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The SEI Initiative on Climate Services focuses on creating a Participatory Framework for Climate Services (PFCS) to better connect climate science with the practical needs of users, ranging from national governments to smallholder farmers. The initiative is structured around four work packages: understanding user needs, exploring collaborative co-generation processes, improving communication methodologies, and developing a community learning space via the weADAPT platform. It draws on interdisciplinary research and case studies from both industrialized and developing countries to ensure climate information is timely, relevant, and accessible.

The document consists of several articles analyzing how mainstream media often perpetuate negative stereotypes of Muslims and Islam, contributing to Islamophobia in Europe, North America, and New Zealand. It also discusses the erosion of democratic governance in India due to corruption and intolerance, and critiques the 'corporate village' of transnational media that marginalizes local cultures and restricts the 'right to communicate'.

The report examines how the global financial crisis impacted European societal security through three dimensions: material financial security, the perceived social value of the financial sector, and broader societal resilience. It finds that while some countries recovered, peripheral euro area nations experienced depression-level unemployment, severe material deprivation, and significant political polarization. The document also explores the rise of alternative finance and cryptocurrencies as responses to a crisis of legitimacy in traditional banking, while noting that austerity measures may have undermined social cohesion and increased domestic violence and suicide rates in severely affected regions.

The author asserts that the Paris agreement's success is rooted in the collapsing cost gap between clean and fossil energy and the increasing profitability of low-carbon investments. The text highlights that private sector investment is driving climate finance, which grew 18% to $391 billion in the previous year. Specific examples are provided of economic opportunities in the U.S., Europe, India, China, Indonesia, and Brazil, suggesting that the transition to low-carbon energy and sustainable agriculture can unlock trillions in economic value.

The research paper examines how China's 'one road-two belts' strategy, the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and increased UN peacekeeping commitments impact Africa. It highlights a shift toward regional development nodes on Africa's east coast and the Horn of Africa, while cautioning that Africa's strategic importance to Beijing is limited compared to China's immediate region and its interests in Asia and Europe.

The briefing challenges the notion that variable renewables will limit their own growth by depressing wholesale electricity prices. It contends that these concerns rely on static models of the grid and ignore the synergistic effects of complementary supply resources, flexible demand-side responses, and the decreasing cost of storage. By shifting from incremental to whole-system thinking and updating 20th-century market designs, the author asserts that wind and solar can continue to expand without facing practical economic limits.

Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, offering a high-efficiency, low-emission alternative to combustion engines and batteries. While they excel in reliability, scalability, and energy density, widespread adoption is hindered by high costs—particularly the need for platinum in PEM cells—and the lack of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Applications range from portable electronics and stationary power (including combined heat and power systems) to transportation. In the U.S., the Department of Energy and various state-level policies, such as Renewable Portfolio Standards and tax credits, are working to reduce system costs and expand infrastructure to make fuel cells more competitive with gasoline-powered vehicles.

The paper argues that the legal distinction between migrant smuggling (facilitating illegal movement for profit) and human trafficking (exploitation) is increasingly blurred in practice, as smugglers often transition into traffickers. It contends that restrictive border controls do not stop migration but instead make smuggling the 'new normal,' increasing migrant vulnerability and profitability for criminal networks. The authors highlight that most irregular migrants successfully reach their destinations despite high risks, and that state efforts to 'demonize' smugglers often serve as political cover for the failure of the global asylum regime.

The document assesses SEI's global urban research portfolio to identify strengths and gaps that can be leveraged for a new programme in sub-Saharan Africa. It finds that while SEI has diverse expertise across 64 projects, there is a lack of cross-centre collaboration and significant research gaps in Central and West Africa, as well as in specific areas like urban solid waste management and green infrastructure in the Global South. The report recommends replicating successful global projects in Africa and expanding research into under-studied regions and strategic themes such as urban governance and inclusive cities.

The document describes neonicotinoids as systemic insecticides that spread through plant tissues and are linked to large-scale honey bee colony losses. It cites a Worldwide Integrated Assessment finding these pesticides toxic to most insects and capable of impairing bee learning and fertility. In Canada, specifically Ontario, significant winter colony losses were reported in 2013 and 2014, leading to provincial legislation to reduce neonic-treated seed planting by 80% by 2017. The European Union also implemented a two-year ban on agricultural neonic use starting in January 2013.

