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The document argues that bridging the emissions gap requires both 'getting the economics right' through financial mobilisation and carbon pricing, and 'getting the politics right' through leadership and stakeholder engagement. It emphasizes a 'development first' approach for developing countries, using the 'cost of inaction' to build national consensus. To avoid maladaptation and protect the poorest, the text advocates for the inclusion of socially marginalised groups and women in decision-making, while managing the 'water-energy-food nexus' and removing laws that undermine climate goals.

The Green Economy Barometer 2016 reports that while the transition to green economies is accelerating—marked by record investments in renewables and a maturing international policy architecture—it remains insufficient in depth and breadth. The report highlights a significant shift in investment toward developing countries and the emergence of ambitious national sectoral targets. However, it argues that structural reform is lacking, as most national plans ignore the informal economy and the needs of the poorest populations. The document concludes that the green economy remains politically fringe and requires a more inclusive narrative to achieve large-scale societal transformation.

The report outlines a framework for financing the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), focusing on three primary sources: domestic public budgets, international public funds, and private sector investment. It emphasizes the role of NAPs in articulating priorities to secure funding and highlights the necessity of integrating adaptation into national planning and budgeting cycles. Key discussions include the use of fiscal instruments to raise domestic revenue, the challenges of tracking adaptation finance, the process of developing 'bankable' project pipelines for international funds, and the public sector's role in creating an enabling environment for private investment.

The report estimates that if five analyzed business initiatives achieve their most ambitious plans, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.2-4.2 billion tonnes per year by 2030. If all relevant companies joined these initiatives, reductions could reach approximately 10 billion tonnes. The document emphasizes that achieving this systemic impact requires governments to remove regulatory barriers and provide incentives, such as carbon pricing and R&D support, to create a virtuous circle of ambition between the public and private sectors.

The Paris Agreement establishes a global mandate to hold warming well below 2C and reach net zero emissions in the second half of the century. For businesses, this creates a structural shift in energy, land use, and urban systems, offering trillions of dollars in investment opportunities in renewables and energy efficiency. The report emphasizes the importance of internal carbon pricing for risk management and highlights specific vulnerabilities in sectors like textiles in Bangladesh and agriculture in Ethiopia. It argues that the agreement provides long-term policy certainty, making the transition to a clean economy inevitable and irresistible for the private sector.

The document analyzes how carbon taxes or cap-and-trade programs affect U.S. households through expenditures, income, and revenue allocation. While carbon pricing can be regressive in terms of energy expenditures—disproportionately affecting low-income households and coal-dependent regions—the authors argue that the overall impact is determined by how the government uses the revenue. By targeting a small portion of revenue (approximately 10-12%) toward low-income households and coal communities, policymakers can offset burdens and ensure these vulnerable groups are not driven deeper into poverty. The brief compares various revenue uses, such as lump-sum rebates, labor tax swaps, and capital tax swaps, concluding that the policy is not inherently regressive and can be designed to be progressive.

The report examines the 'water-energy nexus,' where water scarcity threatens energy production and energy costs impact water provision. It analyzes three case studies: the Middle East and North Africa's reliance on energy-intensive desalination, China's coal-fired power plants facing high water stress, and the United States' water-intensive hydraulic fracturing for shale gas. The document argues that companies can mitigate these risks by shifting from expanding supply to reducing demand, scaling alternative water sources like reclaimed wastewater and brackish water, and adopting clean energy resources such as solar and wind.

The briefing argues that carbon markets have historically failed to increase climate commitments and have often undermined emissions reductions through 'hot air' loopholes. It recommends that the Paris agreement prevent double counting, ensure that international trading is supplementary to ambitious domestic action, and restrict market mechanisms to countries with adequate carbon budgets. The text notes a shift from a single global UN-led market toward a fragmented landscape of national and regional initiatives, while advocating for a transition from carbon offsets toward direct financial support for climate actions in developing countries.

The research paper reviews INDCs submitted to the UNFCCC as of November 20, 2015, to identify the prevalence of fiscal policies such as fossil fuel subsidy reform, clean energy subsidies, and carbon pricing. It finds that 39 INDCs reference these instruments, with a strong trend toward unconditional commitments. The paper highlights the significant potential for greenhouse gas reductions through fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR), supported by the GSI-IF model, and recommends that more countries integrate these tools to help meet the two-degree climate threshold.

Carbon Market Watch argues that while few countries explicitly include international trading in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, carbon pricing is already used by jurisdictions representing 40% of the global economy. The organization warns that a lack of clear international rules could lead to non-harmonized standards and double counting. It recommends strict principles for carbon markets, including the avoidance of 'hot air' credits, the requirement for net atmospheric benefits, and the exclusion of REDD-plus from carbon markets.

