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The report argues that decarbonizing the global steel sector requires a shift from project-based funding to systemic international cooperation that addresses both high capital and operational costs. It highlights a significant gap in green steel initiatives, which are currently clustered in the EU, while production growth is projected in emerging economies. The authors propose the international application of Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) to cover incremental costs of clean production and mitigate risks for private investors. Furthermore, the report emphasizes that successful transformation depends on fostering trust through non-hierarchical policy dialogues and peer review processes to avoid concerns over national sovereignty and 'carbon colonialism'.

The report identifies a significant global MSME finance gap, estimated at USD 5.2 trillion in 2017, which is exacerbated for green enterprises in developing economies. Key barriers include high informality, inappropriate collateral requirements (favoring fixed over movable assets), and information gaps regarding ESG criteria. The authors recommend establishing green taxonomies, improving credit guarantee schemes, and creating a global green MSME financing facility to leverage Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).

The document assesses the state of green public procurement (GPP) in Estonia and Poland, highlighting that while both countries recognize the potential for GPP to reduce emissions in road transport and construction, implementation is hindered by a lack of mandatory requirements, insufficient procurer knowledge, and inadequate monitoring. It details national targets, governance structures, and the role of EU directives in shaping procurement practices in both Member States.

The report argues that the EU steel sector faces a critical investment window as 74% of blast furnace capacity requires renewal by 2030. It advocates for a combination of carbon pricing, circular economy measures, and innovative finance tools like Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) to scale low-carbon technologies such as green hydrogen and Direct Reduced Iron (DRI). The document emphasizes that while public funds are insufficient, the green bond market and transition finance instruments can mobilize the necessary private capital, provided there are science-based standards to prevent greenwashing.

The document analyzes green public procurement (GPP) in Sweden and the Netherlands, focusing on the high-emission road transport and construction sectors. While both countries utilize GPP, the Netherlands employs more centralized, nationally developed tools and databases, whereas Sweden's approach is more decentralized. Key barriers in both nations include a lack of human resources, insufficient contract follow-up, and a need for better public-private dialogue. The briefing suggests that while GPP is widely practiced, more systematic implementation and standardized data reporting are required to meet national and EU climate objectives.

The guide defines demand signal initiatives as campaigns and alliances that commit companies and public bodies to purchasing net-zero products and services, thereby incentivizing supply-side investment. It outlines a five-step process for setting up these initiatives, identifies key target audiences across the value chain, and provides a case study on the steel industry and a list of existing global initiatives such as SteelZero and the First Movers Coalition.

The construction sector is identified as the world's most material-intensive sector, accounting for 50% of global resource extraction and contributing to biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and deforestation. To align with Paris Agreement climate mitigation targets amidst growing urbanization, the document advocates for a value-chain approach to policy interventions. It identifies five interconnected areas for potential step-change: transparent and systematic data, material efficiency and innovation, green public procurement, and urban planning.

The global construction and buildings value chain is a primary driver of resource extraction and greenhouse gas emissions, with significant impacts often outsourced from high-income to lower-income regions. The document argues that sustainability depends on decisions made at early stages—planning and finance—rather than later construction phases. Key challenges include the high cost of low-carbon materials and the difficulty of decarbonizing steel and cement. To address this, the brief recommends a combination of transparent data, material innovation, green public procurement, sustainable urban planning, and expanded retrofitting.

The paper analyzes how regional trade agreements (RTAs) act as 'incubators' for promoting trade in environmental goods and services (EGS) in the absence of significant multilateral progress at the WTO. It examines various RTA approaches to defining EGS, implementing market access commitments, coordinating regulations, and providing support measures for developing countries. The authors highlight that RTAs often go beyond WTO rules, utilizing tools like specific EGS lists, 'ex-outs' for precise product classification, and sectoral chapters to address non-tariff barriers. These regional experiences are presented as potential models for the WTO's Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussion (TESSD) and the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP).