The paper examines how urban development decisions regarding buildings and transport infrastructure can 'lock in' future greenhouse gas emissions. By comparing a reference scenario with an aggressive 'urban action' scenario, the authors estimate that urban policy-makers can avoid committing approximately 45 Gt CO2 of cumulative future emissions by 2030 through energy-efficient technologies and compact urban design. The analysis emphasizes that current infrastructure already commits roughly 800 Gt CO2, meaning the 1,000 Gt CO2 global carbon budget for limiting warming to 2°C could be exceeded before 2020 if current trends continue.

The Corporate Leaders Group (CLG) advocates for the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, arguing that these subsidies create perverse incentives that undermine carbon pricing and hinder the transition to a low-carbon economy. The document highlights that eliminating these subsidies could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 13% and free up significant government resources, particularly in developing countries where subsidies often exceed healthcare spending. CLG supports the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Communiqué, which calls for transparency, ambition in timeframe, and targeted support for the poorest populations during the transition.

The We Mean Business coalition asserts that the economic case for climate action is now clear, with 200 international companies and over 100 investors already making ambitious commitments. The coalition calls for a Paris Agreement that ensures global decarbonization by the end of the century, establishes five-year update cycles for government commitments, and provides clear policy signals like carbon pricing to shift investment toward low-carbon assets.

The author contends that while Jeremy Corbyn's leadership restores left-wing politics to the UK Labour Party, it does not eclipse the Green Party. The author distinguishes between the 'left-right' political spectrum and the 'ecology spectrum,' arguing that Corbyn's support for coal-mining in South Wales and airport expansion in London demonstrates a commitment to 'outdated grey politics' and economic growth that contradicts ecological necessity. The text suggests that the Green Party's unique value lies in prioritizing planetary boundaries and land reform over the 'unreconstructed socialist industrial productivism' associated with Corbyn and certain trade unions.

Rooftop solar in the United States experienced rapid growth between 2008 and 2014, driven by a 45% decrease in household system prices from 2010 to 2014 and the rise of third-party ownership models. The technology provides significant environmental benefits, including zero carbon emissions and minimal water use during electricity generation, while supporting a domestic industry that employed over 170,000 people by 2014. Growth is further sustained by federal and state policies such as net metering, feed-in tariffs, and a 30% federal investment tax credit.

Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) calls for solidarity with refugees and demands systemic changes to prevent future displacement. The statement identifies the Syrian civil war, resource extraction, and climate change as primary drivers of the refugee crisis and urges governments to end conflicts, phase out fossil fuels, and pursue climate justice to reduce resource scarcity and volatility.

Friends of the Earth International calls for global solidarity with refugees, particularly those fleeing the Syrian conflict, and argues that preventing future displacement requires urgent action on climate justice, the end of resource exploitation, and the reform of unfair trade agreements.

The document outlines ten policy proposals from Research & Degrowth in Barcelona aimed at breaking the 'spell of growth' and providing a cooperative economic model for radical Left and Green parties. These proposals include a citizen debt audit, work-sharing with a 32-hour week, a basic income of 400-600 Euros, and a green tax reform shifting taxation from work to energy and resource use. It advocates for ending subsidies for polluting activities, supporting the non-profit cooperative sector, optimizing existing building use, restricting advertising, establishing absolute caps on CO2 and material resources, and replacing GDP with prosperity indicators. The authors argue these complementary measures decouple social security from economic growth and shift the focus toward the commons and shared infrastructure.

The text outlines a degrowth-based policy framework consisting of ten proposals to decouple social well-being from economic growth. These include debt audits, work-sharing, a guaranteed basic income with a maximum income cap, green tax reforms, and the replacement of GDP with quality-of-life metrics. The authors argue that these measures, implemented as a package, can create a green economy and maintain social security even in a scenario where the economy ceases to grow.

The paper analyzes ozone dry deposition in 15 global chemistry-climate models, finding that land cover drives substantial regional differences in fluxes. While comparing these models to observations in Europe and North America, the authors found differences of up to a factor of two without a clear systematic bias, highlighting that many models still rely on outdated 'resistance in series' schemes from the 1980s.