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The report analyzes the legal landscape for RES prosumers and renewable energy communities (REComs) in the EU and nine Member States: Belgium/Flanders, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It finds a significant gap between recent EU-level efforts to promote active citizen participation—such as the RED II and the draft recast Electricity Directive—and the diverse, often restrictive, national laws. While some countries like Germany and France have more advanced frameworks, others like Portugal and Belgium/Flanders face substantial regulatory barriers, including the lack of legal definitions for energy communities and restrictions on peer-to-peer energy sharing. The report concludes that EU legislation is likely to drive national policy changes toward more progressive, citizen-centered energy models.

The document defines natural infrastructure (NI) as ecosystems providing infrastructure services and distinguishes between 'natural' (e.g., wetlands) and 'green-grey' (e.g., permeable pavements) types. It argues that NI is generally more cost-effective than grey infrastructure, offering co-benefits in land security, climate regulation, and water security. However, adoption is hindered by high transaction costs, long time horizons for full capacity, and a lack of standardized quantitative evaluation tools. The report provides specific cost data for artificial wetlands and restoration projects, while identifying policy interventions—such as rating systems and market instruments—to incentivize investment.

The Union of Concerned Scientists' comparison of ExxonMobil's 2018 and 2019 climate reports finds that the company relies on unchanged energy demand assumptions and maintains a belief that the world will fail to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals. The analysis highlights inconsistencies in how the company describes methane reduction efforts, a lack of detailed low-carbon investment breakdowns, and the use of problematic graphs to suggest alignment with IPCC scenarios. While ExxonMobil acknowledges for the first time that its fossil fuel products are part of the climate problem, it continues to emphasize uncertainty regarding the pace of the global energy transition.

The report finds that Kellogg's has significantly reduced or removed essential micronutrients from its most popular breakfast cereals in Mexico despite public commitments to tackle undernutrition. Analysis shows a decline in vitamins B, C, E, and iron, suggesting that profit motives may outweigh nutritional goals.

The report finds that despite public commitments to fight malnutrition, Kellogg's reduced or eliminated several essential vitamins and minerals in its most popular cereals in Mexico over a five-year period, suggesting that profit motives outweigh nutritional goals.

The document analyzes the transition from NAFTA's environmental side agreement to the CUSMA framework, highlighting the preservation of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and the introduction of a broader definition of 'affecting trade or investment' to strengthen environmental law enforcement. It notes the loss of the CEC's authority to produce unsolicited reports and identifies new commitments regarding fisheries, endangered species, and marine litter, while observing that climate change is explicitly absent from the ECA work program.

The document explains that consumption-based emissions inventories (CBEIs) capture the full carbon footprint of a city by including emissions from goods and services produced outside city borders. It identifies that for wealthy, industrialized cities, CBEIs are often significantly higher than territorial inventories. The guide details three main estimation approaches: spending data with input-output models, physical data with life-cycle analysis, and hybrid methods. It advises city planners to align their choice of methodology with their specific goals, such as resident education, peer comparison, or local policy design, while emphasizing the importance of detailed categorization to identify high-leverage areas for emissions reduction.

The report argues that Japan's domestic ivory market remains insufficient to prevent illegal trade and recommends a comprehensive market closure with narrow exemptions. It compares Japan's regime with those of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, highlighting gaps in Japan's traceability, registration, and stockpile management. Key recommendations include mandating the registration of privately held ivory, implementing permanent marking for tusks, and adopting stricter legal acquisition verification processes.

The document finds that climate adaptation planning in Spanish cities is in its early stages, with only 11 of 54 analyzed cities having specific plans, most of which were developed in the last three years. While these plans show strengths in international network adherence and risk assessment, they lack binding legislation, dedicated budgets, and sufficient integration of equity and justice. The brief highlights Barcelona, Córdoba, and Murcia as high-performing cities and suggests that the Spanish state and regional governments should provide more technical and financial support, potentially through mandatory planning regulations similar to those in the UK, Denmark, France, and Slovakia.

The report examines the global coffee market, highlighting a growth in VSS-compliant production which reached at least 34% of total production in 2016. While demand is increasing in emerging economies, the sector faces risks from price volatility and climate change. The analysis identifies Ethiopia and Uganda as having high potential for VSS expansion among LHDCs.

