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The report examines the application of transition finance tools—including loans and bonds—to support the decarbonisation of China's steel sector, highlighting the role of regional guidelines in Hebei Province. It identifies a significant funding gap, estimating a need for $18 billion in capital expenditure over the next five years for electric arc furnace (EAF) and hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (H2-DRI) technologies. While large state-owned enterprises are leading the transition, the report notes that high costs of green steel and limited scrap steel supply remain major barriers.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) proposes revisions to the first draft of the Fourth Financing for Development Conference Outcome Document to increase ambition and specificity. Key recommendations include phasing out fossil fuel subsidies without 'inefficient' loopholes, strengthening natural resource taxation, and establishing a broad-based debt-relief initiative. The report also advocates for a phased approach to climate finance in least developed countries and the integration of green public procurement to align fiscal systems with climate goals.

The report evaluates Moldova's progress toward climate neutrality by 2050, identifying 'Some Progress' in most sectors but 'Little Progress' in zero pollution. Key challenges include heavy reliance on energy imports, outdated building stock, linear waste management, and a significant financing gap, while enablers include EU accession aspirations and international donor support.

The report outlines the commercial and climate imperatives for heavy industries to adopt carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies. It identifies synergies where industrial waste, infrastructure, and expertise can accelerate the scale-up of biogenic, geochemical, and synthetic CDR. The document provides a framework for monetization through carbon credits, green premiums, and government incentives, while warning against 'mitigation deterrence'—the risk that CDR replaces essential decarbonization efforts.

The Canadian Climate Institute outlines three priorities for Canada's climate strategy: improving affordability through clean energy technologies, enhancing economic competitiveness via industrial carbon pricing to align with global partners, and increasing protection against escalating climate-driven financial losses from natural disasters.

Ember's response to the ERAA 2025 consultation highlights significant discrepancies between ENTSO-E's proposed commodity prices and market futures, noting that fossil fuel prices are underestimated while CO2 prices are overestimated. The document argues that the ERAA underestimates battery storage and demand flexibility potential, fails to account for battery CAPEX reductions, and underestimates wind and solar capacities in several European countries compared to National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and industry forecasts.

The report analyzes how the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) affects Guangdong province, a major hub for iron, steel, and aluminium exports. While initial exposure is limited, the report warns that pressure will increase as CBAM expands. It recommends that Guangdong accelerate industrial decarbonization—specifically through electrification and green hydrogen for steel and renewable energy for aluminium—and establish a carbon pricing system compatible with the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Additionally, it suggests that EU policymakers enhance dialogue on emissions accounting, allocate CBAM revenues to support climate action in developing economies, and engage in international platforms like the Climate Club.

The Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), the operational arm of the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), provides long-term concessional loans to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to implement macro-critical climate reforms. While the RSF creates fiscal space and improves investment conditions, its impact is often hindered by limited engagement with sectoral ministries, overlapping climate initiatives, and inconsistent coordination with development partners like the World Bank and regional development banks. The document recommends institutionalizing inter-ministry platforms, aligning RSF reforms with national climate plans, and utilizing joint diagnostic tools. It also highlights the role of IMF Climate Finance Roundtables in aligning investments with national priorities, though these have yet to mobilize significant private capital. Case studies from Bangladesh, Barbados, and Senegal illustrate both the potential and the challenges of these coordination mechanisms.

The document analyzes how interoperability—the bridging of differing standards and policies—can reduce trade barriers and administrative costs in climate mitigation. It details existing frameworks for emission equivalency, carbon price parity, and the convergence of international standards in sectors such as aviation, shipping, carbon removals, and climate finance. The author highlights the role of the OECD, WTO, and ISSB in creating comparable metrics and suggests that the WTO could further enhance carbon measure equivalency through a special notification system and standardized embedded carbon methodologies.

Carbon Market Watch warns that watering down the EU ETS and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandates in response to airline industry pressure would increase emissions and undermine EU clean tech competitiveness. The author calls for extending SAF funding to 2040, expanding the EU ETS to all departing international flights, and implementing penalties for fuel suppliers who fail to meet SAF targets.

