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A WRI study identifies fragmented governance, uneven technical capacity, and limited localized data and finance as primary obstacles to effective climate adaptation in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. The report argues that adaptation must be a 'two-way process' where national resources support local implementation and local priorities inform national decisions. Key recommendations include establishing binding coordination mechanisms, providing differentiated technical support to under-resourced municipalities, and integrating adaptation criteria into fiscal transfers and budgeting systems to unlock finance.

The UBIC coalition demands the resignation of South African Minister of Social Development Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe following allegations of financial misconduct and improper hiring. The coalition argues that these scandals distract from urgent poverty alleviation efforts, specifically the finalisation of basic income support and Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant policies.

The document analyzes the socioenvironmental governance of Indonesia's nickel sector, highlighting the high carbon intensity of laterite processing and the significant ecological and social risks associated with HPAL technology. It identifies critical gaps in the regulatory framework, particularly regarding the lack of mandatory free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples and insufficient public access to water quality monitoring data.

The document assesses the UN climate regime's transition into an 'implementation era' following the completion of the Paris Agreement Rulebook. It identifies systemic inefficiencies, including a predominance of procedural over substantive decisions, overlapping mandates of constituted bodies, and significant funding gaps for developing countries. The authors argue that the regime is hindered by a de facto veto system based on consensus and the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists. Key recommendations include streamlining negotiation agendas, adopting formal voting rules, formally closing the Kyoto Protocol, and integrating the UNFCCC with other Rio Conventions to address the root causes of the climate crisis.

The document identifies a critical mismatch between World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and climate objectives, noting that existing trade frameworks do not recognize emissions as an organizing criterion and that intellectual property laws under the TRIPS Agreement hinder the diffusion of green technologies. It highlights a governance gap where climate-trade issues fall between the market-access focus of the WTO and the emissions-reduction focus of the UNFCCC, often leading to unilateral measures like the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Additionally, the report notes a knowledge gap regarding the distributional impacts of trade-climate measures on least developed and commodity-dependent countries, particularly in Africa where emissions measurements in land use and agriculture are uncertain. To ensure a just transition, the authors advocate for a multilateral approach that prioritizes development, structural transformation, and the treatment of climate technologies as global public goods.

The document examines Indonesia's Just Transition (JT) agenda, primarily driven by the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). While a comprehensive framework exists on paper, implementation is hindered by governance restructuring, a narrow focus on the energy sector, inadequate financing for social components, and significant data gaps. The author argues for expanding JT principles across all economic sectors, strengthening subnational capacity, and increasing grant-based financing to ensure an equitable shift to a low-carbon economy.

The report examines how digital technical standards—rules ensuring interoperability and scalability of ICTs—are created and governed. It highlights a fragmented landscape where developing countries face barriers such as limited resources, intellectual property restrictions, and geopolitical competition between the US, EU, and China. The document analyzes the role of the WTO, regional trade agreements (PTAs, DEAs, DTAs), and various standards development organizations (SDOs), recommending that developing countries prioritize open development processes and collaborative engagement to bridge the 'standardization gap'.

The report analyzes how the 'Omnibus I' law, presented on February 26, 2025, by Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, rolls back key environmental and social protections. It details a significant imbalance in the consultation process, where the vast majority of meetings were held with private economic interests while civil society was largely excluded. A specific case study highlights how the French asset management lobby successfully pushed for the removal of a clause that would have required the Commission to study the necessity of regulating financial services under the CSDDD.

The report finds that Basrah City's sanitation and waste systems suffer from critical infrastructure gaps, with minimal resource recovery despite high potential. While over 90% of solid waste is recyclable or compostable, most is landfilled or dumped. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is rated as having 'medium maturity' nationally but remains underdeveloped in Basrah, particularly regarding finance and specialized support. Opportunities for circularity exist in planned infrastructure upgrades, such as the Hamdan Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Al-Nakheila waste complex, and in the emerging demand for treated wastewater in agriculture.

The report identifies systemic governance challenges in Tanzania, including tensions over the union structure between the Mainland and Zanzibar, executive dominance over the judiciary and legislature, and restrictive laws curtailing civic space and media freedom. It highlights significant barriers to justice for marginalised groups, high youth unemployment, and extreme vulnerability to climate change, while calling for constitutional reform, enhanced public financial accountability, and the protection of human rights.

