may favor foreign big tech companies over local technology transfer.

The document argues that Southeast Asian electricity market designs are anchored in an outdated fossil-fuel paradigm and require core redesign to leverage the cost-effectiveness of renewables. It focuses on four key economies—Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the Philippines—noting that variable renewables contribute less than 5% of total power generation in most of the region, except for Viet Nam. The report proposes five interlinked objectives for renewables-ready power systems: long-term investment certainty, enhanced system flexibility, safeguarded system adequacy, managed retirement of carbon-intensive assets, and consumer affordability.

The report examines benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSMs) in African carbon projects, highlighting the need for transparency, fairness, and community agency to attract high-integrity investment. It categorizes projects by risk—identifying community land-based projects as the highest risk—and proposes five core principles for best-practice BSMs. The authors argue that current low carbon prices fail to cover the costs of robust community engagement and call for regulatory frameworks and commercial financing tailored to the African context.

The report analyzes 21 policy measures from 14 WTO members that triggered trade concerns, categorizing these frictions into six types: timing and implementation, transparency, absence of stakeholder engagement, proportionality, justification, and discrimination. It provides specific regulatory recommendations to ensure that environmental measures targeting plastics do not create unnecessary trade barriers.

The report contends that PVC poses unmanaged risks to human health and the environment throughout its life cycle, from toxic manufacturing emissions and accident risks to the release of microplastics and hazardous additives. It argues that the ECHA's 2023 investigation provides a sufficient technical basis for a broad ban, as alternatives are available for all assessed uses. The authors criticize the ECHA report for having a narrow scope—analyzing only 13% of PVC additives—and for underestimating the true costs of PVC by ignoring end-of-life disposal and health remediation expenses. It concludes that targeting only a few additives would lead to 'regrettable substitution' and that a full material restriction is the only effective way to prevent the steady increase of PVC and its toxins in the environment.

The report argues that achieving cost-optimal carbon neutrality in Canada's building sector requires a massive shift toward electrification, primarily through heat pumps, and a significant reduction in gas network reliance. It warns that current regulatory inertia and the continued expansion of gas infrastructure create risks of 'stranded assets' and higher costs for taxpayers. The authors recommend that provincial governments provide clear long-term strategic guidance, mandate net-zero targets, and empower regulators to prioritize electrification over gas expansion to protect long-term affordability and reliability.

The report finds that a cost-optimal path to net zero in Canada requires a massive shift toward electrification of building heat, with electricity powering 78% to 91% of annual space heating demand by 2050. It argues that continued expansion of gas networks is inconsistent with these goals and risks creating stranded assets. The analysis highlights a critical gap in provincial policy leadership, noting that current utility regulation—which incentivizes infrastructure growth—is ill-suited for the energy transition. To mitigate risks, the report recommends that provincial governments legislate net zero targets, mandate electrification for new buildings, and equip regulators to manage the gradual contraction of gas networks while investing in electricity capacity and peak demand management.

The report identifies significant barriers to grid battery deployment in South Africa, including an outdated electricity sector framework, insufficient understanding of battery capabilities, and economic challenges related to capital access and revenue stacking. It highlights the potential for local value chain development in lithium-ion and vanadium redox flow batteries, while warning of environmental risks in raw material extraction and the danger of technological lock-in. The authors propose a series of priority actions, including the alignment of national planning documents, the establishment of a market for ancillary services, and the implementation of pragmatic local content requirements in procurement.

The document analyzes the emergence of 'equity PIMs'—regulatory tools that provide financial rewards or penalties to utilities based on their performance regarding equity metrics. It identifies seven US jurisdictions using these tools to address energy poverty and the inequitable distribution of clean energy benefits. The report distinguishes between program-based and outcome-based PIMs, discusses the role of reporting metrics and scorecards as precursors to financial incentives, and argues that PIMs must be part of a broader regulatory strategy including cost-control reforms and low-income assistance to be effective.

Colombia is the third largest emitter of waste methane in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the waste sector accounting for 22% of the country's annual methane emissions. While the country has a robust regulatory framework and high collection rates, it relies heavily on landfills, many of which are nearing capacity. The report identifies significant gaps in organic waste management, data disaggregation, and financial incentives for methane mitigation, recommending the development of a national waste methane strategy and improved technical capacity at the municipal level.

The report identifies critical gaps in the governance of legal deforestation in the MATOPIBA region (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia), where agricultural expansion for soy and corn drives significant vegetation loss. It highlights a lack of clarity in legal competence between state and municipal authorities for issuing Authorizations for the Suppression of Vegetation (ASV) and the failure of the national SINAFLOR system to serve as an effective management tool. Key issues include underreporting of ASVs, a lack of public transparency regarding georeferenced data, and technical incompatibilities between state and federal systems. The authors recommend that the federal government clarify issuing competencies, improve SINAFLOR's functionality, and ensure open access to complete ASV data to support the goal of zero deforestation by 2030.

The report analyzes Brazil's complex legislative framework for forest restoration, concluding that current policies are designed for property-scale rather than landscape-scale implementation. It identifies three essential factors for scaling up: permitting a variety of restoration typologies within a single project, breaking barriers between public and private land tenure, and integrating both mandatory and voluntary restoration areas. The authors argue that the ongoing revision of the National Plan for Native Vegetation Recovery (PLANAVEG) is a critical opportunity to implement these changes and leverage the carbon market to achieve climate and socioeconomic goals.