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The Hong Kong sustainable debt market saw a decline in aligned GSS+ volume in 2024 to USD 10.8bn, primarily driven by a 54% drop in green bond issuance. However, social and sustainability bonds grew, and Hong Kong maintained its position as the largest arranging hub for international GSS+ bonds in Asia. The HKSAR Government continues to dominate the local market and lead the Asia-Pacific region in cumulative government green issuance. Key policy developments include the launch of the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance and new climate-related disclosure requirements effective January 2025.

The Climate Bonds Initiative's guide outlines a comprehensive framework for bank transition disclosures, focusing on the decarbonisation of banking books. It establishes best practices across six key areas: commitment, baselines and targets, delivery strategy, aspects beyond emissions, governance, and reporting. The guidance emphasizes the need for banks to disclose both financed and facilitated emissions, benchmark trajectories against credible sectoral pathways, and implement specific phase-out dates for misaligned activities like unabated coal and new oil and gas exploration. It also integrates requirements for just transition principles and climate resilience, while urging alignment between transition plans and formal financial reporting to ensure credibility.

The document analyzes the legal requirements of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), which mandates the restoration of at least 25,000km of free-flowing rivers in the EU by 2030. It details the process for creating barrier inventories, prioritizing the removal of obsolete structures, and ensuring these actions align with other EU frameworks like the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Habitats Directive. The briefing emphasizes the need for longitudinal, lateral, and vertical connectivity and warns against using the Renewable Energy Directive to justify the retention of obsolete barriers.

The document addresses the significant underfunding of climate-smart agrifood systems, which contribute approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It argues that while public and private capital have roles, concessional capital is essential for the 'missing middle'—investments with high social and environmental impact but sub-commercial returns. The playbook proposes five 'investment plays': deploying system-level approaches, supporting natural capital restoration, strengthening shared infrastructure, expanding technical assistance for innovation, and scaling local financial intermediaries. It includes a four-step framework for investor action: diagnosing the landscape, identifying financing gaps, designing instruments, and integrating partnerships.

The report identifies critical failure modes in ground-mount solar PV systems exposed to extreme winds, such as the failure of top-down clamps and low-cycle fatigue in module frames. It recommends high-load modules (4,000 Pa uplift), through-bolting with specialized washers, and dual-post foundation designs to improve survivability in hurricane-prone regions.

The LT-LEDS for Equatorial Guinea outlines two primary pathways for the country's climate future: a Base Scenario and a Mitigation Scenario. While the Base Scenario predicts a 31% increase in gross emissions by 2050, the Mitigation Scenario targets a 50% reduction in gross emissions compared to 2019 levels, aiming for net-negative emissions by 2050. The strategy focuses on four key sectors: Energy, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU), Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), and Waste. Key proposed actions include a total transition to renewable electricity by 2049, a 80% reduction in deforestation and forest degradation rates, and the implementation of a circular economy for waste. The document also emphasizes adaptation priorities, gender equality, and a 'just transition' to manage the economic risks associated with the country's high dependence on oil and gas.

The document argues that India's next NDC for 2035 should reflect technological progress and corporate ambition to attract investment and ensure energy security. It proposes three pillars for action: raising NDC ambition with clear sectoral targets, implementing consistent policies across power, industry, transport, and nature, and strengthening government-business engagement. The briefing highlights that 99% of Indian executives support a transition to renewable energy and suggests specific policy levers, such as Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) targets and the National Carbon Market, to accelerate decarbonization.

The study analyzes 320 adaptation investments totaling $133 billion across 12 countries, finding an average economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 26.7%. Using the Triple Dividend of Resilience (TDR) framework, the authors demonstrate that benefits from induced economic development and social/environmental gains often double the value of avoided losses, meaning many investments are viable regardless of whether a climate disaster occurs. The paper highlights significant synergies between adaptation and mitigation, noting that nearly half of the evaluated projects yield GHG emission reductions. It recommends that multilateral development banks and governments adopt common reporting frameworks and disaggregate benefits to attract private capital.

