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The document argues that while African nations have submitted ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), they face a massive climate finance gap and high debt burdens that hinder a just energy transition. It critiques previous G20 presidencies for treating developing countries as a monolith and failing to address Africa's specific needs, such as the disparity between mitigation and adaptation funding. The brief recommends that the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies focus on increasing the flow and quality of finance through concessional capital, debt-for-nature swaps, and the re-channeling of special drawing rights, while also enhancing Africa's participation in carbon markets and attracting private sector investment.

An open letter from a coalition of academics, NGOs, and businesses calling for a 'firewall' in EU climate policy to prevent carbon removals and land sequestration from being used as substitutes for gross emissions reductions. The signatories argue that 'net' targets risk mitigation deterrence and advocate for three independent targets to be integrated into the 2040 climate target and the EU's updated nationally determined contributions.

The report analyzes the landscape of voluntary standards and initiatives for carbon management (VSICMs), categorizing them into four types: GHG inventories, carbon offsets, disclosure platforms, and carbon-neutrality certifications. It details the corporate carbon management cycle—from leadership decisions and inventorying to mitigation and offsetting—and identifies key drivers for adoption, including regulations, investment strategies, and consumer pressure. The document benchmarks 35 leading VSICMs and highlights challenges such as a lack of harmonization and the risk of greenwashing.

The report advocates for the mainstreaming of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) as a tool to align climate and biodiversity actions across the Rio Conventions. It highlights the potential of EbA to reduce climate hazard intensity by 26% and provide significant economic benefits, such as USD 65 billion in flood protection from mangroves. The document emphasizes the need for policy coherence between National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), while stressing that equity and human rights-based approaches are essential for sustainable implementation.

The GLOW program demonstrates that gender equality and climate action are synergistic, arguing that women's leadership and participation are essential for the effectiveness and sustainability of low-carbon transitions. Through projects in the Global South, the report identifies four pathways for empowerment: improving the productivity of existing women's economic activities via climate-smart methods, integrating women into traditionally male-dominated value chains, consolidating low-carbon business models, and creating entirely new green jobs using emerging technologies. Key findings highlight that women often possess traditional knowledge that is inherently low-carbon and that emerging technologies, such as solar irrigation and circular bioeconomy tools (e.g., black soldier fly farming), can reduce servile labor and lower barriers to entry for women. The report recommends integrating gender-transformative policies into National Determined Contributions (NDCs), increasing women's access to productive assets and digital markets, and addressing the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work as a core component of climate action.

The report argues that COP28 failed to uphold human rights and was subject to corporate capture, resulting in insufficient outcomes on fossil fuel phaseouts and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance presents a framework for COP29 to translate the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health into concrete outcomes. The report argues that climate change undermines global health progress and calls for a fast, funded phase-out of fossil fuels, the adoption of a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance, and the integration of health targets into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It emphasizes the need for holistic adaptation, the capitalization of the Loss and Damage Fund to address health needs, and the protection of UNFCCC policymaking from the influence of polluting industries.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance presents a set of recommendations for COP29, arguing that climate action is a public health imperative. The document calls for the phase-out of fossil fuels, the establishment of a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance of at least USD 1 trillion per year, and the integration of health outcomes into National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and adaptation planning. It emphasizes the need to protect vulnerable populations, reform food systems toward agroecology, and manage conflicts of interest by reducing the influence of polluters in UNFCCC policymaking.

The report analyzes Ghana's efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy, focusing on the National Energy Transition Framework (NETF) and updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). While official goals align with international standards and stakeholder expectations for green job creation and sustainability, significant gaps exist. These include a contradiction between renewable energy goals and continued fossil fuel investments, such as a $12 billion oil refinery deal. Key barriers include a public debt level of 83.60% of GDP, regulatory inconsistencies, and an outdated power grid. The report recommends that the UNFCCC's Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) provide support in policy reform, financial mobilization, and technology transfer to help Ghana achieve net-zero energy-related emissions by 2060.

The fact sheet introduces 'transition indicators' as a tool to improve the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions and national adaptation plans. Based on case studies from seven countries, the document asserts that focusing on a few tangible metrics per sector—rather than abstract CO2 targets—facilitates public dialogue, guides policy implementation, and attracts private investment. It provides specific examples of indicators for water security in India, industrial decarbonization in Germany, transport in South Korea, buildings in China, renewable energy in the Netherlands, and sustainable agriculture in Kenya and Indonesia.

The UAE Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP), established at COP27, aims to support countries in creating climate-resilient futures and reducing inequality through a people-centred approach to climate action. In 2024, the programme conducted two dialogues: one in June at SB60 in Bonn regarding transition pathways via NDCs, NAPs, and LT-LEDs, and another in October in Sharm-el-Sheikh focusing on a whole-of-society approach and the workforce. The upcoming high-level ministerial round table at COP29 on 18 November 2024 will focus on advancing just transition pathways within the context of the next NDCs due in 2025.

