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The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, submitted comments on the Presidential Climate Commission's (PCC) draft recommendations for South Africa's 2030–2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) update. The submission emphasizes the need for high mitigation ambition to avoid fossil fuel lock-in, the integration of social justice, and the urgent implementation of adaptation measures in accordance with the Climate Change Act.

The document argues that the proposed Omnibus Directive is vulnerable to legal challenges under EU law due to substantive and procedural failures. Substantively, it claims the directive violates the principles of proportionality, legal certainty, and coherence, and breaches the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU Climate Law by weakening corporate sustainability and due diligence requirements. Procedurally, it highlights the Commission's failure to conduct required impact assessments, climate-consistency checks, and extensive consultations, which may render the act voidable under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The document argues that while financed emissions are essential for accountability, they are insufficient for identifying climate-aligned investment opportunities because they ignore transition drivers and enabling technologies. It recommends a pragmatic framework where financial institutions continue portfolio-level tracking via financed emissions but supplement them with production- or finance-based metrics and corporate transition assessments to improve transparency and actionability.

The document concludes that mandatory CRTP disclosures, based on IFRS S2 and the TPT Disclosure Framework, are unlikely to materially increase liability risks for companies and directors due to existing legal protections and the high evidentiary hurdle of proving dishonesty. It argues that such disclosures may actually reduce overall legal risk by promoting better compliance with existing duties and mitigating greenwashing claims.

The Canadian Climate Institute responds to claims that its 'Close to Home' report relies on 'guesswork,' asserting that its risk modelling uses data from The Co-operators and SwissRe and focuses on near-term risks. The Institute argues that failing to account for flood and wildfire exposure in housing development could increase private and public costs by $3 billion annually. It emphasizes that better land-use planning and risk information empower market participants to make informed decisions, addressing a market failure where insurance and property values misprice risk. The document notes that 2024 saw record insured losses of over $8.9 billion in Canada due to severe weather, including events in Quebec, Toronto, and Jasper, and maintains that climate change is increasing the area burned by wildfires.

The briefing examines how cuts to official development assistance, trade instability, and rising debt burdens threaten low-income countries. It argues that while the FfD4 outcome document represents a multilateral consensus, its success depends on translating commitments into action. The authors propose a strategy combining restructured aid, coordinated debt relief, and strengthened domestic resource mobilization—including wealth and natural resource taxation—to prevent systemic crises and support sustainable development.

The report identifies a significant gap in India's green hydrogen sector, where announced production capacity exceeds the 2030 target of 5 million metric tons (MMT) by 2.5 times, yet commissioned capacity remains below 0.01 MMT as of 2024. To address barriers like high costs and limited infrastructure, the report outlines five strategies to unlock 2.1–5 MMT of demand by 2030: blending in high-volume sectors (0.8–3.0 MMT), substitution in niche industries (0.04–0.07 MMT), green public procurement for steel (0.4–0.6 MMT), exporting hydrogen and ammonia (0.75–1.1 MMT), and exporting hydrogen-embedded products (0.1–0.2 MMT). It also emphasizes the need for enablers such as viability gap funding, sovereign guarantees, and hydrogen hubs.

The document details the growth of Kiru Energy, a Nigerian cleantech startup founded by Chibunna Ogbonna in 2017. It tracks the company's evolution from portable solar kits to residential rooftop installations and battery inverters, achieving a revenue of 15 million Naira and installing over 250 kilowatts of solar energy. The text outlines the financial trajectory of the firm, from a USD 5 logo investment to a USD 10,000 grant from the Clean Technology Hub in 2020. It further analyzes systemic barriers to scaling renewable energy in Africa, including unpredictable policies, forex fluctuations, and a fragmented innovation landscape where companies work in silos. Ogbonna advocates for better alignment between policymakers and the startup ecosystem to foster innovation and attract investment to a region often perceived as unstable.

Kiri EV, founded in 2020 by Chris Maara, develops electric motorcycles and tuk-tuks tailored for African roads, aiming to reduce fuel and operational costs by 40% to 60%. The company overcame early challenges including unsuitable imports from India and China, a lack of skilled local talent, and regulatory gaps in Kenya where EVs were sometimes classified as toys. Funding was secured through personal savings, grants from the Siemens Foundation and the Kenya Climate Innovation Center, and support from develoPPP Ventures and DEG Impulse. Kiri EV focuses on youth empowerment, recruiting fresh graduates and T-VET students to bridge the skills gap and providing training to 1,600 individuals. The founder advocates for industry-friendly regulations, increased local African investment, and structural protections for local entrepreneurs against foreign competition.

