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The Climate Risk Assessment Guide – Central Asia establishes a framework to downscale climate impact understanding to support sub-national risk management. It integrates climate change assessment with disaster risk assessment, focusing on six types of capital: human, natural, social, financial, physical, and political. The methodology combines an impact-based assessment (using monetary damage and Delphi-based livelihood scoring) with a perception-based assessment to identify gaps between expert data and local views. The guide emphasizes the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for data management and provides a structured process for creating climate risk profiles to prioritize management actions.

The report analyzes the failure of early political inclusion in Afghanistan, the limited impact of amnesty programs, and the constraints on Norway's role as a peace facilitator due to its military commitments to NATO and the U.S.

The document assesses the security and economic relationships between Afghanistan and its neighbours, including Pakistan, Iran, China, Russia, India, and Central Asian states. It argues that Afghanistan's stability depends on a combination of internal political reconciliation, the strengthening of national security forces, and a regional shift toward economic interdependence. The author suggests that by serving as a 'land bridge' for energy and trade, Afghanistan can motivate neighbouring states to support its stability rather than treating it as a zone for proxy competition.

The report argues that transitioning to a green economy can serve as an insurance policy for Sweden against future global shocks. Using a scenario-based 'wind-tunnel' approach, it tests the robustness of various policy options across four plausible global futures: Glocal Citizenship, Global Governance, Return of Geopolitics, and Big Business. The authors conclude that while Sweden possesses strong preconditions—such as renewable resources and high social capital—it must proactively integrate environmental considerations into the heart of economic decision-making, specifically through the Ministry of Finance, to ensure long-term stability and competitiveness.

The report outlines the progress of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, highlighting over 100 commitments from governments and businesses, including more than USD $50 billion from the private sector. It details a four-step country-action process adopted by 55 developing countries and identifies 50 high-impact opportunities across 11 action areas. The document also proposes a distributed global network for future implementation and a baseline report to track progress toward 2030 goals.

The document highlights that global economic disaster losses rose by 200% over 25 years, with losses from weather-related disasters doubling every 12 years. It argues that ex-post relief is unsustainable and advocates for ex-ante risk reduction through comprehensive risk assessments, fiscal planning, and sector-level mainstreaming. Key tools discussed include the CAPRA GIS platform and the CATSIM model for evaluating fiscal vulnerability. The guide emphasizes that while risk financing (insurance and reserve funds) is useful, it must be paired with land-use planning and building codes to effectively reduce exposure.

The research evaluates 14 emission control measures for black carbon and methane to determine their impact on air quality and health by 2030. The study finds that full implementation could significantly reduce global surface concentrations of PM2.5 and ozone, avoiding millions of premature deaths annually, with the vast majority of these benefits occurring in Asia.

The document argues that agriculture is a critical but historically marginalized sector in climate negotiations, offering significant short-term greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential, particularly in developing nations. It reviews the status of UNFCCC negotiations, the Copenhagen Accord, and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. The report highlights Canada's leadership in GHG accounting and soil carbon sequestration, suggesting that Canada can improve its international reputation by providing capacity building and technology transfer to regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia. It recommends establishing a dedicated agriculture and climate change fund and supporting an SBSTA programme of work to integrate agricultural mitigation into post-2012 climate agreements.

The document analyzes Afghanistan's role within the Regional Security Complex (RSC) framework, examining its relationship with South Asia, the Persian Gulf, and Central Asia. It argues that neighboring states' engagement in Afghanistan is driven by internal regional conflicts—such as the India-Pakistan rivalry—rather than Afghan-centric issues. Consequently, the author suggests that a unilateral non-aggression commitment by Afghanistan is a more viable strategy for stability than the integrated regional approaches often proposed by international policymakers.

The report examines the integration of agricultural practices into Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) frameworks across Canada and internationally. It identifies the watershed as the appropriate planning unit and highlights the critical role of private agricultural landowners in achieving environmental sustainability. Through an inventory of provincial initiatives and global case studies, the document analyzes the social, economic, and technical drivers of success, emphasizing the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration, long-term monitoring, and financial incentives for beneficial management practices (BMPs). It concludes with recommendations for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to coordinate federal efforts and increase support for watershed-scale agricultural sustainability.

