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The document examines how hard currency loans create asset-liability mismatches in infrastructure projects within emerging and frontier markets. It argues that IFIs should move away from direct lending and instead use guarantees and credit enhancements to leverage private capital and stimulate local currency financing. The paper details specific financial tools, such as local currency bonds and derivatives, to mitigate currency, political, and project risks.

The report evaluates National Climate Change Funds (NCCFs), finding that they currently play a limited role in global climate finance, accounting for less than 0.2% of total flows in 2013. It identifies key barriers to resource mobilisation, including weak institutional capacities and a lack of clear vision, and proposes a structured three-step approach—defining vision, building capacity, and engaging investors—to improve their sustainability.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) reports progress on its Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme, which aims to assist developing countries in accessing Fund resources. Between 28 April and 18 June 2015, the total number of nominated national designated authorities (NDAs) or focal points rose to 127, and the total number of readiness requests reached 74. The Secretariat finalized grant agreements totaling US$ 1.9 million for seven countries: Comoros, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Rwanda, Thailand, and Togo. The programme operates across five activity areas, including NDA strengthening, strategic framework development, accreditation support, project pipeline creation, and information sharing. Capacity-building efforts include regional workshops in El Salvador and South Korea, with future events planned for Fiji and Egypt, as well as headquarters visits for delegations from Mongolia and Fiji. The GCF is also coordinating with partners such as UNDP, UNEP, and the African Development Bank to ensure complementarity in readiness support.

The Climate Knowledge Brokers Manifesto argues that a significant gap exists between the production of climate science and its practical application in decision-making. It proposes that 'knowledge brokers' act as critical filters and translators who synthesize, contextualize, and deliver tailored information to users across various sectors and localities. The document outlines six primary user needs—ranging from basic availability and trust to local enrichment and access to raw data—and describes the broker's role as a multi-disciplinary interface. To improve effectiveness, the CKB Group advocates for a community of practice based on collaboration, open knowledge principles, and the adoption of interoperable digital standards to break down information silos.

The document analyzes India's transition from a borrower to an owner in multilateral financial institutions, its internal development finance structure, and its strategic use of development assistance to project soft power and counterbalance China's influence in South Asia. It highlights the tension between India's global aspirations and its domestic infrastructure deficit, which is estimated at $1 trillion under its 12th Five-Year Plan.

Bhutan has a constitutional mandate to maintain 60% forest cover and manages a connected network of 10 protected areas covering 5 million acres. However, this system faces threats from poaching, illegal logging, human-wildlife conflict, and a declining workforce as youth migrate to cities. Additionally, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change, experiencing melting glaciers and intense rainstorms. To address these challenges and a decrease in foreign aid, WWF and the Bhutanese government have launched 'Bhutan for Life', a project finance model seeking $35 million to $45 million to fund enforcement, wildlife monitoring, and community support over 15 years until the system becomes self-sustaining.

The report identifies four core areas for improving sustainable development (SD) planning: multistakeholder participation, integrated vertical planning across government levels, cross-sectoral policy integration, and monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (MER). Across Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the report finds a prevalence of 'silo' sectoral planning and a lack of institutional frameworks for stakeholder engagement. It argues for the creation of national SD councils chaired by heads of state and the adoption of 'glocal' planning to align global goals with local implementation. Key capacity gaps include a lack of data for evidence-based policy, poor coordination between governmental and non-governmental agencies, and limited technical skills for information management at subnational levels.

The report introduces 'governAbilities' as the nexus of sustainability, accountability, and adaptability, arguing that these three operational areas are essential for governments to maintain a 'social licence to operate' in a complex, uncertain century. It identifies four common principles—outcome-based, multistakeholder, forward-looking, and multi-dimensional—that link these abilities. To operationalize these, the authors propose a toolkit including Budgeting for Outcomes, Indicator Information Systems, Multistakeholder Councils, Scenario Planning, and Integrated Strategies. The report provides global case studies, such as Germany's sustainability reporting and Washington State's budgeting process, to demonstrate how these tools can be implemented to improve public management and policy resilience.

The document argues that subnational governments are essential for implementing sustainable development policies because they are closest to citizens' needs and can foster grassroots innovation. It emphasizes the need for 'vertical coordination'—the linking of local, subnational, national, and supranational levels—to ensure policy coherence. Using empirical research, the author identifies good practice examples in Europe (such as Tyrol, Austria) and other regions (such as Bhutan), while noting that many regions lack systematic links to national strategies due to political independence or administrative bottlenecks. The briefing recommends a 'metagovernance' approach that mixes hierarchical, market, and network styles to better integrate sustainable development across all levels of government.

