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The We Mean Business coalition outlines eight key policy asks for the COP21 Paris Agreement to ensure the transition to a low carbon economy is "inevitable, irreversible and irresistible." The brief argues that a clear, ambitious legal framework is essential to provide the policy certainty businesses and investors need to allocate capital toward decarbonization. Key recommendations include a long-term goal of net zero emissions well before the end of the century, five-year cycles for strengthening national commitments, the adoption of meaningful carbon pricing, and the scaling of climate finance beyond the USD$100 billion annual pledge. The document also emphasizes the need for transparency, high-ambition national commitments, political parity between mitigation and adaptation, and enhanced private sector engagement in pre-2020 ambition through Workstream 2.

The paper explores the use of section 111 of the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants and industrial facilities, which account for half of the country's total emissions. It highlights the flexibility available to states to implement market-based emissions-trading mechanisms rather than traditional source-specific limitations. However, it notes specific design challenges for cap-and-trade programs under federal guidelines, such as restrictions on offsets and uncertainties regarding trading between different source categories.

The research examines how international investment law may either obstruct or support the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), arguing that CDM rules must be designed to align with existing legal frameworks and that investment agreements should permit countries to prioritize multilateral environmental agreements.

The research examines how contractual frameworks for coal-fired power plants in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam create financial barriers to early retirement, noting that host countries risk onerous fines from arbitration courts if they break contracts to meet climate targets.

The report argues that while new federal legislation will eventually be necessary to achieve the 80 percent emissions reductions needed to mitigate severe climate impacts, the U.S. Administration can meet its 2020 commitment of reducing emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels through 'go-getter' actions. Key opportunities include using the Clean Air Act to target power plants and natural gas systems, and utilizing the Montreal Protocol and the Clean Air Act to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). State-level actions in energy efficiency, renewables, and transportation are also identified as essential complements to federal efforts.

Following a 2007 Supreme Court ruling and a 2009 EPA finding that greenhouse gases (GHGs) endanger public health and welfare, the EPA is positioned to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act. Potential regulatory paths include emission performance standards for motor vehicles and performance or technology standards for stationary sources like power plants and factories. While such regulations may increase production costs for some manufacturers, they could lower consumer costs through improved fuel and electricity efficiency. The document notes that EPA action could overlap or conflict with future congressional legislation unless statutory authority is clearly defined.

The paper argues that women in Tanzania and Mozambique are disproportionately harmed by large-scale land investments in agribusiness, extractives, and logging due to a lack of formal land rights and their subordinate roles in society. It finds that current legal frameworks fail to protect women, who are often bypassed in compensation payments and excluded from decision-making processes. The authors recommend mandating compensation for all household members, ensuring replacement land is held jointly, and implementing gender quotas in governance bodies to ensure women's meaningful participation.

The paper argues that a post-2012 climate agreement should be legally binding but allow for a diverse range of commitment forms and content, subject to differentiated review. It highlights that while specific, binding commitments generally lead to better environmental outcomes and may provide preferential access to carbon markets or avoid trade sanctions, developing country major economies face unique pressures to match the commitment levels of industrialized nations.

The document examines the nexus between environmental crime and climate change, arguing that illegal activities such as deforestation, marine pollution, and waste trafficking impair the ability of natural ecosystems to sequester carbon and withstand climate impacts. It highlights a gap where climate change is largely absent from criminal justice systems, and environmental crime is missing from the climate agenda. The paper proposes using the concept of 'public harm' and 'aggravating circumstances' to integrate climate impacts into prosecutorial and judicial decision-making. It also warns that climate change acts as a 'threat multiplier' that may drive new forms of criminality and increase pressure on justice infrastructure.

The Sustainable Landscape Finance Coalition's BMA Tax Incentive Incubator investigated the legal and practical requirements to implement a long-unused tax incentive under the Income Tax Act and NEMBA. The investigation concluded that all necessary 'building blocks' are present, leading to a pilot project (July 2021 – June 2022) focusing on rhino and lion conservation. The project aims to test the incentive with voluntary landowners to offset conservation management costs, with estimated economic benefits growing from R1.4 million per annum in 2022 to R3.7 million by 2040.