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The assessment finds that green finance for forests is severely insufficient, totaling under USD 22 billion since 2010, and represents only 1.5% of total climate mitigation commitments from developed countries and multilateral institutions. While some domestic initiatives and Green Climate Fund projects show progress, private sector investment remains dominated by traditional 'grey finance' with few mandatory safeguards to prevent deforestation in commodity supply chains.

The policy brief advocates for the adoption of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to protect vulnerable coastlines and livelihoods from climate change. It highlights the potential for 'soft' and 'hybrid' adaptation strategies in Southern and East Africa, while identifying barriers such as lack of political prioritisation, insufficient quantitative data for the private sector, and fragmented institutional governance. The author recommends mainstreaming EbA into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national budgets, promoting innovative financing like blue bonds and blue carbon credits, and ensuring the active participation of coastal communities and women in project design.

The report advocates for the integration of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) into national climate policies and strategies in Southern Africa. It defines EbA as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to climate change, highlighting the value of mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrasses. The document identifies significant barriers to scaling EbA, including fragmented institutional governance, lack of quantitative cost-benefit data, and insufficient financing. It proposes innovative funding mechanisms like blue carbon projects and environmental impact bonds, and emphasizes the necessity of community-led partnerships and gender-inclusive approaches to ensure sustainable implementation.

The Seychelles is implementing ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to combat climate threats such as sea-level rise and coral bleaching, focusing on coral reefs, mangroves, and wetlands. While the country has a strong policy framework and various donor-funded projects, it faces challenges in human capacity, data collection for monitoring, and the need to translate policies into formal legislation, such as a proposed Climate Change Act.

The document examines how insurance can support climate adaptation by providing financial resilience and risk-identification expertise. It distinguishes between indemnity and parametric products, discusses government interventions to bridge the 'protection gap', and argues that insurance must be integrated into a broader fiscal framework and physical resilience strategy to avoid moral hazard and ensure long-term sustainability.

The document provides a comparative overview of National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes in multiple countries, detailing their specific strategic approaches, priority sectors, and implementation milestones. It emphasizes the integration of climate adaptation into national development planning, the importance of cross-sectoral coordination, and the mobilization of climate finance to build resilience against diverse hazards such as sea-level rise, droughts, and extreme weather events.

The document argues that the natural environment is fundamental to economic resilience and that Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer cost-effective, flexible alternatives or complements to engineered infrastructure for adapting to climate change. It details the dependencies of key economic sectors on ecosystem services and provides evidence that NbS can mitigate risks from coastal hazards, intense precipitation, drought, and heat while providing co-benefits such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. The authors identify significant barriers to the adoption of NbS, including lack of awareness, limited finance, and technical capacity gaps, and recommend integrating nature into climate vulnerability assessments and procurement policies.

As of 30 June 2019, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) reports that portfolio concentration and liquidity remain within approved risk tolerance levels, with no non-performing loans for eight consecutive quarters. The portfolio consists of 101 approved funding proposals totaling USD 4.97 billion equivalent, with a distribution of 44% mitigation, 22% adaptation, and 13% cross-cutting projects. Geographically, Africa holds the largest share of approved funding at 43%, followed by Asia-Pacific at 31%. The fund maintains a foreign exchange commitment risk buffer of USD 46.6 million equivalent.

The briefing argues that while private sector financing is often promoted to bridge Africa's infrastructure deficit, it carries significant risks including higher costs, a lack of development mandates, and extreme risk aversion. It suggests that public funds should be strategically targeted toward social infrastructure and project preparation where private interest is low, while emphasizing the need for capacity building to prevent exploitation and improve project quality.

