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The report argues that immersive ethnographic methods are more effective than one-off consultations for capturing the lived experiences of marginalized groups in South Africa's coal regions. Based on fieldwork in Mpumalanga, it identifies critical gaps in current policy-making, including the exclusion of women and informal workers and the decline of community services after coal plant closures. To address these, the report recommends institutionalizing co-production, creating dedicated engagement funds, and training officials in participatory research to ensure a more inclusive just energy transition.

The We Mean Business Coalition supports the development of a fossil-fuel roadmap for COP30, arguing that such a framework can provide the clarity on targets and timelines necessary for long-term corporate investment. The Coalition emphasizes that for the roadmap to be effective, it must prioritize clean electrification, grid modernization, the removal of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and a co-developed process that addresses the differing needs of the Global North and South to ensure a just transition.

The Just Transition Compass was launched at a networking dinner in Belém during COP30. Developed by LACLIMA and Climate Strategies with support from GIZ and the COP30 Presidency, the Compass is an operational tool designed to help negotiators and implementers translate high-level climate ambitions into fair, inclusive transitions. It focuses on governance choices regarding participation, safeguards, and the distribution of benefits and burdens to prevent the creation of new 'sacrifice zones'. The launch followed a series of dialogues in Brasília, Panama, Bonn, and Addis Ababa, and serves as a foundation for continued collaboration on policy design and financing beyond the project's conclusion on 31 December 2025.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that Africa is disproportionately burdened by global inequality, noting that 57% of Africans live in countries spending more on debt servicing than on healthcare or education. In the context of South Africa's G20 presidency, the IEJ demands five urgent reforms: ending exploitative debt systems, establishing a UN-led global tax convention, investing in food buffer stocks and universal social floors, ensuring a just energy transition for the Global South, and reducing unpaid care work for women.

COP30 in Belém, Brazil, is positioned as a critical inflection point for the global climate regime, occurring ten years after the Paris Agreement. The briefing highlights a tension between the summit's goals and local environmental degradation, such as the construction of the Avenida Liberdade expressway through a rainforest protection area and Brazil's pursuit of oil exploration in the Equatorial Margin. Key negotiation priorities include updated NDCs, the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, and a new collective quantified goal for climate finance estimated at USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035. The document also underscores the influence of non-state actors, such as YOUNGO and the Women and Gender Constituency, and argues that recent advisory opinions from the ICJ and IACHR have transformed climate action from a political choice into a binding legal responsibility for states.

The document details the three main priorities for COP30 in Belém: closing the ambition gap for 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to limit warming to 1.5ºC, mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries by 2035, and concluding the global adaptation indicators program. It also highlights the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF) led by Brazil to protect forests through innovative financing, and a broader global action agenda focusing on renewable energy, just transition, and urban resilience.

The statement calls for COP30 in Belem to establish an action plan for a just transition to 100% renewable energy, specifically targeting the reform of multilateral development banks (MDBs). It argues that current MDB models prioritise private profit and increase debt in the Global South, citing examples of harmful green hydrogen and hydropower projects. The authors propose three shifts: an immediate end to fossil fuel and 'false solution' finance, the provision of grants instead of debt-creating instruments, and a move toward small-scale, community-owned renewable energy projects to ensure energy sovereignty.

This synthesis report discusses the role of South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency in advancing the 'just transition' agenda, building upon a Ministerial Statement from October 2024 that emphasizes structural actions in national economies and the international financial system to scale up climate action.

Indonesia's coal sector is facing a downturn as production records in 2024 are met with declining export demand from China and India and rising production costs. This oversupply has eroded company profits and state non-tax revenues. Simultaneously, coal mine methane (CMM) emissions are significantly underreported and are projected to rise by 25% by 2030, driven by the expansion of underground mining in South Kalimantan. The report recommends a moratorium on new mines, improved methane monitoring, and a just transition framework for coal-dependent regions.

The report analyzes energy subsidies and revenues in Chhattisgarh between FY 2020 and 2024, finding that fossil fuel subsidies have doubled since 2020 and that 78% of energy-related revenues depend on fossil fuels. While the state government provides 98% of electricity subsidies, clean energy subsidies account for only 8% of total quantified subsidies. The document recommends establishing state-level net-zero targets, better targeting electricity subsidies, diversifying revenue beyond coal, oil, and gas, and creating social support mechanisms for coal-dependent workers.