The report examines the vulnerability of Asia's High Mountains (AHM) to climate change, highlighting risks from glacial melt, extreme weather, and water scarcity. It details the varying responses of mountain ranges—such as the retreat of most glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya versus stability in the Karakorum—and analyzes the resulting threats to human health, agriculture, and infrastructure. The document evaluates current adaptation strategies, including livelihood diversification and community-based water management, while identifying critical data gaps in permafrost and groundwater storage. It concludes with recommendations for regional cooperation in disaster risk management and the synchronization of national and local climate policies.

The document analyzes the gap between current and ideal governance practices for sustainable development in Asia-Pacific, focusing on multistakeholder processes, vertical and horizontal integration, and monitoring and evaluation. It identifies a prevalence of 'silo' approaches where sustainable development is managed primarily by environment ministries and recommends a comprehensive capacity-building agenda to improve long-term strategic planning, data quality, and subnational implementation.

The document translates the global findings of the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report into a regional context for South Asia, detailing observed warming, projected risks to food and water security, and the potential for low-carbon development. It emphasizes that while further warming is inevitable, integrated adaptation and mitigation can protect development gains and offer economic opportunities.

The document outlines the transition from short-term National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) to medium- and long-term National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It emphasizes the need for iterative planning, the use of 'no-regret' strategies to manage data uncertainty, and the integration of climate adaptation into national development strategies. The briefing highlights significant funding gaps, noting that LDCF resources fall short of demand and that LDCs require approximately US$ 5 billion to implement NAPAs alone. It also discusses the role of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the importance of establishing robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks to track adaptation effectiveness and climate finance.

The document argues that disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation have evolved separately despite significant overlaps. It highlights that while DRR focuses on near-term risks and emergency management, adaptation takes a longer-term view of adjusting to climatic shifts. The brief emphasizes that both are driven by exposure and vulnerability, which are often exacerbated by poor development planning. It calls for a transformative approach that prioritizes vulnerability reduction over simple risk management, integrating human rights and sustainable development to prevent the creation of new risks.

The document outlines SEI's approach to climate adaptation, emphasizing that vulnerability is driven more by socioeconomic conditions than by climate exposure. It argues that adaptation and development are inextricably linked and that adaptation has inherent limits, meaning it cannot replace mitigation. The briefing also details SEI's global initiatives, such as the weADAPT platform and the Asia Adaptation Knowledge Platform, and identifies future research priorities including the role of gender, culture, and the private sector in adaptation.

The document details CDKN's support for Bangladesh in leading the global debate on loss and damage and its research into climate-induced displacement. It highlights the 'Adaptation Policy Options' project, which collects data on migration in five districts to inform policy, and the 'Action Research on Community Adaptation in Bangladesh' (ARCAB) programme, which focuses on long-term community-based adaptation and monitoring.

The report examines the 'temporal scope' of the Nagoya Protocol, specifically whether access and benefit-sharing (ABS) obligations are triggered by the initial physical access to genetic resources (GRs) and traditional knowledge (TK) or by their subsequent utilisation. It argues that the European Commission's draft proposal, which limits obligations to resources accessed after the Protocol's entry into force, contradicts the ABS laws of many provider countries (such as Ethiopia, India, and South Africa) where utilisation is the trigger. The authors contend that this discrepancy will lead to legal uncertainty for EU users, who may be compliant with EU law but liable for criminal charges in provider countries, and will disincentivise provider countries from facilitating access to their biodiversity.

The report analyzes the policy landscapes of Bhutan and Nepal to identify opportunities and obstacles for mainstreaming climate change adaptation. It highlights the success of community forestry in both nations as a tool for protecting livelihoods and ecosystems, while noting significant failures in Nepal's integrated water resource management due to bureaucratic and political instability. The synthesis emphasizes that both countries struggle with sectoral fragmentation, funding gaps, and a lack of technical climate data, recommending a shift toward more integrated, consistent, and community-empowered governance frameworks.

The Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia (AKP) operated from 2009 to 2012 to build adaptation capacity and knowledge across Asia. The project utilized a three-tiered approach involving knowledge sharing, research, and pilot projects across 13 countries. While successful in creating a diverse network of local experts and producing over 50 knowledge products, the initiative struggled with high staff turnover and a lack of consistent leadership. A primary barrier to impact was the reliance on English-language publications, which limited reach among local stakeholders. The document argues that linear project planning is insufficient for measuring social learning and adaptive capacity, calling for more complex evaluation frameworks.

The document examines the vulnerability of climate-sensitive livelihoods—primarily agriculture, fishing, and forestry—in Asia. It highlights that while governments and NGOs are implementing adaptation measures like crop diversification and mangrove restoration, externally led interventions can sometimes cause maladaptation by increasing market dependency. The brief emphasizes the need to integrate local and traditional knowledge, address the specific vulnerabilities of women and marginalized groups, and leverage social assets and community forestry to build resilience.