The report examines the complex relationship between the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), specifically the application of 'subsidiarity'—the principle that regional structures should lead in their own jurisdictions. It highlights systemic failures in North Africa due to the inactivity of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), tensions between the AU and SADC over elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the AU's successful re-assumption of leadership in the Central African Republic. The document also notes the East African Community's (EAC) internal trade disputes, ECOWAS's struggle to adapt to violent extremism in the Sahel, and the general lack of civil society engagement within the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The NAP Global Network has supported gender analyses in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo since 2018 to ensure climate adaptation investments generate equitable benefits for women and men. The briefing outlines the approach taken and identifies common themes and lessons learned to inform the formulation and implementation of these national plans.

The report explores the use of impact tokens—blockchain-based digital representations of social and environmental impacts—to overcome five primary barriers in the impact investing industry: lack of appropriate capital, market segmentation, limited exit options, unsophisticated measurement practices, and a shortage of high-quality opportunities. Through ten case studies across sectors like agriculture, energy, and forestry, the document demonstrates how these tokens can increase trust, promote financial inclusion, accelerate monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) processes, and incentivize sustainable behaviors.

The document outlines a framework for integrating gender considerations into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) based on experiences in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo. It argues that generic gender integration often focuses solely on women, whereas targeted analysis reveals nuanced differences in vulnerability and capacity between men and women. The proposed approach combines policy, institutional, and technical analyses to provide specific process and technical recommendations. Key findings highlight that while legal frameworks for gender equality exist, they are rarely linked to climate policies, and women remain significantly under-represented in decision-making for climate-vulnerable sectors.

The NAP Global Network supported Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo in conducting gender analyses to ensure climate adaptation is gender-responsive. The analyses revealed that while legal frameworks for gender equality exist, they are rarely linked to climate policies, and women remain under-represented in decision-making for climate-vulnerable sectors. The document argues that context-specific gender analysis is essential to avoid exacerbating inequalities and to unlock women's potential as agents of change in adaptation.

The NAP Global Network supported Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo in conducting gender analyses to ensure climate adaptation investments are equitable and sustainable. The process involved institutional, normative, and technical analyses to identify how gender dynamics influence climate vulnerability and adaptation capacity. Key findings highlight a gap between existing general gender policies and their application in climate planning, as well as significant gender disparities in education, decision-making, and sectoral roles. The document recommends a participatory, multi-expert approach to gender analysis and emphasizes the role of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in incentivizing gender-responsive NAPs.

The document describes a framework for integrating gender analysis into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) across six African nations, highlighting the need to move beyond binary views of women's vulnerability toward a nuanced understanding of gender dynamics. It identifies systemic gaps in institutional coordination and capacity, while providing technical evidence on how gender disparities in education, labor roles, and decision-making affect climate adaptation outcomes.

The IEU report covers its operational progress between November 2019 and February 2020, highlighting the completion of evaluations on country ownership and environmental and social safeguards. It details the progress of the Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) programme, the publication of evidence gap maps on forestry and adaptation, and the unit's 95% budget expenditure rate for 2019.

The report details how developing countries approach investment treaty negotiations, highlighting a trend toward renegotiating outdated agreements and the use of model treaties. It identifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and investment authorities as the primary leads in negotiations and provides a detailed mapping of ratification processes across various nations.

Madagascar's National Adaptation Plan (NAP) is led by the Ministry of climate risk management and utilizes a participatory, inclusive, and intersectoral approach. The process is guided by a validated roadmap and supported by coordination and monitoring and evaluation committees. Priority adaptation sectors include agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, forests and biodiversity, human health, and coastal zone management, addressing risks such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, sea level rise, and epidemics.

The report analyzes the current status of Madagascar's National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and identifies systemic gender inequalities that increase climate vulnerability. It highlights a lack of gender-disaggregated data and limited leadership in gender mainstreaming across sectoral ministries. The document provides a proposed harmonized definition of a gender-responsive NAP and offers specific recommendations for the National Coordination Office for Climate Change (BNCCC) and sectoral strategies in agriculture, water, health, coastal zones, biodiversity, and infrastructure to ensure equitable adaptation outcomes.