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Finance for energy access in 20 high-impact countries remains significantly below the levels required to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 by 2030. While electricity finance reached a peak of USD 36 billion in 2017, only one-third benefited residential users. Clean cooking finance saw a dramatic 73% drop in 2017 compared to the 2015-16 average. The report highlights a critical under-investment in Sub-Saharan Africa and a reliance on large-scale grid projects over decentralized solutions. It also examines the specific barriers faced by women and displaced persons and explores innovative financing mechanisms like Result Based Financing and securitization to bridge the investment gap.

The statement evaluates the conclusion of COP24, noting that while negotiations were contentious, they established a foundation for the Paris Agreement's rulebook and set the stage for updated national climate commitments by 2020. It highlights progress on the Adaptation Fund and the agreement to set a new post-2020 finance goal, while criticizing the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait for opposing the IPCC 1.5°C report. The author emphasizes that the world has not yet begun to aggressively reduce global emissions and calls for bold action from heads of state.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) has failed to improve air quality since its 2007 declaration, leaving residents in breach of their constitutional right to a healthy environment. The CER highlights that the 2012 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) remains a mere guideline due to a lack of implementing regulations and the granting of 'rolling postponements' for minimum emission standards to major polluters like Eskom and Sasol. The CER demands the publication of enforcement regulations, a final Mid-Term Review of the AQMP, and a cessation of emission standard postponements to meet the 2020 goal of reducing industrial emissions.

The document outlines the state of Perú's green economy transition, noting that while the public sector has been slowed by political turmoil and corruption, the private sector—particularly green SMEs—is emerging as a driver for change. It identifies critical barriers for green businesses, including limited access to finance, a lack of labeling standards, and tax systems that favor 'brown' businesses. The text emphasizes the need for better alignment of scattered initiatives and the potential for international cooperation (via PAGE, GIZ, and GGGI) to help implement a national green growth plan.

The NDC Update Report November 2018 examines the 'Ambition' of governments in implementing the Paris Agreement. Based on a survey of 92 policymakers and experts, the report finds that while confidence in initial NDC implementation is high, there is a critical lack of long-term strategic planning. It argues that focusing solely on first-round NDCs is insufficient, as the Paris Agreement requires a transition to net zero emissions. The report advocates for a 'whole of government' approach and the development of long-term visions to guide sector transformation, financial shifts from 'brown to green' investments, and more ambitious second-round pledges in 2020.

The document argues for a shift from simply mobilizing 'climate finance' to ensuring all investments are 'Paris-aligned', meaning they actively support limiting global warming to well below 2°C. It compares MDB eligibility typologies against a framework of 'aligned', 'misaligned', and 'conditional' investments. Analysis of energy and transport sectors shows that while about half of MDB typologies are aligned, two-thirds of the remainder are only conditionally aligned, necessitating stricter benchmarks and fuel-specific criteria to avoid carbon lock-in.

The report describes Poland as an EU laggard in energy transition due to an unprecedented dependency on coal and a lack of up-to-date energy strategy. While the power sector is starting to diversify through new RES auctions and gas-fired installations, the report highlights significant challenges, including the '10H rule' blocking onshore wind and a history of poor EU law transposition. It argues that the EU Clean Energy Package and rising carbon costs are key drivers that could accelerate the transition if supported by a stable national legal framework.

The report evaluates Italy's transposition of EU IUU and Control Regulations, finding that while enforcement activities are active, the legal framework contains gaps in the definition of 'serious infringements' and the application of immediate enforcement measures. It highlights a trend toward decriminalization of certain fishing offenses, though it notes the successful use of environmental criminal law to prosecute severe ecosystem damage. The document also identifies a lack of public transparency regarding inspection and sanction data and raises concerns about Italian trawlers operating illegally off West Africa.

The report argues that Brazil can align economic growth with natural resource protection by intensifying production on underutilized pasture lands. It identifies three main directives for reform: improving risk management tools (insurance and derivatives), aligning rural credit with the 2012 Forest Code to incentivize environmental conservation, and simplifying the complex, public-sector-dominated credit system to increase private bank participation and predictability.

