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The report finds increasing references to gender equality and responsiveness in NAP documents, with a growing recognition of women as agents of change rather than just vulnerable groups. It highlights progress in institutional arrangements, capacity building, and monitoring and evaluation, while providing practical examples from countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Suriname to illustrate the implementation of gender-responsive adaptation.

The report evaluates the integration of gender perspectives in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) globally, noting a shift from viewing women solely as vulnerable groups to recognizing them as agents of change. It highlights improvements in the use of gender analysis, institutional coordination involving gender ministries, and the development of gender-specific capacities. Practical examples from countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Suriname illustrate the application of visual storytelling, formal inter-ministerial agreements, and gender-disaggregated monitoring systems to ensure equitable climate resilience.

The report evaluates the integration of gender considerations in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) globally, noting an increase in the use of gender-responsive language, gender analysis, and the inclusion of gender ministries in institutional frameworks. It highlights specific progress in capacity building and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), while providing case studies from countries like the Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Marshall Islands, and Suriname to illustrate best practices in gender-responsive climate adaptation.

The report finds that while updated NDCs show increased ambition and better alignment with national planning, a massive gap remains between current commitments and the emissions reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5°C. Mitigation efforts have improved in scope and transparency, but many sectoral measures remain vague. Adaptation components are more prevalent in developing countries and show increased focus on equity and critical systems, though implementation details like timeframes and indicators are often missing. Climate finance requirements reported in NDCs total $4.282 trillion, highlighting a significant need for increased international support.

The report identifies 1.7 million km² of potentially suitable tiger habitat across 15 countries, representing a >250% increase over the current range. It argues that range recovery is feasible through natural dispersal—as 50% of these areas are within 100km of existing populations—and planned reintroductions, provided there is strong political will, community support, and prey restoration.

The document examines China's Digital Silk Road (DSR) strategy and its implementation through ICT projects in Tanzania and Cambodia. It finds that while environmental impacts are generally limited, socioeconomic outcomes are mixed and transparency remains a significant deficiency across projects.

The document examines the Bui Dam in Ghana and the Stung Tatay project in Cambodia, analyzing how ESG standards were applied. It finds that while Chinese firms led construction, the implementation of ESG standards was dominated by local actors, leading to outcomes that reflected the institutional capacities and transparency levels of the host governments. Both projects resulted in significant habitat destruction for endangered species and loss of local livelihoods, though Ghana exhibited higher levels of transparency and stakeholder engagement than Cambodia.

The report examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can support poverty reduction for smallholder farmers across three dimensions: access to resources, opportunities and choices, and power and voice. Through an analysis of 13 major VSSs and interviews in six countries, it finds that while VSSs can improve crop income, natural resource management, and skills development, their overall impact on poverty is inconclusive and context-specific. Significant barriers to smallholder access include high certification costs, limited financial resources, and asymmetrical power relations in supply chains. The report recommends that VSSs better integrate gender equality, support business diversification, and harmonize standards, while urging governments to provide better land tenure and financial support to enable smallholder compliance.

The document examines how ESG standards are applied in Chinese-led hydropower projects in the Global South, contrasting the Bui Dam in Ghana and the Stung Tatay project in Cambodia. It finds that while Chinese contractors lead construction, the implementation of ESG standards is primarily the responsibility of local actors and recipient governments. In Cambodia, a lack of transparency and weak governance eroded public trust and left the actual impact of the Stung Tatay project unclear. In Ghana, the Bui Dam project benefited from higher transparency and stakeholder engagement, though it still suffered from failures in environmental mitigation and unfulfilled socioeconomic promises. Both cases demonstrate that institutional weaknesses in recipient governments can lead to poor ESG outcomes, creating reputational risks for Chinese contractors.

The document argues that the lack of transparency regarding beneficial owners—the individuals exercising ultimate effective control over fishing vessels and facilities—is a primary enabler of corruption and IUU fishing. It details how 'flags of convenience' (FoCs), shell companies, and opaque joint ventures allow bad actors to evade sanctions, launder money, and engage in human rights abuses. The author highlights specific cases, such as the 'Fishrot' scandal in Namibia and the use of Chinese processing facilities to hide North Korean labor. To address these issues, the briefing recommends that governments implement public beneficial ownership registries, verify disclosed data, and that major market states like the US, EU, and Japan make beneficial ownership transparency a condition for seafood import access.

