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The document examines the prevalence and design of dispute prevention, management, and settlement (DPMS) provisions in national investment laws. Based on an analysis of 167 laws, it finds that while DPMS provisions are common—particularly in Africa and Asia—the inclusion of 'prior consent' to arbitration exposes states to significant risks. The report argues that states should prioritize judicial capacity building over parallel arbitration channels and strongly recommends against granting unilateral, indefinite prior consent to arbitration in national legislation.

The document examines the prevalence and nature of dispute settlement mechanisms in national investment laws, highlighting the risks of 'prior consent' to arbitration and recommending the strengthening of national judiciaries over the creation of parallel arbitration paths.

The report examines how national investment laws handle the prevention, management, and settlement of disputes between investors and states. Based on an analysis of 167 laws, it finds that while dispute resolution is a common feature—particularly in Africa and Asia—the use of international arbitration and 'prior consent' clauses exposes states to significant financial and regulatory risks. The authors argue that states should prioritize national courts and administrative reviews over parallel arbitration systems and strongly recommend against including unilateral prior consent to international arbitration in national legislation.

The report finds that tax incentives are a primary feature of investment laws in EMDEs, often driven by investment promotion agencies (IPAs) with limited involvement from ministries of finance (MoFs). This institutional disconnect leads to fragmented governance, revenue losses, and increased exposure to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims. While some countries are moving toward centralizing incentives under unified legal frameworks, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms remain limited and disconnected from policy-making.

The report analyzes 105 national investment laws in EMDEs, finding that 67.6% explicitly provide incentives, with tax incentives being the most dominant. It highlights a systemic gap in coordination between Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), which typically lead the design and administration of these laws, and Ministries of Finance (MFs), which are often marginalized in the legal text. This fragmentation leads to risks of revenue loss, inefficient resource allocation, and exposure to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) claims. The document notes a trend toward centralizing tax incentives into unified legal frameworks to improve transparency and fiscal discipline, as seen in Ghana and Honduras.

The report identifies systemic barriers to climate finance in four Asian countries, highlighting widespread capacity gaps in project preparation and risk assessment, fragmented governance, and regulatory uncertainty. It emphasizes that while national strategies often exist on paper, implementation is hindered by a lack of coordination between ministries and a failure to integrate climate priorities into local government mandates. The study specifically notes the exclusion of vulnerable communities and SMEs from finance flows due to a lack of tailored instruments and information. To unlock resources, the authors recommend building climate literacy, clarifying institutional responsibilities, and deploying blended finance tools to de-risk private investment.

The report examines the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) 95 million USD equity investment in Clifford Capital, a Singapore-based financial intermediary. It argues that ADB's use of financial intermediaries (FIs) creates a transparency gap that allows continued support for fossil gas projects, contradicting the bank's stated goals of Paris Agreement alignment. The document highlights specific projects in Indonesia and Bangladesh as examples of environmental and social harm resulting from such investments and calls for a phased exit from fossil gas funding.

WWF's report explores using market forces to manage invasive species, specifically focusing on the development of a framework to evaluate the ecological and business viability of such efforts. It highlights a proof-of-concept project involving the processing of invasive carp for pet food via the company IGNIZA, which utilizes a former limestone mine to reduce energy costs. The report provides detailed ecological and business checklists to prevent unintended consequences, such as incentivizing the spread of invasive species, and applies these to case studies of invasive carp and black locust trees.

The report argues that the AfCFTA is essential for Africa to overcome a colonial legacy of exporting primary goods and importing manufactured equipment. It highlights that while official intra-African trade is low (14.8% in 2021), informal trade is significantly higher due to high formal costs. The AfCFTA aims to formalise trade, develop regional value chains, and prioritise industrialisation in sectors like agri-business and pharmaceuticals to enhance global competitiveness and economic stability.

The research design for 'State Futures in the Global South' integrates the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), expert workshops, horizon scanning, and a four-scenario framework to analyze governance outcomes. The methodology involves benchmarking governance performance across six dimensions and incorporating regional perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia to validate scenario assumptions and identify emerging risks.

The report identifies high tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and a lack of regional value chains as primary obstacles to Africa's economic growth. It highlights a disconnect between Africa's focus on individual national economies and the global shift toward regional value chains, while noting that current global trends—including a move away from long transport routes to reduce carbon emissions and geopolitical shifts—could potentially benefit Africa's growing consumer base.

