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NEW DEVELOPMENT FINANCE MEASURE SHOULD BE TOSSD OUT THE WINDOW!
The document critiques the OECD's proposed Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) metric, arguing it is a tool for wealthy nations to inflate their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals without binding commitments. The author highlights concerns over the inclusion of non-concessional loans, in-donor costs, and the misappropriation of 'mutual benefit' rhetoric from South-South cooperation. It suggests that instead of a new composite measure, the OECD should focus on ensuring donors meet the 0.7% GNI target for ODA and improving statistical capacities in recipient countries.
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Document type: Policy brief
Important interactions among the Sustainable Development Goals under review at the High-Level Political Forum 2017
The paper examines interactions between six specific SDGs (1, 2, 3, 5, 9, and 14) using a seven-point scale to categorize relationships as reinforcing, enabling, or constraining. It finds that positive interactions generally outweigh negative ones, particularly for gender equality, which acts as a lever for multiple other goals. However, it highlights significant institutional barriers to integrated implementation, as most governments operate through sectoral ministries that lack joint agendas. The author argues for the creation of an international open knowledge platform to systematize SDG interaction analysis and suggests that 'mission-oriented innovation' and strategic foresight mechanisms can help overcome short-termism in infrastructure and industrial policy.
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Document type: Research paper
Fostering sustainable development through climate action: what should the future UN mechanism look like?
Carbon Market Watch calls for the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) to depart from the 'pure offsetting' approach of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), citing a European Commission study that found 85% of CDM projects unlikely to deliver real emission reductions. The author argues the SDM should instead function as a tool for results-based finance and actively contribute to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) through transformational change and robust stakeholder participation.
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Document type: Statement
IISD Speech: IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, Geneva
In a speech at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan emphasizes that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are fragile and require a shift toward holistic measurement of national well-being. He argues that GDP fails to reflect the anxieties of citizens regarding wages, health, and the environment, and advocates for a framework based on human, natural, produced, and social capital. Vaughan calls for the alignment of green and climate finance with the SDGs to support sustainable infrastructure and highlights gender equality as a prerequisite for achieving all SDG targets.
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Document type: Statement
Bringing EU policy into line with the Planetary Boundaries
The document argues that the EU is not "living within the limits of our planet," significantly exceeding its equal-per-capita fair share of the global safe operating space for climate change and biogeochemical flows. It proposes downscaling global boundaries to regional levels to create benchmarks for both production- and consumption-based performance, highlighting that EU consumption often exerts higher pressure than the global average. While the EU has various policy instruments addressing individual boundaries, the brief notes a lack of integration regarding interlinkages between processes and the EU's international environmental footprint.
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Document type: Briefing
EU policy into line with Planetary Boundaries
The brief explores the application of the Planetary Boundaries framework to EU policy, using an equal-per-capita allocation approach to determine a 'fair share' of the global safe operating space. It finds that the EU significantly exceeds its per capita limits for climate change and biogeochemical flows, and that EU consumption exerts higher pressure on several boundaries than the global average. While existing EU policy instruments offer entry points for integrating these boundaries, they currently fail to address the EU's international environmental footprint or the interactions between different planetary processes.
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Document type: Policy brief
Using NDCs, NAPs and the SDGs to Advance Climate-Resilient Development
The document argues that NAPs, NDCs, and SDGs are mutually reinforcing frameworks for climate-resilient development. It provides a four-quadrant framework to help countries align their NDC adaptation components with their NAP processes, depending on the progress of each. Furthermore, it positions the NAP process as an operational bridge to the SDGs, specifically targets 13.1 and 13.2, and demonstrates how sector-specific adaptation in agriculture, infrastructure, and marine resources aligns with various SDG goals. The authors emphasize the need for operational alignment through cross-referencing priorities, harmonizing indicators, and coordinating reporting structures to maximize resources and political support.
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Document type: Research paper
Guidance Materials for Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives into Model-based Policy Analysis
The document outlines strategies for mainstreaming gender into technical modelling, identifying key barriers such as data gaps and lack of awareness, and offering practical frameworks for inclusive project design and data collection.
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Document type: Guide
IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at PAGE Ministerial Conference, Berlin
Scott Vaughan, President and CEO of IISD, critiques the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) model and the CETA agreement, advocating for a multilateral investment court and a shift toward investment models that align with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He suggests that the WTO may not be the ideal venue for a new multilateral investment agreement due to its focus on disciplines rather than cooperation.
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Document type: Statement
Civil Society Statement on the Reform of European Agricultural Policies
A civil society statement arguing that the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) promotes harmful agro-industrial farming and must be radically reformed. The authors propose a transformation based on four pillars: fair and diverse economies, environmental and animal welfare protections, support for public health, and accountable, participatory governance.
