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The document examines the infrastructure financing gap in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the distinct needs of low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs). While MDBs provide low-interest loans and technical expertise, they face competition from private financiers and bilateral investors. LICs struggle with indebtedness and declining official development assistance, often resorting to expensive private loans, whereas MICs leverage domestic markets and attract more private investment. Common challenges across the continent include a lack of technical skills for public-private partnerships, a reliance on single commodities, and overly bureaucratic MDB approval processes. The author concludes that MDBs must move away from treating Africa as a monolith and instead adopt country-specific strategies.

The World Resources Institute highlights the Paris Agreement as a critical turning point in global climate action, noting increased support from cities, companies, and investors. The statement emphasizes that nearly 50 countries have committed to a 100% renewable energy future and urges the United States to remain in the agreement, citing strong domestic public support and the alignment of its international allies.

The U.S. carpet industry is characterized by high waste, with 89% of discarded carpets ending up in landfills and 6% being incinerated. Despite the existence of the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), only 1% of carpet waste is recycled back into carpet in a closed loop. The report argues that major manufacturers, particularly Shaw and Mohawk, engage in greenwashing and actively lobby against Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation to maintain a wasteful linear model. In California, the AB 2398 law has failed to achieve meaningful recycling increases because it relies on consumer fees rather than producer funding, and is administered by CARE, which the report claims is under the influence of the industry's largest players.

The document identifies significant gaps in how the European Commission and other stakeholders report on fish stocks and TACs, noting that current methods often fail to track management progress toward MSY and rely on incomplete data. It recommends that the Commission's Article 50 report include direct comparisons between TACs and scientific advice, cover all harvested species regardless of data availability, and explicitly report on biomass levels alongside fishing mortality. The briefing also highlights the need for standardized labeling and clearer methodology across various reports to avoid ambiguous or misleading conclusions about whether stocks are 'fished sustainably'.

The assessment finds Senegal's mining framework to be of medium strength, noting a clear permitting process and efforts to formalize artisanal mining, but highlighting significant gaps in the distribution of mining revenues to local communities, weak environmental enforcement, and the continued prevalence of child labour and mercury use in the informal sector.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) proposes that Vermont could leverage an initial $7 million public investment into $148 million of total clean energy investment over 15 years. This expanded financing capacity would support nearly 50 MW of new solar and wind power, save homes and businesses $14.6 million annually on electricity bills, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 111,500 tons by 2031. The report details existing Vermont programs—such as Efficiency Vermont, PACE financing, and the Clean Energy Development Fund—and suggests a more comprehensive, coordinated public-private financing initiative to meet the state's long-term goal of 90% renewable energy and efficiency by 2050.

The report argues that the EU ETS's 'carbon leakage' rules have allowed heavy industry to generate over €25 billion in windfall profits from 2008 to 2015. It claims that free allocation of pollution permits has cost governments at least €143 billion in lost auctioning revenues, reduced incentives for efficiency, and lacks empirical evidence of actual carbon leakage. The document calls for phasing out free allocations and establishing a Just Transition Fund to support impacted communities.

The Center for International Environmental Law states that COP22 showed a continued commitment to the Paris Agreement, but overall progress was slow and current commitments are too low to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. The document highlights the leadership of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) in committing to 100% renewable energy by 2030 or 2050, while calling for historic polluters to provide necessary funding and for governments to strengthen public accountability and human rights obligations in climate action.

The document examines the potential for private climate finance in Rwanda, noting that while the government has prioritized private investment in policy, a strong enabling environment for adaptation has not yet been created. It identifies significant barriers including high credit costs (interest rates up to 20%), landlocked geography, and inadequate electricity supply. The brief concludes that foreign direct investment is currently negligible and suggests that efforts should instead focus on empowering local Rwandan businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, through tailored incentives and increased awareness of climate risks and opportunities.

The report finds that public finance for REDD+ objectives in Côte d’Ivoire is severely insufficient, with 2015 investments of FCFA 16.8 billion representing a small fraction of the estimated FCFA 173 billion annual need for the 2030 forest cover target. A significant amount of public funding (FCFA 84.2 billion) is classified as 'grey finance'—agricultural intensification that lacks safeguards and may drive deforestation. The analysis highlights critical gaps in national planning, underfunding of land-use planning and land tenure, and institutional weaknesses in agencies like SODEFOR. It argues that 'greening' existing agricultural finance and creating a National REDD+ Fund could significantly increase aligned investment.

