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The paper examines the potential for mining to coexist with environmental preservation in Botswana's Okavango Delta. It highlights the economic pressure on Botswana to diversify away from declining diamond revenues by utilizing iron-ore, copper, and coal deposits. While acknowledging the environmental risks to the Delta—which is also threatened by upstream irrigation in Angola and Namibia, population growth, and poaching—the author suggests that mining companies can be allies in conservation. This is supported by the reputational risks associated with the Delta's World Heritage status and the regulatory oversight of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the International Finance Corporation. The document advocates for a governance model based on cooperation, land-use planning, and community engagement to ensure mining provides the capital and employment necessary to sustain the region's long-term ecological and tourism value.

The document outlines how the U.S. economy can benefit from reducing greenhouse gas emissions in electric generation, electricity consumption, passenger vehicles, natural gas, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It highlights cost savings for consumers and businesses, the decreasing cost of renewable energy and electric vehicle batteries, and the potential for increased industry revenues through methane leak reduction.

The report identifies a portfolio of low-carbon opportunities for the European steel sector, ranging from energy efficiency and fuel shifting to breakthrough technologies like Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and increased recycling. It argues that current EU ETS mechanisms, particularly free allocation based on historic volumes, fail to provide sufficient incentives for deep decarbonisation and high-value product innovation. The authors recommend a structural reform of leakage protection, specifically proposing a combination of output-based allocation and the inclusion of consumption in the EU ETS to create a credible business case for breakthrough technologies and material efficiency. The report also emphasizes the need for sustained public funding for process innovation to overcome the 'valley of death' in technology scaling and suggests strengthening links between steel producers and downstream consumers, particularly in the automotive and construction sectors, to drive demand for lightweight, high-strength steels.

The document examines Gevo's GIFT platform, which converts corn sugars into isobutanol for use as a fuel additive or chemical feedstock. It highlights that achieving 'advanced biofuel' certification from the US EPA is critical for the technology's commercial success, as the product would otherwise be only marginally better than ethanol in terms of carbon impact. The report notes significant financial instability at Gevo, including a risk of insolvency and potential delisting from the NASDAQ. Economically, retrofitting an ethanol refinery with GIFT and a combined heat and power (CHP) system would increase capital requirements by approximately 60%. Additional risks include past process contamination at a Minnesota plant, ongoing patent litigation with Butamax, and the emergence of potentially cheaper ethanol-to-butanol conversion technologies.

The report outlines a new business model for Fort Collins Utilities that bundles energy efficiency and solar PV services into integrated packages. It recommends a hybrid approach using auto-enrollment (opt-out) for a basic package, financed via on-bill repayment mechanisms such as on-bill tariffs and energy service charges. RMI's analysis suggests the model could support 90% of residential building emissions reductions and generate net income for the utility. The document details a pilot project for 200–300 homes to test customer demand, financial viability, and operational infrastructure before a city-wide rollout.

The document examines the BRICS contingent reserve arrangement (CRA), a US$100bn pool designed to provide liquidity during balance of payments or short-term liquidity crises. While the CRA serves as a political challenge to the perceived undemocratic structure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it also provides an 'Argentinian floor' to prevent total currency collapse during market volatility, such as that caused by US Federal Reserve tapering.

The document identifies significant productivity gaps in Africa's oil palm sector compared to Southeast Asia, citing low yields and inefficient extraction. It proposes closing the yield gap, improving oil extraction rates (OER), and implementing outgrower schemes to reduce dependence on imports. The author argues that capturing downstream value, such as biodiesel and oleochemicals, requires private sector investment facilitated by government land reforms and the establishment of a marketing board to ensure quality standards for export markets.

The document argues that climate change is creating warmer, drier conditions in the western United States, leading to longer fire seasons and more frequent large wildfires. This environmental shift, combined with increased development in fire-prone areas and a federal management bias toward fire suppression over proactive risk reduction, has caused firefighting costs to exceed $1 billion annually since 2000. The report highlights significant secondary costs, including infrastructure damage, public health crises from smoke, and watershed rehabilitation. It recommends stricter zoning laws, carbon emission reductions, and a shift in funding toward long-term forest health and community resilience.

The report examines why land rental markets in Brazil are underdeveloped compared to international standards, noting that only 3.3% of cultivated land was under lease or partnership agreements in the last Agricultural Census. It identifies legal imperfections—such as non-negotiable contract clauses, rent ceilings, and minimum contract durations—as primary deterrents to market growth. The document argues that deregulating these markets would allow for more efficient land use, specifically suggesting that over 40 million hectares of degraded pasture outside the Amazon could be converted to sugarcane production to increase agricultural value and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report finds that Brazil's land rental markets are significantly underdeveloped compared to North America and Europe, with only 3.3% of agricultural land under lease or sharecropping. This inefficiency is attributed to insecure property rights and a rigid legal framework, primarily the 1964 Land Statute, which imposes non-renounceable clauses to protect renters. The authors argue that these regulations are outdated for today's more capitalized farmers and that deregulation could boost agricultural productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by facilitating the conversion of degraded pastureland to sugarcane production.

