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The document outlines a character profile of an elderly woman facing economic instability due to decreasing farm yields and unreliable remittances. It explores her barriers to attending community meetings, the impact of floods on her rental income, and her interest in disaster risk reduction networks and government safety nets.

The document presents a character study of a 13-year-old girl from a socially marginalised class to highlight how gender, age, and socio-economic status exacerbate vulnerability to floods. It details how floods lead to school absenteeism due to security fears, financial instability caused by rising food prices, and the burden of household chores in semi-permanent housing. The persona emphasizes that participation in disaster management or water-saving projects is contingent upon guaranteed personal safety and the ability to balance such activities with education and domestic duties.

The document presents a character study of a 28-year-old transgender female living in a shanty, designed for a group discussion on disaster management. It highlights how social discrimination, lack of literacy, and precarious housing exacerbate the impacts of floods, including health risks from drain water, food insecurity due to price hikes, and exclusion from public gatherings and official aid.

The document outlines ten key recommendations from South Asian experts for the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, focusing on community monitoring, peer reviews, climate-compatible management, and the inclusion of marginalized groups.

The Green Affordable Housing Finance instrument, piloted by Reall, aims to create a self-sustaining housing finance ecosystem for climate-smart affordable homes. It employs a dual-facility approach: an Enabling Environment Facility (EEF) providing technical assistance and construction finance to developers and lenders, and a Guarantee Facility to de-risk construction and mortgage loans. The instrument targets populations with low and informal incomes and requires all supported homes to meet industry standard green certification. During its five-year pilot in Kenya, the Guarantee Facility is expected to mobilize USD 37 million in lending, with a long-term scale-up goal of supporting over USD 400 million in local private loans over 15 years.

The document highlights a severe shortfall in adaptation finance for Africa, where annual flows of USD 11.4 billion (2019-2020) fall far short of an estimated need of at least USD 52.7 billion. It warns that missing these investments could result in USD 6 trillion in foregone economic benefits by 2035. The brief notes that 53% of adaptation finance to Africa is debt-based, increasing the burden on vulnerable nations. It also identifies significant data gaps in tracking and a lack of ambitious, specific adaptation targets among public financial institutions, calling for a 'north star' goal for adaptation to mobilize private and public capital.

The document defines guarantees as instruments that transfer risk from transaction parties to third parties, such as multilateral development banks or governments, to lower borrowing costs and crowd in private capital. It details the types of risks covered—commercial, political, and market—and identifies key sectors for application, including energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, agriculture, and green manufacturing. The guide outlines the internal and regulatory capacities governments need to act as either beneficiaries or guarantors, categorizes financial market readiness into shallow, emerging, and mature markets, and discusses challenges such as time horizon misalignments and a lack of bankable project pipelines.

In 2018, IDFC members reported $134 billion in green finance commitments, a 39% decrease from 2017, though cumulative commitments since 2015 exceed $670 billion. Climate finance dominated the total at 93.3%, with green energy and GHG mitigation accounting for 85% of that amount. While overall commitments fell due to macroeconomic factors, adaptation finance grew by 57% over the previous year. Geographically, 78% of finance remained in members' home countries, and the East Asia and Pacific region received the largest share of commitments at 56%.

Asia faces a critical adaptation finance gap, with only USD 34 billion in tracked flows against an annual need of USD 212 billion (or USD 431 billion by some estimates). The document identifies systemic barriers including complex access to global funds, institutional capacity constraints, low disbursement rates, and a reliance on loans over grants. It recommends a 'whole-of-government' strategy, scaling up high-quality international public finance, implementing locally led adaptation principles, and developing detailed Adaptation Investment Plans (AIPs) to make projects bankable.

The report identifies the residential sector as the largest global source of black carbon (BC), accounting for 48% of emissions in 2017, followed by transportation (24%) and industry. While emissions have declined in North America, Europe, and China due to stricter standards and fuel switching, these gains are being offset by increases in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where reliance on unclean cooking fuels remains high. The document highlights critical hotspots, including eastern China and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and notes that global BC reductions are not currently on track to meet the Paris Climate Agreement's 1.5°C warming limit.

Black carbon (BC), or soot, is a potent short-lived climate pollutant resulting from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. It causes significant respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, contributing to millions of excess deaths annually, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Economically, BC exposure and reliance on unclean cooking fuels cause trillions of dollars in losses. Climatically, BC warms the atmosphere by absorbing solar energy and accelerates ice melt in the Arctic and Himalayas by reducing albedo. The report argues that reducing BC emissions—especially through clean cooking fuels in sub-Saharan Africa and transportation improvements in urban areas—would prevent millions of premature deaths, reduce deforestation, and help limit global warming to 1.5°C.