The World Resources Institute argues that COP30 must move beyond pledges to implementation by establishing a global roadmap for ambition, accelerating sectoral action for 2030 goals, and mobilizing long-term net-zero strategies. It emphasizes the need for G20 leadership in aligning near-term goals with long-term transitions and calls for a credible finance package, including the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap and country platforms, to unlock capital for developing nations.

Africa faces the challenge of decarbonizing industries while expanding industrial capacity, despite its low contribution to global emissions. The continent possesses significant assets for the clean energy transition, including cobalt reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo, solar potential, and coastal deserts suitable for green hydrogen. To move beyond simple resource extraction, the document emphasizes the need for innovation ecosystems connecting startups, research hubs, and policymakers. It highlights existing technological momentum in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco, suggesting that a targeted policy mix can enable entrepreneurs to develop green technologies for both local and global markets.

The policy brief highlights the potential of digital public infrastructure (DPI)—combining digital identification and payments on open platforms—to support Africa's green industrialization. It specifically identifies energy data exchange as a way to optimize the flow of renewable energy. The author asserts that most African nations currently lack the necessary contextualized policies to leverage DPI, urging leaders to adopt an 'all-of-government' policy approach and create investment incentives to foster a strong business environment for green industrialization.

The document outlines three critical areas for action at COP 30 to ensure the global transition away from fossil fuels remains viable: phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and public finance, closing the ambition gap in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and evolving the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) into a practical support mechanism. It highlights a significant gap between current production plans and the 1.5°C target, noting that current plans would see fossil fuel extraction increase by over 120% by 2030. The briefing also emphasizes the need for gender-responsive approaches to ensure the energy transition is inclusive and equitable.

The report documents the increasing recognition of Indigenous Peoples and traditional knowledge within the UNFCCC process, listing specific references across various policy areas including adaptation, finance, and technology. It highlights the role of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) and emphasizes the necessity of a rights-based approach to climate action, grounded in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Just Transition Compass serves as a non-prescriptive guide to move Just Transitions from high-level dialogue to concrete implementation. It defines core principles of distributive, procedural, and restorative justice, identifies systemic barriers to national implementation—such as limited subnational capacity and siloed finance—and analyzes the political tensions within the UNFCCC's Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP). The report advocates for a permanent international coordination mechanism to align fragmented efforts, manage the cross-border impacts of unilateral trade measures like the EU's CBAM, and mobilize private capital through sustainable finance taxonomies.

The Just Transition Compass establishes a framework to move from high-level climate commitments to scalable, justice-focused implementation. It identifies four core elements of a just transition—restorative, distributive, procedural, and climate justice—and argues that domestic transitions require international cooperation to avoid economic spillovers and financial inequalities. The document proposes the creation of a permanent Just Transition Coordination Unit within the UNFCCC to reduce fragmentation, align financial flows, and provide capacity support to countries.

The document analyzes Brazil's position as a top global oil producer, noting that while its current production is economically resilient to most climate scenarios, the pursuit of new frontiers like the Equatorial Margin carries high stranded asset risks. It highlights Brazil's potential to lead in low-carbon fuels and critical minerals but warns that a lack of coordinated industrial policy and investment in innovation may limit its competitiveness. The author recommends using advanced modeling to optimize investments in refining and green fuels and suggests leveraging diplomatic ties with China and the EU to diversify the economy post-fossil fuels.

The guidance document details how the Net Zero Finance Tracker (NZFT) monitors financial institutions' (FIs) transition to net zero. It maps NZFT indicators against nine global and regional frameworks—including GFANZ, UN HLEG, and the TPT—to ensure a robust tracking approach. The NZFT aims to exceed standard recommendations by applying more stringent criteria for target coverage, accountability, and evidence of positive climate engagement. While it covers most key transition elements, the document notes current data gaps regarding Just Transition and specific 2030 emission reduction thresholds.

The document analyzes the IMO's Net-Zero Framework (NZF), which was delayed by one year in October 2025 due to pressure from the US and oil-producing nations. A study by Cincera Consulting finds the NZF is inadequate, projecting emission reductions of only 8-10% by 2030, far below the 45% required by the Paris Agreement. The brief criticizes the NZF's hybrid approach—combining a GHG fuel standard with limited carbon pricing—noting that the effective carbon price of $14/tCO2eq is too low to drive a transition to green fuels. It recommends that the EU expand its Emissions Trading System (ETS) to cover 100% of emissions for voyages entering or leaving the European Economic Area and urges the IMO to adopt a universal levy to address absolute emissions.