The document analyzes proposed EU amendments to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) intended to simplify compliance for EU importers. While the briefing notes that changes to the scope and payment timing may have minimal material impact on African exporters, it warns that modifications to 'default values' for embedded emissions and carbon pricing could negatively affect exporters. Specifically, the shift toward global averages for the most carbon-intensive countries rather than EU-specific benchmarks may increase costs for African producers lacking reliable data. The report concludes that the amendments primarily benefit EU importers and may penalize African exporters who lack the administrative capacity to provide actual installation data.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticizes the 2025 National Budget for maintaining a fiscal strategy focused on debt stabilization and regressive taxation, specifically the proposed VAT increases and personal income tax bracket freezes. While acknowledging a shift away from explicit spending cuts, the IEJ argues that expenditure increases in health, education, and social grants remain insufficient to restore pre-pandemic service levels or address food insecurity. The statement calls for Parliament to amend the budget by increasing corporate tax, removing tax breaks for high earners, and expanding the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.

The 2024 Independent Assessment finds that Canadian carbon pricing systems are effective, delivering between a third and a half of all projected emissions reductions by 2030. While systems have harmonized in coverage and stringency since 2020, some large-emitter trading systems (LETS) in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan are at risk of losing effectiveness due to credit oversupply and adverse policy interactions. The report also notes that while LETS generally mitigate competitiveness risks for large emitters, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face varied exposure, with some sectors like water and truck transportation showing high vulnerability.

The 2024 independent evaluation finds that Canada's carbon pricing systems are effective, contributing between one-third and one-half of all projected emission reductions from climate policies by 2030. While systems are more harmonized than in 2020, the report warns that the rigor of some industrial exchange systems (SEGE) could erode by 2030 due to an oversupply of credits caused by overlapping policies. Coverage is broad, encompassing 77% of national emissions, though gaps remain in heating oil and agricultural fuels. Competitiveness risks for large emitters are generally mitigated through design features and subsidies, while small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) face varying pressures, partially offset by new federal revenue recycling mechanisms.

A joint letter calling for an EU lending facility to frontload future ETS2 revenues, allowing Member States to invest in zero-emission alternatives for vulnerable households before the 2027 implementation of carbon pricing for buildings and road transport.

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 document highlights a critical gap between the estimated loss and damage (L&D) finance needs of developing countries (USD 400 billion to 1.6 trillion per year by 2030) and current pledges to the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (USD 745 million as of December 2024). It proposes a variety of innovative instruments to generate revenue, categorized by their funding potential and alignment with the 'polluters pay' and historical responsibility principles. High-potential instruments include wealth taxes (up to USD 2 trillion per year) and windfall taxes (up to USD 1 trillion per year). The brief recommends that high-income countries implement these instruments nationally or advocate for global frameworks through forums like the G20, IMF, and the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to ensure equitable climate finance.

The briefing outlines Brazil's updated NDC targets for 2035 and argues that the successful implementation of these goals depends on a strong 'Plano Clima' and a collaborative relationship with the private sector. It identifies key opportunities and barriers across land use, agriculture, energy, transport, and industry, while proposing mechanisms to increase transparency and corporate transition planning ahead of COP30.

The study finds that while the South African Green Finance Taxonomy (SA GFT) shows high international interoperability regarding its 'Make Substantial Contribution' (MSC) pillar and climate change mitigation priorities, it faces significant usability and adoption challenges regarding the 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) and 'Minimum Social Safeguards' (MSS) pillars. The document recommends introducing more flexible classifications, such as an 'eligible vs aligned' system, increasing the use of quantitative thresholds and international standards (e.g., ISO), and integrating national regulations like the B-BBEE Act into the MSS framework to reduce ambiguity and compliance burdens for market participants.

The document provides examples of global climate progress to counter pessimism, citing significant emissions drops in the EU and UK, China's rapid expansion of renewables and electric vehicles, and the resilience of subnational climate policies in the United States.