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The South African Youth Statement outlines a comprehensive framework for climate action ahead of COP28, emphasizing the intersection of climate change with health, human rights, and social inequality. It calls for a just energy transition, the reform of global climate finance to prioritize grants over debt-burdening loans, and the legal recognition of climate migrants. The statement advocates for the meaningful inclusion of youth, women, and Indigenous peoples in decision-making and urges developed nations to lead in achieving net-zero emissions to provide developmental space for the Global South.

The IISD Model Contract Clauses for Responsible Investment in Agriculture provide customizable legal language to help policy-makers and state lawyers fill gaps in domestic laws and ensure agricultural investments support sustainable development. These provisions specifically address gender equity and the transition to climate-resilient production practices.

Hon. Keisal Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, outlines four priorities for inclusive cooperation on trade and climate. These include equipping the World Trade Organization (WTO) to handle sustainability issues through transparency and technology transfer, promoting the circular economy in SIDS, reforming the global financial architecture to improve climate financing access, and ensuring fairness and justice in global trade to prevent the disenfranchisement of small nations.

The report defines relinquishment as the legal transfer of responsibility for a closed mine site from the operator to the next landowner after closure commitments are fulfilled. It identifies a global gap in clear relinquishment policies, noting that many jurisdictions either lack such frameworks or have processes that are difficult to achieve due to government risk aversion. The document highlights successful models in Saskatchewan, Queensland, and Chile, and proposes a six-step policy framework: requiring comprehensive closure plans, conducting independent inspections, establishing residual risk management plans, creating funding mechanisms, executing legal transfers, and implementing long-term monitoring.

The report defines restitution as the legal transfer of responsibility for a mine site from the operator to a new owner after closure activities are completed and approved. It argues that current global practices are often insufficient, leading to indefinitely managed sites or abandoned mines. The document outlines six recommended steps for governments: requiring comprehensive closure plans, conducting independent inspections, establishing residual risk management plans, creating funding mechanisms, executing legal transfers, and implementing long-term monitoring. It highlights successful models in Saskatchewan, Queensland, and Chile, while noting that risk aversion and lack of clear legal frameworks often hinder restitution in developed mining jurisdictions.

The document defines mine relinquishment as the legal transfer of responsibility for a closed mine site once closure obligations are met. It argues that a lack of clear relinquishment policies leads to sites remaining indefinitely with operators or being abandoned. The report analyzes practices across 40+ jurisdictions, highlighting successful models in Saskatchewan, Queensland, and Chile. It proposes a six-step process: requiring comprehensive closure plans, conducting independent inspections, planning for residual risk management, establishing funding mechanisms, executing legal transfers, and implementing long-term monitoring.

The report identifies and analyzes six core principles of international law—sovereignty, prevention, cooperation, non-discrimination, sustainable development/equity/CBDR-RC, and transparency/consultation—as a framework for designing trade-related climate measures. It argues that such measures are 'legal hybrids' drawing from trade, environment, and human rights law. The expert group emphasizes that these principles should be applied cumulatively and coherently to ensure a just global green transition, particularly by accounting for the different national circumstances of developing countries.

The conflict in Sudan, which escalated in April 2023 between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's army and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is driven by a struggle for power and control over resources. This instability threatens regional security, specifically regarding the Nile River dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and risks destabilising fragile neighbours like Chad and the Central African Republic. Internationally, the crisis intersects with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 tourism goals and Russia's strategic interests, including a proposed naval base in Port Sudan and gold extraction by the Wagner Group. The author argues that lasting peace requires a long-term approach involving power-sharing and the gradual integration of armed groups into the national army.

The Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) is a proposed WTO accord aimed at streamlining foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, particularly to developing and least developed countries. The agreement is structured around four pillars: transparency of investment measures, streamlining administrative procedures, improving cooperation (including 'sustainable investments'), and providing special and differential treatment (SDT) for developing nations. While the legal text was finalized in July 2023, the process now faces challenges regarding its legal architecture—whether to integrate it as a multilateral or plurilateral agreement—which requires consensus from all WTO members, including non-participants like India and South Africa. Critics argue the agreement lacks operative provisions specifically designed to simplify investment for sustainable development, noting that responsible business conduct (RBC) obligations are minimal and not subject to dispute settlement.

The briefing critiques the World Bank's Evolution Roadmap, arguing that its reliance on the 'Cascade' approach—which prioritizes private sector investment—perpetuates structural inequalities and debt in the Global South. It calls for a paradigm shift toward 'public sector solutionism,' including the adoption of a human rights policy, the end of fossil fuel financing, and the creation of an independent UN-based debt workout mechanism.

The report examines the evolution of national investment laws, identifying seven primary functions they serve and offering a strategic framework for policymakers to redesign these laws based on their specific national contexts and sustainable development objectives.