The report advocates for reconductoring as a primary solution to the U.S. energy grid's capacity crisis, which currently stalls 2,500 GW of clean energy projects. By replacing traditional steel-core cables with advanced composite conductors, the grid can double its transfer capacity at less than half the cost of building new lines, with installation times of 18-36 months compared to 10-15 years for new construction. The document highlights the potential for $180 billion in system savings by 2050 and a 3-4% reduction in wholesale electricity costs. It details technical improvements, such as trapezoidal wires and carbon-fiber cores, and cites successful implementations in Texas, Nevada, California, and Minnesota, as well as international adoption in Europe and Asia. The report concludes by urging policymakers to support legislation like the High-Capacity Grid Act and the REWIRE Act to incentivize the adoption of these technologies.

The document examines how reliance on imported oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exposes Asian economies to price shocks and supply disruptions, particularly those stemming from conflicts in the Middle East. It analyzes the economic impacts on countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Japan, highlighting how fuel price volatility drives inflation and weakens currencies. The report argues that returning to coal as a short-term fallback is economically and environmentally risky compared to renewables. It recommends investing in regional connected grids and clean technology supply chains to build long-term resilience and energy security.

The report highlights the systemic risks of fossil fuel dependency, noting that three-quarters of the global population live in importing countries that spent $1.7 trillion on imports in 2024. It argues that the current crisis in the Middle East, particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, serves as a catalyst for Asia to transition to electric technologies. The document asserts that scaling EVs, solar, wind, and heat pumps could reduce fossil fuel import bills by approximately 70%, with EVs already displacing 1.7 million barrels of oil per day in 2025.

The document establishes a 'pathways'-based framework to track capital mobilization, distinguishing between direct and indirect flows. It defines mobilization as capital deployed following CPI support to early-stage vehicles and identifies four specific pathways: direct capitalization, vehicle replication, investment unlocked by risk-sharing/asset platforms, and additional capital raised by end investees. The brief also clarifies how this tracking differs from the Global Landscape of Climate Finance (GLCF) by including intermediary capital flows that the GLCF typically excludes.

The 2025 assessment by WWF reveals a mixed landscape in asset management's approach to seafood-related E&S risks. While 40% of assessed firms showed improvements—largely through enhanced biodiversity commitments and adoption of TNFD recommendations—43% stagnated and 17% declined, with declines notably concentrated among US-based firms. A critical gap remains: only one asset manager (NBIM) has disclosed seafood-specific E&S expectations for investee companies. Despite the growth of 'blue' financial products, they represent a small fraction of sustainable finance, and most asset managers' engagement with seafood companies remains ad hoc rather than systematic.

The global pipeline for wind and utility-scale solar projects grew by 11% in 2025, reaching 4.9 TW. While China and India lead in construction and prospective capacity, G7 nations show stagnant growth in their pipelines, creating a gap in meeting the COP28 goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The document highlights the role of China's industrial parks as critical drivers of the energy transition, noting that they host 80 percent of industrial enterprises and consume about one-third of national energy. It discusses the emergence of zero-carbon industrial parks as a means to accelerate clean-energy deployment and industrial upgrading. Additionally, it notes China's expansion of sustainable industrial parks internationally, particularly in Asia and Africa, as a vehicle for international cooperation and the deployment of low-carbon technologies.

The African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) asserts that Africa's water insecurity is a systemic issue linked to a global financial architecture that traps the continent in costly debt cycles. With an annual funding gap of at least 30 billion USD for water infrastructure, the document highlights how high borrowing costs and austerity measures prevent investment in climate-resilient water systems. AFRODAD calls for a comprehensive reform of the global financial system, including a UN framework on sovereign debt and the recognition of historical injustices through reparations, to enable the achievement of Agenda 2063 and SDG 6.

The African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) asserts that Africa's water insecurity is driven by a global financial architecture that imposes high borrowing costs and austerity on African nations. The statement highlights a significant annual funding gap of at least $30 billion for water infrastructure and links this shortfall to a debt crisis where African governments spend an average of 18.7% of public revenue on repayments. AFRODAD calls for systemic reforms, including a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt and the recognition of historical injustices through the Africa Decade of Reparations (2026–2036), to enable sustainable investment in water and sanitation.