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Cartagena de Indias has developed the first adaptation guidelines for a coastal city in South America to manage risks from sea level rise, extreme weather, and flooding. These guidelines integrate scientific knowledge with the city's socioeconomic context, including its reliance on tourism and transportation. The process is being monitored by the Colombian government to inform the National Adaptation Plan and other coastal urban areas. The city views adaptation as a means to improve citizen life and avoid the long-term costs of inaction, though the process requires sustained capacity building for local stakeholders.

The document details the creation of the 'Guidelines for Adaptation to Climate Change in Cartagena de Indias', the first of its kind for a South American coastal city. It highlights the city's vulnerabilities to sea level rise, flooding, and ecosystem degradation, while outlining a participatory process involving 64 stakeholder groups to mainstream adaptation into zoning and land-use policies. The brief emphasizes that while the guidelines provide a framework, the process requires sustained capacity building and political commitment to overcome the opportunity costs of adaptation and the skepticism of investors.

The document identifies five primary drivers for adopting CCD: national awareness of climate adaptation needs, the pursuit of energy security and resource efficiency, the desire to capture new green economic opportunities, the goal of improving access to climate finance, and strong government leadership. Conversely, it outlines seven key challenges: high implementation and opportunity costs, opposition from vested interest groups, lack of reliable data on risks and trade-offs, political short-termism, limited state capacity, institutional constraints (such as inter-ministerial conflict), and technological uncertainties. The paper suggests solutions including the use of carbon markets, participatory dialogue processes, the integration of climate goals into long-term legislation, and the creation of inter-ministerial committees with direct accountability to the presidency.

This research paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) examines the drivers and challenges associated with Climate Compatible Development (CCD), defined as a "development first" approach that minimizes climate harm while maximizing human development opportunities in a low-emissions, resilient future. Drawing on experience from over 40 countries, the paper identifies key sociopolitical drivers—such as national resilience needs, energy security, and economic opportunities—and outlines significant barriers, including high implementation costs, political resistance, and institutional capacity gaps.

The document identifies five key drivers for Climate Compatible Development (CCD)—national adaptation needs, energy security, new economic opportunities, access to climate finance, and strong government leadership—while detailing seven primary obstacles, including high opportunity costs, political resistance, and institutional constraints. It provides case studies from over 40 countries to illustrate how these factors interact and suggests solutions such as multi-stakeholder dialogue, legislative anchoring, and risk-sharing financial mechanisms.

The paper identifies five key drivers for CCD: national adaptation needs, energy security and resource efficiency, new economic opportunities, access to climate finance, and strong government leadership. It also outlines seven primary challenges, including high implementation and opportunity costs, opposition from vested interest groups, lack of trusted data, short-term political thinking, limited state capacity, institutional constraints, and technological uncertainties. The authors argue that managing the political economy of CCD is essential for overcoming these barriers.

A coalition of international, regional, and local NGOs calls on the Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure regarding the impact of hazardous substances and wastes on human rights. The document argues that the mismanagement of toxic products severely impacts the rights to health, an adequate standard of living, and life, often beginning with a violation of the right to access information. It highlights a gap in existing international chemical instruments, such as the Basel, Stockholm, and Rotterdam Conventions, which do not examine human rights effects, and positions the Special Procedure as critical for mainstreaming human rights into these frameworks and institutions.

The text emphasizes the urgent need to scale out community-based adaptation (CBA) through increased finance, noting that mitigation currently dominates climate funding. It highlights successful local initiatives in Colombia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, and Vietnam, while praising Nepal's target of directing 80% of climate finance to the local level via its Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) programme.

The case study describes how Cartagena de Indias has insulated its climate change agenda from political instability through the creation of interinstitutional structures, the integration of adaptation guidelines into municipal planning, and the involvement of diverse public, private, and academic stakeholders.

The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) is an alliance of six organizations providing research, advisory services, and knowledge sharing to help developing countries integrate climate resilience and low-carbon growth into their national policies. The network focuses on four strategic themes: climate-compatible development strategies, improving access to climate finance, disaster risk management, and supporting Least Developed Country (LDC) negotiators. CDKN operates across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, implementing projects such as national climate strategies in Rwanda, disaster-resilient reconstruction in Pakistan, and urban adaptation planning in Colombia and Ecuador.

Plan 4C is a strategic framework designed to make Cartagena de Indias the first coastal city in Colombia to implement a long-term vision for climate compatible development by 2040. The plan addresses the city's high vulnerability to sea level rise, coastal erosion, and extreme weather, which threaten its critical port, industrial, and tourism sectors, as well as its UNESCO World Heritage status. It proposes five core strategies: creating climate compatible ports and industries, committing the tourism sector to climate action, protecting historic heritage, adapting neighborhoods, and implementing ecosystem-based adaptation. To support these, the plan identifies 36 projects and three cross-cutting axes focused on information, education, and planning. The total estimated cost for adaptation, including complementary city projects, is approximately COL$1.5 trillion. Implementation is to be managed by the Cartagena Climate Action Center (CACC) and supported by the Inter-Institutional Commission on Climate Change (CICCC).

Colombia is planning at least nine major LNG import terminal projects and expansions between 2026 and 2030, which could create a capacity of 2,500 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). This capacity is more than double the 1,000 MMcf/d gas demand projected by the Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética (UPME) for 2030. The report argues that overbuilding LNG infrastructure risks creating stranded assets, increasing dependence on volatile global markets, and undermining the country's roadmap to reduce fossil fuel dependence and emissions by 90% by 2050.

The document analyzes coastal resilience efforts in Bangladesh, Malabon City (Philippines), and Cartagena (Colombia), highlighting the 'implementation gap' between planning and action. It identifies key success factors, including political will, access to credible climate data, stakeholder coordination, and a mix of domestic and international funding. The paper advocates for a 'whole-of-government approach' and the use of legislative mandates to ensure climate adaptation is integrated into development planning.