The document examines South Africa's struggle to transition from a high-carbon, coal-based energy economy to a green economy. It analyzes the role of the state-owned utility Eskom, the impact of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP), and various financial and regulatory incentives designed to attract private investment in renewables. The author argues that while policy signals are positive, a lack of inter-departmental coordination and the entrenched nature of the minerals-energy complex hinder the transition.

CIEL argues that TTIP would allow the chemical industry to weaken safety regulations and limit access to critical health and safety data. The statement highlights the divergence between the U.S. risk-based approach and the EU's hazard-based REACH system, asserting that regulatory harmonization would likely result in lower standards. CIEL also warns that Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms would enable corporations to bypass domestic courts and challenge public interest laws, creating a 'regulatory chilling effect'.

The policy brief examines the critical role of dryland forests in Africa, which cover 61% of the continent and support 60% of its population. It argues that these ecosystems are chronically undervalued in national economic planning and suffer from a history of centralized management that alienated rural communities. The author contends that sustainable management requires devolving rights and responsibilities to the local level, legally entrenching community tenure, and investing in the real economic value of non-timber forest products to ensure conservation is more profitable than degradation.

The document argues that South Africa's mining competitiveness is declining, as evidenced by its 64th place ranking in the 2013 Fraser Institute Survey. It highlights a shift toward partnerships between Chinese state-owned enterprises and the South African Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), such as the acquisition of Palabora Mining Company. The author warns that these opaque arrangements may favor 'predators'—politically connected opportunists—over 'producers' who adhere to the rule of law, potentially leading to revenue mismanagement and asset stripping.

The document analyzes the stalled negotiations of the SADC EPA, focusing on export taxes, the Most Favored Nation clause, agricultural safeguards, and rules of origin. It argues that the EU should make strategic concessions on these points to avoid straining diplomatic relations and to support African industrialization.

South Africa's FDI environment is characterized by a transition from a liberal, open-door policy to a regime that prioritizes domestic socio-economic benefits, such as fighting unemployment and promoting inclusive growth. While the country offers a strategic gateway to the SADC region and possesses strong mining, finance, and retail sectors, it faces challenges in attracting manufacturing FDI due to high labor costs, technical skills shortages, and infrastructure constraints. Recent trends show volatile FDI flows, with a shift toward investments from developing Asia, though greenfield investment remains persistently low compared to mergers and acquisitions.

The report analyzes data from 4,293 surveys of oil and gas facilities to determine the economic viability of LDAR programs. It finds that while many individual facilities may experience a net cost, the aggregate abatement cost for gas plants and compressor stations is negative (net benefit), and remains very low for well sites. The study concludes that the vast majority of leaks are economic to repair once identified, and that increasing survey frequency further reduces emissions while keeping abatement costs relatively low.

The report examines India's energy subsidy regime, highlighting the significant fiscal burden of fuel subsidies, which cost an average of 1.4 per cent of GDP since FY 2008. It details policy shifts in diesel, LPG, kerosene, and natural gas markets, noting that while the government has pursued incremental price increases for diesel and consumption caps for LPG, currency depreciation and high international oil prices have maintained high under-recoveries. The document also analyzes the regressive nature of these subsidies, their impact on the trucking industry, and the inefficiencies of subsidized agricultural electricity, which encourages groundwater depletion. It recommends transitioning toward market-based pricing, targeted cash transfers, and structural improvements in transport and irrigation management.

The document examines the expansion of transport infrastructure in central and northern Mozambique, driven largely by foreign investment in the mining and energy sectors. It argues that while public-private partnerships could improve connectivity, the current trend of foreign companies building infrastructure for their own export needs risks creating 'enclave' developments with limited trickle-down benefits for local populations. The authors highlight a lack of coherent state planning, weak local capacity, and regional frictions—particularly with South Africa—that hinder the potential for these projects to foster genuine regional integration and national economic growth.

The Simandou Mountain Range in Guinea contains a major 'tier-one' iron ore deposit, but production has been delayed by legal disputes and infrastructure gaps. The document details a contentious history of mining rights involving Rio Tinto and Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR), including an FBI probe into alleged bribery. It argues that building a new 700 km railway to Conakry is prohibitively expensive and suggests instead refurbishing the 350 km Lamco rail link through Liberia to Buchanan to accelerate production and foster regional economic integration.