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This report by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the climate finance gap for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), highlighting the inadequacy of debt-based financial mechanisms and proposing the use of highly concessional, grant-based capital and innovative risk-management tools to build resilience in the most vulnerable nations.

This report, prepared by an Independent High-Level Expert Group (IHLEG) for the Brazilian G20 Presidency and the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, reviews the operations of the Vertical Climate and Environmental Funds (VCEFs)—the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Adaptation Fund (AF), the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The review identifies a fragmented global climate finance landscape and recommends a 'process integration' approach to enhance the Funds' collective impact. Key proposals include harmonizing accreditation and reporting, shifting from individual projects to country-driven investment platforms, and expanding the use of diverse financial instruments to mobilize more private and public capital for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) and least-developed countries (LDCs).

This briefing introduces an analysis of the potential impacts of the European Commission's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on least developed countries and climate-vulnerable nations, including small island developing states.

This policy brief outlines best practices for least developed countries (LDCs) to engage effectively in climate diplomacy, drawing on the experience of the Gambia. It argues that successful international climate engagement requires establishing climate change as a core national interest, mainstreaming it into development planning, and strategically engaging with the media to build domestic and international credibility.

This briefing, produced by the European Capacity Building Initiative (ecbi) for the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, analyzes strategies for the LDC Group to increase global ambition for climate mitigation within the negotiations for a new climate agreement intended to enter into force in 2020.

This briefing describes the transition for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) from National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), which address short-term urgent needs, to National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), which focus on medium- and long-term adaptation. It outlines the objectives of the NAP process, the use of 'no-regret' strategies, the integration of climate planning into national development, and the financial and monitoring challenges facing LDCs.

This research paper describes a tailored monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework developed by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) to assess its Negotiations Support programme. The programme provides legal and technical assistance to negotiators from the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries to increase their influence in international climate change negotiations.

This policy brief by Kiran Sura and Nadia Schweimler examines how Least Developed Countries (LDCs) can utilize 'climate diplomacy' to drive more ambitious international climate action both within and outside the UNFCCC framework.

This policy brief by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) examines the role of climate diplomacy in securing a global climate agreement by 2015. It argues that integrating climate change into foreign policy and building diplomatic capacity—particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs)—is essential for advancing multilateral action both within and outside the UNFCCC process.

This research paper examines the challenges of identifying and ranking countries that are "particularly vulnerable" to climate change for the purpose of allocating adaptation funding. The author argues that vulnerability is a poorly defined concept without an agreed metric, making any attempt to create an objective vulnerability index a political rather than a purely academic exercise.

This fact sheet describes the scoping phase of a programme titled 'Building Long-Term Capacity for Managing and Adapting to Climate Change in Asia and Africa', funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and partnered with Global Change Systems for Analysis, Research and Training (START). The initiative aims to enhance the capacity of universities, research institutes, government, industry, and NGOs in selected least developed countries to manage risks associated with climate variability and change.

This executive summary evaluates the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, focusing on its ability to provide a "development dividend"—benefits to developing countries in economic growth, technology, poverty alleviation, and health beyond climate mitigation. The authors argue that the current project pipeline is under-performing, skewed toward a few countries, and dominated by low-development-benefit industrial gas projects, necessitating reforms in project cycles, rules, and international financing to ensure sustainable development goals are met.

Pa Ousman Jarju, Chairman of the LDC group, outlines the reactions of the 48 Least Developed Countries to the outcomes of CoP17 in Durban, noting progress on adaptation and finance alongside concerns over insufficient mitigation pledges.

This policy brief by the LDC Environment Centre, supported by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), argues for the inclusion of 'suppressed demand' in the baseline and monitoring methodologies of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It contends that current CDM methodologies disadvantage Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and African nations by using actual constrained consumption as a baseline, which ignores the unmet needs of poor populations and reduces the volume of tradable carbon credits (CERs). The document outlines the barriers causing suppressed demand and calls for capacity building and the operationalization of guidelines adopted by the CDM Executive Board and the Conference of the Parties (CMP).

This fact sheet describes the mission, strategic themes, and operational achievements of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), an alliance of six organisations dedicated to helping developing countries implement climate compatible development.

This guide, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute, serves as a companion document that maps the 'PROVIA Guidance on Assessing Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation to Climate Change' to the 'Technical Guidelines for the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Process'. It provides national policy-makers in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other developing countries with specific methods, tools, and decision trees to implement the various steps of the NAP process, from laying the groundwork and assessing vulnerabilities to implementing and monitoring adaptation strategies.

This research paper describes the development of the Assessing Climate Change Adaptation Framework (ACCAF) by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of the United Nations Capital Development Fund's (UNCDF) Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) mechanism, which provides performance-based grants to local authorities in Least Developed Countries.