The document examines the historical shift of national investment laws from domestic development tools in the 1950s-70s to instruments for integrating international protection standards between 1980 and 2010. It identifies seven primary functions of contemporary investment laws—ranging from admission and incentives to dispute resolution and monitoring—and argues that there is no one-size-fits-all model. Instead, it proposes a multi-step framework for policymakers to align the structure and content of investment laws with specific national policy goals and sustainable development objectives.

The report examines national investment laws as versatile domestic policy instruments, tracing their evolution from 1950s development-driven codes to 1980-2010 models aligned with international treaty standards. It identifies seven primary functions of contemporary investment laws: governing admission, conferring incentives, facilitating investment, guaranteeing legal protection, managing disputes, specifying investor obligations, and monitoring oversight. The authors argue against 'off-the-shelf' models, suggesting instead a functional framework where design is tailored to national context and sustainable development objectives. The report warns against the risks of 'legal enclaves' and the potential for costly litigation when treaty-style protections and advance consent to international arbitration are incorporated into domestic law.

The document examines national investment laws as versatile policy instruments, tracing their shift from national development tools (1950-1979) to mechanisms for incorporating international treaty standards (1980-2010). It identifies seven primary functions of contemporary investment laws: regulating admission, administering incentives, facilitating investment, providing legal protection, managing disputes, specifying investor obligations, and supervising investments. The report argues against a 'one-size-fits-all' model, suggesting instead that laws be designed based on a country's specific policy objectives and regulatory capacity. It provides a detailed framework for policymakers to evaluate existing laws and design new ones, emphasizing the need to reduce legal risks associated with investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and inefficient tax incentives.

The report examines national investment laws as versatile policy tools, tracing their evolution from 1950s development-focused laws to the 1980-2010 trend of aligning national legislation with international investment treaties. It identifies seven primary functions of contemporary investment laws: governing admission, managing incentives, facilitating investment, providing legal protection, managing disputes, specifying investor obligations, and supervising investments. The document argues against a 'one-size-fits-all' model, instead offering a framework for policymakers to align the functions and content of their laws with specific national objectives and sustainable development goals, while warning against the legal and financial risks of incorporating treaty-style protections and prior consent to international arbitration.

The report examines how national investment laws have evolved from domestic development tools in the 1950s to instruments reflecting international treaty standards between 1980 and 2010, and finally toward a modern era of diverse, context-specific designs. Based on a survey of 70 laws, it identifies seven primary functions of investment laws: governing admission, administering incentives, facilitating investment, guaranteeing legal protection, managing disputes, specifying investor obligations, and monitoring investment. The authors argue against 'off-the-shelf' models, instead proposing a framework where policy-makers first define their ultimate objectives—such as promoting sustainable development—and then determine which specific functions and legal structures are appropriate for their national context.

The report explores how repeating national climate risk assessments (CRAs) can support the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) of national adaptation efforts. While CRAs are traditionally used to inform planning, the author argues they can also track changes in vulnerability over time to assess adaptation success. Analysis of 12 countries reveals a shift toward viewing CRAs as continuous learning processes rather than static reports, with a growing consensus that updates should occur roughly every five years to align with policy cycles. However, the report finds that fully standardized approaches to repeating CRAs are often impractical due to evolving science and shifting policy priorities. Instead, it suggests a flexible approach where only specific components are standardized. Early adopters like Germany and the United Kingdom have begun using CRAs to evaluate NAP effectiveness, though they face methodological challenges, including the time lag between implementing measures and seeing tangible risk reductions.

The report examines the current state of mining taxation and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to increase government revenue. It highlights the shift toward critical minerals for the energy transition and the risks posed by automation and profit shifting. The proposed ideas include minimum profit sharing, production sharing contracts, state equity, state-owned enterprises, variable royalties, the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing, carbon pricing, development taxes for communities, competitive bidding for licenses, and remote monitoring for quarries. It also provides a framework for evaluating these reforms and discusses the legal challenges associated with fiscal stabilization clauses and international investment treaties.

The document argues that traditional mining tax regimes (corporate income tax and royalties) are often insufficient or vulnerable to profit shifting. It proposes ten alternatives, including variable royalties, production sharing contracts, and state equity participation, while addressing the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the need for better production monitoring through remote sensing technology.

The guide examines the current state of mining taxation, highlighting challenges such as base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to improve revenue mobilization. These include minimum profit shares, production sharing contracts, variable royalties, and the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing. It also addresses the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and suggests the implementation of domestic carbon pricing and remote monitoring technologies for industrial minerals. The document emphasizes the need for transparent governance, professional board management for state-owned enterprises, and a balanced approach to fiscal stability clauses to ensure sustainable development.