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The document outlines how the AGF's recommendations for climate finance apply to Asia, noting that while China and India have successfully used carbon markets to attract private finance, other Asian nations will rely more on public revenue. It highlights the potential for 'transformational investments' combining public and private flows, the need for grants and concessional loans for highly vulnerable countries like Bangladesh, and concerns regarding international transport revenue and trade costs. Finally, it suggests that the US$100 billion annual target may be insufficient to meet Asia's adaptation needs.

The document analyzes Asia's climate investment requirements, estimating annual mitigation needs at US$90–180 billion and adaptation costs at US$40–45 billion by 2030. It argues that while private finance can drive mitigation in major economies like China and India, public resources are essential for adaptation and for less developed countries. The briefing highlights opportunities in carbon markets and public-private leveraging, but warns that the Copenhagen Accord's US$100 billion target is insufficient for Asia's needs and that transport or financial transaction levies could negatively impact Asian trade and financial hubs.

The document highlights the LAC region's specific climate finance needs, noting a high proportion of emissions from land-use change and adaptation requirements per person that exceed those of Africa and Asia. It emphasizes the need for public sector catalysis of private investment, particularly in forestry and agribusiness, and cautions that existing official development assistance patterns may leave the region with insufficient adaptation resources.

The document provides a comprehensive survey of quantitative research on the health impacts of climate change, categorizing studies by their methodological approach (primary, secondary, and comparative risk assessments) and the statistical models employed (time-series, non-parametric, and panel/spatial models). It highlights the complex relationship between climatic variables and diseases, particularly malaria, and reviews major global reports from the WHO and the Stern Review to outline the broader economic and public health implications of global warming.

The policy brief examines how Australia transitioned from a highly protected economy to a productive one starting in 1983 by using transparency to build public support for trade reform. It highlights the role of the Productivity Commission in providing evidence-based reports and the importance of adjustment assistance for affected sectors. The author recommends that South Africa establish a similar independent body of experts and engage the media to foster a consensus for trade liberalisation.

The paper examines the tension between international investment law and climate action, arguing that common investor protections can hinder environmental regulation. It suggests specific drafting changes to IIAs to preserve policy space and explores using the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism as a model for promoting green investment.

The CDKN Research Consultation workshop, held on 24 September 2010, gathered 40 UK-based researchers to refine a research framework focused on 'Climate Compatible Development' (CCD). The proposed framework consists of four themes: Impacts, Responding to a Changing Climate, Evaluating Climate Compatible Development, and Policy Processes. Funding is planned across three streams: a Long-Term Strategy (£30-250K), a Short-Term Strategy (under £30K), and an Innovation Fund (£10-50K). Key discussions highlighted the need for better integration between climate science and policy-making, the importance of addressing energy access in developing countries, and the necessity of developing indicators to measure adaptive capacity at the local level.

The research paper analyzes Germany's engagement with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) up to July 2009, arguing that both the global mechanism and German state policy prioritize the quantity of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) over the quality of sustainable development. The author finds that German projects are heavily concentrated in Asia, particularly China and India, and are dominated by large-scale industrial 'end-of-pipe' projects that offer minimal sustainable development benefits. The document concludes that the German government uses the CDM primarily as a tool for economic and export promotion rather than as a means to achieve genuine climate and development goals, thereby 'abusing' the mechanism's original purpose.

The document argues that while private sector finance has historically focused on mitigation, there is an emerging market for adaptation finance through instruments like 'Green Bonds' and debt. It highlights that private finance is often concentrated in large emerging economies, necessitating a complementary role for public finance to support the poorest nations. The brief recommends raising awareness among institutional investors and creating a visible pipeline of adaptation projects to attract private capital.

The document argues that the degradation of ecosystem services—approximately 60 per cent of those examined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment—poses a significant barrier to eradicating hunger and poverty. It specifically highlights how air pollutants like ground-level ozone threaten crop yields in South Asia, how slow progress in energy access in sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia may lead to increased forest clearing, and how uncontrolled pesticide use in Southeast Asia risks the health of farmers and the supply of wild foods. The brief recommends integrated pest management, stricter chemical legislation, and pro-poor energy policies to mitigate these environmental pressures.

