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The report assesses the state of asset management and pension systems across Africa, highlighting a general trend of conservative investment strategies, low retail participation, and uneven regulatory oversight. It identifies a strong prevalence of defined benefit and pay-as-you-go pension schemes, particularly in francophone and lusophone countries, while anglophone nations lean toward funded defined contribution models. Key challenges include low coverage for informal workers and women, limited ESG integration, and a heavy reliance on government securities. The document recommends shifting toward risk-based supervision, expanding micro-pension schemes, and developing national ESG taxonomies to deepen capital markets.

The report provides a comparative analysis of how 16 countries and territories are operationalising OECMs through five primary legal and policy pathways: ministerial instruments, national guidelines, administrative procedures, sector-based recognition, and mechanisms for areas beyond national jurisdiction. It finds a high degree of global convergence and alignment with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Decision 14/8 criteria, while noting that countries adapt these standards to fit their specific governance and legal contexts. The document highlights the rapid growth in OECM reporting between 2021 and 2025 and provides recommendations for scaling these frameworks globally.

The report analyzes how 16 reporting jurisdictions and several others in development operationalize OECMs through five primary pathways: ministerial instruments, national guidelines, administrative procedures, sector-based recognition, and mechanisms for areas beyond national jurisdiction. It finds a strong global convergence toward the terminology and criteria of CBD Decision 14/8, while noting that most countries prefer non-legislative policy tools over new laws to achieve conservation outcomes.

The report analyzes climate finance flows in Southeast Asia, finding a heavy reliance on international capital despite growing domestic interest. It focuses on Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, identifying that while corporates are the primary local investors, institutional and financial institutions remain underutilized due to risk perceptions and loan tenor mismatches. The document argues that blended finance—through guarantees, technical assistance, and project aggregation—can catalyze local investment in nature-based solutions, adaptation, and utility-scale renewables.

The report details the creation of a management tool designed to help agribusinesses align their operations with international responsible investment standards, specifically the CFS-RAI Principles and IFC Performance Standards. Through pilot testing with five companies in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Senegal, the report identifies that RAI compliance is heavily influenced by a company's mission, the formality of its management systems, and external business conditions. While the tool was well-received for its 'language of business' approach, the report notes that resource constraints in smaller SMEs may hinder independent adoption, suggesting a need for support from investors and technical assistance providers.

The document asserts that UN REDD+ was not designed as a market mechanism and lacks the necessary requirements for additionality, permanence, and robust quantification to qualify as high-quality carbon credits under Article 6.2. It highlights that while ITMOs have stronger reporting and anti-double-counting rules, neither system provides sufficient third-party verification or monitoring after activity conclusion. The author concludes that forest-related activities are ill-suited for offsetting due to inflated baselines and risks of non-permanence, urging a shift toward non-market-based financing.

The report details a regional meeting held in Thailand in October 2023, bringing together stakeholders from China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It showcases various climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies—such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)—aimed at reducing water footprints and methane emissions in rice farming. The document outlines national policy approaches, identifies barriers like limited finance and technology access, and recommends a shift toward community-centric climate finance and enhanced interagency collaboration to build regional climate resilience.

The 2024 Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) report identifies Gujarat and Karnataka as consistent top performers in decarbonising their power sectors and preparing their market ecosystems. While some states like Delhi and Odisha show high readiness or strong market enablers, they struggle with actual decarbonisation. Conversely, states such as Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh exhibit structural challenges and slow progress across all dimensions. The report recommends strengthening state-level regulatory frameworks and developing specific subnational transition plans to address these uneven disparities.

The report evaluates the voluntary carbon offsetting practices of eight major European airlines, including easyJet, Ryanair, and Lufthansa. It finds that while some airlines like easyJet have high volumes of offsets, the overall quality of credits is often low due to a reliance on cheap forestry projects in developing countries. The study highlights a significant lack of transparency in reporting and warns that promoting 'carbon neutral' flying may encourage air traffic growth, contradicting the need for sector decarbonization through sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

The report compares the Green Development Guidance (GDG) and the Green Investment Principles (GIP), finding them highly compatible and complementary tools for reducing environmental risks and accelerating green finance in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While the GIP is an industry-led voluntary initiative focusing on corporate governance and high-level principles for financial institutions, the GDG provides detailed project-level evaluation criteria, including a 'green light system' for project classification. The document recommends deeper information sharing, joint development of risk assessment tools, and enhanced communication between regulators and financial institutions to further align these frameworks.

