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The State of Palestine (SoP) seeks USD 893,872 from the Green Climate Fund to overcome barriers to climate finance exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and Israeli occupation. The proposal focuses on three main outcomes: establishing a National Digital Climate Change Platform to enable remote coordination and data sharing; conducting a holistic readiness needs assessment and a framework for health co-benefits; and developing six high-quality project concept notes (five in energy and agriculture, one in health). The project, to be implemented by Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory LLC over 18 months, aims to restore disrupted NDC implementation and improve the matching of project concepts with international Accredited Entities.

The document traces the history of international climate governance, highlighting the shift from the 'top-down' Kyoto Protocol to the 'bottom-up' Paris Agreement. It analyzes the central tension between ensuring universal participation and maintaining the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR). While the Paris Agreement achieved universality by allowing self-differentiation through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the brief notes that current collective pledges are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C, and that the regime's success depends on the ambition of major emitters.

The 2020 UN Climate Change Dialogues served as a virtual bridge to COP 26, testing the scalability of online multilateral engagement. While the format increased accessibility for some individuals and communities, it created significant barriers for delegations from least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) due to time zone differences and poor internet connectivity. Substantive progress on the Paris Rulebook and Article 6 remained limited, with discussions often staying at an abstract level. Despite a rise in net-zero pledges that could potentially lower projected warming to 2.1°C, concerns persist regarding the gap between stated ambition and actual policy implementation.

Based on a survey of 98 policy makers and experts from 83 countries, the report finds that while fundamental drivers for a low-carbon transition remain, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed NDC and LTS processes. It warns that many countries do not currently plan to significantly increase their ambition in the current update cycle and that short-term economic relief may lead to the bailing out of polluting industries without climate conditions. The report urges countries to act before the 2025 update cycle to avoid the scale of the task becoming unreachable.

Five years after the Paris Agreement, there has been a significant increase in net-zero commitments from major economies and businesses, though current pledges only limit temperature rise to 2.1ºC. The author argues that green recovery plans provide better economic and employment benefits than traditional stimulus and calls for mandatory climate-related financial disclosures and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies to unlock further private investment.

The document argues that while many countries have submitted long-term climate strategies, a formal decision at COP26 is necessary to provide a new timeframe for submissions, encourage regular updates, and align these strategies with short-term Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It outlines six functions for such a decision, including welcoming existing strategies and facilitating continuous improvement based on science and national developments. The author emphasizes that long-term strategies are critical for guiding structural economic shifts, sparking innovation, and ensuring a just transition for workforces.

The document advocates for redefining youth engagement in African climate policy, moving beyond 'tick-box' exercises to treat young people as key stakeholders. It emphasizes the importance of intersectional approaches, the role of youth networks, and the need for comprehensive curriculum reform to build climate-conscious citizens.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance urges governments, particularly G20 nations, to increase climate commitments by three to five times to align with the Paris Agreement's 1.5-2°C goal. The Alliance argues that COVID-19 recovery spending must be integrated with climate strategies to maximize economic and health benefits, noting that G20 countries are responsible for 78% of global greenhouse gas emissions but lack commitments aligned with the 1.5°C target.

The document outlines a framework for countries to create long-term strategies (LTS) for low-emission development in alignment with the Paris Agreement. It proposes that LTS development be a continuous planning process integrated with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) cycles, utilizing three levels of complexity—from basic to detailed—to allow countries to improve the robustness of their strategies over time across eight key aspects.

The Climate Action Tracker reports that net zero pledges announced by November 2020 could limit global warming to 2.1°C by 2100, though current policies still track 0.8°C higher than this optimistic target. While the Paris Agreement has driven a 0.7°C decrease in real-world emissions projections since 2015, the report emphasizes that governments must strengthen 2030 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and implementation plans to bridge the remaining gap to 1.5°C.

