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The document serves as a survival manual for climate negotiators, particularly those from the Global South. It details the scientific basis of climate change, the evolution of the international regime from the 1992 UNFCCC to the Paris Agreement, and the operational mechanics of the COP. It provides practical advice on navigating formal and informal negotiation spaces, managing the challenges of 'hollow mandates,' and utilizing coalitions like the G-77 and China to increase bargaining power.

The document serves as a survival guide for climate change negotiators, detailing the scientific basis of the climate crisis, the evolution of the international regime from the 1992 UNFCCC to the Paris Agreement, and the formal and informal structures of the UN process. It specifically addresses the structural disadvantages faced by negotiators from developing countries, such as 'hollow mandates' and limited coalition-forming power, and offers practical strategies for drafting, bargaining, and coping with the pressures of high-stakes diplomacy.

The BASIC countries are expected to maintain a dual role in climate negotiations, participating in both formal UNFCCC processes and informal negotiations with powers like the United States. While they helped broker the Copenhagen Accord, they maintain that it does not replace the UNFCCC's two-track system of industrialized country commitments and long-term cooperative action. To counter criticisms of pursuing individual agendas, the BASIC countries are likely to align more closely with other developing nations and intergovernmental groups, such as the African Union, focusing on shared priorities like technology transfer, climate justice, and the requirement for developed nations to fund adaptation and mitigation.

The Adaptation Fund (AF), established in 2001 under the Kyoto Protocol, provides funding for climate resilience in vulnerable countries. While it offers a unique 'direct access' mechanism allowing countries to manage funds through National Implementing Entities (NIEs), the brief notes that Africa faces capacity challenges in utilizing this. Funding primarily relies on a 2% levy from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which the document argues is unpredictable and potentially shifts the financial burden from developed to developing nations. Africa has received 24.9% of AF funds, but the brief highlights a lack of approved projects and insufficient funding relative to requests.

The report by Unge Kunstneres Samfund outlines three primary strategies for artist organizations to address the climate crisis: integrating climate action into professional political work, establishing and maintaining networks, and fostering 'climate utopias' through creative responses. It emphasizes the link between climate justice and artists' working conditions, suggesting that sustainability must encompass both material and social issues, including the adoption of circular material use in exhibition production. The framework utilizes a classification of approaches—dutiful, disruptive, or dangerous—adapted from Karen O’Brien and Julie’s Bicycle to guide organizational planning and prioritization.

The document outlines three strategic approaches for artist unions to address the climate crisis: integrating climate action into core union work, building and sustaining networks, and fostering a 'climate utopia' through radical imagination. It provides a framework for categorising actions as 'dutiful', 'disruptive', or 'dangerous' and includes a toolkit of workshop exercises and a mapping of existing and needed capacities for artist organisations.

The document outlines the necessity of moving from the principles of the Paris Agreement to the practice of gender-responsive climate change adaptation. It emphasizes that adaptation efforts must consider how gender and social norms intersect with factors like age and race to influence vulnerability. The text identifies three critical areas for action: assessing who benefits from adaptation results to avoid exacerbating inequalities, ensuring equitable participation in decision-making to overcome the under-representation of women and marginalized groups, and addressing gender gaps in education and income to enable women and girls to act as agents of change.

A statement submitted on 13 December 2024 by a coalition of civil society organizations, including Natural Justice and SAFCEI, providing critical comments on South Africa's Draft Article 6 Framework. The coalition argues that carbon markets are fundamentally flawed and risk enabling human rights abuses, land grabs, and the evasion of actual emission reductions.

The briefing argues that climate justice cannot be achieved without protecting environmental defenders, who face increasing violence, harassment, and criminalization, often linked to land conflicts and climate-damaging industries. It proposes specific enhancements to the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Action Plan and the Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement to integrate human rights protections. Additionally, it calls for a protocol to ensure that countries hosting COPs guarantee freedom of association and assembly for civil society and Indigenous representatives.

The Declaration of the African Caravans for Climate Justice argues that colonialism is a primary driver of climate change and calls for a transition from debt-based climate finance to grants. It demands that wealthy nations meet the $100 billion annual pledge, establish a dedicated loss and damage financing mechanism, and halt new investments in fossil fuels and nuclear power. The document emphasizes the need for peasant agroecology, community land security, and the meaningful inclusion of women and youth in climate governance.

