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The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2025 evaluates 63 countries and the European Union, representing 90% of global emissions, across emissions, renewables, and climate policy. While renewable energy shares have increased in 61 of the 64 assessed entities over the last five years, the report finds that many high-emitting nations continue to rely on fossil fuels, leaving the top three overall ranks vacant.

This briefing examines the implementation of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs), focusing on the European Union's pioneering system and its global repercussions. It analyzes the limited impact of CBAMs on overall emissions reductions compared to domestic carbon pricing, the significant economic risks posed to developing nations, and the resulting fragmented landscape of international trade and climate policy.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) warns of a health crisis driven by rising plastic production and its associated greenhouse gas emissions, calling for the Government of Canada to commit to production limits and the elimination of hazardous chemicals within a Global Plastics Treaty.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines how a potential US slowdown in clean technology investment and deployment under a Donald Trump presidency could create market opportunities for emerging economies, specifically China, Brazil, and India.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides initial reactions to the third 'non-paper' released on October 29, 2024, by the Chair of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) tasked with developing a global plastics treaty. While CIEL views the non-paper as an adequate structure for negotiations at the upcoming INC-5 meeting in Busan, Republic of Korea, it argues that the current text relies too heavily on voluntary language and lacks essential provisions on production limits, chemicals of concern, and finance, which would result in an ineffective treaty.

The November 2024 Warming Projections Global Update by the NewClimate Institute reports that global warming projections for 2100 have stagnated over the last three years. Current policies set the world on a path toward 2.7°C of warming, while the most optimistic scenario, assuming full implementation of all announced targets, projects 1.9°C. The report highlights a critical disconnect between the escalating climate crisis and the urgency of government policy implementation, noting that while renewable energy growth is record-breaking, it is being offset by all-time high fossil fuel subsidies.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the proposal to expand the contributor base for climate finance to include emerging economies. It argues that while some emerging countries already contribute voluntarily, mandating their contributions at the current rate of developed countries would only provide an additional USD 51.19 billion, which is approximately 5.12% of the estimated USD 1 trillion annual need for developing countries. The document emphasizes that developed countries must maintain primary responsibility and calls for clearer definitions of 'developed countries' and 'climate finance' during the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) negotiations at COP29.

Ember analysis indicates that global solar capacity additions will reach 593 GW in 2024, a 29% increase over 2023. This growth is driven by continued dominance in China and the US, as well as emerging markets like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, significantly exceeding several industry forecasts.

This report by Ember analyzes national wind capacity targets for 2030, finding that while current targets aim for a doubling of global capacity, they fall short of the tripling required to maintain the 1.5C climate goal. The report highlights a significant implementation gap outside of China, where most countries are projected to miss their targets, while China is expected to over-deliver.

This briefing note by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) analyzes contributions from Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) members regarding the protection of human health within a proposed international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. It focuses on the work of two ad hoc intersessional open-ended expert groups meeting in Bangkok in August 2024 to inform the final negotiation session (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea, in November 2024.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes historical negotiation timelines of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to provide pathways for the development of a future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. It argues that the current ambition to complete the plastics treaty by the end of 2024 is tight and suggests that previous treaties, such as the Rotterdam, Minamata, and BBNJ agreements, demonstrate that negotiations can legally and practically extend beyond initial deadlines without requiring new mandates from governing bodies.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes trade frictions arising from national and subnational plastic pollution measures implemented by WTO members. By examining Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) and Trade Policy Review (TPR) questions, the authors identify six primary types of regulatory issues—timing, transparency, stakeholder engagement, proportionality, justification, and discrimination—and provide recommendations to help policy-makers design measures that minimize trade disruptions.

This report examines the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in facilitating the transition to a global circular economy to address the 'triple planetary crisis'. It analyzes current trade measures, identifies a disproportionate focus on end-of-life waste management over upstream resource reduction, and proposes a framework for regulatory alignment and mutual recognition of circular goods and services to prevent market fragmentation and 'circular resource nationalism'.

A report by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Korea Environment Institute that analyzes flood control projects and resilience indicators across Asia to develop a specific flood resilience index for South Korea.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Canada poses excessive economic and environmental risks. The document asserts that new facilities will undermine Canada's climate commitments, face a global supply glut by the end of the decade, and struggle to compete with lower-cost producers like Qatar and the United States, potentially leading to stranded assets and taxpayer losses.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics provides an overview of the global petrochemical industry, highlighting its growing contribution to oil and gas demand and greenhouse gas emissions. It details the specific impacts of nitrogen fertilisers and plastics, the rapid expansion of production capacity—particularly in China—and the limitations of current recycling and substitution strategies in mitigating climate and health risks.

This report by Ember analyzes global electricity generation trends in 2023 across solar, wind, coal, gas, hydro, nuclear, and bioenergy. It highlights record growth in solar and wind, a slight increase in coal generation driven by droughts in China, and the gap between current growth rates and the IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario requirements.

The report 'The Big Picture' by Ember analyzes the global electricity transition in 2024, arguing that 2023 likely marked the peak of fossil fuel generation and power sector emissions. It highlights the dominant role of solar energy, the emerging drivers of electricity demand such as data centers and electrification, and provides case studies on the rapid transition strategies of China, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

The Boom and Bust Coal 2024 report by Global Energy Monitor analyzes global coal power capacity trends, highlighting a net increase in operating capacity in 2023 driven primarily by China, despite a general global decline in new construction starts outside of China.

This briefing from the IAI Directorate presents the core budget request for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and preliminary requests for 2025-2027, detailing operational costs, staffing changes, and proposed increases in country contributions.