The paper argues that agricultural and marine commodities can function as conflict resources, similar to oil or diamonds, by providing funding for rebel groups and governments through trade taxation. It highlights that commodity price volatility and competition over land and water increase political instability and conflict risks. The author recommends that the UN Security Council impose sanctions on these resources when linked to conflict financing, broaden the mandates of UN Expert Panels, and ensure peacekeeping missions are equipped to monitor and secure natural resources.

The report argues that agricultural and marine resources, often dismissed as secondary in conflict analysis, can fuel violence through the taxation of trade, the destabilizing effect of price volatility, and competition over essential inputs like land and water. Through case studies in Côte d’Ivoire, Somalia, and Central Asia, it demonstrates how rebel groups and warlords extract funds from cocoa, bananas, and fisheries. It also highlights how commodity dependence and price shocks undermine political stability and how the pursuit of thirsty crops like cotton exacerbates interstate tensions over water sharing. The authors provide fourteen policy recommendations, including the use of UN sanctions on agricultural resources and increased transparency in trade.

The report examines the complexities of humanitarian intervention in the post-Cold War era, where internal conflicts predominate over interstate wars. It argues that these conflicts are often driven by economic and political injustice and manipulated by 'conflict entrepreneurs' who mobilize ethnic identity for power. The text analyzes the ethical dilemmas of intervention through the Just War tradition, the systemic coordination failures between the UN and NGOs, and the specific dynamics of Russian interventions in the former Soviet south and emergent peace-keeping efforts in Africa.

The document argues that the success of the global plastics treaty depends on inclusive participation, moving beyond the limitations of the existing Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (MGS) system. It analyzes previous Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and regional instruments, such as the Aarhus Convention and Escazú Agreement, to identify best practices for accreditation, speaking rights, and funding. The brief emphasizes the need for protected participation for Indigenous Peoples, waste pickers, women, and youth, who are disproportionately affected by plastic pollution. It concludes with specific recommendations for UN Member States and international bodies to implement open accreditation, provide financial support for stakeholders, and ensure transparency through public meetings and hybrid access.

The document analyzes the global debate over water privatization, contrasting the view of water as an economic good promoted by international financial institutions with the view of water as a human right. It details the role of the World Bank and IMF in pushing privatization through loan conditionalities and provides case studies of both failed privatization (Cochabamba, Bolivia) and successful participatory public management (Porto Alegre, Brazil).

ClientEarth and the European Environmental Bureau are calling on EU Environment Ministers to support the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee's finding that the EU lacks effective access to justice. They argue that the European Commission's proposal to reject these findings is legally weak, creates a double standard between EU institutions and Member States, and undermines the rule of law and environmental democracy in Europe and Central Asia.

Asia faces a critical adaptation finance gap, with only USD 34 billion in tracked flows against an annual need of USD 212 billion (or USD 431 billion by some estimates). The document identifies systemic barriers including complex access to global funds, institutional capacity constraints, low disbursement rates, and a reliance on loans over grants. It recommends a 'whole-of-government' strategy, scaling up high-quality international public finance, implementing locally led adaptation principles, and developing detailed Adaptation Investment Plans (AIPs) to make projects bankable.

The document defines climate change as a "threat multiplier" that creates direct risks to critical infrastructure and indirect risks by stressing resources like food, water, and energy. It argues that while climate change is unlikely to be the sole cause of war, it increases the likelihood of conflict in unstable regions. The guide details the specific impacts on military readiness, operations, and strategy, and emphasizes the need for a comprehensive risk management approach combining adaptation and mitigation.

The report identifies the residential sector as the largest global source of black carbon (BC), accounting for 48% of emissions in 2017, followed by transportation (24%) and industry. While emissions have declined in North America, Europe, and China due to stricter standards and fuel switching, these gains are being offset by increases in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliance on unclean cooking fuels remains high. The document highlights critical hotspots, including eastern China and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and notes that global BC reductions are not currently on track to meet the Paris Climate Agreement's 1.5°C warming limit.

This document is a Vietnamese translation of excerpts from the 'Boom & Burst Coal 2024' report by Global Energy Monitor and its partners. It analyzes global coal power trends in 2023, highlighting a dichotomy where new construction has hit a 9-year low outside China but an 8-year high within China. The report provides a detailed assessment of Vietnam's energy transition, focusing on the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8) and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), while noting that global coal capacity reached an all-time high in 2023.