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The paper examines how to balance the allocation of traffic and toll revenue risks between public agencies and private concessionaires in highway PPPs. It argues that full risk transfer is often suboptimal and suggests a combination of 'downside' protection (to ensure bankability and lower financing costs) and 'upside' sharing (to prevent excessive private returns). The author analyzes different metrics for calculating returns—gross revenue, net revenue, and internal rate of return (IRR)—and provides international examples from the US, Chile, and the Netherlands to illustrate the impact of these mechanisms on value for money (VFM).

The report finds that illegalities are pervasive across DRC's industrial logging concessions, with every visited site between 2011 and 2014 showing violations. These range from over-harvesting and tax avoidance to human rights abuses and the use of fraudulent CITES permits. Despite laws like the EU Timber Regulation and the US Lacey Act, significant volumes of high-risk timber continue to flow to China, Europe, and the US, driven by weak government enforcement and a culture of impunity in the DRC.

This collection of reports and interviews analyzes contemporary European resistance movements, focusing on struggles against extractive industries, infrastructure mega-projects, and economic austerity. It highlights specific cases in Romania, Greece, Scotland, France, and Turkey, while discussing the systemic role of the educated middle class in mobilization. The text argues that Green parties must reconnect with their radical roots and form transversal alliances with social movements to challenge the dominant neoliberal economic model and the 'sacredness of growth'.

The report examines Energy Savings Insurance (ESI), an instrument developed by the Inter-American Development Bank and BASE to unlock energy efficiency investments for SMEs by insuring against the risk that projected energy savings are not met. ESI can absorb up to 80% of underperformance risk and is being piloted or replicated across several countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador. If scaled globally, the instrument is estimated to drive USD 10-100 billion in investment and reduce annual emissions by 27-234 MtCO2 by 2030.

The document examines the drivers and barriers to climate change adaptation in the Swedish forestry sector, emphasizing that social and cultural factors are as critical as scientific data. While forest owners recognize increasing productivity and risks from extreme weather, many adopt a "wait and see" approach due to the gradual nature of climate change and distrust of scientific communication. The research highlights the importance of social networks, the role of indirect global climate impacts on export markets, and the need for relevant, credible, and legitimate science communication to foster proactive adaptation.

The author contends that the climate crisis and poverty are linked, requiring a radical shift toward social justice and sustainability. Using Portugal as an example, the text highlights how renewable energy can drive GDP growth and job creation, while criticizing austerity measures and the lack of public awareness in Portugal, where only 6% of the population views climate change as a serious problem.

The author contends that the global ecological crisis and social poverty are linked, requiring a radical political shift toward sustainability and social justice. Using Portugal as an example, the text highlights the severe climate risks facing the Iberian Peninsula—including water scarcity, soil degradation, and rising sea levels—while noting that Portuguese public and political discourse remains dominated by short-term economic concerns and austerity. Despite this, the document points to the success of Portugal's renewable energy sector, which provided 27% of the country's energy and created 40,000 jobs in 2013, as evidence that climate policy can drive economic growth and employment.

The author argues that Dr. Charles R. Frank, Jr.'s analysis incorrectly concludes that nuclear and gas combined-cycle plants are more beneficial than wind and solar. By replacing Frank's data with empirical figures from the EIA and DOE, the author asserts that the priority for carbon savings actually shifts to hydro, wind, gas combined-cycle, nuclear, and solar. The critique highlights significant underestimations of renewable productivity and overestimations of gas and nuclear costs and reliability.

The 2014 European elections saw a significant rise in far-right and eurosceptic forces, particularly in France where the Front National achieved 25% of the vote. While the German Greens maintained a double-digit result, they lost three mandates. Across Europe, the Green faction became more regionally diverse with new representatives from countries like Spain, Hungary, and Croatia, though it lost influence due to the collapse of a progressive majority in the Parliament. The author argues that the Greens must counter the narrative of the EU as a neoliberal tool and push for an end to unilateral austerity policies to restore trust in European integration.

The document expresses disappointment over the removal of Pericopsis elata (Afrormosia) from the CITES Review of Significant Trade for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It argues that the DRC continues to disregard CITES norms, with an estimated ninety percent of timber harvested being "illegal or informal" and actual harvests reaching "eight times the official harvest." The authors claim the DRC's May 2014 non-detriment finding (NDF) is insufficient, lacking a scientific basis for export quotas and failing to address widespread corruption and the use of falsified permits. The document highlights that the DRC is rated as one of the "two most problematic countries in Africa for illegal exploitation of natural resources" and requests a comprehensive review and suspension of trade in all CITES-listed plants and animals from the DRC until compliance is guaranteed.

