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The 2024 IPIE expert survey reveals a growing pessimism about the global information environment, with 63% of respondents expecting it to worsen. Experts identify the availability of accurate information and diversity of voices as the most critical features of a healthy environment, while naming social media platform owners and governments as the primary threats. Generative AI is viewed as a double-edged sword: 63% of experts fear it will amplify bias and misinformation, although 67% see potential for improving content discovery and journalism. The report emphasizes the need for supporting independent media and overcoming data access barriers for researchers.

The 2024 IPIE expert consultation reveals a growing pessimism about the global information environment, with 63% of researchers expecting it to worsen. Experts identify the availability of accurate information and diversity of voices as the most critical characteristics of a healthy information environment. The owners of social media platforms, governments, and politicians are cited as the most significant threats. Generative AI is viewed with mixed sentiment: while 63% of experts fear it will amplify disinformation, harassment, and bias, 67% hope it will improve content detection and journalism. Experts advocate for free and independent media, digital literacy, and improved data access for multi-disciplinary research.

The 2024 IPIE expert survey reveals a growing pessimism about the global information environment, with 63% of respondents expecting it to worsen. Experts identify access to accurate information and diverse voices as critical for a healthy environment, while viewing social media owners, governments, and politicians as the primary threats. Generative AI is viewed with mixed sentiment: 63% fear it will increase bias and misinformation, while 67% hope it will improve content discovery and journalism. The report advocates for supporting independent media and improving data access for researchers.

The report analyzes the online behavior of the German far right, finding that while they utilize 'alt-tech' platforms to evade moderation, they remain heavily reliant on very large online platforms (VLOPs) for reach. It highlights the central role of conspiracy theories, the opportunistic use of crises like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and the increasing importance of audiovisual content.

The document evaluates various digital interventions to protect elections, including content moderation, algorithmic adjustments, and transparency measures. It highlights a significant gap in data access for researchers and a geographic imbalance in mitigation efforts, which primarily focus on Western contexts. The authors argue for a multi-stakeholder approach and standardized data access to improve the efficacy of electoral safeguarding.

The document analyzes Africa's role and priorities within the UNFCCC COP process, specifically focusing on the transition from COP27 to COP28 and looking ahead to COP29. It highlights the continent's success in establishing the Loss and Damage Fund and launching voluntary initiatives like the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, while warning that climate finance remains severely constrained and dominated by loans rather than grants. The brief argues that Africa must shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, integrating gender perspectives and climate-peace-security policies, while balancing the need for energy access with a just transition to low-carbon energy.

The document details the methodology for tracking deforestation and scoring the corporate responses of ten major soy and cattle companies in Brazil. It describes a Tracker based on 172 cases of deforestation and conversion across the Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal biomes, and a Scorecard that evaluates companies on responsiveness, transparency, action, and the robustness of their Deforestation- and Conversion-Free (DCF) policies.

The NAP Global Network's 2023 report details its efforts to accelerate climate adaptation in developing countries through technical support, peer learning, and knowledge generation. Key achievements include supporting 41 countries with technical assistance, facilitating regional peer learning cohorts in Central America and West Africa, and advancing gender-responsive and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks. The Network is currently tracking progress toward its 2025 strategic targets, with significant success in expanding its Country Support Hub and In-Country NAP Support Programs.

The document outlines a structured approach to integrating monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) into National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes. It emphasizes a sequential, pragmatic approach to system design, the use of Theory of Change (ToC) models, and the selection of SMART indicators. The guide details how to link MEL with impact, vulnerability, and risk assessments (IVRAs) and provides strategies for data collection, management, and inclusive communication. It specifically highlights the necessity of integrating gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) to ensure equitable adaptation outcomes.

The document analyzes global conflict trends using Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) data. It finds that while battle-related deaths from state-based conflicts decreased in 2023 compared to 2022, 2023 remains the third most violent year since 1989, driven largely by wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The report notes a record high of 59 state-based conflicts in 2023, suggesting a more complex conflict landscape where fewer countries experience a higher number of simultaneous conflicts. Non-state conflicts have stabilized at a higher level than a decade ago, with the Americas now the most affected region due to cartel violence in Mexico and Brazil. One-sided violence continues to be driven primarily by non-state actors, though thirteen governments were still responsible for such violence in 2023.

