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The document outlines a comprehensive approach to mining governance, emphasizing the necessity of a robust legal framework for Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) and Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP). It details the responsibilities of governments across five mining phases: prospecting, exploration, planning, construction/operation, and closure/post-mining transition. Key recommendations include ensuring legal consistency, mandating public participation and transparency, requiring financial guarantees for site restoration, and implementing strategic environmental assessments. The guide also provides practical tools for gap analysis and legal reform, while highlighting critical issues such as gender equality, indigenous rights, and the prevention of international investment disputes through clear, non-arbitrary regulatory processes.

The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process is a strategic framework established in 2010 under the Cancun Adaptation Framework to help developing countries identify and address medium- and long-term climate adaptation priorities. It moves beyond ad hoc projects to embed adaptation into national development planning, budgeting, and decision-making. The process consists of three broad phases—planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E)—supported by enabling factors such as financing and capacity development. It is distinct from National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), which focused on urgent short-term needs, and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), though it can operationalize the adaptation commitments within NDCs. The document emphasizes that a NAP is both a process and a document, and that effective processes must be country-driven, gender-responsive, and inclusive of the private sector and sub-national actors.

The document defines the NAP process as a strategic approach for countries to identify and respond to medium- and long-term climate adaptation priorities. It outlines the transition from short-term project-based interventions to systemic integration of adaptation into national development planning and budgeting. The process consists of a continuous cycle of planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), supported by technical guidelines from the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LDCEG). The text emphasizes that a NAP is both a document and a process, highlighting the importance of vertical integration between national and subnational levels, gender responsiveness, and private sector engagement. It further clarifies the synergy between NAPs, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The report details how private equity firms like Blackstone, KKR, and Macquarie Infrastructure have acquired coal assets in the US, India, the Philippines, and Europe, often facing financial losses or environmental criticism. It contrasts these investments with a broader trend of coal decline, noting that US coal consumption dropped 44% since 2010 and renewable energy is expected to eclipse coal in the US by 2021.

The report presents the inaugural results of the ReSource Footprint Tracker, analyzing the 2018 plastic footprints of Keurig Dr Pepper, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, and The Coca-Cola Company. Together, these companies reported 4.2 million metric tons of plastic. The analysis identifies a significant gap between corporate recycled content goals and actual use, which ranged from 0.4% to 11.3%. It highlights the United States as a primary area for increasing recycling due to high landfill rates (72%), and identifies China, India, and the Philippines as priority regions for mitigating plastic mismanagement. The document calls for collective action to scale recycled polypropylene (PP) and the adoption of reusable packaging systems to prevent 50 million metric tons of plastic from entering nature by 2030.

The NGO Forum on ADB calls for the Asian Development Bank to align its energy policy with the 1.5°C goal, divest from coal, and provide unconditional debt relief to developing member countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also demands the 'No Dilution' of the 2009 Safeguards Policy Statement and the introduction of binding labor and social protections.

The report examines the global banana market, noting that while bananas are the most valuable traded fruit, the sector faces significant challenges including climate change, the Tropical Race 4 fungal disease, and poor farmer livelihoods. It highlights the growth of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs), which accounted for 7% of production in 2016, and identifies opportunities to expand these standards in countries like India, China, and specific LHDCs such as Tanzania and Rwanda to improve environmental and social outcomes.

The toolkit outlines a strategic framework for governments to integrate the private sector into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), emphasizing that private actors are not only sources of finance but also key implementers of adaptation options. It structures engagement across four elements: laying the groundwork, preparatory elements, implementation strategies, and reporting/monitoring. The document argues that early engagement is critical for sustainability and provides a business case for private sector participation based on risk management, new market opportunities, and regulatory compliance.

The document serves as a supplement to the UNFCCC technical guidelines, outlining how to integrate private companies and financiers into the four main elements of the NAP process. It argues that private sector involvement is critical for financing, implementation, and the overall sustainability of climate adaptation efforts. The guide details a step-by-step approach: analyzing the national context, establishing communication, creating enabling environments (addressing information, finance, and capacity gaps), and integrating private sector data into monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. It emphasizes the importance of including MSMEs and women-led businesses to ensure gender-responsive and inclusive adaptation outcomes.

The document serves as a supplement to the UNFCCC Technical Guidelines for the NAP process, arguing that private sector involvement is essential for funding, implementation, and the overall sustainability of climate adaptation. It outlines a four-element framework—preparatory work, preparatory phase, implementation strategies, and monitoring/review—to integrate private companies and financiers into national strategies. The toolkit emphasizes the 'business case' for adaptation, highlighting risk management and new market opportunities as primary drivers for private sector participation, while stressing the need for gender-responsive approaches to ensure inclusive resilience.