The guide outlines a framework for sustainable linear infrastructure (LI) development in snow leopard habitats, emphasizing the mitigation hierarchy—avoid, minimize, mitigate, restore, and offset. It details strategies across the project life cycle, from policy development and spatial planning to construction and maintenance, to reduce habitat fragmentation, wildlife-vehicle collisions, and other ecological disturbances. The document highlights critical knowledge gaps regarding snow leopard-specific crossing structures and calls for multidisciplinary collaboration and inclusive community consultation to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The framework outlines the procedures to manage environmental and social risks for a USD 6,772,477 project aimed at enhancing climate resilience in four river basins of Sayaboury province, Lao PDR. It integrates WWF and GEF safeguard standards to protect biodiversity, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable groups while implementing nature-based solutions and small-scale grey infrastructure. The document specifies the use of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for indigenous communities and establishes a Grievance Redress Mechanism to handle complaints, including those related to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH).

The document details a pilot flood insurance initiative in Kenya designed to provide financial resilience to vulnerable populations in flood-prone areas. Following a feasibility study in Tana River, Kilifi, and Kisumu counties, Britam Insurance Kenya and FSD Africa launched a product that provided payouts to 300 families in Tana River County during the October–December 2023 floods. The programme specifically targeted marginalized groups, with 75% of insured households headed by women, youth, or persons with disabilities. The initiative utilized catalytic funding from FSD Africa and premium subsidies from Oxfam Kenya, with Swiss Re covering 80% of claims, establishing a model for scaling climate adaptation and disaster response in other Kenyan regions.

The report finds that human-caused climate change significantly increased the frequency and intensity of extreme heat globally from May 2024 to May 2025. Approximately 4 billion people experienced at least 30 additional days of extreme heat, and 195 countries saw the number of such days at least double compared to a world without climate change. All 67 significant heat events analyzed were influenced by climate change, with some becoming dozens of times more likely. The authors emphasize that while adaptation strategies like City Heat Action Plans are vital, comprehensive mitigation through the phasing out of fossil fuels is the only way to limit future harms.

The report details the disclosure of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) documents for the expansion of the Banjul landing site in The Gambia. This subproject, categorized as Category B, is part of the larger PROREFISH Gambia programme managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to address capacity loss at other climate-impacted sites.

The document details a multi-stakeholder event focused on drought resilience in the Americas, highlighting the critical role of Early Warning Systems (EWS) and the need for better integration between scientific research and public policy. It discusses global trends in drought frequency, regional climate impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean, and specific case studies such as the SISSA project in the Southern Cone and water management at the Yacyretá hydroelectric plant. The report emphasizes the importance of scientific diplomacy, innovative financing models involving the private sector, and the necessity of co-designing climate services with end-users to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.

The document outlines the drivers and impacts of sea-level rise, noting that global levels have risen 8-9 inches since 1880. It highlights the disproportionate risk to marginalized communities and older adults, explains the mechanics of 'compound flooding' and subsidence, and directs reporters to data tools from NOAA, the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level, and the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory.

The guide explains that global sea levels have risen 8-9 inches since 1880, leading to more frequent coastal flooding. It highlights the disproportionate impact on elderly and marginalized communities and provides technical guidance on using NOAA data and understanding compound flooding and land subsidence.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has developed a replicable strategy for spatial targeting of water retention projects, such as wetlands and small naturalized dams, in the Canadian Prairies. This approach uses models like PTMApp and LiDAR-based digital elevation models to identify optimal sites for phosphorus interception, particularly in ungauged basins where data is limited. Such natural infrastructure is presented as critical for mitigating the increased flood and drought risks caused by climate change in the region.

Honduras' first Adaptation Communication outlines the country's institutional and legal frameworks for climate adaptation and identifies key national priorities, including disaster risk reduction, financing access, and the establishment of a national loss and damage mechanism.

The document is a formal proposal from Venezuela to the 33rd meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). It argues that the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), established in 1959, possesses the necessary scientific capacity and regional influence to serve as an IAI associate. The proposal highlights IVIC's recent expansion into global change research through new centers for environmental crisis, oceanology, and atmospheric sciences. Specifically, it emphasizes the Climate Change Services System (S2C2-IVIC), which provides predictive models for extreme weather and climate impacts. The document cites S2C2-IVIC's success in predicting a megadrought starting in 2019 that affected the Paraná river basin and the economies of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

The document is a formal request from Venezuela to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) to grant Associate status to the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC). It details IVIC's institutional capacity, including its 18 research centers and the Climate Change Services System (S2C2-IVIC), which provides climate services and predictive models for extreme weather events in South America. The request highlights IVIC's role in predicting the 2019 megadrought in the Paraná River basin and its current work on predicting infectious disease outbreaks linked to climate trends.