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The IISD welcomes the Emirates COP28 Leaders Declaration as a historic first for food systems at a COP, praising its commitment to integrate food and land use into national climate and biodiversity plans by 2025. While the IISD supports the declaration's focus on financial support and the interlinkages between climate and biodiversity, it argues that the document should have explicitly called for the urgent phase-out of fossil fuels within food systems to align with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target.

The document outlines strategic recommendations for Lebanon's early-stage National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, drawing on experiences from 12 peer countries. It emphasizes the need for strong institutional leadership, the prioritization of low-cost catalytic actions for implementability, and the blending of public and private finance. Key recommendations include establishing a multistakeholder coordination mechanism, integrating gender equality and social inclusion, and developing a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system. The analysis highlights specific examples, such as Albania's Inter-Ministerial Working Group and Bosnia and Herzegovina's municipal financing tools, to guide Lebanon in creating a science-based, inclusive, and implementable adaptation strategy.

The NAP Global Network's 'Envisioning Resilience' initiative uses photography and storytelling training to empower underrepresented women to document their lived experiences with climate change. By presenting these visual stories to decision-makers, the project aims to shift policy dialogue from simple consultation to meaningful engagement, highlighting the intersection of gender, social exclusion, and non-climatic vulnerabilities.

The mid-term evaluation of Côte d’Ivoire's SNGCC 2020–2024 reveals a low overall implementation rate, with only 16% of activities fully completed. While the strategy is deemed relevant and aligned with international commitments and national priorities, it suffers from a lack of budgeting, an absent monitoring and evaluation framework, and insufficient funding for direct actions. Significant progress was made in capacity building and inter-institutional coordination, including the establishment of the National Gender and Climate Change Platform (PNGCC) and the integration of gender perspectives into the National Adaptation Plan (PNA) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). However, the axis focused on the empowerment of women and girls has seen the least progress, with over 80% of its activities not yet implemented. The report recommends adopting a results-based management approach for the next strategy, mobilizing more internal and external resources, and expanding gender-climate training to local authorities and community leaders.

The report examines the integration of national and sub-national governance in climate adaptation planning. It finds that most developing countries' NAPs assign sub-national governments roles in planning and implementation, and all NAPs reference at least one non-state sub-national actor. The analysis emphasizes that vertical integration is essential to ensure adaptation priorities reflect local realities and that resources are effectively channeled to sub-national actors.

Climate change in Malawi is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of cyclones, floods, and droughts, significantly impacting the agriculture and road infrastructure sectors. While the government has established various policy frameworks and a National Climate Change Fund, mobilization of funding remains constrained by institutional capacity gaps and macroeconomic vulnerabilities, including unsustainable public debt. The report argues that an agriculture-led growth strategy remains the most effective path for poverty reduction despite climate risks and recommends a structured investment platform to translate adaptation plans into bankable projects.

Kenya is highly vulnerable to climate change, with adverse events causing annual socioeconomic losses of 3–5 percent of GDP between 2010 and 2020. While some crop yields may increase due to CO2 fertilization and higher elevations, the livestock sector faces significant risks from heat stress and drought, particularly in arid and semi-arid lands. The report highlights critical vulnerabilities in hydropower, tourism, and coastal infrastructure, while noting that the government is a regional leader in policy but struggles with financing and subnational coordination. Recommendations focus on granular climate scenario analysis, diversifying agriculture, improving agricultural insurance, and mobilizing large-scale funding through ARIPs.

Climate change is projected to increase temperatures and decrease rainfall in Zambia, particularly in the south and west, threatening food security, energy stability, and transport infrastructure. The report highlights that maize yields could drop by over 9% by 2050 under high emissions scenarios, and hydropower generation—which provides 85% of installed capacity—is highly vulnerable to drought. Road infrastructure is also at risk, with flooding in Lusaka and the north potentially disrupting trade and supply chains. While the Zambian government has integrated climate goals into its Eighth National Development Plan and is developing a National Adaptation Plan, significant barriers remain, including severe debt distress and limited technical capacity. The report recommends a programmatic approach to funding via ARIPs to mobilize the estimated US$50 billion needed by 2030, emphasizing region-specific agricultural adaptation and the diversification of the energy mix.

The study examines the interrelationship between climate change mitigation (CCM) and adaptation (CCA), arguing that integrating these actions can increase cost-effectiveness and leverage climate finance. It finds that while most analyzed countries (Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa) and Germany acknowledge co-benefits, they lack explicit, integrated implementation plans and face a significant funding imbalance, with mitigation receiving substantially more finance than adaptation. The report recommends a 'whole-of-government' approach, including green budgeting and standardized taxonomies, to better identify and fund synergistic projects.

