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The document outlines a synthesis of key scientific reports published between 2022 and 2023 to provide actionable guidance for the 2030 Agenda. It argues that current progress on the SDGs is languishing, with only about 10% of goals seeing significant progress, and calls for a course correction based on systemic, integrated, and science-based decision-making. The brief organizes its recommendations into ten thematic areas, emphasizing the need to move beyond GDP as a measure of prosperity, realign global financial systems to support low- and middle-income countries, and strengthen multilateral accountability.

The document emphasizes that financing strategies for adaptation should not exist in isolation but should be aligned with other national financing strategies to ensure a coordinated approach to public and private finance. Such alignment facilitates better prioritization, consistent messaging to international partners, and the integration of climate risks into all national investments and public budgeting.

The report argues that existing social contracts are broken, exclusionary, and ignore planetary boundaries, necessitating a transition to 'eco-social contracts'. These new frameworks are proposed to be grounded in human rights, gender justice, and a 'contract with nature'. The document explores various pathways for implementation, including rights-based economies, the recognition of the rights of nature, and the inclusion of marginalized groups such as informal workers and Indigenous peoples. It provides specific regional analyses and case studies from Nepal, the MENA region, India, and Australia to illustrate how participatory processes and communitarian imaginaries (such as Ubuntu and Sumak kawsay) can inform these new societal agreements.

The document examines the necessity of aligning national financing strategies for climate adaptation with other financial frameworks, such as NDCs, SDGs, and national development plans. It highlights that fragmentation caused by ministerial silos or varying partner influences can lead to duplicated efforts. By integrating adaptation finance into the broader economic decision-making process, countries can better identify cross-ministerial synergies, improve the evidence base for investment, and ensure that adaptation actions are resilient to macroeconomic pressures like sovereign debt. The briefing provides lessons on engaging finance and planning ministries to move from a project-based approach to a systemic portfolio approach to adaptation investment.

The CDKN Gender in climate action training pack provides facilitators and practitioners with a modular curriculum to ensure climate interventions are gender-responsive and socially inclusive. The pack consists of six modules covering international policy frameworks, the rationale for gender-based approaches, risk assessment, solution planning, equity-responsive budgeting, and inclusive implementation. It utilizes a variety of tools, including Powerpoint presentations, case studies from Nepal, India, and Ethiopia, and interactive games to build capacity among professionals working on climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation.

The paper argues that integrating climate mitigation target-setting with economic development assessments can motivate more ambitious climate action. By modeling 28 mitigation measures, the authors show that Zimbabwe can meet its updated target of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors by 2030 (relative to baseline scenarios) while gaining quantifiable benefits in biodiversity, public health, sustainable energy use, and energy security.

The research finds that while state and regional governments possess significant hard powers—particularly in federal systems and within the agriculture, buildings, and transport sectors—their ability to act is primarily hindered by a lack of human capacity, followed by financial and informational constraints.

The United Nations (via DCO LAC) and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAD) signed a non-binding Declaration of Intent on 6 July 2023 to cooperate on sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The partnership focuses on the co-production of transdisciplinary science regarding global change, specifically the links between climate, environment, and health, to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The signatories intend to collaborate on data analysis, innovation, digital transformation, strategic foresight, and behavioral science, with specific activities to be negotiated in future legally binding agreements.

The policy brief counters claims by some UN Security Council members that there is insufficient scientific evidence linking climate change to security risks. Drawing on the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), the authors demonstrate that climate hazards contribute to conflict risk and that existing conflict increases vulnerability to climate change. While the current average effect of climate on conflict is modest, the brief asserts that this influence will grow with higher global warming levels. It further explains that misinterpretations of the science often stem from the indirect, context-dependent nature of these links and the condensed wording of high-level IPCC summaries compared to detailed technical chapters.

The document highlights that national budgets in developing and emerging economies are insufficient for deep emission reductions due to high debt distress. It asserts that developed countries must lead by providing finance, technology, and knowledge transfer under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR). The paper introduces nine exploratory principles to scale ambition and facilitate just transitions, recommending a bottom-up approach to articulating finance needs rooted in national priorities and the development of shared goals for international climate finance.

