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The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), alongside the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering (DSG) and The Degrees Initiative, conducted a workshop series culminating in an in-person simulation in Bogota, Colombia. The program aimed to empower policymakers and technical specialists from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to navigate the complexities of solar radiation modification (SRM) governance. Participants identified critical needs for regional research to understand local physical and socio-economic impacts, noting a disparity between the region's low greenhouse gas emissions and its high climate vulnerability. Discussions highlighted the risk of SRM creating a "moral hazard" that could divert attention from Paris Agreement commitments, specifically Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The report emphasizes the necessity of strengthening science-policy interfaces, ensuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples through free, prior and informed consent, and fostering South-South and triangular cooperation to enhance regional data access and institutional knowledge.

The report argues that repealing federal clean energy tax credits and funding programs would lead to significant job losses, increased household energy costs, reduced GDP, and higher air pollution levels in the United States between 2025 and 2035.

The research utilizes a scalable decision support model to evaluate 64 combinations of policy interventions, including fees and water use restrictions, to address salinity pollution in the San Joaquin River. Findings indicate that while surface water restrictions increase salinity loads due to higher groundwater reliance, the implementation of fees for imported water and market-based pollution permits can help farmers maintain profitability and lower salinity levels.

The report outlines the assumptions for 25 federal policies categorized as legislated/developed, developing, or announced. Key measures include a federal fuel charge and Output-Based Pricing System reaching $170/tCO2e by 2030, a proposed emissions cap on the oil and gas sector, and a Clean Electricity Standard aiming for net-zero by 2035. The document specifies simulation scenarios for these policies, including varying stringency levels for methane reductions, ZEV mandates, and building efficiency standards, alongside detailed funding allocations for infrastructure, hydrogen projects, and industrial decarbonization.

The report uses the Louisiana Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) to compare a Business As Usual (BAU) trajectory with a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) scenario. Under BAU, Louisiana's economy-wide emissions are projected to increase by 30% by 2050. Conversely, the NDC scenario, which aligns with Paris Agreement targets, could reduce statewide emissions by 97% below 2020 levels by 2050. This transition would rely heavily on industrial fuel switching and green hydrogen, potentially creating 263,000 new job-years and avoiding 2,300 premature deaths annually by 2050.

The document analyzes a proposed $0.25 per gallon federal gas tax increase, finding it would generate approximately $1.1 trillion in revenue through 2050 and reduce total fuel consumption by over 1.3 billion barrels. The tax would incentivize the adoption of electric vehicles, adding roughly 2.5 million additional EVs to U.S. roads by 2050. Additionally, the report notes that a $0.25 gas tax is equivalent to a carbon tax of $25 to $29 per ton, which exceeds the record high allowance auction prices of the California-Quebec and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative cap-and-trade systems.

The report details the creation of the Hong Kong Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), an open-source system-dynamics model used to project energy-related CO2 emissions and evaluate policy combinations through 2050. It compares a 'Current Policy Scenario' with a 'Decarbonization Scenario,' demonstrating that while current trends project emissions to drop from 36 million tonnes in 2017 to 22.5 million tonnes by 2050, a targeted decarbonization strategy could reduce them to approximately 5 million tonnes. Key levers for this reduction include carbon capture and storage (CCS), electric vehicle mandates, and increased imports of renewable energy from Mainland China.

The document argues that increasing Africa's education spending from 4% to 4.8% of GDP could lead to universal primary education by 2030 and universal basic education by 2035. Using the International Futures (IFs) model, the authors project that this investment would add US$ 2.5 trillion to Africa's GDP by 2050, while significantly reducing child malnutrition, extreme poverty, and the probability of state failure. However, the report notes that these gains require a long-term horizon and a reallocation of government funds away from other sectors like health and the military.

The report finds that while electrification will increase electricity use, total energy spending for Canadian households is expected to decline. However, the costs of expanding electricity infrastructure may fall regressively, disproportionately impacting lower-income households. The authors analyze rate-design changes and government funding mechanisms as tools to improve equity, concluding that means-tested fixed charges and progressive tax-based funding can insulate vulnerable populations from rising costs.

The report argues that civil war is 'development in reverse,' creating a 'conflict trap' where poverty and institutional failure increase the risk of war, and war further degrades development. It identifies three rings of adverse effects: internal civilian suffering, regional spillovers (such as arms races and disease), and global costs (including drug trafficking and terrorism). The authors find that civil war is increasingly concentrated in 'marginalized' low-income countries and those in the conflict trap. To combat this, the report proposes a policy package including improved aid timing, transparent natural resource governance, and coordinated military-development sequencing in postconflict decades.