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The document examines the economic, political, and governance challenges hindering Indonesia's transition away from coal, emphasizing the need for multi-level governance and social protections. It highlights the role of artificial price caps and political 'lock-in' as primary barriers, while noting a significant gap in planning capacity between national and subnational governments. The brief recommends establishing a Just Energy Transition Support Facility under Bappenas, implementing economic diversification for coal-dependent workers, and reforming electricity markets to eliminate coal subsidies and facilitate renewable energy integration.

The report evaluates Malawi's governance landscape across multiple sectors, highlighting systemic failures in human rights, education, health, and anti-corruption efforts. It details the country's vulnerability to climate change and the persistence of extreme poverty, while providing specific policy recommendations to align national practices with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) standards and international human rights treaties.

The report examines the environmental and socio-economic impacts of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) tailings, highlighting the widespread use of mercury and cyanide and the lack of formal governance frameworks. It argues for the creation of international and regional standards, the formalization of the ASGM sector, and the implementation of gender-sensitive policies to ensure sustainable tailings management and the potential recovery of critical minerals.

The report examines the critical issue of tailings management in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), highlighting the prevalence of hazardous chemicals like mercury and cyanide. It identifies a significant gap in international, regional, and national governance, noting that most frameworks lack specific provisions for ASGM tailings. The document advocates for the formalization of the sector, the creation of specific legal frameworks for tailings management, and the integration of gender-sensitive approaches to protect women and children. It also suggests exploring the potential of ASGM tailings as a source of critical minerals and encourages collaboration between ASGM and large-scale mining (LSM) to transfer technical expertise.

The document examines the governance challenges associated with the rising demand for critical minerals in Africa, highlighting the tension between developed nations' focus on supply security and African nations' goals for socio-economic development. It emphasizes that without responsible governance, the energy transition risks causing environmental harm and human rights violations. The author recommends the expedited implementation of the African Mining Vision (AMV) and calls for coordinated action among national governments, private sector companies, and civil society to ensure transparency and accountability.

The document examines the systemic failures in managing legal deforestation in Brazil's Matopiba region, highlighting the inefficiency of the Sinaflor system and the lack of transparency in ASV data. It argues that the current governance framework allows for significant underreporting of legal land conversion, which undermines the goal of zero deforestation by 2030 in the Cerrado biome.

The 2023 study found that none of the five water infrastructure investments in Garissa County were fully functional, with three partially functional and two non-functional. The primary drivers of failure were a lack of dedicated budgets for operations and maintenance (O&M), capacity gaps in local management, and limited early engagement with water institutions. The report recommends establishing sustainable financing mechanisms, integrating renewable energy to lower costs, and strengthening the technical and project management skills of local site committees.

The 2023 study found that only two of nine assessed water investments were fully functional, with many others limited by inadequate maintenance, vandalism, and resource-based conflicts. While community-led planning and local knowledge improved sustainability, the report highlights a need for dedicated maintenance financing, better technical siting, and genuine gender inclusivity in management committees.

A 2023 study of 12 water infrastructure investments in Kitui County, Kenya, found that 59% were functional or partially functional, while 16% were non-functional due to lack of maintenance. The report highlights that most investments failed to provide adequate water during dry seasons and suffered from insufficient funding for operations and maintenance. While local knowledge was integrated into planning via Ward Climate Change Planning Committees, the study recommends better integration of hydrogeological data, landscape restoration, and institutionalised project audits to ensure long-term sustainability.

A 2023 longitudinal study of 23 water infrastructure projects in Wajir County, Kenya, found that boreholes are significantly more resilient to climate shocks than water pans, which accounted for all non-functional projects. While community involvement in planning fostered ownership, the study identified critical gaps in technical capacity for maintenance, a lack of climate information during the design phase, and a failure to budget for ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

The 2024 state of global environmental governance is characterized by a 'polycrisis' of geopolitical tension, climate disasters, and economic instability. While some progress was made in Indigenous Peoples' participation and the establishment of the Cali Fund for biodiversity, major negotiations on plastic pollution and chemicals failed to reach landmarks. Climate finance remains a central point of contention, with the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) of USD 300 billion per year by 2035 falling short of developing countries' expectations. The report highlights a growing trend of environmental litigation at global courts and the persistent challenge of 'siloed' governance, where the three Rio Conventions operate independently despite the interconnected nature of climate, biodiversity, and land degradation.