The briefing argues that South Africa's economic growth is contingent upon strengthening political institutions, professionalising the public service, and enhancing electoral accountability. It calls for a cohesive foreign policy to restore regional leadership within SADC and the AfCFTA, a decisive plan to combat corruption and gender-based violence, and the effective operationalisation of the Climate Change Act through local government reform and private-public partnerships.

The document outlines key decisions from COP16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB), focusing on the integration of biodiversity with climate action, public health, and marine protection. It highlights the adoption of the Global Action Plan on Biodiversity and Health, the establishment of the Cali Fund for genetic resource benefit-sharing, and new governance structures for indigenous peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendants. The brief also emphasizes the need for continued technical and scientific support to implement these decisions within national biodiversity strategies.

The research paper examines the water crisis in Johannesburg, attributing it to a combination of municipal capacity constraints, corruption, and a national government strategy of fiscal consolidation that undermines constitutional obligations to provide basic services.

The 2025 City Profiling Report for Cape Town describes a city with strong institutional governance and high service delivery standards relative to other SADC cities, yet one plagued by deep structural inequality and chronic traffic congestion. While the city maintains a clean audit record and high human development indices, it faces significant challenges in youth unemployment, informal settlement growth, and climate vulnerability, particularly regarding water scarcity and fire risk.

The report provides a comprehensive profile of Luanda, highlighting its rapid population growth, extreme economic inequality, and a highly centralised governance structure. While the city has benefited from oil wealth, significant service delivery gaps persist, particularly in housing, water, and sanitation for those in informal settlements. The report notes that Luanda is one of the most congested cities globally and faces increasing climate risks, including flooding and sea-level rise.

The report details a year of significant friction in global environmental governance, where geopolitical fragmentation and a UN liquidity crisis hindered consensus on critical issues like fossil fuel phase-out and a plastics treaty. Despite these setbacks, it highlights successes in ozone recovery, the growth of renewable energy, and the establishment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution. It emphasizes the need for synergies between multilateral environmental agreements and a shift toward more accountable, integrated national reporting to improve efficiency amid shrinking budgets.

The report evaluates 52 community-managed areas (CMAs) across Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania using the Elinor tool. It finds that while 30% of CMAs have made substantial progress toward equitable governance, 40% are in early stages and 30% have made minimal progress. Key challenges include weak operational capacity, limited funding, and gaps in inclusive decision-making. The report argues that secure tenure and clearly defined rights are essential precursors to effective management and positive ecological and social outcomes.

The document examines the governance gaps surrounding solar radiation modification (SRM), warning that the current dominance of Global North institutions and private entities creates a risk of unilateral deployment. It advocates for the UNFCCC to formally engage with SRM to democratize decision-making and prevent the exacerbation of global inequalities.

The report analyzes the roles of Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt as transit and destination hubs for migrants moving from sub-Saharan Africa toward Europe. It highlights a systemic tension between the European Union's focus on border externalization and the African Union's goal of regional free movement. In Libya, state fragmentation has allowed smuggling networks and militias to control migration routes, leading to severe human rights abuses. Tunisia has seen a surge in sub-Saharan migrants and relies heavily on EU-funded border security despite lacking a national asylum policy. Egypt hosts approximately nine million migrants and maintains a more stable governance structure, though it has recently implemented stricter visa restrictions for Sudanese nationals. The report argues that current securitized approaches often drive migrants toward riskier routes and recommends a shift toward human rights, economic development, and the ratification of the AU Free Movement Protocol.

The report analyzes the complex landscape of African migration governance, highlighting the role of the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in promoting free movement and regional integration. It identifies significant gaps between the adoption of policy frameworks—such as the 1991 Abuja Treaty and the 2018 Free Movement Protocol—and their actual implementation. The document emphasizes the growing impact of climate change as a driver of mobility and the risks posed by the increasing use of immigration detention. It concludes that while subregional progress exists, overlapping memberships in RECs and a lack of compliance monitoring hinder the achievement of a borderless continent.