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The document argues that the Technology Mechanism, comprising the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTC&N), must move beyond a linear view of technology transfer to a systemic approach. It recommends balancing 'push factors' from industrialised countries and 'pull factors' in developing countries to create enabling environments. Key proposals include promoting cooperative research, development and demonstration (RD&D) to bridge the 'valley of death' in financing and establishing a dedicated technology funding window within the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The document examines eight existing reporting processes and early actions in five countries to identify how they can support REDD+ safeguard reporting. It argues for a harmonized, country-driven approach that leverages existing data from biodiversity and forest governance systems to reduce burdens on developing nations.

The document examines the risk posed by a projected surplus of up to 13 billion Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) that could be carried over into a second Kyoto Protocol commitment period. It argues that without restrictions, this surplus could eliminate additional emissions reductions and threaten the goal of limiting global warming to 2°C, thereby undermining the viability of the global climate deal planned for 2020.

China is employing a 'soft power' strategy in Africa, utilizing state-owned media like CCTV Africa and China Daily to promote its culture and policies following its emergence as Africa's largest trading partner in 2010. This effort is part of a wider trend among emerging economies to manage their global imagery. However, the document argues that China faces significant hurdles in establishing international credibility due to a conflict between the watchdog nature of mainstream global media and traditional Chinese cultural values regarding criticism and 'losing face'.

The document analyzes the first free presidential election in Egypt following the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. It identifies three front-running candidates—Amr Moussa, Mohammed Mursi, and Abdelmumein Al Futuh—and discusses the tension between continuity and change. The briefing highlights critical challenges for the incoming president, including high unemployment, the absence of a finalized constitution, and the influential role of the military in both politics and the economy. It also notes the interests of international actors, specifically the United States, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, in the election's outcome.

The document analyzes the first official recognition of agriculture by the UNFCCC at COP 17 in Durban. It reviews submissions from 21 parties to the SBSTA, highlighting a tension between developed countries' focus on scientific mitigation and developing countries' priority on adaptation and food security. The briefing argues that agriculture requires a unique approach to emission reductions—potentially based on efficiency per unit of production—due to the necessity of increasing food supplies for a growing global population. It identifies key points of divergence, including trade implications and the role of smallholder farmers, while suggesting areas of consensus such as the link between agriculture and food security.

The document examines how the Syrian conflict destabilizes the 'resistance front' (Syria, Iran, Hizballah, and Hamas) and alters regional power balances. In Lebanon, the crisis exacerbates sectarian tensions and threatens Hizballah's strategic supply lines. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it has forced Hamas to shift its political alignment from Damascus to Qatar and Egypt, potentially strengthening Hamas relative to Fatah but not necessarily advancing the Palestinian national cause. The authors argue that the 'new Arab cold war' framework is becoming less relevant as the Syrian regime collapses and regional actors like Egypt seek new diplomatic paths.

The MENA region faces severe climate vulnerability characterized by warming and water scarcity, yet adaptation and mitigation efforts are often siloed. The document proposes a 'nexus' approach that integrates water and energy planning to identify synergies, such as solar desalination or energy recovery from wastewater, and recommends the use of integrated tools like WEAP and LEAP to move beyond reactive, short-term coping measures.

The report analyzes the results of COP 17, highlighting a trade-off between inclusivity and ambition. Key outcomes include the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, the agreement on a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, and the creation of the Durban Platform for Cooperative Action to establish a global mitigation regime by 2020. While it marks a turning point by including major emitters like the US, China, and India in future legal obligations, the report notes significant gaps in funding clarity and short-term mitigation ambition.

The document analyzes historical energy price trends, specifically in the United Kingdom, to argue that while energy prices can be volatile, the long-term trend for energy services (such as heating and lighting) is downward due to efficiency gains. It posits that fossil fuel reserves remain abundant relative to current consumption, suggesting that future price trends may remain stable or decline despite short-term peaks. The author emphasizes that focusing on energy prices alone underestimates consumer welfare gains and misleads climate change and energy demand modeling.

The author argues that the African Union (AU) lost its opportunity to lead the Libyan crisis due to a lack of political will, failure to secure support for its road map, and an inability to escalate diplomatic engagement with NATO and the Arab League. The document highlights how UN Security Council Resolution 1973 prioritised the Arab League over the AU, leaving the AU as a marginal observer. To avoid further irrelevance, the author recommends that the AU recognise the Transitional National Council (TNC) and integrate its high-level ad hoc committee into existing international processes like the Libya Contact Group.