The document argues that Brazil can align economic growth with environmental protection by reforming its rural credit system to support the 2012 Forest Code. It identifies inefficiencies in the current credit design, such as annual planning horizons and a dominance of public banks, and proposes a phased transition toward risk management tools, private sector participation, and subsidies strictly tied to the provision of public environmental goods.

The report highlights a significant gap between current adaptation finance—totaling USD 22 billion annually in 2015-16—and the estimated USD 140 billion to USD 300 billion needed per year by 2030 for developing countries. It identifies context, business model, and internal capacity barriers that hinder private and public investment. To address these, the report recommends improving climate risk disclosure, harmonizing tracking methodologies, and deploying innovative financial instruments such as resilient infrastructure bonds and index insurance.

The After School Game Changer (ASGC) is a strategic coordination model in the Western Cape, South Africa, designed to prevent youth violence by enhancing the quality and accessibility of afterschool care. Rather than a single program, it acts as a mechanism to align government departments, NGOs, and the City of Cape Town to provide academic, sporting, and cultural activities for learners in low- and no-fee schools. The report argues that the ASGC functions as a violence prevention tool by disrupting risky behaviors through the social ecological model, focusing on individual, relationship, and community-level interventions. Key achievements include increasing the number of registered learners to 134,380 in 2017/18, though the report notes a lack of budget transparency and a need for better reporting on how the intervention specifically addresses violence risk factors.

The report identifies that the typical LCOE for well-run minigrids is at least $0.60 per kWh, which is too expensive for widespread use. It proposes six cost-reduction pathways—hardware standardization, demand stimulation, customer engagement, clustered project development, low-cost financing, and regulatory reform—to bring the LCOE down to $0.25 per kWh by 2020. The document also provides an investment roadmap to transition from grant funding to commercial debt.

The document argues that while there is significant global potential for policy coherence between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda, this must be translated into national-level implementation. Using the NDC-SDG Connections tool, the authors analyzed over 7,000 climate activities, finding strong synergies in energy, agriculture, and water. However, it warns that trade-offs—such as bioenergy competing with food security for land—are rarely documented in policy papers and must be proactively managed to avoid maladaptation.

The 2018 Lancet Countdown identifies extreme heat as the primary health concern globally, noting that 157 million more vulnerable people were exposed to heat waves in 2017 compared to 2000. In Canada, the report links air pollution from human activity to 7,142 premature deaths in 2015, with health impacts valued at $53.5 billion. The document advocates for carbon pricing, the phase-out of coal-fired power plants by 2030, and the integration of climate health into medical curricula.

The paper examines how the international linking of emissions trading systems (ETSs), which allows allowances to flow across borders and alter emission levels, should be accounted for under the Paris Agreement. Specifically, it focuses on the framework provided by Article 6.2 to ensure that such links are properly reflected in the achievement of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The document notes that the European Union and Switzerland intend to use Article 6.2 to account for their ETS link.

The document outlines why leading environmental groups oppose the NAFTA 2.0 deal, citing its failure to prevent pollution offshoring, its continued support for fossil fuel dependency, and the preservation of corporate rights to challenge environmental regulations.

The Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor 2018 evaluates G20 nations on their investment attractiveness for renewable energy and their long-term decarbonization strategies. France is ranked as the most attractive destination, while Russia ranks last. The report finds that most G20 countries lack binding long-term strategies and sufficient renewable energy targets to meet the Paris Agreement goals, although some previous stragglers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey are improving their policy environments.

The report finds that G20 countries are not on track to meet Paris Agreement goals, with energy-related CO2 emissions increasing again in 2017 and 82% of energy supply still coming from fossil fuels. It highlights significant gaps in sectoral actions—particularly in power, transport, and industry—and notes that fossil fuel subsidies in the G20 nearly doubled between 2007 and 2016. While some countries are implementing 'just transition' initiatives for workers, others lack dialogue or action.

The PRINCE project developed a hybrid model combining Swedish environmental and economic accounts with the Exiobase 3 multi-regional input-output model to track emissions and resource use across global supply chains driven by Swedish consumption. The project produced indicators for hazardous chemical products, food production, and identified 'hotspot' countries and product groups, while exploring various other environmental pressure indicators to ensure Swedish environmental improvements do not cause problems abroad.