An open letter from multiple environmental and industrial organisations calling for the EU ETS to be strengthened by increasing reduction factors, eliminating free allowances for industry and aviation, and reinvesting auction revenues into the green transition. The authors argue that free allocation creates market failures and windfall profits while slowing decarbonisation, and they specifically oppose the creation of a Carbon Leakage Protection Reserve in favour of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

The report contends that fossil gas cannot be considered a transition fuel due to significant methane leakage and the need for rapid decarbonisation by 2030. It argues that the EU's Complementary Delegated Act threatens the credibility of the EU Taxonomy by allowing fossil gas as a transitional activity. The document advocates for a rapid shift to low-carbon hydrogen, prioritised for hard-to-abate sectors, and warns against 'gas blending' as an inefficient decarbonisation strategy. It recommends the use of additionality requirements for electrolysers to prevent them from cannibalising renewable energy growth and suggests various financial mechanisms, including Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) and green public procurement, to mobilise investment. The report also emphasizes the need for a Just Transition to protect workers and low-income households from the regressive effects of carbon pricing.

The report analyzes 57 SEI projects from 2010-2021, finding a heavy concentration in circular bioeconomy, solid waste, and water management, primarily in Europe and Asia. It identifies critical knowledge gaps in impact assessment, just transition, business models, and consumer behavior, recommending a shift toward higher-priority circularity strategies (refuse and rethink) and transdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder collaborations.

The report outlines a strategy for the Norwegian culture sector to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. It identifies a shift in the sector from merely inspiring others to addressing its own carbon footprint, highlighting tools like the Green Producers Tool and certifications such as Miljøfyrtårn. The authors propose three main instruments: making sustainability goals the foundation of all cultural policy, requiring sustainability information for all public funding, and establishing a dedicated competence center for sustainability, climate, and culture, potentially linked to the Sustainability Center in Trondheim.

The document is a draft environmental strategy template by Klimakultur (2022) for organizations to reduce their climate footprint. It aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the IPCC's recommendations, targeting a 55 percent reduction in climate emissions by 2030. The strategy is structured around six focus areas: waste, energy, procurement, food, transport, and information, each containing five specific actionable measures to be implemented in daily operations and at events.

The StratKIT Sustainability Toolkit provides a comprehensive set of practical tools and strategies to transition public catering services toward more sustainable practices. It focuses on eight 'Gateways' including organic food, plant-based diets, food waste reduction, and resource efficiency, while emphasizing the role of Green Public Procurement (GPP) as a primary driver for systemic change in the food supply chain.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) argues that G20 nations have failed to make their COVID-19 recovery spending environmentally sustainable, investing $262 billion in fossil fuels compared to $67 billion in clean energy. To address this, WRI introduces a typology of five policy levers—monetary policy, financial and real-economy policies and regulations, fiscal policy and budget support, public finance, and information instruments—to guide governments toward Paris-aligned investments. Analysis of recovery packages between March 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021, reveals a preference for 'business-as-usual' interventions and a critical lack of investment in climate adaptation and resilience.

The report evaluates 33 major European retailers on their aquaculture procurement practices. It finds a systemic failure to address ecological and social challenges, with 76% of retailers falling into a 'red zone' of insufficient action. Key failures include a lack of targets to eliminate wild-catch fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) from feed, inadequate fish welfare monitoring, and poor transparency regarding the origin of products. While some UK and French retailers show slight progress, retailers in Spain, Austria, and Switzerland performed particularly poorly.

The document argues that Green Public Procurement (GPP) can leverage the significant purchasing power of governments to stimulate demand for low-carbon materials in energy-intensive industries. It focuses on hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement, noting that five basic industrial materials account for 20% of global CO2 emissions. The brief, produced by UNIDO and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, aims to provide methodologies for GPP design to help reach Paris Agreement targets.

The document outlines a comprehensive set of recommendations to transform the EU textile sector from a linear to a circular and resource-sufficient model. It advocates for mandatory ecodesign requirements to ensure durability and non-toxicity, a ban on the destruction of unsold goods, and the implementation of a digital product passport for transparency. The authors call for the phase-out of fossil-fuel derived synthetic fibres, the introduction of taxes on virgin resources, and the establishment of an EU-wide Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for binding due diligence legislation to address human rights and environmental abuses in global supply chains and suggests stricter regulations on the export of textile waste to non-EU countries.

The report finds that while urban climate finance averaged 384 billion USD annually in 2017/18, this is far below the estimated annual need of 4.5 to 5.4 trillion USD. Funding is heavily concentrated in OECD countries and China, with severe deficits in developing regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and a critical lack of investment in adaptation and resilience, which accounts for less than 10% of tracked project data. The document argues that cities must act as both 'providers' of green infrastructure and 'guardians' of regulatory standards to attract private and public capital, requiring stronger alignment between municipal and national climate policies.