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Carbon Market Watch recommends that the European Council increase the EU's 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target to at least 55% and permanently remove the surplus of over 2.5 billion emissions allowances in the EU ETS. The organization warns that carrying over this surplus could weaken the 40% target to a de facto 33% reduction. It further argues against the use of international offsets due to poor environmental quality and cautions that including land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sectors as net sinks would undermine the effectiveness of the GHG target.

The report advocates for Sweden to shift its approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) from a humanitarian-led response model to one integrated with sustainable development and resilience building. It highlights that disaster risk is driven more by increasing vulnerability and 'risk blindness' than by natural hazards alone. The authors recommend that the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Sida move DRR activities out of purely humanitarian departments to address underlying structural causes of risk, particularly in urban areas and among the most vulnerable populations.

Carbon Market Watch argues that international carbon offsets have failed to deliver promised climate benefits and have undermined the EU's domestic abatement efforts. The brief recommends a legally binding EU domestic GHG reduction target of at least 55% below 1990 levels for 2030, the total elimination of international offsets for meeting mitigation obligations post-2020, and the implementation of safeguards when linking the EU ETS to other trading schemes. It further suggests that climate finance should shift away from carbon markets toward regulation, standards, and incentive programs, such as performance-based financing for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

The document examines how international carbon offsets under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) have contributed to an oversupply of allowances in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). It highlights critical failures in 'additionality', noting that many projects would have occurred without offset funding, and points to a lack of sustainability and human rights protections. The author recommends a ban on industrial gas projects, large-scale power projects, and JI track 1 projects for the 2013-2020 period.

The document examines the role of African states in the global nuclear security framework, specifically focusing on the transition from the Nuclear Security Summit process to the IAEA's leadership. It highlights the limited representation of African nations at summits but notes their substantive contributions through treaty ratification and regional cooperation. The brief recommends that African states develop a unified perspective for upcoming international conferences and strengthen domestic legislation to align with global safety and security standards.

The policy brief highlights the significant potential of Africa's coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes, to act as carbon sinks. It argues that these 'Blue Carbon' sources are currently undervalued and under-accounted for in international frameworks like the UNFCCC. The author recommends that African nations advocate for the expansion of IPCC guidelines and the integration of coastal sinks into REDD+ and NAMA frameworks to attract conservation financing and meet national emission targets.

The document argues that the Technology Mechanism, comprising the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTC&N), must move beyond a linear view of technology transfer to a systemic approach. It recommends balancing 'push factors' from industrialised countries and 'pull factors' in developing countries to create enabling environments. Key proposals include promoting cooperative research, development and demonstration (RD&D) to bridge the 'valley of death' in financing and establishing a dedicated technology funding window within the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The document analyzes the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism, consisting of the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTC&N). It argues that for the mechanism to succeed, it must move beyond a linear view of technology transfer to a systemic innovation approach. Key recommendations include promoting cooperative research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) to bridge the 'valley of death' in financing, creating 'enabling environments' through both push and pull factors in developed and developing nations, and establishing a dedicated technology funding window within the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The document outlines recommendations for designing REDD+ Safeguard Information Systems (SIS), emphasizing the need to harmonize reporting requirements across the UNFCCC and various funders to reduce complexity for developing countries. It suggests coordinating data collection with existing processes like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Global Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) to avoid duplication. The authors advocate for country-driven, flexible systems supported by international guidance, financial aid, and capacity-building, while leveraging existing stakeholder groups to improve implementation.

The report argues that the EU ETS is failing due to a massive oversupply of allowances caused by the 2008 economic recession and industrial overallocation. Sandbag identifies a total excess of 3.1 billion tonnes (Gt) of allowances, including 2.2Gt from obsolete demand forecasts and 0.9Gt from industrial overallocation. The document highlights that 78% of the net surplus is concentrated among ten steel and cement companies, which have generated significant revenues from selling surplus permits. To remedy this, the report recommends the permanent cancellation of 3.1Gt of allowances from Phase 3 auctions, the establishment of a more ambitious Phase 4 carbon budget aligned with 2050 goals, and the introduction of mechanisms like a "heat exchanger" and a strategic demand-correction reserve to protect the system from future exogenous shocks.

The Green Economy Coalition supports the UN's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative but argues it requires more ambition and a specific focus on energy equity. The authors contend that universal energy access is a prerequisite for achieving Millennium Development Goals, particularly in health and education. They advocate for a strategy that prioritises the poorest, measures success through development outcomes rather than infrastructure metrics, and promotes community-led stewardship of local resources. While acknowledging the role of the private sector, the document emphasizes that reaching the most impoverished will require significant public sector and NGO involvement, as 'base of the pyramid' business models often overlook the absolute poorest.

