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This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that the European Union's 2014 Public Procurement Directives have failed to mainstream green public procurement (GPP) due to their voluntary nature, legal fragmentation, and lack of certainty. With the European Commission evaluating the Directives in late 2024, the authors advocate for a shift toward mandatory GPP, better monitoring systems, and the alignment of 'buy European' initiatives with environmental requirements to drive the EU's green transition and enhance global competitiveness.

This briefing note by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) examines the intersection of agricultural trade, climate change, and net-zero pathways, focusing on the implications for developing countries. It analyzes how climate change disrupts production and trade flows, the sector's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for international trade cooperation to foster climate-resilient food systems.

A statement by Trend Asia and a global coalition of civil society organizations arguing that large-scale forest biomass combustion for energy is not carbon neutral, harms biodiversity, violates community rights, and obstructs the transition to clean energy. The signatories call for the cessation of forest biomass expansion and the removal of related subsidies.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, produced for the Africa-Europe Foundation, evaluates adaptation progress within the AU-EU partnership and provides recommendations for the European Union to restore trust and close the adaptation gap by COP30.

This briefing by RMI discusses the financial barriers to the adoption of zero-emission trucks (ZETs) in India and proposes the adaptation of global financial models—specifically risk-sharing facilities, tailored insurance, and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)—to accelerate market growth.

This research paper by the NewClimate Institute evaluates the Klimaschutzverträge (KSV) scheme, a German financial instrument designed to support industrial decarbonisation. The study examines whether the KSV adequately addresses sustainability risks and opportunities related to hydrogen production and use, specifically focusing on the distinction between green and low-carbon hydrogen, resource efficiency, and the impact on exporting nations.

This briefing note from the International Institute for Sustainable Development outlines the barriers to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in international aviation and maritime shipping and provides recommendations for taxation and emissions levies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a level playing field across transport modes.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the state of the global energy transition entering 2025, highlighting record growth in cleantech and falling costs despite ongoing challenges in methane reduction and energy efficiency.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative evaluates the current state of net-zero disclosures among global banks, identifying significant gaps in comparability, scope, and alignment with 1.5°C pathways. Based on a stocktake of reference studies and an analysis of five Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), the report argues that current claims of net-zero alignment often lack the necessary transparency and ambition to effectively support the energy transition.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes post-issuance reporting practices for Green, Social, and Sustainability (GSS) bonds, based on a sample of 75 entities that issued USD 1.4 trillion between 2020 and 2023. While reporting is widespread and generally high quality, the study identifies significant gaps in project-level granularity, impact methodology disclosure, and the quantitative linking of bond-level impacts to entity-level sustainability strategies.

This research paper by Jakkie Cilliers, commissioned by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (wrr), examines the potential for Africa to achieve a demographic dividend. It analyzes the stages of demographic transition, the role of urbanization, and the specific conditions—such as health, education, and governance—required to convert a youthful population structure into economic growth. The paper models an ambitious 'Demographics and Health' scenario to demonstrate how accelerated improvements in fertility and mortality could enhance Africa's development trajectory and its relationship with Europe.

This report by Transforma provides a comprehensive guide for the financial sector to integrate nature-related risks and opportunities into business models. It identifies four primary barriers—undervaluation of nature, regulatory gaps, challenges in nature-based financing, and a knowledge gap—and proposes strategies to overcome them. A significant portion of the document is dedicated to detailing the 'Locate' phase of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) LEAP approach, offering a roadmap for financial institutions to identify the geographical and sectoral intersections of their portfolios with the natural environment.

This report by RMI outlines the economic and environmental advantages of adopting limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) as a strategy for decarbonizing the cement industry.

This research paper examines how 'riskification' influences climate change adaptation (CCA) in four European cities, arguing that technocratic risk management often depoliticizes climate risks and obstructs transformative societal change.

This policy brief examines the security, environmental, and geopolitical threats to marine infrastructure in Europe, specifically within the Baltic Sea region, based on a workshop held in Riga on 26 April 2024.

This report by Ember explores the potential for an electricity interconnector between Europe and North America to enhance grid security and efficiency as both regions decarbonise. The analysis suggests that differences in time zones and weather patterns—specifically uncorrelated wind, temperature, and rainfall—could provide significant arbitrage opportunities and system resilience, potentially offering a more cost-effective solution than nuclear power or hydrogen.

Ember modelling indicates that the UK can achieve a stable, decarbonised clean power system by 2030 while significantly reducing its reliance on expensive, imported biomass. By reducing biomass capacity by 2 GW—retaining only the equivalent of a single large-scale unit—biomass generation could drop to just 2% of total electricity generation, with the gap largely filled by power imports and a marginal increase in gas use.

The 'SEI strategy 2025–29' outlines the Stockholm Environment Institute's strategic framework to address global environmental and sustainable development challenges. The strategy focuses on three primary impact areas—climate transitions, nature and resources, and health and wellbeing—while introducing 'accelerating implementation' as a new strategic outcome to move from policy goals to on-the-ground action.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics argues that nature and ecosystem services provide immense economic value, often exceeding the gains from their exploitation, and that the costs of biodiversity loss pose systemic risks to global GDP and financial stability.

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice argues against the implementation of job-seeking requirements for social grants in South Africa, specifically opposing proposals to replace the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant with a conditional grant for job seekers. The document asserts that unemployment in South Africa is structural rather than a result of a lack of effort, and that imposing conditions would be costly, unfair, and counterproductive to economic growth.