The Climate Justice Movement (CJM) in Kenya is a decentralized coalition of civil society, grassroots organizations, and indigenous groups working to address unequal climate impacts. While the movement has successfully influenced policy and established a strong grassroots presence, it faces challenges including internal leadership disputes, limited funding, and coordination gaps. The study highlights the importance of the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) program and the need for better gender mainstreaming and technical capacity building to ensure equitable climate action.

The document outlines the UN human rights framework, distinguishing between charter-based and treaty-based monitoring mechanisms. It details the 'International Bill of Human Rights' and other core treaties, while highlighting specialized bodies such as the Special Rapporteur, the Expert Mechanism, and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The guide provides practical advice for communities on filing complaints, participating in UN sessions, and utilizing National Human Rights Institutions to advocate for their rights.

The African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project, implemented by a consortium including Natural Justice, Oxfam, and others, has worked in Senegal from May 2021 to December 2025 to democratize climate debate and promote inter- and intra-generational climate justice. Key achievements include the creation of six influential networks for women, youth, and local officials, the production of 18 community narratives (podcasts, videos, and comics), and the legal empowerment of communities facing extractive industries. The project has facilitated community participation in national policies such as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the National Adaptation Plan, while supporting legal actions and the recognition of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) in biodiversity legislation.

The document provides a comprehensive framework for Senegalese communities to understand climate change, assess their vulnerabilities, and take 'climate action' through legal empowerment. It details the specific climate risks facing Senegal, lists international and national legal obligations, and provides a step-by-step toolkit for advocacy, information access, and litigation.

The briefing outlines specific additions and deletions for Kenya's 2017 Petroleum and Energy Bills. Key proposals focus on mandating 30-day public notice periods, ensuring the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) oversees ecological protections, and aligning resource vesting and land compensation with the Kenyan Constitution and the Community Land Act, 2016.

Natural Justice is an African organisation dedicated to social and environmental justice, employing a "Litigation Plus" approach that combines legal empowerment, research, policy influence, and strategic litigation. In 2024, the organisation supported over 30 strategic lawsuits across Africa, including successful challenges against Shell's seismic testing in South Africa and the annulment of an Environmental Impact Assessment for Sosian Energy Ltd in Kenya. The organisation also focuses on securing land tenure, protecting indigenous biocultural heritage in Namibia and Madagascar, and defending environmental defenders, notably supporting 180 activists through an emergency fund, including those protesting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda. Additionally, Natural Justice engages in global policy advocacy at UN biodiversity and climate summits to promote human rights-based approaches to conservation and energy transitions.

The African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project, implemented by a consortium including Natural Justice, PACJA, Oxfam Novib, AYC, and FEMNET/RECODEF, reports significant progress between 2021 and 2023 in advancing climate justice. Key activities include legal training for judicial actors in West Africa, community-led audits of coal plants, and the creation of youth and women's climate networks. In Senegal, the project supported legal action against industrial pollution in Cayar, influenced the national environmental code, and trained over 700 people in legal empowerment to defend their natural capital.

The document highlights the disproportionate risks faced by women environmental and human rights defenders (WEHRDs) in Africa, including gender-based violence, criminalization, and digital attacks. It notes a significant gap in data and reporting, with women often excluded from official statistics and protection mechanisms. The brief identifies the Democratic Republic of Congo as the deadliest country for environmental defenders and calls for gender-responsive funding, legal protections, and the formal recognition of WEHRDs' leadership within UNFCCC processes and national policies.

The document highlights the disproportionate risks faced by women environmental and human rights defenders (WEHRDs) in Africa, including gender-based violence, criminalization, and digital attacks. It notes a significant gap in data collection, where official statistics underrepresent the scale of violence against women compared to men. The report identifies the extractive industry, poaching, and state security forces as primary sources of threats, particularly in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Kenya. It argues that WEHRDs face unique intersectional vulnerabilities based on race, class, and disability, and calls for flexible, long-term funding and gender-sensitive legal and psychosocial support to protect these activists.

The report evaluates the Climate Justice Movement (CJM) in Kenya, highlighting its role in shaping the Climate Change Act of 2016 and its ongoing efforts in policy advocacy and community resilience. While the movement is diverse—comprising CBOs, NGOs, and indigenous groups—it faces significant challenges, including shrinking civic space, internal fragmentation, and limited inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in formal decision-making. The study recommends operationalizing the CJM engagement framework, resolving power struggles over civil society representation in the National Climate Change Council, and adopting intersectional, gender-transformative approaches to climate action.