The paper assesses the synergy between the AfCFTA and the BRI, arguing that targeted, structured cooperation—such as sector-specific preferential trade agreements and the strategic use of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)—is more beneficial for Africa than a status-quo ad hoc approach or a full continent-wide Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It highlights the potential for growth in manufacturing and agriculture while warning against the risks of increased Chinese imports and the complexities of rules of origin.

The report analyzes how pre-pandemic economic conditions in 60 developing nations create vulnerabilities to COVID-19-induced trade shocks. It examines five key markets—production, trade, capital, currency, and labour—to identify risks such as global value chain disruptions, 'sudden stops' in foreign investment, and currency crises. The analysis emphasizes that countries with high reliance on specific sectors like international tourism or those with significant trade deficits and foreign-denominated debt are most at risk. The author urges the diversification of global value chains over protectionism to build long-term resilience.

The Union of Concerned Scientists concludes that most non-light-water reactor (NLWR) designs do not offer sufficient improvements over light-water reactors (LWRs) to justify their increased safety and proliferation risks. The report argues that NLWRs, including sodium-cooled fast reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and molten salt-fueled reactors, are technologically immature and unlikely to be commercialized in time to significantly impact the climate crisis. It recommends that the US Department of Energy suspend the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determines if full-scale prototype testing is required for safety validation.

The report argues that most non-light-water reactors (NLWRs) do not provide significant enough improvements over light-water reactors (LWRs) to justify their associated safety, security, and proliferation risks. It specifically evaluates sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs), and molten salt reactors (MSRs), finding that claims regarding 'burning' nuclear waste are oversimplified and that the timelines for commercialization are often unrealistic. The author recommends that the US Department of Energy (DOE) prioritize improving existing LWR technology over pursuing immature NLWR designs.

The report evaluates a 28.7 MW onshore wind portfolio in Germany against a gas-fired power plant of equivalent annual generation. Using the SAVi methodology, it integrates externalities (environmental, social, and economic) and climate change risks (physical and transitional) into a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), and financial analysis. The findings indicate that while both assets are viable under conventional metrics, the wind portfolio is significantly more resilient to climate risks and societal costs. The gas-fired plant's financial viability collapses if a carbon tax is introduced or if social costs of carbon are internalized, whereas the wind portfolio maintains positive internal rates of return (IRR) and lower societal LCOE.

The 2019 assessment of 47 Voluntary National Review reports indicates that countries are better adhering to reporting guidelines and increasingly prioritizing the principle of 'leaving no one behind'. However, the report finds a continued lack of attention to the broader transformative principles of the 2030 Agenda and a concerning silence regarding the closing of civic space and attacks on human rights and environmental defenders.

The analysis estimates that by 2025, ECCC regulations would reduce Alberta's methane emissions by 36% compared to a baseline, while AER's Draft Directive 060 would achieve a 23% reduction. The report details specific abatement assumptions for leaks, pneumatics, and venting, noting that AER's approach to leak detection and venting limits results in lower overall reductions than the ECCC framework.

Germany ranks first among G20 OECD member countries in the G20 Scorecard of Fossil Fuel Funding, with an overall score of 71/100. While the country has reduced overall fossil fuel support by 35% compared to the 2014–2016 average—driven by the end of hard coal mining subsidies in 2018 and plans to phase out lignite by 2038—it continues to provide USD 2.6 billion annually for fossil fuel consumption in industry and transport. This consumption support is primarily delivered through tax relief for diesel and exemptions for aviation and shipping.

The research assesses offsetting schemes, emissions trading schemes (ETS), and climate levies against four criteria: effectiveness, non-discrimination (NMFT), common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR-RC), and administrative burden. The authors conclude that a climate levy is the most suitable instrument because it provides the highest investment certainty for ship owners, has lower transaction costs than trading schemes, and allows for revenue redistribution to support impacted states. The paper urges the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a robust carbon price quickly due to the long lifespan of ships currently being built.

The document evaluates the 2018 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted to the UN's High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It finds that while countries are better adhering to reporting guidelines and focusing more on the principle of 'leaving no one behind,' they still largely ignore other transformative principles of the 2030 Agenda. Additionally, the report notes a concerning lack of transparency regarding the closing of civic space and attacks on human rights and environmental defenders despite some increased engagement with civil society.