The document examines the challenges and opportunities for private investment in Peru's waste sector to meet NDC goals. It evaluates specific technology options for landfills in Trujillo and San Juan Bautista, develops financial investment cases, and identifies systemic barriers such as high tax delinquency and lack of regulatory capacity. To address these, the paper proposes three priority measures: integrating waste tax collection into public utility bills, creating a national methodology for calculating waste service costs, and expanding the 'Work for Taxes' (OxI) scheme to final waste disposal infrastructure.

The policy brief contends that relying on carbon offsets to meet climate targets is risky and unsustainable due to issues with environmental integrity and the risk of 'double counting' under the Paris Agreement. It argues that offsets can displace domestic climate action and mask the scale of the climate crisis by offering a cheap alternative to deep sectoral transformation. To address these failures, the document proposes shifting from a 'compensation' model to a 'contribution' model, where companies fund host country climate efforts without claiming carbon neutrality. Additionally, it suggests 'practice-based credits' that reward the implementation of sustainable practices rather than quantified results, which is particularly useful for land-use projects where permanence is difficult to guarantee. The brief emphasizes that these alternatives better align with sustainable development goals and protect companies from reputational risks associated with fraudulent offsetting claims.

The report argues that while carbon markets were originally designed for zero-sum offsetting, they can be repurposed for results-based climate finance (RBCF) to quantify and verify mitigation impacts. It identifies a specific 'niche' for RBCF: supporting technologies that have passed the R&D stage but are not yet market-mature. The authors highlight several limitations, including a bias toward the cheapest mitigation options, high transaction costs for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), and a lack of effectiveness in least developed countries (LDCs) where emissions are low. To maximize impact, the report suggests shifting from rewarding to enabling through host-country policy commitments, reducing MRV stringency when credits are not used for offsetting, and complementing RBCF with upfront grants or loans.

The report traces the shift in international climate policy from the 'top-down' prescriptive approach of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which targeted developed nations, to the 'bottom-up' participatory model of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It highlights the central role of the 'common but differentiated responsibilities' (CBDR) principle and argues that while the Paris Agreement achieved universal participation, current national commitments remain insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.

The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) reports that a wave of net zero pledges from 127 countries could reduce projected warming by 2100 to as low as 2.1°C. However, current policies still put the world on a trajectory of 2.9°C, and a significant emissions gap remains for 2030.

The document advises host countries to carefully assess the impact of selling internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) on their own climate targets, as every sold reduction makes it harder to meet current and future NDCs. It suggests that countries should establish a clear rationale for engagement—such as revenue or technology transfer—and possess a robust GHG inventory, a formulated NDC, a 2050 decarbonisation strategy, and an institutional framework before participating in Article 6 activities.

Colombia faces challenges from rapid urbanisation and hydroelectric uncertainty while attempting to decarbonise its building sector. Current policies, including building codes and energy efficiency measures, are insufficient to achieve this goal. The document proposes using Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to launch a Net Zero Energy Buildings pilot in social housing, which could reduce emissions, energy poverty, and subsidy payments. While the building sector is not a major emitter, the author suggests that international cooperation and climate finance are necessary to mobilise private capital and align the sector with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.

The document analyzes the potential volume of CERs eligible for transition to NDCs based on different restriction criteria. It finds that the total supply potential for reductions in or after 2013 exceeds 4 billion CERs without restrictions, but this figure drops significantly depending on whether registration dates or crediting period start dates are used as cut-offs.

The report examines the transition of voluntary carbon markets into the Paris Agreement era, specifically assessing how to prevent 'double counting' where emission reductions are claimed by both voluntary offsets and national targets. It identifies three potentially viable models—contribution claims, NDC crediting, and non-NDC crediting—and recommends focusing on challenging mitigation options and countries with ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to maximize climate impact.

The document outlines a research project led by Öko-Institut and the Stockholm Environment Institute focused on the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). It evaluates the environmental integrity of Emissions Unit Criteria (EUC), estimates the potential supply of offset credits, and examines mechanisms under the Paris Agreement to prevent double counting between CORSIA and nationally determined contributions (NDCs).