This report by the CIFAR Alliance Investors Working Group explores how fintech innovations—specifically in data and digital infrastructure, online marketplaces, and insurtech—can scale climate resilience solutions for vulnerable communities in emerging markets. It presents 11 case studies of ventures that address both acute weather-related disasters and chronic long-term climate changes affecting livelihoods.

The document argues that poverty and environmental degradation are mutually reinforcing systemic issues that must be addressed together. It traces the shift from measuring poverty solely by household income to multidimensional indices, such as the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Planetary-Pressures Adjusted HDI, which incorporate carbon emissions and material footprints. The text highlights how climate change, conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affect the poor, while noting that the resource consumption of the wealthiest 10% of the global population prevents the poor from escaping poverty within planetary boundaries. It recommends that governments shift from GDP-centric metrics to national well-being indices that include marginalized groups and environmental health.

The evaluation concludes that the CMC hybrid model—combining community radio and telecentre services—is an outstanding success in promoting social inclusion, cultural resilience, and poverty alleviation. Key achievements include the integration of CMCs into local communities and the creation of new livelihood opportunities. However, the report identifies significant challenges, including a lack of internal intersectoral cooperation within UNESCO, inconsistent field office support, and the financial instability of centres relying on volunteers and limited revenue. The evaluation recommends that UNESCO establish a clearer strategic interest in the initiative, develop a more structured Results Based Management (RBM) framework for scaling up, and advocate for enabling national policy environments regarding ICT connectivity and broadcast licensing.

The document outlines the framework for the Private Sector Pledge for Zero Hunger, inviting companies to make non-binding financial commitments in high-impact areas and priority countries. It details four types of financial contributions—core commercial investments, subsidized contributions, cash, and in-kind contributions—and emphasizes alignment with national priorities and evidence-based interventions. The guide specifies that investments must be new and aligned with the Ceres2030 investment domains. It also establishes a reporting mechanism linked to the World Benchmarking Alliance's Food and Agriculture Benchmark (FAB) to track progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2.

The Trade Knowledge Network (TKN), launched in 1997 and coordinated by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), works to build long-term capacity to incorporate sustainable development into national, bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade policies. Its primary objectives include producing country- and region-specific research, engaging trade policy-makers, building the capacity of partner organizations through training and cooperative research, and facilitating the global exchange of best practices. The network comprises partners across various developing and developed nations, including organizations in Argentina, Chile, China, India, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Canada, Vietnam, Mexico, El Salvador, the USA, Pakistan, and South Africa, with funding support from entities such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The document examines the disconnect between financial policy-making and environmental goals, arguing that the global financial system is structurally biased toward fossil fuels and against renewables and energy efficiency. It asserts that greening the financial system fits within the mandates of central banks and regulators—including objectives like financial stability, investor protection, and growth. The author proposes a framework for financial policy-makers, especially in China, involving mandatory carbon exposure disclosure, carbon stress tests, and the assessment of carbon risk as a systemic threat. Additionally, the paper advocates for 'interventionist' policies, such as preferential risk weights and lending quotas for green investments, noting that such measures are already used by major central banks in both OECD and emerging economies to support other sectors.

The document presents a classification of financial instruments for climate adaptation, categorised by their maturity level (mature, emerging, or pilot) and their applicability to specific sectors and regions. It identifies three main categories of instruments: debt instruments, results-based financing instruments, and financial risk management instruments.

The document outlines the legal challenges faced by communities regarding land and resource rights, specifically the lack of recognition for customary laws and state ownership of sub-soil resources. It provides a comprehensive directory of international instruments, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention 169, as well as business and finance guidelines (e.g., UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, IFC Performance Standards) that can be used to empower communities. The guide suggests including customary laws, governance structures, and specific national/international legal references in community protocols to define terms for external engagement and protect cultural and environmental heritage.

The fourth edition of the ATT Monitor evaluates the state of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) through three primary lenses: regional analysis of Asia and Latin America/Caribbean, an assessment of annual and initial reporting practices by State Parties, and an investigation into arms diversion. It identifies significant gaps in reporting compliance, specifically regarding the failure of State Parties to update initial reports on national control systems.