The report analyzes the relationship between the diversion of firearms—the transfer of weapons from legal to illicit realms—and illicit trafficking. It details various diversion typologies, including 'leakage' from state stocks, straw purchases, and the misuse of export documentation. Through 12 case studies spanning Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia, the document demonstrates how the UN Firearms Protocol's requirements for marking, record-keeping, and international judicial cooperation are critical for dismantling trafficking networks. It emphasizes that while diversion can occur domestically, it often serves as a prerequisite for cross-border trafficking, which requires a coordinated international criminal justice response to be effectively countered.

The document examines the shift in global politics as emerging powers in the Global South contest universalist liberal gender norms. Through case studies of Turkey, Brazil, and China, it analyzes how local political contexts—ranging from the rise of political Islam and traditional family values to state-led prioritisation of national prosperity—shape women's rights and the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The authors argue that a more diverse understanding of gender norms is necessary to avoid cultural relativism while effectively improving women's security and well-being globally.

The report identifies four 'pillars' of protest—demands, strategy, composition, and organization—that influence the size of a movement and the likelihood of regime loyalty shifts. It argues that non-violent, broad-based campaigns demanding regime change are most likely to succeed and lead to democratic consolidation. However, it notes a recent decline in the success rate of such movements and a rise in anti-liberal protests. For international democracy promoters, the report recommends investing in civil society infrastructure during stable periods rather than attempting to instigate regime shifts.

SEforALL reports significant progress in 2024, including the mobilization of USD 1.4 trillion in commitments through Energy Compacts and the facilitation of a USD 2 billion commitment for Mission 300 in Nigeria. The organization expanded electricity access for 48 million people in 2024 and advanced national energy policies in Kenya, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, while promoting sustainable cooling and clean cooking initiatives.

The Energy Progress Report 2024 reveals that the world is not on track to achieve any of the 2030 targets for SDG 7. While 91% of the global population has electricity access, progress reversed in 2022, leaving 685.2 million people without power, with 83% of the deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa. Clean cooking access stands at 74%, but 2.1 billion people still rely on polluting fuels. Renewable energy's share in total final energy consumption was 18.7% in 2021, and global energy intensity improved by only 0.8% in 2021, far below the 2.6% target. International public financial flows to developing countries rebounded to USD 15.4 billion in 2022 but remain well below the 2016 peak of USD 28.5 billion.

The document examines the fiscal burden of Colombia's Fuel Price Stabilisation Fund (FEPC), which saw a deficit of 2.5% of GDP in 2022. It highlights the tension between the government's goal to align fuel prices with global markets and the transport sector's skepticism regarding the feasibility of energy transition alternatives. The brief identifies structural issues in the freight sector, such as a high rate of self-employment (63%) and an aging vehicle fleet (average age of 26 years), as barriers to reform. It recommends resuming stakeholder dialogue, implementing social mitigation programs via Sisbén, and restructuring the transport sector through cooperatives to facilitate the transition to electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The briefing argues that climate change and biodiversity loss are inextricably connected and recommends five key opportunities to align the CBD and UNFCCC agendas. These include developing specific indicators for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), aligning National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), formalizing collaboration between the IPBES and IPCC, establishing a joint work program among the three Rio Conventions, and formalizing the role of CBD Action Agenda High-Level Champions.

The research paper compares the financial targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM GBF) with the UNFCCC's New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). It argues that the CBD's approach—which combines the reduction of harmful subsidies, mobilization from diverse sources, and specific developed-to-developing country provisions—could serve as a model for the NCQG. The authors recommend a 10-year operational timeframe with five-year milestones, a quantum based on a subset of developing countries' needs, and a layered financial structure that includes the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies.

The document argues that Latin America and the Caribbean are among the most climate-vulnerable regions globally, facing severe economic losses and ecosystem degradation. It highlights the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) as a strategic opportunity for the region to secure quantitative financing and integrate nature-based solutions. The brief recommends aligning national adaptation plans with human rights, indigenous knowledge, and regional cooperation to ensure a just and measurable transition.

The document argues that current international financing systems fail to provide the scale, speed, and justice required to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies in Latin America and the Caribbean. It highlights a significant gap between global financial targets—such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)—and the actual resources reaching the region. The brief advocates for a shift toward 'just financing' that prioritizes direct access for indigenous peoples and local communities, reduces capital costs through local currency financing, and replaces harmful subsidies with nature-based solutions. It specifically promotes innovative mechanisms like debt-for-nature swaps, Finance for Permanence (PFP) projects, and the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) as pathways to systemic change.