The report analyzes 104 mining projects across 21 countries, finding that while incentives are more common in primary law than in contracts, African countries rely more heavily on contract-based incentives. Tax stabilization and corporate income tax (CIT) incentives are the most frequent, with stability periods averaging 20 years and tax holidays averaging nine years. The analysis notes a correlation between the increase in incentives and the commodity price crash of 2014–2016, while highlighting that cost-based incentives remain uncommon despite being better suited for mining investments.

The report analyzes tax incentives across 104 mining projects in 21 developing countries, finding that while legislation is the primary source of incentives, African countries rely more heavily on discretionary contracts. The most common incentives are fiscal stabilization clauses and corporate income tax breaks, both of which pose significant revenue risks. The study notes that the use of these incentives peaked in the late 1990s and again during the 2014-2016 commodity price crash, suggesting a correlation between low commodity prices and more generous tax terms.

The report examines the 'crisis of trust' between migrant families—particularly Polish migrants in Norway—and child welfare services (CWS). It analyzes how institutional structures, communication barriers, and cultural differences influence trust. The authors find that while Norway's CWS is generally child-centric and Poland's is more child-protective, both face challenges in building rapport with minority populations. Key findings highlight that trust is often based on personal experience rather than institutional reputation, and that a lack of cultural competence among social workers can lead to 'culturalization,' where poverty or education gaps are misattributed to cultural flaws. The document concludes that improving trust requires better communication strategies, enhanced cross-cultural training for professionals, and more robust, representative research on migrant experiences.

The report examines the role of socially engaged art in bridging ethnic and social divisions in Cyprus, emphasizing its capacity to foster empathy and inter-community contact. It maps various Cypriot initiatives—ranging from bi-communal theatre and visual arts collaborations to urban design projects—and compares them with experiences in South Africa, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Brazil. The author argues that while art cannot resolve political conflicts alone, it creates essential 'contact zones' for relationship building. The document concludes with policy recommendations to shift from elitist art frameworks toward grassroots, community-based cultural policies that utilize public spaces and crossing points to reinforce peace.

The study finds that while most G20 members are implementing climate policies, only six are projected to meet their unconditional NDC targets with current measures, while eight require further action.

The document argues for a shift from simply mobilizing 'climate finance' to ensuring all investments are 'Paris-aligned', meaning they actively support limiting global warming to well below 2°C. It compares MDB eligibility typologies against a framework of 'aligned', 'misaligned', and 'conditional' investments. Analysis of energy and transport sectors shows that while about half of MDB typologies are aligned, two-thirds of the remainder are only conditionally aligned, necessitating stricter benchmarks and fuel-specific criteria to avoid carbon lock-in.

The report finds that 16 of the 25 analyzed major emitting countries and regions are not on track to meet their self-determined NDC targets. While some countries like China and India are likely to achieve their targets, others, including the United States and Japan, require additional measures. Furthermore, current policies are projected to fail in preventing emissions increases up to 2030 relative to 2010 levels in a majority of the analyzed nations, including both developing and OECD economies.

The report found hazardous substances, including PFASs and phthalates, in most of the 12 US carpets tested, including those marketed as environmentally friendly. It argues that these toxics hinder closed-loop recycling and that current US regulations and industry certifications are insufficient to protect consumers.

The document analyzes the soybean value chains in Malawi and Zambia, identifying production and marketing bottlenecks that hinder smallholder competitiveness. It evaluates 'bottom-up' interventions (inputs, efficiency, market information) and 'top-down' models (off-takers, commodity exchanges), arguing that an integrated approach combining both is necessary for industrial development and regional value chain formation in the SADC region.

The report analyzes the consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions of Umeå residents, finding an average footprint of 9.77 tonnes CO2e per person for survey participants (aged 20-84), which scales to 7.6 tonnes CO2e per person for the total population. Travel, particularly aviation and car use, is identified as the primary emission source, followed by food. The report identifies 'hotspots' including meat consumption, aviation, and housing energy, and recommends administrative, economic, and informative policy tools to reduce these impacts.