The document details Côte d’Ivoire's efforts to integrate gender responsiveness into its climate adaptation policies from 2018 to 2023. It outlines key institutional milestones, such as the creation of the National Gender and Climate Change Platform and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the ministries of environment and gender. The report identifies successful practices including dedicated NAP writing sessions for gender experts and the use of gender-disaggregated indicators. It concludes with recommendations to improve resource mobilization, strengthen monitoring mechanisms, and increase the involvement of women and youth in decision-making to ensure more inclusive climate adaptation.

The Central African Republic's National Gender and Climate Change Strategy (NGCCS) 2023–2030 seeks to integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) into all climate actions. The strategy is jointly led by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) and the Ministry of Gender Affairs and the Protection of Women, Families and Children (MPGPFFE). It identifies five strategic areas of focus: governance and finance, priority sector actions, capacity strengthening, awareness-raising, and the empowerment of women and vulnerable groups. Out of 112 total actions, 31 have been prioritized with an estimated cost of USD 575,000. These priority activities include establishing gender and climate focal points in ministries, creating a GESI and climate database, and promoting gender-sensitive budgeting in climate finance.

The document outlines the gender-based vulnerabilities in Haiti's climate-sensitive sectors—agriculture, health, infrastructure, and water—and assesses the legal and institutional frameworks for gender mainstreaming. It highlights significant disparities in land ownership, credit access, and decision-making power between men and women. To address these, the report proposes a gender mainstreaming strategy focusing on awareness, capacity building, inclusive institutional arrangements, and gender-sensitive budgeting, while recommending the integration of gender experts into the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) and municipal planning processes.

The report examines vertical integration in National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes, finding that while most countries reference sub-national governments and non-governmental actors, there are varying levels of integration across planning, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) stages.

The National Gender and Climate Change Strategy (SNGCC) 2023–2030 of the Central African Republic seeks to integrate gender equality and social inclusion (EGIS) into all climate actions to ensure sustainable and equitable results. The strategy is structured around five strategic axes: governance and finance, sector-specific actions, capacity building, communication, and the empowerment of women and vulnerable groups. It identifies 112 total actions, with 31 prioritized activities estimated to cost 575,000 USD. Implementation is led jointly by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) and the Ministry for the Promotion of Gender, Protection of Women, Family and Children (MPGPFFE).

The report identifies systemic gender inequalities in Haiti—particularly regarding land ownership, credit access, and decision-making power—that increase the vulnerability of women and girls to climate change. It assesses the legal and institutional framework, noting that while gender units exist in ministries, they lack sufficient climate change expertise and coordination with the Ministry of Environment. The document proposes a four-axis strategy focusing on awareness, capacity building, institutional strengthening, and gender-responsive budgeting to ensure that climate adaptation benefits are equitably distributed.

The report examines vertical integration in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), highlighting the roles of subnational governments and non-governmental actors. Based on an analysis of 45 multisectoral NAPs, it finds that while most countries recognize subnational roles in planning and implementation, gaps remain in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and stable financial flows to local levels. It provides recommendations for national governments, subnational authorities, development partners, and funding bodies to strengthen multi-level coordination and capacity.

The document argues that while climate change drives extreme weather in Pakistan, such as the 2022 floods, the resulting devastation and security risks are multiplied by systemic governance failures, socioeconomic inequality, and political instability. It highlights a pattern where comprehensive strategic documents are produced following disasters, but implementation is hindered by a lack of localized governance and a political focus on short-term power over long-term resilience.

The GCF Secretariat report for 2023 details progress on six strategic objectives, highlighting a mix of target achievements and lagging indicators. While the Fund has increased its private sector financing and adaptation focus, it faces challenges with project implementation timelines, with only 49% of the portfolio rated 'on track' against a 70% target. The report also outlines the launch of the project-specific assessment approach (PSAA) and the progress of the second replenishment period (GCF-2), which had received over USD 7.25 billion in pledges as of September 2023.

The document outlines the role of Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) within the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) and explains how countries can use outputs from their National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes to fulfill reporting options on climate change impacts and adaptation efforts.

The document emphasizes that developing countries cannot meet climate ambitions without integrating citizens into policy-making. It asserts that public engagement is essential for building the social mandate and long-term support necessary to implement adaptation actions prioritized within National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes.