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The document highlights the critical and unrecognized nature of transboundary climate risks to the trade of maize, rice, wheat, soy, sugar cane, and coffee. It asserts that traditional risk management strategies like diversification are insufficient against accelerating climate impacts and warns of potential geopolitical tensions as producers struggle to maintain market shares. The authors call for a global systemic view and increased international coordination to implement fair adaptation, particularly to protect low-income, import-dependent countries.

The authors find that the emissions commitment of current primary steel equipment is 21 Gt CO2eq, which is significantly lower than previous estimates of 52–65 Gt CO2eq. This suggests that future emissions are driven by the speed of novel technology and renewable energy deployment, rather than the long economic life of existing capital. The authors recommend improved monitoring of asset age and research into regulating emission-intensive equipment to avoid consuming the remaining carbon budget.

The 2021 Production Gap Report finds that governments plan to produce significantly more fossil fuels by 2030 than is consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C, with the gap remaining largely unchanged from previous assessments. While some G20 countries and multilateral development banks have reduced finance for fossil fuel production, over USD 300 billion in new funds have been directed toward fossil fuel activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, exceeding investments in clean energy.

The research evaluates 168 NDCs against international environmental law, finding that some states use justifications—such as least cost pathways or emissions per GDP—that lack legal backing. By applying principles of harm prevention, precaution, and the Paris Agreement's ambition goals, the author argues that developed states must reach net-negative emission levels by 2030 to meet temperature goals. Among G20 nations, only India and Indonesia are identified as being able to temporarily increase emissions relative to 2010, while others have decreased emissions too slowly or increased them over the last decade.

The report identifies critical transboundary climate risks in global agricultural trade, noting that a few major exporters like the US, Brazil, and China disproportionately transmit risk to dependent importers. It argues that traditional risk management, such as diversification, is insufficient against systemic climate shifts and calls for multilateral cooperation and system-level adaptation finance.

The report 'Driven to Waste' estimates that 1.2 billion tonnes of food, or 15.3% of global production, is lost on farms. When combined with retail and consumer waste, total global food loss and waste is estimated at over 2.5 billion tonnes (approximately 40% of all food produced), contributing 10% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. The document highlights a geographic disparity: high- and middle-income countries in Europe, North America, and Industrialised Asia contribute 58% of global harvest loss, while low-income countries account for 54% of post-harvest farm-stage loss. It argues that farm-stage loss is driven by downstream market decisions and asymmetric power balances, and calls for national governments to include food loss and waste in Paris Agreement national carbon plans.

The report finds that 2,277 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of new coal mining capacity is under development globally, with 614 mtpa already under construction. This expansion is heavily concentrated in China, Australia, India, and Russia, which together represent 77% of global development. The authors argue that this trajectory is incompatible with the Paris Agreement, as coal production would need to decline 11% annually through 2030 to limit warming to 1.5°C. If all proposed capacity is realized, 2030 production would be over four times the 1.5°C-compliant pathway. The report also highlights a potential $91 billion USD in stranded assets and significant greenhouse gas emissions, estimated between 5,000 and 5,800 Mt of CO2-equivalent annually from these projects.

The report estimates that 1.2 billion tonnes of food are wasted on farms annually, representing 15.3% of global production. This waste contributes 2.2 gigatonnes of CO2 eq, approximately 4% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis reveals that high- and middle-income regions contribute a disproportionate share of harvest waste per capita. The document argues that farm-stage waste is driven not only by direct biological or technical factors but by indirect systemic drivers, including market power imbalances, rigid retail specifications, and the diversion of edible food to animal feed. It calls for a 50% reduction target from 'farm to fork' by 2030 and a shift toward holistic interventions involving governments, retailers, and citizens.

The report highlights a global divergence in coal power: while the US, EU, and parts of Asia are seeing record retirements and project cancellations, China's significant increase in new capacity in 2020 led to a net global growth of 12.5 GW. The document argues that current national trajectories remain far from the IPCC 1.5°C pathway, which would require the cancellation or retirement of 1,350 GW of capacity.

The document argues that climate change creates systemic, transboundary risks to food security that cannot be managed through traditional national strategies like diversification. Using a 'stress test' methodology, it identifies critical vulnerabilities in the trade of maize, rice, wheat, soy, sugar cane, and coffee, highlighting that a few major exporters—such as the US, Brazil, and China—transmit significant risk to global consumers. The authors call for a shift from national adaptation to a cooperative multilateral approach, utilizing frameworks like the Paris Agreement's Global Goal on Adaptation and rethinking climate finance to target systemic resilience in global commodity markets.