The United States Mid-Century Strategy (MCS) provides a roadmap for deep decarbonization by 2050, focusing on three primary pillars: transitioning to a low-carbon energy system, enhancing the land carbon sink, and reducing non-CO2 emissions. The strategy emphasizes a combination of aggressive energy efficiency, near-complete decarbonization of the electricity grid, and the deployment of carbon removal technologies like BECCS. It argues that these goals are compatible with robust economic growth and suggests that a carbon price starting at $20 per metric ton in 2017 could put energy CO2 emissions on a consistent pathway. The report also highlights the critical role of U.S. forests and soils in sequestering carbon and the necessity of international cooperation to drive down technology costs and prevent emissions leakage.

The document examines the impacts of 'dirty energy' (coal, oil, gas, nuclear, industrial biomass, mega-dams, and waste incineration) across Africa. It highlights how these technologies drive climate change, cause severe health and environmental damage, and often benefit elites and multinational corporations over local populations. The report provides case studies on coal in South Africa, oil in Nigeria and Uganda, mega-dams in Mozambique, and the risks of 'extreme energy' like fracking and bitumen extraction in the Maghreb and Nigeria. It concludes by calling for 'energy sovereignty' and a just transition to decentralized, renewable energy systems.

The EU-Turkey deal significantly reduced sea crossings to Greece but shifted smuggling activities toward air travel and document fraud in Istanbul. While the deal provided temporary 'breathing space,' the paper argues it is unsustainable due to Turkey's internal political instability, economic pressures from hosting 2.75 million refugees, and the lack of a credible EU alternative.

One year after the Paris Agreement's adoption, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) finds that national climate policies have made little progress. If NDCs are fully implemented, global warming by 2100 is estimated at 2.8°C, while current policies would lead to 3.6°C. A significant emissions gap remains for 2025 and 2030. The report highlights specific national trajectories, noting that most assessed NDCs are inadequate or medium in ambition, with particular concerns regarding the US, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, while noting positive renewable energy growth in India.

The document examines the vulnerability of Southern Africa's livestock sector to increasing temperatures and erratic rainfall, highlighting the severe impact of the 2015/2016 drought. It argues that while regional frameworks like the SADC Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan exist, implementation remains sporadic and donor-driven. The author advocates for a shift toward indigenous, drought-tolerant breeds—such as Nguni cattle—and the implementation of dedicated support systems for small-scale farmers to ensure food security and sustainable production.

The document examines South Africa's response to the 2015/2016 drought, the worst in 35 years, noting a systemic tendency toward remedial rather than preventative action. It highlights critical gaps in meteorological data gathering due to theft and vandalism of monitoring stations, and the failure of many municipalities to adopt water conservation strategies. The authors propose the adoption of a national drought policy, the updating of computer-generated operating rules for water supply, and the use of citizen-science data repositories to enhance forecasting capabilities.

The study evaluates the Netherlands' progress toward the Paris Agreement's goals across the power, transport, buildings, industry, and agriculture sectors, concluding that while the country leads in electric vehicle sales, it lags in renewable energy supply and requires substantially strengthened climate policy to meet its obligations as a developed nation.

The document examines the tension between WTO non-discrimination rules and national climate policies, such as renewable energy subsidies and carbon pricing. It analyzes recent WTO disputes over local content requirements and proposes solutions including authoritative interpretations of GATT Article XX, the use of regional trade agreements (RTAs) to test new rules, and increased institutional coordination between the WTO and UNFCCC.

Mozambique possesses high agricultural potential but remains a net food importer due to low productivity and high climate vulnerability. The report identifies four primary areas for improvement: simplifying bureaucratic tax administration to reduce investment costs, developing public financial incentives and public-private partnerships (PPPs) to mitigate risk for farmers, prioritizing critical infrastructure in energy and irrigation, and enhancing revenue-sharing mechanisms to protect natural resources. It highlights that administrative delays and high interest rates (often over 20%) are more significant barriers than tax rates themselves. The document also emphasizes the need for better community consultation in PPPs and the implementation of a more transparent fiscal rule for sharing extractive industry royalties with local communities.

The National Energy Transition Strategy (NETS) for Saint Lucia identifies an optimal energy portfolio consisting of solar, wind, energy storage, energy efficiency, and existing diesel generation. This combination is projected to reduce diesel expenditures by 42% and carbon emissions by 40% by 2025. The report emphasizes that utility ownership generally leads to lower customer rates and that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective resource for minimizing system costs. While geothermal energy offers significant base-load potential, its viability depends on concessional financing and successful exploration. The strategy also highlights the need for regulatory reform, specifically decoupling utility revenues from sales to incentivize energy efficiency and avoiding 'rate shock' associated with certain independent power producer (IPP) arrangements.