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The report identifies 2024 as the year with the highest number of state-based conflicts since 1946, with 61 conflicts across 36 countries. While the total number of battle-related deaths in 2024 (approximately 129,000) was similar to 2023, it remains the fourth most violent year since 1989, driven primarily by wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Ethiopia's Tigray region. The paper notes a growing complexity in conflict dynamics, where a higher share of conflict-affected countries now host multiple simultaneous conflicts. Non-state conflicts decreased slightly to 74 in 2024, with Africa becoming the region with the highest number of such conflicts. One-sided violence increased to 14,000 fatalities in 2024, with non-state actors responsible for the majority of deaths, although 14 governments also perpetrated such violence.

The 2025/26 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index ranks 181 countries, with Denmark scoring highest (.939) and Afghanistan lowest (.279). The report highlights a global stagnation or decline in women's status, coinciding with a historic peak in armed conflict. In 2024, 676 million women lived within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, a 74 percent increase since 2010. While developed countries generally lead the rankings, significant improvements were noted in fragile states like Congo and South Sudan. The report emphasizes the disproportionate impact of conflict on women, citing severe humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar, and Ethiopia, and calls for urgent investment in women to foster peaceful and resilient societies.

The document reports that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. In the U.S., 24 billion-dollar disasters occurred through November 2024, resulting in at least 418 deaths and $61 billion in damages, excluding the costs of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The analysis highlights a shrinking interval between such disasters, falling to an average of 12 days in 2024 compared to 82 days in the early 1980s.

Climate change is significantly increasing the number of winter days with minimum temperatures above 0°C across the Northern Hemisphere. Analysis of the decade 2014-2023 shows that over one-third of analyzed countries and 44% of analyzed cities experienced at least one additional week of above-freezing days annually. Europe is the most affected region, with some countries like Lithuania and Latvia seeing over 20 additional above-freezing days per year. These shifts impact snowfall, the USD 12.5 billion winter sports industry, water supplies, and ecosystem health.

The report finds that climate ambition among public development banks (PDBs) is plateauing and highly polarized. While some institutions have adopted comprehensive Paris alignment and net-zero targets, over half of the 170 tracked PDBs show limited-to-no ambition. This divergence is closely linked to enabling factors: high-ambition PDBs typically benefit from supportive government policies, developed financial systems, and active membership in multi-institutional networks. Conversely, minimally ambitious PDBs often operate in contexts with weak policy support and underdeveloped investment pipelines. The report concludes that ambitious PDBs generate higher volumes of climate finance as a share of assets and recommends leveraging multi-institutional networks to lift less ambitious banks toward leading standards.

In 2024, solar energy in Türkiye significantly increased its contribution to meeting peak electricity demand, covering two-thirds of the hourly peak demand increase compared to 2023. This growth is driven by rising cooling needs due to hotter summers, with solar power meeting 18% of peak demand in 2024, up from 2.5% in 2017. On July 23, 2024, solar generation exceeded 10 GWh, meeting the total hourly demand for over 10 million people in Western Anatolia provinces. The report highlights that solar installations helped Türkiye avoid investing in approximately 16 GW of fossil fuel capacity in 2024 and notes that over 14 GW of solar capacity with storage is currently in pre-licensing stages, far exceeding the 2030 National Energy Plan target of 2.1 GW.

As of October 2024, there are 12,241 committed electric school buses in the U.S., with nearly 5,000 already delivered or operating. Adoption is heavily driven by the EPA's Clean School Bus Program, which funds 67% of all commitments and prioritizes high-poverty, rural, and tribal districts. While California leads in absolute numbers, the Northeast and Midwest have seen significant percentage increases. Seven states have enacted statutory zero-emission transition requirements, and WRI projects that 62% of all school bus sales will be electric by 2032 following revised EPA greenhouse gas emission standards.

Climate Central's analysis of U.S. data from 1970 to 2024 shows that winter is the fastest-warming season for 74% of analyzed locations. Average winter temperatures rose by 4°F across 235 locations, with the highest warming seen in the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Ohio Valley. The report notes a decrease in freezing nights and shorter cold streaks, alongside an increase in warmer-than-normal winter days. These trends impact western water supplies, residential energy use, the $27 billion fruit and nut industry, and the prevalence of disease-carrying pests.

Climate finance for land use in Brazil averaged US$ 17.1 billion annually from 2021 to 2023, a 99% increase from the 2015-2020 period. Domestic sources provided 97% of these resources, with the private sector contributing 72% of domestic finance. Rural credit was the primary financial instrument, accounting for 58% of total flows. While crops received the most funding (74%), the native forest sector remained heavily dependent on the federal public budget and international public sources. Mitigation-focused finance dominated at 57% of total flows, while spending on climate losses and damages grew significantly, reaching US$ 2.0 billion by 2023.