The "Hardest-to-Reach" (H2R) programme aims to provide clean, climate-resilient off-grid solar (OGS) energy to 72.4 million people across 16 sub-Saharan African countries. The initiative utilizes a two-pronged financing approach: a $50 million grant-funded Market Support Facility (MSF) to support market entry and capacity building for new players, and a $200 million blended finance Market Expansion Facility (MEF) providing impact-linked loans to scale existing OGS companies. The programme targets a mitigation outcome of 5.1 million tCO2eq avoided and an adaptation outcome of 54.3 million first-time energy access beneficiaries. It emphasizes gender inclusivity, targeting 32% female customers and creating approximately 13,922 green jobs, including 4,641 for women.

The author contends that the stall in progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is due to a failure to address inequality. While 'policy coherence'—the alignment of mutually reinforcing policy actions—is often treated as a technical institutional tool, the document argues that managing the trade-offs and distributional effects of policies is a political act. Without a deliberate focus on reducing inequality, sustainable development policies risk benefiting some groups while marginalizing others, as seen in examples from Sri Lanka's fertilizer ban and Australia's renewable energy transition.

The document examines Long-Term Strategies (LTSs) as economy-wide planning instruments mandated by the Paris Agreement to guide countries toward net-zero emissions by mid-century. It highlights that while LTSs provide a vital link between short-term Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term goals, global adoption is currently insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C. For African nations, the author argues that LTSs must balance mitigation with adaptation and socio-economic development. The briefing outlines best practices for LTS development, including policy coherence, stakeholder engagement, high-level political leadership, and the use of strategic foresight tools, while citing specific examples from countries like South Africa, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

The document critiques current green industrialisation (GI) strategies in the SADC region for remaining tethered to linear economic growth models and 'greenwashing'. It proposes a 'regenerative' alternative based on principles of holism, biomimicry, and African indigenous philosophies like Ubuntu and Ukama. Through scenario analysis, the authors present three possible futures: a business-as-usual scenario (Scenario A), a dystopian 'Apocalyptic Africa' (Scenario B) marked by extreme climate disasters and resource wars, and a 'Regenerative Revival' (Scenario C). The brief concludes that SADC must move beyond surface-level policy changes to shift deeper mental models and paradigms, recommending the use of strategic foresight, the empowerment of youth, and a 'bottom-in' approach to reach marginalised populations.

The document explores the intersection of power, memory, and communication rights. It argues for 'archival justice' in the Caribbean to include oral traditions and non-traditional records previously excluded by colonial Eurocentric practices. It examines the systemic discrimination against Caribbean French Creole languages and advocates for their official recognition. Additionally, it discusses the 'Communication for All' framework as a human right, proposing its integration as a standalone UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 18) to support the African Union's Agenda 2063.

The report analyzes multidimensional and income-based poverty across the Horn of Africa, noting that while the region is projected to see a decline in average poverty rates to 12% by 2040, it will fail to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for eradicating extreme poverty. It highlights severe disparities, with South Sudan and Somalia facing extreme poverty driven by conflict and weak governance, while Ethiopia has shown significant progress in poverty reduction despite ongoing regional conflict.

The DR Congo faces exceptionally high levels of extreme and multidimensional poverty, with forecasts suggesting it will fail to meet 2030 Sustainable Development Goals on its current path. Despite modest declines in extreme poverty between 2005 and 2018, the country remains one of the world's poorest, with significant regional variations and a growing urban poverty phenomenon.

The health system in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is characterized by a near-collapse due to conflict and mismanagement, with a high reliance on non-state actors and significant out-of-pocket costs for households. While life expectancy and mortality rates for infants and mothers have improved since 1990, the DRC continues to lag behind other low-income countries and is projected to miss 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for maternal and infant mortality. Severe child malnutrition remains a critical issue, with 43% of children under five suffering from chronic malnutrition. The country is expected to undergo an epidemiological transition in 2030, shifting from a dominance of communicable diseases—such as malaria, which causes 80% of deaths in children under five—to non-communicable diseases. Government health spending remains extremely low, at less than 4% of GDP as of 2017.

Algeria has seen significant improvements in infant mortality since 1970 and is projected to reach a life expectancy of 80 years by 2040. However, the health system faces pressure from an ageing population, a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and shortages of healthcare professionals. While maternal mortality is on track to meet SDG targets by 2033, the country is not expected to meet the 2030 SDG goal to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five under current policies.

The policy brief advocates for the use of digital platforms and real-time data to support climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in India and G20 countries. It suggests that digitalizing crop management enhances decision-making for farmers and policymakers, contributing to global food and economic security. The authors recommend that the G20 convene a committee to develop a systemic agenda for CSA digitalization research and practices.