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The document contends that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) lacks the necessary environmental and social standards to be integrated into results-based climate finance. It highlights that many CDM projects fail to produce real emission reductions due to a lack of additionality and have caused negative impacts on local communities, including human rights violations. The author argues that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) should not purchase stranded offset credits from existing CDM projects, as this would contradict the GCF's mandate for new and additional financial resources and its own interim environmental and social safeguards, which require stakeholder participation and grievance mechanisms that the CDM lacks.

The report utilizes the Climate Equity Reference Calculator to determine national 'fair shares' of global mitigation efforts based on the UNFCCC principles of responsibility and capacity. It argues that for wealthy, high-emitting countries, fair shares often exceed domestic mitigation potential, necessitating the provision of international support. Conversely, for poorer countries, domestic potential exceeds their fair share, requiring international support to unlock further reductions. The analysis uses three ambition pathways (Strong 2°C, Weak 2°C, and G8) and an 'equity band' (Low, Medium, and High settings) to assess national contributions, concluding that current pledges, such as the EU's 40% target, are generally inconsistent with 2°C goals unless supplemented by significant international support.

The CFAS Guide outlines the state of climate finance negotiations leading up to COP20 in Lima, focusing on long-term funding goals, the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, and the roles of various financial mechanisms under the UNFCCC.

The CFAS Guide outlines the state of climate finance negotiations leading up to COP20 in Lima. It details the goal of mobilizing 100 billion USD annually by 2020, the role of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) in monitoring financial flows, and the operational progress of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund, and Global Environment Facility (GEF). The document emphasizes the need for predictability in funding, the balance between mitigation and adaptation, and the development of measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems for climate support.

The document details the first carbon and water footprint assessments for the city and municipal government of La Paz, Bolivia, using 2012 as a base year. It identifies the transport sector as the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions and the residential sector as the main contributor to the water footprint. The project led to the creation of a reduction action plan, the inclusion of environmental measures in the 2014 municipal budget, and the implementation of pilot projects such as a waste-to-energy system at the Municipal Zoo and peri-urban organic farming. Key challenges identified include data scarcity, the need for high-level political commitment, and the impact of a polarized political environment.

The report argues that a high ambition climate agreement, aiming to limit global warming to 2°C by 2100, is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. While physical climate impacts are projected to be similar across scenarios until 2030, a high ambition deal provides the policy framework, international cooperation, and finance necessary to drive green growth and reduce poverty. Conversely, a low ambition agreement (3-5°C warming) is linked to slower economic growth, higher inequality, and a significantly greater risk of failing to meet SDGs related to poverty, inequality, and global partnerships.

In 2013, global climate finance flows totaled USD 331 billion, a decrease of USD 28 billion from 2012. This decline was primarily driven by a USD 31 billion drop in private investment, largely due to falling solar PV costs. Public finance remained stable at USD 137 billion, with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) acting as the primary public source. Mitigation accounted for 91% of total flows, while adaptation received 7% (USD 25 billion), all of which originated from public sources. The report highlights a significant gap between current flows and the estimated USD 1.1 trillion annual investment needed in the energy sector to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius.

The 10YFP Programme on Sustainable Lifestyles and Education is a global initiative resulting from Rio+20, co-led by Japan, Sweden (via SEI), and WWF. It defines sustainable lifestyles as choices that "minimize environmental degradation" while supporting equitable development. The programme focuses on three main pillars: educating for sustainable lifestyles across formal and informal settings, developing and replicating low-carbon lifestyle scenarios, and promoting innovative and traditional models of sustainable living. Key objectives include building a common framework for understanding sustainable lifestyles, integrating these principles across society, and empowering individuals—particularly youth—through education and awareness. The programme is supported by a Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC) and seeks to provide recommendations for policies, infrastructures, and business strategies that enable sustainable living, with a specific emphasis on urban spaces.

