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The author asserts that a just transition is impossible without 'radical collaboration' across sectors, highlighting the need to bridge the gap between climate action and social justice. The text emphasizes that while many governments have committed to a just transition, policy and investment are lagging. It advocates for partnerships between employers, unions, and governments to create decent green jobs that respect labor rights, noting that businesses must act on their accountability to all stakeholders to avoid worsening conditions for workers and communities during the shift to net-zero.

The report analyzes the potential for Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, and the United States to strengthen their mitigation targets to align with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals. It evaluates these potentials by examining socioeconomic data, historical emissions, current policy projections, global least-cost pathways using marginal abatement cost curves, and 'fair share' equity principles. The analysis also considers the political feasibility of deploying available low-carbon technologies and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.

The document outlines two methodologies—fairness-based and cost-effectiveness-based—for determining national GHG emission reductions required to meet the Paris Agreement's goals of limiting warming to well below 2°C and ideally 1.5°C. It notes that current commitments, including those of Germany and the EU, are insufficient. The analysis focuses on major emitters including Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, the USA, and specifically Germany, to identify gaps between current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the levels of ambition suggested by mitigation potentials or fair shares.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement establishes frameworks for international carbon markets, allowing countries to trade emissions reductions to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). While it offers potential cost savings of $250 billion per year by 2030 and can catalyze private finance, poor design risks increasing global emissions through double-counting and a lack of additionality. Key points of contention for negotiators include the application of 'corresponding adjustments' to prevent double-counting, the implementation of 'overall mitigation in global emissions' (OMGE), the 'share of proceeds' for the Adaptation Fund, and the potential carryover of up to 4 billion pre-2020 Kyoto Protocol units.

The document advocates for a shift from stationary water management—which relies on historical data—to a resilience-based approach that combines robustness and flexibility to address the deep uncertainties of a changing climate. It proposes an Action Framework for Climate-Resilient Water Management across four domains: governance and participation, information and learning, system diversity and connectivity, and infrastructure and technology. The authors emphasize that water is a systemic resource linking food security, public health, and energy, and argue that economic and financial tools, such as green bonds and index-based insurance, must be updated to value resilience over short-term cost-optimization.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment calls for urgent federal action to treat climate change as a public health emergency, advocating for a target-based plan to limit warming to 1.5°C to protect Canadian health and reduce healthcare costs.

The document presents draft regulations for the Trade Exposure Allowance under section 10 of the Carbon Tax Act, 2019, in South Africa. These regulations establish a mechanism to provide transitional support to specific sectors and subsectors to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage and maintain industry competitiveness while implementing carbon pricing to meet Paris Agreement goals.

The document argues that current oil and gas expansion plans are incompatible with Paris Agreement goals, as emissions from existing fields alone would likely exceed the 1.5°C limit. It highlights a projected USD 1.4 trillion investment in new extraction between 2020 and 2024, primarily in North America, and calls for a managed phase-out of fossil fuels supported by government bans on new licenses and a shift toward renewable energy.

The Climate Bonds Standard Version 3.0 provides a science-based framework for certifying green debt instruments. It mandates pre- and post-issuance requirements, including the use of a Green Bond Framework, independent verification by Approved Verifiers, and annual reporting on allocation and eligibility. The standard is designed to be compatible with the proposed EU Green Bond Standard and uses a specific Taxonomy and Sector Eligibility Criteria to prevent 'greenwash' and facilitate large-scale climate-aligned investment.

The 2019 Scorecard on Insurance, Coal and Climate Change reveals a growing trend of insurance companies exiting the coal sector. While 17 insurers have limited or ended cover for coal projects—controlling 9.5% of the primary insurance market and 46.4% of the reinsurance market—significant gaps remain. Most policies exclude new projects but continue to cover existing operations. Swiss Re and Zurich are identified as leaders in underwriting, while Legal & General leads in broader climate leadership. Conversely, many US and East Asian insurers are described as 'missing in action,' continuing to provide cover and investment for coal. The report argues that as insurance becomes harder to obtain, coal projects become less bankable, accelerating the industry's demise.

The briefing warns that up to 40 billion carbon credits lacking environmental integrity could undermine the Paris Agreement. These include legacy units from the Kyoto Protocol's CDM, JI, and IET mechanisms, as well as projected 'hot air' from NDCs set above business-as-usual levels. The author advocates for strict rules on the timing of reductions, the transferability of credits from weak targets, and the use of old credits to ensure the 1.5°C goal is not compromised.

The document details the first climate change court case in South Africa, where the High Court in Pretoria ruled that the decision to authorise the 1200MW Thabametsi coal-fired power station was irrational and unreasonable because it lacked a prior climate impact assessment. The court affirmed that climate change poses a substantial risk to sustainable development and intergenerational justice. Despite the court's order for the Minister to reconsider the appeal based on a climate change impact assessment, the Minister upheld the authorisation, leading to further legal challenges and the withdrawal of funding by three commercial banks in January 2019.

The High Court of Ireland ruled on 19 September 2019 that the government's 2017 National Mitigation Plan was lawful, despite reports that Ireland would fail to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emission targets. The court determined that the government maintains wide policy-making discretion and that the Plan, as an initial step toward a 2050 goal, did not breach constitutional rights to life or bodily integrity. While the court acknowledged the scientific consensus on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate global warming, it concluded that intervening in the Plan's specific targets would violate the separation of powers.

The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales dismissed an appeal by Gloucester Resources Limited, upholding the Minister for Planning's refusal to grant consent for an open cut coal mine. The court determined that the project's estimated 38 million tonnes of carbon emissions were contrary to the public interest and the goals of the Paris Agreement. Notably, the court rejected the argument that the project's emissions were too small to be significant globally, asserting that climate change must be addressed through cumulative local actions.

The statement advocates for a non-market platform connecting the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) to collectively account for carbon stocks in the Southern Ocean. It highlights that Antarctic blue carbon sites, which are expanding as ice melts, could store up to 160 million tonnes of carbon annually and act as a major natural negative feedback on climate change. By utilizing the ATS's existing framework where sovereignty claims are suspended, the authors suggest a way to bypass diplomatic obstacles to conservation and avoid conflicts over individual Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The document addresses the challenge of ensuring individual country contributions align with the collective goals of the Paris Agreement through the Global Stocktake (GST). It evaluates the potential and limits of the GST process and suggests specific improvements to maximize its effectiveness, including the use of a performance distributions approach and independent support from academia and civil society.

The document identifies critical knowledge gaps in the official Global Stocktake (GST) process, particularly regarding the definitions of equitable implementation, Paris-consistent financial flows, and adequate adaptation responses. It recommends that an independent Global Stocktake (iGST) focus on synthesizing existing data, fostering a common understanding of these ill-defined concepts, and providing forward-looking, country-specific recommendations to raise climate ambition.

Mars advocates for a transition to a net-zero carbon economy, urging businesses to adopt science-based targets across value chains and calling on governments to implement carbon pricing and clean energy infrastructure.

The document argues that as countries set long-term decarbonisation targets, the use of international offsets must shift from offsetting continued emissions to supplementing rapid domestic reductions. It warns that misuse of offsets could allow developed countries to maintain 'business as usual' emissions patterns while claiming net-zero targets.

The We Mean Business coalition asserts that a transition to a zero-carbon economy by 2050 is achievable and offers significant economic and health benefits. While over 1,060 companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$20.1 trillion have committed to climate action, the document emphasizes that government policy must match this ambition. It calls on COP25 leaders to commit to economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050, strengthen Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in line with a 1.5C trajectory, and integrate decarbonization across all government departments, including finance, energy, agriculture, health, industry, and transport.