The report finds that the EU ETS is significantly oversupplied, with industrial sectors accumulating large surpluses of permits while the power sector faces a shortfall. This imbalance, exacerbated by the 2008 recession, threatens to weaken the Phase 3 cap by approximately 1.9Gt. The author highlights abuses in international offsetting, where surplus-holding installations use offsets for profit (arbitrage) or to subsidize foreign competitors. To rectify this, the report recommends a 1.7Gt set-aside of Phase 3 permits, a steeper annual cap reduction of 2.4% by 2016, and increased transparency in reporting installation ownership and waste gas transfers.

The report examines the division of water management responsibilities between Canada's federal and provincial governments, highlighting significant gaps in monitoring, pollution control, and drinking water safety. It argues that the federal government should leverage its 'peace, order and good government' (POGG) power to provide national leadership, particularly in the face of climate change and the need for consistent water quality standards.

The report examines the critical role of transparency in reforming fossil-fuel subsidies, particularly in the context of 2009 commitments by the G-20 and APEC. It identifies a significant gap in available data, noting that current estimates often rely on a 'price-gap' approach that overlooks producer subsidies. The author proposes a two-track approach to improve transparency: enhancing domestic accounting and reporting standards within countries, and establishing a new international data-gathering regime. This international regime would ideally involve a standard reporting template, standardized methodologies, and the potential leadership of intergovernmental organizations like the IMF or World Bank to ensure global buy-in and consistency.

The document argues that carbon trading is an ineffective and dangerous approach to climate mitigation, failing to drive necessary emissions cuts or technological innovation. It highlights six central problems: inefficiency in driving reductions, failure to stimulate innovation, lock-in of high-carbon infrastructure, reliance on flawed offsetting, the risk of a financial bubble similar to the subprime mortgage crisis, and its use as a smokescreen for the developed world's failure to provide climate finance. The report recommends halting the global expansion of emissions trading and instead deploying direct tools such as carbon taxes, regulation, and public investment. It further calls for developed countries to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2020 (excluding offsets) and provide at least 200 billion in annual public funds to developing countries by 2012.

The document argues that Zimbabwe's security sector is heavily politicised and oriented toward regime security due to colonial legacies and liberation struggle ideologies. It recommends immediate interventions to prevent military coups, ensure regular payment of security personnel, and limit the use of the military in domestic affairs. Long-term goals include an incremental overhaul of the criminal justice system and the institutionalisation of accountability and transparency, though the author notes that comprehensive reform currently lacks political resonance.

The report examines the record of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Africa, arguing that while they can address infrastructure backlogs, they are not a 'magic bullet' and are prone to the same failures as privatisation, including corruption and high consumer costs. Through eight case studies in transport, prisons, telecommunications, water, power, and eco-tourism, the document highlights that success depends on thorough feasibility studies, strong political commitment, and effective regulatory frameworks. Key failures are attributed to a lack of transparency, poor risk management, and unrealistic design specifications. The report recommends that African governments build institutional capacity, implement integrity pacts to combat graft, and adopt a phased approach by starting with smaller projects.

The report examines the conflict between international trade expansion and environmental protection, highlighting how the World Trade Organization (WTO) typically prioritizes trade rules over environmental measures. It criticizes the U.S. government for abandoning its leadership in this area since the adoption of the NAFTA environmental side agreement and for prioritizing business interests. The authors propose a new foreign policy agenda that includes conditioning the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on 'readiness criteria' for environmental protection, increasing public and NGO participation in trade policymaking, and strengthening the role of UN institutions like UNEP and UNDP in trade-environment disputes.

The report argues that while many Asian nations have adopted stringent environmental laws based on Western models, these laws are often ineffective due to a lack of integration with economic planning, corruption, and a failure to account for local cultural contexts. It recommends integrating environmental policy into investment promotion, simplifying regulations to reduce corruption, and utilizing land-use planning as a primary tool for prevention. Specifically, it suggests enhancing compliance through community-based monitoring, adopting alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and reforming Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) to include public consultation and post-implementation monitoring.

The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has significantly increased 45Q tax credits for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC), lowering entry thresholds for industrial emitters and extending project start dates to January 1, 2033. The document suggests Germany should adopt a national carbon management strategy, financial incentives like Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs), and business models for negative emission technologies to support its industrial decarbonization.