The paper examines the relationship between climate change and disaster risk, arguing that while adaptation and DRR serve distinct purposes, they share a core goal of reducing vulnerability. It highlights how climate change drives disaster risk through extreme weather and how poor development practices can exacerbate this risk. The authors advocate for a risk-based approach and transformative change that addresses the underlying social and economic drivers of vulnerability, rather than focusing solely on event-based response.

The author contends that climate change is the primary challenge to sustainable development and that the post-2015 framework must include a dedicated climate goal and integrated targets to avoid undermining poverty eradication efforts. While the current SDG report includes these elements, the author warns that some countries oppose the climate goal due to perceived overlaps with the UNFCCC. The document asserts that the post-2015 framework should complement, not replace, the UNFCCC and can provide momentum for the COP21 agreement.

The briefing identifies six critical areas for progress at the upcoming COP 20 in Lima, Peru, following negotiations in Bonn. These include establishing transparency and assessment mechanisms for intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), framing the long-term structure of the 2015 agreement, addressing adaptation goals, clarifying the role of climate finance via the Green Climate Fund, and implementing pre-2020 low-carbon actions. It also notes the European Union's recent commitment to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 as a positive signal for future negotiations.

The text outlines research from the International Climate Adaptation Futures Conference focusing on urban risk and adaptation planning. It examines case studies from diverse locations, including Tunis, Toronto, the Dutch province of Groningen, and various Australian municipalities, to explore the interactions between climate mitigation and adaptation.

The document outlines a project in Hue, Vietnam, that sought to balance socioeconomic development from tourism with environmental protection. It highlights the successful promotion of 'garden houses' as a climate mitigation and tourism strategy, the importance of national policy frameworks adapted to local contexts, and the role of leadership in guiding sustainable growth. However, it notes a critical trade-off: while local initiatives can reduce emissions within the city, they cannot address the emissions generated by tourists traveling to the destination.

The report provides a guide for city practitioners to build climate resilience in African cities, specifically focusing on the challenges of informality and inequality. It proposes an eight-step process for climate compatible development that integrates climate dynamics with socioeconomic and political dimensions, ranging from developing a vision and mapping linkages to the informal sector to assessing vulnerabilities and tracking progress.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) asserts that climate change is the most critical sustainable development challenge and that sustainable energy access is a primary lever for eradicating poverty. The authors call for the final text of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to explicitly include both climate mitigation and adaptation measures, as well as the scaling up of sustainable energy access, to ensure global action and partnership between public and private sectors.

The paper argues that for the SDGs to deliver climate compatible development, climate change must be both a stand-alone goal and mainstreamed across all other goals. It highlights a lack of quantitative targets in the Open Working Group's draft and emphasizes the need for nationally relevant indicators and local-level resilience. The document suggests that the SDGs should complement the UNFCCC process rather than duplicate it, and calls for coordinated financing to avoid gaps in climate compatible development funding.

The report explores diverse strategies to advance international climate policy, including the adoption of a 'green growth' narrative, the application of social psychology to fairness and equity, and the use of 'clubs' or public-private technology pools to bypass traditional negotiation impasses. It specifically examines the legal interpretation of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' (CBDR), the potential of green bonds to mobilize private finance, and the 'Quisqueya Platform' for creating synergies between mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

The document explores diverse strategies to advance international climate policy, including the adoption of a 'green growth' narrative, the application of social psychology to fairness and equity disputes, and the use of 'clubs' or public-private technology pools to bypass traditional negotiation impasses. It specifically examines the legal interpretation of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' (CBDR), the potential of green bonds to mobilize private finance, and the 'Quisqueya Platform' for creating synergies between mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

The authors reassess the DICE model, finding that correcting several 'dubious or mistaken' assumptions leads to a conclusion that more aggressive emissions reductions are warranted to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees centigrade, while maintaining robust economic growth.

The document examines how urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry (UPAF) are integrated into climate change action plans and the specific monitoring data required by city governments and international organisations to finance and implement these interventions. It highlights that climate change, combined with the loss of urban green cover, threatens infrastructure and quality of life, while rapid urban growth and climate-driven agricultural disruptions increase food insecurity for the urban poor.