The report details the compilation of pilot ecosystem accounts for Kaduna and Nasarawa states in Nigeria between 2015 and 2020. Using the SEEA-EA framework and ARIES AI technology, the study estimated biophysical supply for climate regulation (carbon storage), soil retention, crop production, pollination, and water supply. Findings indicate that while total carbon stocks and soil retention remained relatively stable, there were significant shifts in land cover, including an increase in deciduous broadleaf forests and a loss of shrublands. The report emphasizes the lack of local geo-referenced data and the need for an institutional framework to support independent national environmental accounting.

Global climate finance reached USD 1.46 trillion in 2022, showing resilience despite global crises. While advanced economies saw steady growth driven by domestic policy and stimulus, emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) experienced inconsistent trends, with significant recoveries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia between 2020 and 2022. Private sector contributions to mitigation finance exceeded 50% in several EMDE regions, and finance to least developed countries (LDCs) more than doubled from 2018 to 2022.

The BRICS bloc is reaching a milestone where non-fossil power capacity is set to exceed fossil-fueled capacity for the first time in 2024. While the group hosts a significant portion of the world's coal fleet and continues to develop new fossil plants, there is a massive pipeline of wind and solar projects. The report finds that the BRICS countries have enough renewables in development to nearly triple their capacity by 2030, though the actual construction rate varies significantly by member, with China leading the transition.

Since 1970, fall temperatures in the U.S. have increased by an average of 2.5°F, with October nights warming by 3.3°F in 89% of 242 analyzed U.S. cities.

Climate Central's analysis of 200 U.S. cities shows that the first fall freeze is arriving later in 85% of locations, delaying the date by an average of 11 days since 1970. This trend, alongside a 2.4°F average increase in fall temperatures across the contiguous U.S., extends growing seasons and disrupts ecological cues, leading to prolonged allergy seasons, lingering pests, and reduced yields for the U.S. fruit and nut industry.

Global climate finance more than doubled between 2018 and 2022, reaching USD 1.46 trillion in 2022, yet remains far below the USD 7.4 trillion annual average needed by 2030 for a 1.5°C scenario. Mitigation finance dominates the landscape, driven by renewable energy and electric vehicles in advanced economies and China, while adaptation finance, though growing, remains severely underfunded, particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The report highlights a critical imbalance, noting that fossil fuel subsidies reached USD 1.4 trillion in 2022, nearly equaling total climate finance. It recommends reforming the global financial architecture through increased concessional finance, risk mitigation, and the redirection of fossil fuel expenditures to close the investment gap.

The report finds a positive trend in European pension funds' commitment to sustainable investing, with significant growth in the adoption of mitigation targets and climate risk management. However, a persistent gap remains between these commitments and actual real-economy impact, as pension funds rarely invest directly in projects and often hold fragmented indirect ownership. The analysis highlights that larger funds, those in net-zero coalitions, and funds in countries with strong regulatory frameworks—such as the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and France—are leading the transition. Key challenges include the gap between asset ownership and management, the difficulty of transitioning passive investments, and limited capital flow to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).

The report finds that international concessional climate finance grew by 50% from 2019 to reach USD 81 billion in 2022, though it remains small compared to fossil fuel subsidies. Sub-Saharan Africa is the primary recipient of these flows. The analysis highlights a gap in adaptation finance and a lack of standardized impact metrics. Domestic concessional finance is heavily concentrated in high-income economies, particularly Western Europe, and focuses primarily on mitigation. The report recommends redirecting fossil fuel subsidies, targeting fragile and conflict-affected states, and streamlining project approval processes to enhance efficiency.

The BRICS group is approaching a critical transition point where non-fossil power capacity is expected to eclipse fossil fuels by the end of 2024. While the bloc possesses a vast pipeline of wind and solar projects—enough to potentially triple renewable capacity by 2030—nearly all members continue to develop new coal, oil, or gas plants. China dominates the group's transition, leading in both renewable additions and the construction of new coal capacity. Other members show divergent paths: Brazil and Ethiopia are heavily hydropower-reliant, while the UAE, Iran, and Russia remain deeply dependent on oil and gas, though the UAE is rapidly diversifying via nuclear and solar power.

The document provides an overview of three types of carbon markets: compliance-based, voluntary, and multilateral-based (Article 6 of the Paris Agreement). It highlights the growth of government-led markets, which generated $104 billion in 2023, while noting the severe integrity crisis and subsequent investment decline in voluntary carbon markets. The author discusses how countries manage competitiveness through tools like free allowances and output-based pricing, and details the emerging landscape of Article 6 bilateral agreements. For developing countries, the report identifies a tension between the need for climate finance and the risks of 'greenwashing' and fiscal instability.

The research evaluates the characteristics and feasibility of adaptation solutions for mountain regions, finding a strong focus on water-related impacts and ecosystem management. While community involvement is high, the analysis identifies persistent challenges in gender equality, the upscaling of solutions, and long-term planning uncertainty.