The SEI Strategy 2010-2014 establishes a framework for the institute to act as a leading provider of systems understanding and policy solutions for sustainable development. The strategy reorganizes research into four multidisciplinary themes: managing environmental systems, reducing climate risk, transforming governance, and rethinking development. SEI aims to increase its institutional core funding to 40% by 2014 to enhance strategic flexibility and independence. The institute leverages a distributed structure of research centres across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA to link global expertise with local implementation, specifically targeting the needs of poor regions and the development of leadership capacities in the South.

The report examines the transition from traditional, inefficient bus services to modernized systems, primarily Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), across 13 cities in Latin America and Asia. It highlights that while these systems generally improve travel speed, reduce emissions, and lower capital costs compared to rail, they often suffer from rushed implementation, inadequate user education, and financial instability due to politically determined fares. The analysis emphasizes the importance of high-level political commitment, comprehensive planning, and the use of technical fare-setting to ensure long-term sustainability.

The document argues that effective climate adaptation requires a comprehensive information system comprising basic climate data, economic cost-benefit analyses, adaptation best practices, and vulnerability assessments. It emphasizes that information must be user-centered and iterative, moving beyond simple scientific publication to a collaborative dialogue between providers and decision-makers. The author highlights significant gaps in observational data, particularly in the developing world, and the difficulty of scaling global climate models to local levels. To ensure equitable and effective use, the paper suggests the use of 'boundary organizations' like NGOs and local universities to translate complex data into locally relevant knowledge, while adhering to specific communication principles to overcome barriers like scientific jargon and uncertainty.

The document outlines the tension between addressing current global development challenges—such as hunger and water scarcity—and preparing for future climate-related disruptions. It highlights projected temperature increases and specific risks to Asia's water and food security, posing a central policy question on how to allocate limited resources between present needs and future resilience.

The author proposes a new green revolution focused on sustainable land management and water harvesting to meet development goals and climate risks. He argues that investing in small-scale rainfed agriculture and conservation agriculture can double or triple crop yields while sequestering carbon. The document identifies systemic barriers, such as the policy fixation on large-scale irrigation and the administrative split between 'wet' water ministries and 'dry' agriculture ministries, and calls for integrated national strategies in Africa to scale these solutions.

The document argues that climate change threatens to reverse progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in rural Asia and Africa. It proposes four principles for adaptation—scale, speed, focus, and integration—and asserts that the developed world has a moral imperative to provide resources and skills to lower-income countries to build resilience and reduce vulnerability.

The author contends that current decision-making is 'hard-wired' to historical climate averages and relies on reactive disaster response, which is insufficient for the scale and uncertainty of climate change. Using examples like paddy farming in Indonesia and the 2005 Mumbai floods, the paper illustrates how reliance on 'normalcy' bandwidths and outdated infrastructure creates vulnerability. The author proposes a transition to anticipatory risk management based on a better understanding of risk thresholds, politically-mediated determinations of 'acceptable' resiliency levels, and an integrated approach that considers non-climate shocks such as population growth.

The study finds that large urban male youth bulges are not generally associated with increased risks of social disturbance. Instead, factors such as the absence of democratic institutions, low economic growth, and low secondary educational attainment are robustly linked to higher levels of urban social disorder.

The document outlines how climate action benefits U.S. national security through three primary channels: reducing reliance on foreign oil, transitioning to a distributed energy system to lower infrastructure vulnerability, and preventing climate-driven global instability. It specifically highlights that reducing petroleum consumption by 6 million barrels per day by 2030 could match current OPEC imports, and warns that climate change acts as a "threat multiplier" that could increase the burden on the U.S. military through humanitarian missions and threats to strategic bases like Diego Garcia.

The South African clothing and textile sector has faced significant job losses and a decline in competitiveness following the end of the Multi Fibre Agreement in 2004, which allowed China to increase its global and domestic market share. While South Africa attempted to use import quotas from 2007 to 2008, these failed to reduce total imports as retailers shifted sourcing to other low-cost Asian producers. The document argues that the sector's struggles are driven by high labour costs, low productivity, and rigidities in the unionised workforce rather than imports alone. It suggests that further trade protection is unlikely to be effective and instead recommends non-trade industrial policy tools, such as skills development and capital upgrades through the Industrial Development Corporation, alongside a strategic shift toward high-end niche export products.