The research paper defines a 'transition effective state' as one capable of identifying and solving community-priority problems through co-production—a collaborative process where affected citizens are active partners in policy design. Evaluating South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET), the authors find that current state capabilities are low because the government relies on 'tick-box' public participation and 'isomorphic mimicry' of international best practices rather than locally-driven solutions. Fieldwork in Mpumalanga reveals critical policy gaps, including the invisibility of the informal coal value-chain, the loss of community services provided by Eskom and mines, and water scarcity. The paper concludes that rigid budgeting and entrenched administrative habits hinder progress, recommending the development of detailed co-production guidelines and pilot projects focusing on water and community asset management.

The report examines the implementation of the Public Forest Management Law (LGFP) in the Amazon, highlighting that federal and state concessions have fallen short of 2006 targets. Focusing on Pará, the study identifies governance failures—including frequent annulment of bidding processes, non-concession of areas, and contract terminations—driven by poor technical capacity and restrictive legal limits on the size and number of areas a single company can manage. It recommends enhancing staff training and removing legal restrictions on concession scale to attract more qualified operators.

The document argues that existing governance structures are insufficient to manage the disruptive trade-offs of the green transition. It proposes 'eco-social contracts'—frameworks for action that integrate social and ecological guarantees—to rebuild trust between citizens and states. The report examines policy tools such as Green Deals, degrowth, and circular economy models, while advocating for deliberative democratic mechanisms like citizens' assemblies and participatory budgeting to create a legitimate mandate for systemic change.

The document examines the challenges of implementing border carbon adjustments (BCAs), focusing on the need for international cooperation to standardize embedded emissions calculations, determine geographical exemptions, establish credits for foreign climate policies, and decide on the use of revenues. It evaluates various multilateral, regional, and bilateral venues for these discussions, noting that while the WTO is a primary site of tension, substantial multilateral progress is currently lacking.

The document describes governance in the DR Congo as being dominated by rent-seeking elites and systemic corruption, particularly within the extractive industries. It highlights the failure of decentralisation efforts, where the central government in Kinshasa maintains control by withholding funds from provinces. Despite recent commitments from the presidency to combat corruption through the creation of the Agence de prévention et de lutte contre la corruption (APLC), the report notes that the country remains an 'anocracy' with a significant gap between nominal electoral practices and substantive liberal democracy.

The report argues that corporate interests have systematically captured CBD processes to avoid stringent regulation and protect profits. It details how business lobby groups, such as Business for Nature and the WBCSD, use tactics like 'multistakeholderism', the promotion of vague terms like 'Nature Positive', and the advocacy for voluntary reporting over mandatory impact reductions to shape the Global Biodiversity Framework. The document highlights the role of the CBD Secretariat in facilitating this access and warns that the resulting framework fails to address the underlying economic drivers of biodiversity loss.

The report provides a comprehensive framework for implementing the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA), which temporarily bans commercial fishing in the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean to prevent ecological disaster. It advocates for a precautionary approach, emphasizing the separation of scientific advice from political decision-making through tools like management procedures (MPs) and reference points. The document details best practices for quota allocation, monitoring and compliance (including 100% VMS and observer coverage), and the inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge. It further suggests that the CAOFA can serve as a broader experiment for Arctic governance, offering lessons on transparency, adaptive management, and the inclusion of non-Arctic states.

The Canadian Climate Institute outlines a framework for Canada's Emissions Reduction Plans based on the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. The framework consists of three core elements: establishing emissions pathways consistent with net zero, implementing policies that credibly reduce emissions, and creating responsive governance processes for course correction. The report provides illustrative sectoral pathways for 2026 and 2030, noting that the oil and gas sector exhibits the greatest variability and risk, while the electricity sector is well-positioned to meet targets. It emphasizes that reaching net zero will require sustained policy effort and a shift from historical emissions growth to strong annual declines in sectors such as buildings and transportation.

The Canadian Climate Institute outlines a three-pillar framework for Canada's emission reduction plans: establishing net-zero aligned emission trajectories, implementing credible policies with concrete measures, and creating responsive governance processes for continuous improvement. The report emphasizes the need for transparent modeling, sector-specific trajectories, and independent annual monitoring to fill gaps in the current legislative framework. It includes modeling for various sectors, noting that the oil and gas sector exhibits the highest variability and significantly influences the emissions budget for other sectors.