The document details restoration monitoring efforts across four countries. In Brazil, the Brazilian Restoration and Reforestation Observatory (BRRO) tracks progress toward climate agreements using a multi-stakeholder platform and satellite data. Kenya has developed a monitoring framework with 30 indicators integrated into its 2024 National Ecosystem and Landscape Restoration Strategy. Burkina Faso utilizes the ONEDD platform for centralized data sharing among government and NGO partners. Vietnam employs the FORMIS system for forest status monitoring, though it faces challenges with data accessibility and consistency.

The GCF Readiness Strategy 2024–2027 reorients capacity-building support by streamlining five previous objectives into three, with a significant shift in funding priority toward pipeline development. The strategy introduces a four-year planning cycle to replace annual caps, providing a total estimated budget of USD 501.5 million. It establishes two primary modalities: a country support modality offering up to USD 7 million per country (including specific allocations for NAPs and LDCs/SIDS) and a DAE support modality providing up to USD 1 million per entity to strengthen direct access programming.

China is currently off track to meet its 2025 climate commitments, including targets for carbon and energy intensity and the share of non-fossil fuels. This is driven by a surge in coal power permitting and construction, with 114 GW approved and 70 GW starting construction in 2023. Despite official rhetoric that new coal plants serve a 'supporting' role for grid stability and renewable integration, the report finds this is often a 'smokescreen' for bulk power generation, leading to significant overcapacity and stranded asset risks.

The report outlines the necessity of community-led climate action, innovative financing, and the democratisation of technology to build resilient communities. It emphasizes that effective adaptation requires integrating local and Indigenous knowledge, leveraging private sector capital through blended finance, and breaking down infrastructure management silos. The document advocates for a collaborative ecosystem involving governments, NGOs, and the private sector to bridge gaps in funding and technical capacity ahead of COP29 and COP30.

The document argues that current climate finance models, particularly the 'Billions to Trillions' (B2T) agenda, prioritise private profit and neoliberal de-risking over human rights and public goods. It proposes a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) to climate finance, organised into six clusters: national responsibilities, obligations to others, national sovereignty, financial flow responsibilities, crisis management, and procedural fairness. The toolkit specifically critiques South Africa's JET-IP for its heavy reliance on loans over grants and its focus on infrastructure over social justice elements like skills development. It provides 'How-to' guides for advocating for climate-responsive budgeting, technological transfer reform, parliamentary oversight of IFI loans, and the establishment of a progressive sovereign debt workout mechanism based on UNCTAD principles.

The document analyzes Africa's role and priorities within the UNFCCC COP process, specifically focusing on the transition from COP27 to COP28 and looking ahead to COP29. It highlights the continent's success in establishing the Loss and Damage Fund and launching voluntary initiatives like the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, while warning that climate finance remains severely constrained and dominated by loans rather than grants. The brief argues that Africa must shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, integrating gender perspectives and climate-peace-security policies, while balancing the need for energy access with a just transition to low-carbon energy.

SEforALL reports significant progress in 2024, including the mobilization of USD 1.4 trillion in commitments through Energy Compacts and the facilitation of a USD 2 billion commitment for Mission 300 in Nigeria. The organization expanded electricity access for 48 million people in 2024 and advanced national energy policies in Kenya, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, while promoting sustainable cooling and clean cooking initiatives.

The Asia-Pacific region, home to 60% of the global population aged 60 and over, faces severe risks from climate change, including projected heat exposure nearly four times higher than other regions by mid-century. Older adults suffer disproportionately from heatwaves, natural disasters, and air pollution due to physical and socio-economic vulnerabilities. However, the document emphasises that older adults are not merely vulnerable but are 'a reservoir of knowledge and experience' who contribute to resilience through traditional knowledge and community-led initiatives in countries like India and Indonesia. The summary calls for a 'triangular strategy' of Protect, Reduce, and Mobilise to ensure older adults are active participants in climate action and that their human rights are protected through age-sensitive policies and universal social protection.

The document describes the 'ambition mechanism' of the Paris Agreement, which consists of three primary tools: Long-Term Strategies, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and Transparency Reports. It outlines the criteria for effective long-term planning, such as achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and reducing emissions by 80-90% by mid-century. It also references the First Global Stocktake from December 2023, which indicated that global efforts to reduce emissions, stop deforestation, and triple renewable energy capacity are currently insufficient. The guide provides a checklist for evaluating national climate commitments and transparency reports, emphasizing the need for specific reduction targets and clear accounting of emissions and absorptions.