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The document outlines the challenges and opportunities facing Africa's development, emphasizing the need to balance energy access with a low-carbon transition and the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It presents the 'Combined scenario' as a pathway to achieve the African Union's Agenda 2063 goals by 2043 through strategic investment and policy coherence.

The document establishes a conceptual framework for analyzing the future of state governance in the Global South. It defines state governance as the structures and processes used to exercise authority and manage resources, emphasizing a shift away from Global North-centric democratic models toward 'accountable governance'. The research employs a foresight-driven approach to investigate how technology, economic transitions, and geopolitical shifts influence governance trajectories across seven defined regions of the Global South.

The report examines the shift in African development from state-led industrialization and the pan-Africanist Lagos Plan of Action (1980) to the market-oriented Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s. It argues that while the Lagos Plan sought collective self-reliance, it failed due to a lack of national integration and monitoring. Conversely, SAPs—driven by the 'Washington Consensus'—forced devaluation, privatization, and spending cuts in health and education, which the author contends led to a 'race to the bottom,' stunted industrialization, and a decline in per capita income between 1980 and 1994.

The document concludes that Africa's current economic path is characterised by low productivity and 'premature deindustrialisation', where labour shifts from subsistence agriculture to low-end informal urban services rather than manufacturing. It highlights a reliance on 'capital-intensive commodity enclaves' that fail to build local value chains or improve broad welfare. To reverse this, the author argues for strategic investments in renewable energy, education, health infrastructure, and digital literacy, alongside the use of the AfCFTA to foster intra-African trade. The text emphasizes that achieving the African Union's Agenda 2063 requires strong governance, gender equity, and international partnerships for financing and technology transfer.

The statement urges WTO ministers at MC14 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to prioritize sustainable development within the WTO reform agenda and consolidate momentum on environmental initiatives. It highlights the need for a course-correction in WTO reform to address climate change, nature loss, and pollution, while calling for the full implementation of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and the advancement of dialogues on sustainable agriculture and plastic pollution.

A coalition of business, civil society, and research stakeholders calls on WTO ministers at MC14 to ensure that multilateral trade reform prioritizes sustainable development, the climate crisis, and the needs of developing countries, particularly least developed countries (LDCs).

The GCF Accreditation Panel recommends the accreditation of the Bank of Bhutan Limited (BoB) as a national direct access entity for 'small' projects with a 'medium risk (I-2)' environmental and social category. While BoB demonstrates strong institutional presence as Bhutan's largest commercial bank and a track record in green financing, the assessment identified gaps in internal audit quality assurance, public disclosure of procurement and investigation guidelines, and the operationalization of its grievance redress mechanism. The recommendation is subject to specific conditions to be met both before the issuance of the accreditation certificate and before the submission of the first funding proposal, including the development of a Gender Action Plan and the implementation of risk-based E&S screening tools.

The document highlights a critical gap in investment governance: while international investment treaties have undergone significant reform, investor-state contracts remain largely marginalized and outdated. These contracts often contain stabilization clauses and tax incentives that restrict a state's regulatory space and can neutralize treaty-level safeguards. The brief also notes a rise in contract-based investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), which is often more opaque than treaty-based arbitration. To address these risks, the authors recommend strengthening national institutional coordination, centralizing and assessing existing contracts, and developing national model contracts. Globally, they advocate for integrating contract reform into broader investment governance discussions and developing regional guidance to reduce negotiation asymmetries.

The policy brief highlights how investment contracts—often overlooked in favor of treaty reforms—can create regulatory restrictions and financial losses for states. It identifies risks from outdated stabilization clauses and tax incentives, and notes a rise in contract-based investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases. The authors propose a three-pronged national strategy: strengthening inter-ministerial coordination, creating centralized contract inventories, and developing national model contracts aligned with international sustainability standards.