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Document type: Statement
The Productivity of International Financial Institutions’ Energy Interventions
The report introduces Integrated Energy Productivity (IEP), a metric that expands the traditional economic definition of energy productivity to include social and environmental benefits, weighed against fossil fuel energy inputs. Analyzing data from 2012 to 2014 for seven IFIs—ADB, EBRD, EIB, IDB, KfW/DEG, OPIC, and the World Bank—the study finds that while most energy investments are IEP-positive or relevant, energy efficiency projects are significantly underfunded, representing only 14% of energy portfolios. The report identifies a lack of standardized IEP targets across IFIs and recommends mainstreaming energy efficiency through operational safeguards and a joint IFI framework for tracking impact.
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Document type: Report
A MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH−SOUTH COOPERATION
The document details the development of a qualitative M&E framework for South-South cooperation (SSC), resulting from a 20-month process of consultations and field tests. It proposes 20 indicators across five dimensions—inclusive national ownership, horizontality, self-reliance and sustainability, accountability and transparency, and development efficiency—as an alternative to OECD-DAC standards, which the authors argue are not suited for Southern partnerships.
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Document type: Research paper
Media Development
The document is a collection of articles and interviews exploring how communication technologies influence social justice and governance. Key discussions include the failure of social media platforms to foster rational public debate due to their design, the ethical tensions in INGO public communications that often perpetuate colonial stereotypes, and the struggle for a transparent, democratic communication model in Cuba. It also analyzes the 'democratization of information' through Google Books, the impact of new media on political participation in Jamaica, and the personal history of advocacy journalism regarding Palestinian rights.
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Document type: Research paper
THE ELEPHANT IN THE BOARDROOM
The paper examines the conflict between the projected growth of the global middle class and the finite capacity of Earth's natural systems. It argues that 'business growth predicated on consumption is the new elephant in the corporate boardroom,' as traditional 'take-make-waste' models risk overshooting planetary boundaries. Using cars, beef, and apparel as case studies, the authors demonstrate that incremental efficiency gains are insufficient to offset the volume of increased demand. The document recommends that companies 'do the math' on their resource dependencies, lead industry-wide conversations on consumption, and transform their core business models toward circularity and service-based value propositions to ensure long-term viability.
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Document type: Research paper
2017 address by SAIIA National Chairman Mr Fred T Phaswana
Mr Fred T Phaswana warns that the rise of protectionism, populism, and 'post-truth politics' threatens the international cooperation required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate change agreement. He highlights the danger of a 'race-to-the-bottom' in corporate taxation and the erosion of multilateralism. Domestically, he argues that South Africa's reputation has been damaged by internal political instability and the government's intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, urging the country to remain an active shaper of a fair rules-based global order.
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Document type: Statement
Africa cannot afford business as usual under new AUC chair
The document discusses the transition of the African Union Commission (AUC) leadership to Moussa Faki Mahamat. It emphasizes that the AU cannot return to 'business as usual' due to a volatile global political landscape and the urgent need for financial autonomy. A key focus is the implementation of a 0.2% levy on African imports to reduce reliance on international donors, aiming to provide $1.2 billion in overall revenue in 2017 and ensure peace operations are 25% self-funded. The text also highlights the necessity of institutional reforms proposed by President Paul Kagame and the need for the AU to address root causes of conflict and migration in countries such as Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.
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Document type: Research paper
Climate and Development Outlook
The document details CDKN's contributions to Pakistan's climate resilience and low-carbon transition, highlighting a solar PV project in Sialkot, the development of a national disaster-risk insurance framework, and a suite of 50 low-cost actions to reduce annual emissions by 100 megatons by 2030.
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Document type: Report
CAN THE APRM BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO MONITOR AGENDA 2063 AND THE SDGs?
The document explores the potential for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to monitor Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, noting strong normative and thematic alignment. However, it identifies critical barriers, including administrative weaknesses, lack of funding, and slow review cycles, which currently render the APRM incapable of the extensive monitoring required. The authors suggest that for the APRM to succeed, it must undergo substantial reform, improve the frequency of its reviews, and enhance its data-gathering capabilities through ICT and partnerships.
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Document type: Research paper
After Paris - Can the private sector deliver climate compatible development?
The document discusses the role of the private sector in achieving climate compatible development following the Paris Agreement. It notes that while new technologies and financial instruments are emerging, public policy is required to address market failures, counter opposing lobbies, and manage the social winners and losers resulting from industrial disruption.
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Document type: Statement
Germany’s role in the 2030 Agenda: a view from South Africa
The paper examines the role of Germany in supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development from a South African perspective. It highlights the tension between the need for global public goods and a rising trend of protectionism in the North. The author argues that Germany, as a resilient economy with a history of positive engagement with developing countries, is uniquely positioned to facilitate partnerships and advocate for structural reforms—such as addressing illicit financial flows—to ensure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are met.
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Document type: Research paper