The proposal seeks USD 224,461.76 to create a long-term strategy for e-mobility in Cambodia, addressing barriers in policy, infrastructure, and finance. The project aims to establish an inter-institutional coordination mechanism and a comprehensive roadmap to transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, targeting a 3% reduction in transport sector GHG emissions by 2030.

China's commitment to cease overseas coal financing could remove two-thirds of the pre-construction coal pipeline in Asia, reducing it from over 65 GW to 22 GW. This shift, aligned with similar pledges from Japan, South Korea, and G20 nations, makes the remaining projects unlikely to be completed due to a lack of available capital. The report argues that cancelling these remaining projects would save US$27 billion in capital costs and avoid 103 million tons of annual CO2 emissions.

The report analyzes the evolution of gender-related provisions in trade agreements, categorizing them into five types: reaffirmation of commitments, avoidance of adverse effects, preservation of the state's right to regulate, promotion of women's economic empowerment, and cooperation mechanisms. It highlights a shift toward dedicated 'trade and gender' chapters in recent agreements, such as those involving Canada and Chile, though it notes these often lack enforceable targets or budgets. The author argues that current provisions are frequently 'gender-blind' or overly focused on women as formal workers, neglecting their roles as consumers, carers, and rights holders. To improve policy, the report advocates for ex ante gender impact assessments—citing Canada's GBA+ and the UNCTAD Trade and Gender Toolbox—and ex post monitoring to generate sex-disaggregated data. It concludes that for trade to be inclusive, gender mainstreaming must move beyond symbolic cooperation toward a holistic approach grounded in human rights frameworks like CEDAW.

The document examines China's role as a primary funder and contractor of ICT networks in the Global South, specifically through the Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative. It compares the implementation of a submarine fibre optic cable in Cambodia and the National ICT Broadband Backbone in Tanzania. The analysis finds that while these projects generally had limited environmental impacts and provided essential connectivity, they suffered from a lack of transparency and mixed results in socioeconomic mitigation, such as limited high-level technology transfer and underutilisation of infrastructure.

The analysis reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the climate finance gap in developing countries, leading to domestic budget reallocations away from climate projects toward health and economic recovery. International climate finance has also decreased, with a higher reliance on loans that increase national debt burdens. The report highlights that climate-finance needs, estimated at $4.6 trillion based on a sample of NDCs, far exceed current flows, and that pandemic-related restrictions have delayed the approval and execution of critical climate projects.

The document details the status of five rhino species. The greater one-horned rhino and white rhino show recovery trends, while the Javan, Sumatran, and black rhinos remain critically threatened. Poaching is a universal threat across all species, with climate change and habitat loss specifically impacting the greater one-horned rhino.

Mighty Earth argues that the European Commission's decision to exclude natural rubber from its proposed anti-deforestation law is based on an incomplete dataset that ignores processed rubber imports. The briefing highlights that rubber expansion has caused millions of hectares of forest loss in Southeast Asia and Africa, and warns that a projected 33% increase in global demand by 2030 will further drive biodiversity loss and carbon emissions.

The report details a multi-decade pattern of environmental degradation, safety failures, and human rights abuses by the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) across Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the United States. It highlights specific disasters, such as the 2016 marine life catastrophe in Vietnam and toxic dumping in Cambodia, alongside chronic pollution and safety lapses at US facilities in Texas, Louisiana, and Delaware. The document specifically critiques FPG's planned 'Sunshine Project' in St. James Parish, Louisiana, as an act of environmental racism. It concludes that the petrochemical industry's inherent risks, combined with FPG's corporate obfuscation and history of noncompliance, necessitate a halt to new plastics plants and a shift away from fossil-fuel-based petrochemicals.

The manual details a seven-step methodology for Rapid Village Assessments (RVAs) in the Upper Chindwin River region to support the 'Community-based integrated catchment management for conserving the Upper Chindwin River' project. The process involves collecting contextual data, village profiles, sketch mapping, and assessing ecosystem services using the RAWES toolkit. It also includes identifying threats based on Ramsar typologies and conducting rapid surveys for reptiles and birds. The ultimate goal is to short-list priority wetlands for community management and feed data into Community Action Plans (CAP) for sustainable agricultural, mining, and water management practices.

As of May 24, 2022, 43 companies have committed USD 458 million across 48 countries to support the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge. The largest individual commitments come from Bayer (USD 160 million) and PepsiCo (USD 100 million), with significant regional focus on Africa, Asia, and Latin America.