The document is a call to action by cleantech entrepreneurs and supporting organisations directed at COP21. It argues that viable solutions for decarbonisation already exist but are hindered by policy influence and capital allocation favouring the fossil fuel industry. The signatories demand a global shift to 100% renewable energy by 2050, the redirection of finance away from fossil fuels, and the implementation of science-based targets and carbon pricing.

The document outlines a framework for evaluating emissions trading schemes (ETS) by categorising assessment into operational aspects and outcomes. It reviews methodologies for analysing carbon prices, market activity, and transaction costs, as well as outcomes related to emissions, innovation, trade, and employment. The authors argue that while operational data is often readily available, assessing long-term outcomes like innovation and employment requires high-quality, disaggregated firm-level data and counterfactual baselines. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for China's pilot schemes, suggesting a prioritisation of carbon price and emissions analysis due to data availability, while advising a cautious, qualitative approach to innovation and trade effects in the short term.

The report compiles research on enhancing global climate action, focusing on innovative financing mechanisms like microfinance and debt-for-climate swaps, the role of carbon pricing in driving innovation, and the necessity of robust accountability frameworks for the Paris Agreement. It also examines specific urban water resiliency in Patna, India, and proposes a Low-Emissions Technology Commitment within the UNFCCC to accelerate energy research. The proceedings emphasize the need for a multi-level approach to adaptation and the potential for 'climate clubs' to overcome multilateral deadlock.

The Global Climate Policy Conference 2015 explored innovative research-driven approaches to climate action, focusing on the intersection of development, adaptation, carbon pricing, and state accountability. Key discussions highlighted the need for a 'club' approach to carbon pricing and technology, the importance of microfinance and local capacity in adaptation, and the role of basic energy research in breaking the link between emissions and economic growth.

The report details a bottom-up consultation process in Manitoba involving nine group sessions and 67 bilateral meetings between October 2013 and January 2015. It identifies the province's unique emissions profile, dominated by transportation (38.4%) and agriculture (31.3%), and provides a suite of consensus recommendations across governance, regulatory streamlining, and energy efficiency. A significant portion of the document explores carbon pricing options, including a proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model and Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR) such as vehicle registration fee adjustments, to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The document highlights the role of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in diffusing carbon price signals and stimulating private investment in developing countries, while noting a deterioration in project activities and capacities due to declining market conditions. It identifies a significant information gap regarding the current status and barriers facing individual CDM projects worldwide and describes a study that evaluated a representative sample of these projects to extract lessons on national and technology-specific considerations.

The report outlines discussions from a July 2015 workshop regarding the creation of 'low carbon clubs'—coalitions of countries, regional entities, or nonstate actors cooperating on climate objectives. Participants emphasized that such clubs must provide excludable benefits to members to incentivize participation and prevent free riding. The discussions highlighted the necessity of linking carbon pricing with technology innovation and redistribution to ensure efficiency and consumer acceptability. While a global carbon price is deemed unattainable, these clubs are seen as a way for actors to move at 'multiple speeds' complementary to multilateral frameworks like the UNFCCC and the WTO.

The document challenges the justification for granting free carbon allowances to EU industries to prevent 'carbon leakage' (production relocation). It argues that there is no compelling evidence of such leakage and that free allocations instead create windfall profits for companies, disincentivize low-carbon innovation, and deprive the public of auctioning revenues. The brief recommends a transition to 100% auctioning of allowances and a more stringent, transparent criteria for the carbon leakage list to ensure only truly high-risk sectors receive support.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis finds that two-thirds of U.S. states may be exposing electricity consumers to financial risks due to overreliance on natural gas. These risks include price volatility, potential carbon pricing costs, and the possibility of stranded assets such as underused plants and pipelines. The report rates states across five categories, identifying Florida as the only state with a "High" risk rating in all five. To mitigate these risks, the report advocates for prioritizing renewable energy and energy efficiency over natural gas as a primary solution for carbon reduction under the federal Clean Power Plan.

The Corporate Leaders Group (CLG) advocates for the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, arguing that these subsidies create perverse incentives that undermine carbon pricing and hinder the transition to a low-carbon economy. The document highlights that eliminating these subsidies could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 13% and free up significant government resources, particularly in developing countries where subsidies often exceed healthcare spending. CLG supports the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Communiqué, which calls for transparency, ambition in timeframe, and targeted support for the poorest populations during the transition.