The report denounces the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI) as a mechanism to legitimise 'land grabbing' by corporations and governments. It argues that voluntary guidelines cannot remedy the systemic human rights violations, environmental destruction, and food insecurity caused by large-scale land acquisitions, which it claims are driven by financial speculation rather than food security. The authors call for an immediate ban on large-scale land transactions, the return of misappropriated lands to communities, and a transition toward food sovereignty based on peasant agriculture and agroecology.

Friends of the Earth International and a coalition of social movements denounce the 'Responsible Agricultural Investment' (RAI) principles promoted by the World Bank and other international agencies. The document asserts that these voluntary guidelines serve as a 'moral facade' for financial speculation and corporate land grabbing, which lead to forced evictions, water privatization, and the destruction of small-scale farming. It calls for the immediate suspension of land grabs, the return of stolen lands, and a transition toward food sovereignty based on agroecological methods and genuine land reform.

The report details the 2011 Djiboutian presidential elections, which saw President Ismail Omar Guelleh re-elected for a third term with 80.56% of the vote following a boycott by the main opposition coalition, the Union for a Democratic Alternative (UAD). The author argues that the electoral process was far from competitive due to the fusion of the ruling Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP) with the state apparatus and the removal of presidential term limits in 2010. The document also highlights internal instability, including violent youth protests in February 2011 and ethnic tensions between the Issa and Afar groups. Externally, it describes the strategic military presence of France and the US, and the volatile border relationship with Eritrea, which was partially mitigated by Qatari mediation in 2010.

India faces a growing gap between energy demand and indigenous supply, projecting it will become the world's third largest energy consumer by 2030. To address this, India is implementing an integrated energy policy focusing on diversifying sources—including increased imports of high-quality coal from South Africa and oil from Africa—while expanding nuclear, hydropower, and renewable energy capacities. Significant challenges remain, including unreliable infrastructure, high transmission losses, and geopolitical tensions affecting pipeline viability.

The document argues that China shifted from providing unconditional support to the Sudanese government to adopting a more activist role, applying direct pressure on Khartoum to cooperate with the international community and the International Criminal Court. This transition was driven by international pressure, the need to be seen as a 'responsible stakeholder', and the realization that official Sudanese rhetoric differed from the reality in Darfur. Despite this shift, the author notes that Darfurian armed resistance movements and some civil society organizations continued to view China with distrust, occasionally targeting Chinese oil interests.

The paper investigates the potential of CER discounting to address CDM shortcomings, such as non-additionality and the uneven distribution of projects. By analyzing abatement cost curves for China, India, advanced Asian countries, and LDCs, the authors find that while discounting can increase costs for advanced developing countries and potentially incentivize them to adopt their own mitigation commitments, it is insufficient on its own to make LDCs competitive. The study concludes that financial, technical, and institutional barriers in LDCs must be overcome for them to realize their theoretical abatement potential, as the abundance of cheap projects in countries like China continues to dominate the market.

The document analyzes the risks associated with the International Criminal Court's potential indictment of President Omar Al Bashir, including the possible collapse of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the destabilization of Sudan's internal political dynamics. It highlights tensions within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and suggests that the Doha Agreement between the government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) may be a strategic move to avoid indictment rather than a sustainable peace effort.

The author argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) lacks environmental integrity due to non-additional projects, leading the EU to propose strict import caps on CERs. To avoid these inefficient caps and reflect 'common but differentiated responsibilities', the paper suggests a discounting system where one tonne of CO2 reduction yields less than one CER, with the discount factor linked to a country's GDP and emissions per capita. While this introduces some economic inefficiency by altering marginal abatement costs, the author contends it is superior to a protectionist EU scenario, as it would maintain higher EU import thresholds and improve the distribution of projects toward poorer countries.

The report analyzes the 2008 border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti, tracing its roots to colonial-era protocols from 1900 and 1901. It argues that the conflict is not primarily about the contested Ras Doumeirah area, but is a strategic move by Eritrea to pressure Ethiopia, which relies heavily on Djibouti's ports. The document details the military imbalance between the two states, the role of external actors like France and the US, and the broader instability in the Horn of Africa, including proxy wars in Somalia and internal tensions in Ethiopia's Ogaden region.