The report finds that 15.3% of global agricultural production, approximately 1.2 billion tonnes, is lost at the farm stage, with an estimated economic value of $370 billion. It challenges the assumption that losses are primarily a low-income country issue, noting that higher- and middle-income countries are responsible for 58% of global harvest losses. Environmental impacts are significant, including 2.2 gigatonnes of CO2 eq. emissions, 760 km3 of freshwater withdrawals, and 4.4 million km2 of land use, with meat and animal products having a disproportionately high impact. The report identifies a complex web of direct drivers (biological, agronomic, and technological) and indirect drivers (market structure, governance, and human factors) and argues for synchronized, holistic interventions rather than isolated technical fixes.

The 2020 Production Gap report highlights that current government plans for fossil fuel production far exceed the levels necessary to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals. To limit warming to 1.5°C, global production must decline annually by 11% for coal, 4% for oil, and 3% for gas, yet governments are planning annual increases of 2%. By 2030, countries aim to produce 120% more fossil fuels than is consistent with the 1.5°C limit. The report argues that the COVID-19 recovery presents a critical choice: either return to production trajectories that lock in catastrophic warming or implement a managed wind-down of fossil fuels as part of a 'build back better' strategy.

The paper evaluates the role of six major credit purchase facilities in sustaining vulnerable CDM projects. While these facilities procured only 2.5% of the total potential CER supply (120 million CERs) from 2013 to 2020, they had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable projects, procuring 20% of the potential supply from highly vulnerable projects and reducing the remaining potential supply from 171 million to 137 million CERs.

The report finds that the EU ETS region is increasingly importing electricity from non-EU neighbors with high carbon intensities, effectively importing emissions and creating 'offshore carbon havens'. In 2019, the EU ETS region imported 26 million tonnes of CO2, with a net import of 20 million tonnes. The authors argue that the disparity in carbon pricing gives a competitive advantage to high-carbon generators in countries like Turkey, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans. To combat this, the report recommends a border carbon adjustment (BCA) on gross electricity imports to protect the integrity of EU climate policy and incentivize decarbonization in neighboring states. It also warns that planned increases in interconnection capacity (31% by 2030) and new coal power projects (up to 57GW) in connected non-EU countries will exacerbate the problem.

The 2020 Drawdown Report argues that the world can reach the Drawdown point by the mid-2040s if existing climate solutions are deployed with high ambition. The analysis categorizes 76 solutions into three primary areas: reducing emissions sources (electricity, food/agriculture, industry, transport, and buildings), strengthening natural carbon sinks (terrestrial, coastal, and oceanic), and improving society through health and education. The report emphasizes that these solutions are interconnected and that the net operational savings significantly outweigh the implementation costs, with estimated savings of 95.1–145.5 trillion USD against implementation costs of 22.5–28.4 trillion USD.

The Drawdown Review 2020 argues that the world can reach Drawdown by the mid-2040s to mid-2060s by scaling existing technologies and practices. The framework categorizes solutions into reducing emission sources, supporting carbon sinks, and improving society. The report emphasizes that the financial benefits of these solutions, with operational savings exceeding implementation costs four to five times over, outweigh the costs of action.

The Climate Action Tracker reports that current pledges put the world on track for 2.8°C of warming by 2100, while real-world actions suggest 3°C. Despite a 75% shrinkage in the coal pipeline since 2015, coal capacity increased by 63 GW in that period, and natural gas demand continues to grow rapidly. Conversely, renewable capacity is projected to increase by 1,200 GW over the next five years, driven primarily by solar PV and onshore wind.

The report identifies a significant 'production gap,' noting that planned fossil fuel production by 2030 exceeds levels consistent with a 2°C pathway by 50% and a 1.5°C pathway by 120%. It argues that these plans are inconsistent with Paris Agreement pledges and are driven by national plans, subsidies, and public finance, while highlighting the need for international cooperation and policy alignment in updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The study analyzes the water-energy nexus (WEN) in Beijing for 2016, finding that water consumed for 'imported' energy exceeds water used for internal energy production. It highlights a policy contradiction where efforts to meet water targets through recycled and transferred water may hinder carbon emission control targets, suggesting a shift toward low energy intensity, nature-based water recycling.

The briefing analyzes community land tenure in 14 countries, finding that while 57% of total national land in these countries is held by communities, levels of legal recognition and formal documentation vary significantly by nation. It highlights that 'not-recognized' land held under customary tenure is more vulnerable to seizure, and notes that while some countries like Tanzania and Kenya recognize all held community land, others like DRC and Cambodia have very low rates of legal recognition.