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The document details SEI's multi-scale approach to climate mitigation, focusing on sub-national policy for cities, the necessity of limiting fossil-fuel infrastructure to meet the 2°C target, and the strategic use of modern bioenergy in developing countries. It highlights the use of the LEAP system for low-carbon planning and describes ongoing efforts to integrate social variables into technical climate analysis.

The document outlines SEI's interdisciplinary approach to the water-energy-food nexus, emphasizing the need to integrate cross-sectoral interactions, ecosystem services, and multi-scale governance. It highlights the use of analytical tools like WEAP and LEAP to identify synergies and trade-offs in resource management. SEI advocates for participatory processes and the identification of policy 'entry points' to ensure scientific research translates into practical, sustainable solutions for resource scarcity.

The document details SEI's efforts to support sustainable urbanization through the development of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) tool, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission tracking frameworks, and the promotion of ecological sanitation. It highlights specific projects in cities such as Bangalore, Seattle, and Leeds, while emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement and the co-benefits of urban green infrastructure.

The document argues that conventional formal institution building is insufficient for sustainable development and calls for new collaborations between governments, civil society, and the private sector. It emphasizes the need to link livelihoods in low-income regions with consumption patterns in affluent regions and to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development planning to build resilience. SEI highlights various projects, including palm oil governance in Southeast Asia, Arctic resilience, and sanitation in East Africa, to illustrate the need for 'hybrid accountability' and 'institutional bricolage' in governance.

A briefing by the World Resources Institute (WRI) calling for ASEAN leadership to address recurring fires and haze, using high-resolution satellite data from Riau Province to highlight the scale of illegal burning on peatlands and within company concessions.

The briefing examines Senegal's vulnerability to religious radicalism following the crisis in Mali. It challenges the common perception that Sufi brotherhoods provide total immunity against extremism, highlighting risks such as youth unemployment, a dual education system, and the influence of Wahhabite and jihadist Salafism. The authors argue that the Senegalese government has not fully integrated the religious dimension into its security policy and recommends reforms to the educational system and increased regional intelligence cooperation.

The document identifies three recognized felling permits in Ghana: Timber Utilisation Contracts (TUCs), Salvage Permits (SPs), and Timber Utilisation Permits (TUPs), while distinguishing the Certificate of Purchase (CoP) as a proof of ownership rather than a felling permit. It emphasizes that TUCs, as grants of natural resource rights, require parliamentary ratification under the 1992 Constitution. The briefing warns that a provision in the Timber Resources Management Act (Amendment) Act 2002 may be unconstitutional if used to grant timber rights without such ratification. Finally, it notes that only TUCs, SPs, and CoPs are recognized as legal sources of timber under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) for export to the European Union.

The briefing explores how natural capital assessment (NCA) can help Indonesia resolve tensions between short-term economic gains and long-term environmental and social health. It highlights a 'window of opportunity' created by legal developments, such as Law No. 32/2009 and Constitutional Court ruling MK45, and the need for low-carbon development. The text details the principles of NCA—relevance, credibility, and legitimacy—and reviews technical tools like WRI's Suitability Mapper, which identified 3.3 million hectares of potentially suitable degraded land for oil palm in Central Kalimantan. It concludes that technical data alone is insufficient without the political will and commitment of local decision-makers to integrate these findings into spatial planning.

The document outlines the process for establishing formal arrangements between the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Following a mandate from COP 17 and subsequent actions at COP 18, the GCF Board is asked to review and forward these arrangements to the UNFCCC to ensure the Fund remains accountable to the COP in supporting projects and policies in developing countries.

The document identifies short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs)—including black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—as gases and particulates with atmospheric lifetimes of less than 20 years that contribute to approximately half of global warming. It argues that while CO2 reduction is vital for long-term stability, SLCP mitigation offers faster results to slow the rate of warming, particularly in sensitive regions like the Arctic and Himalayas. The text details the specific radiative forcing and warming potentials of these pollutants, their primary sources (such as oil and gas production and biomass burning), and the associated co-benefits for food security and public health.

CCORAL (Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation TooL) is an open-access online system developed by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) to help Caribbean government agencies, NGOs, and the private sector mainstream climate resilience into daily decision-making. The tool provides a screening exercise to prioritise climate-influenced activities, high-level guidance for both experts and non-experts, and a toolbox of over 70 climate risk management resources. It is specifically designed to fit into existing organisational processes such as national planning, budgeting, and legislation to avoid the high economic costs of climate inaction in the region.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) argues that traditional cookstove projects often fail because they focus on installation numbers rather than sustainable market transformation. SEI advocates for a user-centered design approach, combining qualitative ethnographic data with quantitative choice experiments to understand the social, cultural, and economic drivers of energy decisions. The briefing highlights the need for business models that enable local replication and examines the role of carbon finance and innovative fuel sources, such as ethanol micro distilleries in Ethiopia, to reduce reliance on biomass.

The document details CDKN's efforts in India to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) with climate change adaptation (CCA), specifically through technical assistance to state governments and research on gender-responsive policies and resilient construction.

The document argues that traditional, linear agricultural extension systems in sub-Saharan Africa are failing due to a decline in extension workers and an inability to address climate change threats. It proposes a shift toward mobile ICT-based systems that allow for two-way communication between research institutions and farmers, integrating both scientific and traditional knowledge. A case study of the Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) programme in Kabale, Uganda, demonstrates how SMS and voice-based services (using Freedom Fone software) can improve crop yields and market access. The briefing highlights that for these services to be sustainable and scalable, they must address literacy through voice services, build trust via local dialects, and establish viable business models or public-private partnerships to manage costs.

The document examines the link between services trade liberalization and agricultural productivity in the SADC region. It argues that inefficient, monopolized network services—specifically finance, transport, communications, and energy—hinder agricultural growth and food security. The author advocates for the aggressive pursuit of the SADC Services Protocol to attract investment and reduce transaction costs, thereby enabling a transition from commodity exports to value-added agro-processing.

The document details a workshop between social scientists, climate scientists, and various leaders to address why the American public remains divided on climate change despite scientific consensus. It argues that communication must shift from a 'knowledge deficit' model to one based on shared values, targeted messaging for the 'persuadable middle,' and the use of diverse, non-traditional messengers.

The briefing addresses the urgency of improving air quality in China following severe pollution events in Beijing. It argues that while fuel quality standards are a necessary first step, long-term success requires avoiding car-reliant urban development. The author advocates for 'transit-oriented development' characterized by walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods and high-quality public transit, specifically Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), to reduce transportation-related emissions. Additionally, the document highlights the role of energy-efficient building standards in reducing power plant pollution and the benefit of compact cities in preserving natural ecosystems.

The briefing examines the impact of the U.S. natural gas boom on renewable energy, noting that while low spot prices hinder utility-scale project financing in the near term, distributed solar PV and falling wind costs will sustain the transition.

The document highlights that the agriculture sector is exceptionally vulnerable to climate extremes due to its dependence on natural resources. It argues that disaster risk is increasing not only due to climate change but also because more vulnerable people and assets are exposed to these events. The brief advocates for a shift from short-term coping mechanisms to long-term transformational approaches, such as 'climate-smart agriculture', and emphasizes the need for integrated national disaster risk management systems that combine local knowledge with scientific data.

The document translates the IPCC SREX report's findings into actionable insights for the health sector, emphasizing that disaster risk is increasing due to both climate extremes and human vulnerability. It details the direct and indirect health impacts of heatwaves, floods, and droughts, while arguing for a shift from incremental to transformational changes in health infrastructure and policy to build long-term resilience.