The author contends that EU member states are responding to the financial crisis with austerity and environmental deregulation, which risks creating a deeper long-term environmental crisis. Using Greece as a primary example, the text highlights the collapse of protected areas and a shift toward 'dirty' projects like hydrocarbon exploration. It advocates for a new development paradigm that integrates sustainable development targets into economic adjustment programmes to ensure a transition toward a low-carbon, socially equitable economy.

This collection of articles from the Green European Journal examines the instability of the current financial system, the risks posed by fossil fuel asset bubbles, and the need for a 'green' economic transition. It critiques the role of private bank money creation, the impact of austerity in the EU periphery, and the influence of banking lobbies on regulation, while proposing alternatives such as sovereign money, debt jubilees, and mandatory climate risk accounting for financial institutions.

The document analyzes how climate change affects the production, logistics, and consumption of bioenergy in the Nordic region, specifically Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. While warming temperatures may increase biomass productivity in Northern Europe, the region faces risks from extreme weather and pest infestations. The brief argues for diversifying supply chains and increasing fuel flexibility to build resilience against climate-driven disruptions in global bioenergy trade.

The report proposes a transition for China from fossil fuels to a system based on radical efficiency and renewable energy. It identifies three key areas for innovation: ultralighting and electrifying vehicles to eliminate oil dependence, using 'integrative design' to drastically reduce energy use in industry and buildings, and shifting toward a hybridized, distributed electric grid. The authors suggest these changes can be driven by profit and business innovation rather than just regulation.

The document is an open letter addressed to ministers and delegates of UNFCCC signatory states, urging them to adopt ambitious climate protection measures and stop the use of emissions trading to weaken climate commitments. The signatories, representing 33 countries, demand the rejection of a pilot phase for emissions unit trading under the Framework for Various Approaches (FVA), the prevention of double counting, and the exclusion of non-additional projects and coal from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). They also call for the cessation of fossil fuel subsidies and the implementation of human rights safeguards in climate projects.

The document analyzes Mozambique's foreign policy across three periods: liberation and civil war, post-conflict consolidation, and the current era of attracting foreign direct investment. It highlights how Mozambique's 'pragmatic non-alignment' allowed it to maintain diverse partnerships with Western donors, emerging powers like China and Brazil, and regional partners such as South Africa. While the country is viewed as a post-conflict success story, the paper warns that corruption, inequality, and a lack of domestic accountability threaten long-term stability as the country transitions toward financial independence driven by vast coal and natural gas discoveries.

The author contends that European electric utilities' financial losses result from failed investment strategies and a failure to adapt to disruptive renewable technologies rather than the technologies themselves. The letter highlights the macroeconomic benefits of renewables in Germany, the technical feasibility of high renewable penetration in Denmark, Spain, and Portugal, and the global trend of non-hydro renewables outproducing nuclear power. It suggests that utilities need new revenue models, such as bidirectional value tariffs, to survive the transition to a decarbonised, distributed energy system.

The document analyzes the evolution of Russia-Angola relations from the Cold War era to 2013, noting a strong political and military bond that has not yet translated into significant bilateral trade. While state-owned enterprises like ALROSA and VTB have found success, Russian SMEs face high barriers to entry in Angola. The authors argue that both nations must institutionalize their cooperation and diversify economic ties beyond hydrocarbons to achieve a fully-fledged strategic partnership.

The document updates the 2011 subsidy estimates for EU biofuels, reducing the total estimated support from €9,272–€10,653 million to €5,515–€6,896 million. This correction stems from an overestimation of the volume of biofuels eligible for fuel excise tax exemptions. While budgetary support figures for bioethanol and biodiesel were lowered, other support elements, such as market transfers, remain unchanged. The report also details the calculation methodologies for excise tax exemptions and market price support via blending mandates.

The paper examines why Angola, SADC's second-largest economy, has remained outside the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) despite signing the Protocol on Trade (PoT) in 2003. While the government of Angola (GoA) cites the need to rebuild its war-ravaged industry and protect 'infant industries' from cheap imports, the author argues that this protectionism is contradictory given Angola's openness to imports from China, Brazil, and Portugal. The analysis suggests that vested interests—specifically 'Empresários de Confiança' (trusted businessmen with political links)—benefit from existing high-cost import monopolies and may be discouraging the FTA. The document also critiques the SADC Secretariat for its lack of enforcement mechanisms to hold member states accountable for protocol violations.