The document highlights the risks posed by outdated and opaque investment contracts, such as stabilization clauses and tax incentives, which can limit a state's regulatory space and lead to costly international arbitration. It proposes a three-step national reform strategy: improving inter-ministerial coordination, centralizing and evaluating existing contracts, and developing standardized model contracts. It also calls for greater alignment between contract reform and broader regional and global efforts to modernize investment governance.

Laos has updated its Investment Promotion Law to reform the design and administration of tax incentives, moving away from overly generous and broad benefits that led to revenue leakage. With support from the IISD, the government introduced narrower eligibility criteria, capped incentive durations, and strengthened monitoring and screening processes to ensure investments align with sustainable development priorities and fiscal stability.

The document serves as the first progress report for Tonga's Second Joint National Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 2018–2028 (JNAP2). Its primary goal is to update the JNAP Taskforce on implementation status and provide recommendations for future improvements. Additionally, it aims to inform government, industry, civil society, and international partners about Tonga's efforts toward resilient and sustainable development to coordinate further input and interest.

The statement asserts that the global economy is highly exposed to nature and climate risks, with potential GDP losses of $2.7 trillion annually by 2030. It identifies key opportunities for transformation, including the alignment of trade policy with the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies. The author calls for a shift from short-term crisis management to strategic, long-term sectoral pathways consistent with net-zero and nature-positive goals, suggesting the use of plurilateral agreements and initiatives like the Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade.

The paper examines how Green parties in Europe use cultural policy to combat far-right narratives and promote core values. It highlights specific initiatives: Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) to reduce precarity, Luxembourg's Kulturentwécklungsplang (KEP) to strengthen the legal and social status of artists, and Latvia's use of culture as 'social glue' for cohesion amid security threats. The author argues for a future green cultural policy that localises funding, integrates culture into the just transition of post-industrial areas, and establishes a clear stance on copyright and AI to protect creative autonomy.

The report provides a detailed appendix of advertising campaigns from four major oil companies—BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell—from 2000 to 2025. It identifies the agencies and professionals involved and describes the strategic goals of these campaigns, which often focused on rebranding the companies as environmentally responsible, promoting natural gas as a 'bridge' fuel, and shifting focus toward individual carbon footprints and low-carbon technologies like algae biofuels and carbon capture.

The report finds that while PDB climate ambition has generally increased since the Paris Agreement, progress is uneven. A small group of high-ambition PDBs provides the vast majority of climate finance, while many others remain in 'limited' or 'minimal' ambition clusters. The report identifies systemic gaps in capacity building—specifically a lack of long-term, institution-wide support—and recommends a shift toward multi-year, sequenced technical assistance and the development of regional TA ecosystems to mobilize the trillions in assets held by less ambitious PDBs.

South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency has partially succeeded in raising global awareness of Africa's difficulties in accessing affordable development finance, though it has failed to secure concrete agreements on IMF reform or the restructuring of the G20 Common Framework. The document highlights systemic barriers including credit rating agency practices and the slow, creditor-biased nature of debt restructuring for countries like Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia. To maintain momentum, South Africa has established an African Expert Panel to advise President Cyril Ramaphosa on technical recommendations for finance and IMF governance.

The document lists various academic courses and MOOCs that emphasize transdisciplinary approaches to solving complex social and environmental challenges. Key themes include sustainable urban development, environmental justice, indigenous perspectives on climate adaptation, and the intersection of science, policy, and public engagement.

The NAP Global Network Strategy to 2030 aims to move developing countries from the formulation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to active implementation. The strategy is built on three pillars: national-level technical support, South-South peer learning, and knowledge generation. Key priorities include supporting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), enhancing monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, and amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups and civil society. The Network seeks approximately USD 28–30 million over the strategy period to maintain its operations and support for partner countries.

The paper examines the conceptual and political challenges of implementing Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement, highlighting diverging interpretations of its scope and the systemic barriers facing developing countries. It proposes a working definition that encompasses all financial flows and integrates equity and national circumstances to support future progress assessments, starting with a framework to be applied in Germany.