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This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues against the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the protocol for the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UN FCITC). It highlights the structural failures of ISDS—including high costs, inconsistent rulings, and 'regulatory chill'—and warns that adopting such a mechanism would undermine fiscal sovereignty. The brief also draws lessons from the prolonged and complex reform efforts of UNCITRAL Working Group III to caution negotiators against the institutional lock-in and resource drains associated with international arbitration.

The report 'Boom and Bust Coal 2026' by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the global coal plant pipeline in 2025, highlighting a growing disconnect where coal capacity continues to increase—driven primarily by China and India—while actual coal-fired electricity generation declines due to the rapid expansion of wind and solar power.

This research paper examines the strategic role of BRICS+ members, particularly African nations, in the global critical minerals market and their evolving relationships with the European Union. It analyzes how the expansion of BRICS+ enhances the bloc's control over essential resources for the green and digital transitions while highlighting internal geopolitical frictions that prevent a unified minerals strategy.

This research paper examines how outdated bilateral investment treaties (BITs), specifically the 1989 Belgium-Luxembourg (BLEU)–USSR treaty, are being used by Russian actors to challenge the European Union's financial support for Ukraine. It highlights the risk of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims against Belgium, which hosts Euroclear where immobilized Russian Central Bank assets are held, and argues that such treaties create a 'regulatory chill' that undermines collective security responses to aggression.

This research paper examines the intersection of international trade regulations and Africa's ambitions for green technology and industrialisation. It specifically analyzes the potential impacts of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and US tariffs, arguing that while these measures could theoretically drive demand for renewables, they are more likely to create fiscal constraints and hinder the continent's ability to invest in green R&D. The author advocates for a coordinated African response through the UNFCCC, the WTO, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to secure technology transfer and affordable finance.

This research paper analyzes clean cooking policies across G20 countries, arguing that the current reliance on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies is financially unsustainable, often fails to reach the poorest populations, and contradicts net-zero goals. The authors advocate for redirecting these subsidies toward electric cooking and renewable energy alternatives to achieve universal access by 2030.

The NewClimate Institute's 2025 update evaluates the progress of 25 major emitters, representing over 80% of global emissions, toward their climate mitigation targets. The report finds that while total emissions under current policies may peak by 2026, the projected reductions are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal, which requires a 43% reduction by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.

This issue note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is paralyzed by its reliance on consensus-based decision-making. The report contends that this model allows a small minority of states to block ambitious climate action and proposes transitioning to a qualified majority voting system to accelerate progress and fulfill legal obligations to cooperate on climate change.

This report, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in collaboration with the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), provides a comprehensive compilation of decisions, mandates, and conclusions adopted by the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that reference Indigenous Peoples and traditional knowledge up to 2025.

This briefing by RMI argues for the adoption of two complementary methane intensity metrics—gas loss rate and volumetric methane intensity—to accurately track and reduce methane waste across the diverse global oil and gas supply chain. It highlights the variability of emissions across different asset types and countries and suggests that demand-side policies in major markets could accelerate the transition to low-leakage production.

The report 'Shockproof: how electrification can strengthen EU energy security' by Ember argues that accelerating the electrification of the EU economy, powered by homegrown renewables, is the primary mechanism to reduce the bloc's high dependency on imported fossil fuels. It suggests that fossil import dependency could be halved by 2040 through the adoption of mature technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps.

The report examines how the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is incentivising exporting countries to establish domestic carbon pricing systems to retain revenues and reduce trade costs.

In the first half of 2025, global solar and wind generation grew sufficiently to exceed total electricity demand growth, resulting in renewables overtaking coal in the global electricity mix for the first time. While global power sector CO2 emissions fell marginally by 0.2%, results varied by region, with emissions decreasing in China and India but increasing in the US and EU.

The report 'Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025' by Ember analyzes global electricity generation from January to June 2025. It finds that solar and wind growth exceeded global demand growth, leading to renewables overtaking coal's share in the global electricity mix for the first time on record and causing power sector CO2 emissions to plateau.

This fact sheet by the World Resources Institute outlines the current state of the global circular economy, emphasizing the urgent need to reduce resource consumption to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. It highlights the disparity in material footprints between high- and low-income populations, the leadership and challenges of the European Union, and the stagnation of global resource productivity since 2000.

This research paper examines the intersection of the evolving international trading system and the urgent need to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable development. It argues that while trade has historically contributed to environmental harm, it can be repurposed as a strategic tool for sustainability through new narratives, inclusive international cooperation, and coherent policy frameworks. The author identifies a shift from traditional trade liberalization toward 'multipurpose' approaches that balance security, resilience, and sustainability, and proposes a policy agenda to reorient trade rules, scale up sustainable technologies, and ensure equitable economic transformation for developing countries.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the concentration of global plastic polymer production among a small number of countries and companies, highlighting the tension between a majority of nations seeking production reductions and a minority of oil and gas-producing states opposing such measures.

A policy brief by Dr Basani Baloyi analyzing the impact of Donald Trump's second administration's tariff regime on Africa and proposing a strategic response focused on regional integration, industrialization, and collective bargaining.

This report by Ember analyzes national 2030 renewable capacity targets across 96 countries and the EU. It finds that despite the COP28 pledge to triple global renewable capacity by 2030, national targets have remained largely stagnant, collectively amounting to a doubling rather than a tripling of 2022 capacity levels.

A report by Ember detailing the increasing dominance of BRICS nations in global solar power generation, highlighting that these countries accounted for over half of the world's solar electricity in 2024, led primarily by China, India, and Brazil.