The report details a critical shortage of grid connection capacity in Turkey and worldwide. In Turkey, 65% of unlicensed project applications were rejected between February 2024 and April 2025 due to regional capacity constraints. Globally, 1.65 TW of wind, solar, and hydro projects are awaiting connection. The document identifies economic risks, long construction timelines, cautious technical planning, and procedural inefficiencies as primary barriers to the energy transition.

The report finds that Türkiye has a baseline hybrid solar potential of 8 GW at existing wind and hydroelectric sites, which could increase to 25.6 GW under more optimistic economic conditions. Dammed hydroelectric plants offer the highest potential due to their location in high-solar regions like the Mediterranean and Eastern Anatolia. Implementing this capacity could significantly increase the share of renewables in the electricity mix and mitigate the impact of drought-induced hydroelectric generation losses.

The report identifies a base potential of 8 GW for hybrid solar plants at existing wind and hydroelectric sites in Türkiye, which could increase to over 25 GW under more favorable economic conditions. It highlights that 46% of this potential is located at dam-type hydroelectric plants, particularly in the Mediterranean and Eastern Anatolia regions. The document argues that realizing this potential would significantly increase the share of solar energy in the national grid and could mitigate the impact of drought-induced declines in hydroelectric production.

The report examines how to increase the use of solar PV-powered cooking solutions in marginalized 'last-mile' communities by addressing financial and awareness barriers through public and private capital and scalable business models.

The report outlines a strategy for Indonesia to reach its goal of 13 million electric two-wheelers and 2 million electric four-wheelers by 2030 through a combination of policy, financing, technology adoption, and corporate engagement.

The document examines the integration of climate-resilient budgeting (CRB) and green budgeting (GB) into Nigeria's national financial frameworks, specifically focusing on the role of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP). It analyzes the impact of Nigeria's 2023 ministerial restructuring, identifies gaps in current policy implementation, and compares Nigeria's approach with other developing nations like Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Nepal.

The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) proposes 13 measures to align the 2025/2026 Plano Safra with Brazil's climate goals. Key recommendations include restricting rural credit for properties with any deforestation (legal or illegal), aligning sustainable practice criteria with the upcoming Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, and improving the monitoring of pasture recovery projects. The brief also advocates for prioritizing vulnerable smallholders in the Pronaf program and harmonizing the socio-environmental restrictions of the Rural Insurance Premium Subsidy Program (PSR) with those of rural credit.

The CEO of Mighty Earth discusses the risks associated with JBS's listing on the New York Stock Exchange, citing a history of bribery, fraudulent climate claims, and pollution. While noting progress such as the suspension of 1,000 suppliers linked to deforestation by JBS and other Brazilian meatpackers, the author highlights ongoing failures in South American cattle companies to prohibit deforestation in the Cerrado, Pantanal, and Chiquitania ecosystems, as well as a general lack of methane pollution disclosure.

The report 'Private Equity, Public Harm' estimates that private equity-backed fossil fuel infrastructure in the U.S. generates annual health costs between $11.3 billion and $15.1 billion, causing approximately 1,000 premature deaths and 1,500 emergency room visits yearly. Using the EPA's COBRA tool, the analysis identifies significant impacts from pollutants such as SO₂, NOₓ, VOCs, and PM2.5, noting that several individual private equity firms are responsible for over $1 billion in annual health impacts. The document calls for mandatory disclosures of fossil fuel exposure and emissions, a complete transition to a fossil-free portfolio by 2030, and the integration of environmental justice mechanisms to protect impacted communities.

The policy brief identifies a "missing middle" investment gap where energy infrastructure projects are too large for venture capital but too risky for institutional investors. It proposes a systemic bankability framework consisting of nine conditions—including risk management, regulatory certainty, and infrastructure access—that the federal government must help establish to catalyze private investment. The authors warn that proposed House budget reconciliation cuts to tax credits and the cessation of Department of Energy grant and loan programs threaten the commercialization of strategic technologies like CCS, nuclear, and geothermal energy.

As of March 31, 2025, the GCF's total pledged amount decreased to USD 29.9 billion following the United States' revocation of USD 4 billion in outstanding pledges. The Fund has committed USD 16.7 billion to 297 projects across 133 countries, with a portfolio balance of 59% adaptation and 41% mitigation in grant-equivalent terms. The accredited entity network consists of 145 entities, 64% of which are Direct Access Entities. The Readiness Programme has approved USD 713 million for 862 grants, with 62% of support directed toward LDCs, SIDS, or African States. To manage a pipeline of 182 concept notes and 85 funding proposals, the GCF is implementing a 'targeted approach' to retire inactive legacy projects. The Project Preparation Facility (PPF) has committed USD 69.5 million to support 110 applications, unlocking USD 7.2 billion in total climate finance.