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The document examines the tension between state-led and federal-led climate legislation, proposing a hybrid model for a federal cap-and-trade program. It argues that explicitly providing a mechanism for state action in federal law is necessary to maintain incentives for state-level innovation and emissions reductions while avoiding the business challenges associated with fragmented state-by-state regulation.

The Costs and Emissions Appraisal Tool for Transit Buses allows users to compare the costs and emissions of two bus fleets, each containing up to three bus types. The tool supports custom data input for specific cities or countries, while providing default data for Brazil and the United States.

A case study in Queretaro, Mexico, found that introducing a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and enhancing bus network efficiency would significantly reduce emissions, whereas alternative fuel and vehicle emission control technologies would provide minimal additional benefits.

The World Resources Institute analyzed Indonesia's May 2011 moratorium on new forest and peat land licenses, concluding that in its current state, it will not help the country meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 26 percent due to exemptions and enforcement issues.

The document argues that REDD+ programs must integrate legal, financial, and reputational accountability tools to ensure governments meet social and environmental objectives beyond greenhouse gas emission reductions. Drawing on case studies from Brazil and Indonesia, it identifies three primary functions of accountability tools: facilitating negotiations for reform, protecting people and the environment during policy implementation, and enabling the enforcement of agreed rules. The author suggests that REDD+ designers should explicitly include civil society in monitoring and oversight roles and build upon existing, effective laws rather than layering new programs over ineffective ones.

The document advocates for the implementation of high-quality, safe 'pop-up' bike lanes to support the surge in cycling during the pandemic. It emphasizes that temporary measures must not compromise safety standards, as poor design increases risks for cyclists, who account for 3% of global road traffic deaths. The guide aims to help cities integrate these temporary lanes into broader mobility strategies and speed management systems to ensure long-term sustainability and public health.

The policy brief examines the challenges of integrating carbon offsets into a U.S. cap-and-trade system, specifically highlighting the difficulties in quantifying and verifying soil and forest carbon sequestration. It argues that while offsets provide flexibility and cost-containment for capped entities, the high transaction costs and uncertainties associated with certain project types may make them less efficient than alternative regulations or incentive programs. The authors recommend a holistic strategy that evaluates the acceptable level of risk for overstating emission reductions and considers offsets as one part of a broader suite of climate policies.

The paper analyzes the institutional design of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), focusing on the tension between bilateral, multilateral, and unilateral implementation models. It proposes an "open architecture" approach to reconcile these conflicting visions and outlines the necessity of a common regulatory framework involving project validation, registration, verification, and certification to ensure environmental integrity and investor confidence.

The document outlines the role of southern U.S. forests in carbon sequestration and the function of forest carbon offsets as a cost-control mechanism for emitters. It identifies four project types—reforestation, afforestation, forest conservation/avoided conversion, and improved forest management—and emphasizes quality criteria such as additionality and permanence. While carbon offset income may not outcompete real estate development, it can help cover incremental costs like property taxes.

The briefing explains that carbon offsets can lower compliance costs in cap-and-trade systems by allowing regulated sources to compensate for emissions through reductions at unregulated sources. To maintain system integrity, offsets must be "real, surplus (or additional), verifiable, permanent, and enforceable." The author highlights that forestry and agriculture projects face higher quantification uncertainties—including measurement, baseline, leakage, and reversibility risks—which increase transaction costs for certification. Consequently, the document suggests that direct payments may be a more cost-effective alternative to offset markets for these specific high-uncertainty project types.