The statement argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for governments to focus all resources on public health, specifically the procurement of medical supplies, vaccines, and medicines. It calls for the immediate suspension of trade and investment negotiations at the WTO, bilateral, and regional levels, asserting that such activities divert critical resources and personnel. The authors highlight that intellectual property rules under the WTO's TRIPS agreement and free trade agreements may obstruct the affordability and accessibility of life-saving supplies. The document demands the removal of all trade barriers and unilateral sanctions that hinder medical procurement and urges a fundamental rethink of trade rules that encourage monopolies and limit healthcare access.

Friends of the Earth International and a broad coalition of global endorsers call for an immediate cessation of trade and investment treaty negotiations. They argue that governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, lack the resources to engage in these negotiations while managing the COVID-19 health crisis. The statement demands that trade negotiators focus exclusively on removing obstacles, such as intellectual property rules and unilateral sanctions, that hinder access to affordable vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.

The report outlines a four-step process—sector prioritization, landscape assessment, barrier identification, and intervention execution—to unlock private climate finance. Drawing from the International Climate Initiative Mobilizing Investment (IKI MI) program, it identifies common barriers such as unfavorable taxes, high capital costs, and a lack of proof points. It recommends that governments level the playing field by making low-carbon solutions commercially competitive against fossil-fuel alternatives and providing pilot projects to demonstrate business viability.

South Korean public finance institutions have invested $5.6 billion in overseas coal plants, primarily in Vietnam and Indonesia, creating a significant risk of stranded assets. This trend persists despite the Democratic Party's Green New Deal promising a phase-out of such financing and a global decline in private coal funding. The economic viability of coal is deteriorating as solar and wind power costs fall, with projections that renewables will be cheaper than existing coal in Southeast Asia by 2028. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has depressed electricity demand and caused construction delays, further destabilizing these investments.

South Korean public financial institutions face up to $6 billion in stranded asset risks due to investments in overseas coal power plants, particularly in Indonesia and Vietnam. This trend contradicts the South Korean government's 'Green New Deal' policy to phase out public funding for coal. The economic viability of coal is declining as solar and wind power costs drop, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted construction schedules and reduced electricity demand. Specific high-risk projects include the Jawa 9 and 10 plants in Indonesia and the Bung Ang 2 plant in Vietnam. Meanwhile, private financial institutions and several Southeast Asian nations are increasingly transitioning away from coal toward renewables.

The briefing warns that emergency government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic—such as lockdowns, medical supply requisitions, and export bans—create an unprecedented risk of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims under over 3,000 investment treaties. It highlights the unpredictability of arbitration tribunals and the high cost of defense, citing historical examples from Argentina and Egypt where states faced multi-billion dollar awards. The authors call for a coordinated global response, potentially through the UN or WTO, to suspend ISDS for pandemic measures or issue joint interpretations of the 'state of necessity' defense. As an interim measure, it suggests states may withdraw their consent to arbitration.

The briefing warns that emergency COVID-19 measures—such as lockdowns, nationalization of health services, and export bans—risk triggering a wave of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims under over 3,000 investment treaties. It highlights the unpredictability of arbitration tribunals and the high cost of defense, which can average 8 million USD per case. Using historical examples like Argentina's 2001 crisis, the document illustrates how such claims can result in billions of dollars in awards, potentially undermining national health budgets and IMF rescue packages. The authors call for a coordinated global response via the UN, UNCTAD, or UNCITRAL to suspend arbitration for COVID-19 measures or issue joint interpretations of the 'state of necessity' defense. As an interim measure, it suggests that states may unilaterally withdraw their consent to arbitration.

The Institute for Economic Justice argues that South Africa must implement bold, decisive economic stimulus measures focused on four objectives: supporting households and communities, protecting workers, sustaining businesses, and managing the economy for long-term transformation. The authors advocate for universal income transfers, emergency paid sick pay, conditional business relief, and a 'Green New Deal' to ensure a more equitable and sustainable recovery. They emphasize that financing these measures should avoid austerity-driven reprioritization and instead rely on solidarity taxation and increased borrowing.

The document examines the role of fixed-income instruments in funding waste management and circular economy initiatives. It highlights that while waste management is only the fourth largest category for green bond use of proceeds, there is significant latent potential and investor demand. The briefing details specific issuances from corporates and local governments in Europe, the US, and Asia, and discusses the barriers to scaling these markets, such as the lack of standardised definitions. It particularly emphasizes Japan's leadership in resource efficiency and the potential for green bonds to support its circular economy goals.

The 2020 Global Electricity Review reports a record 3% fall in global coal-fired electricity generation and a 2% drop in power sector CO2 emissions in 2019. While coal collapsed in the EU and US, generation rose in China, which now accounts for over 50% of global coal generation. Wind and solar generation grew by 15%, providing 8% of the world's electricity. However, the report argues that these declines are largely due to one-off factors and that current progress is insufficient to meet the IPCC's 1.5°C scenario, which would require coal generation to collapse by 11% annually until 2030.