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SEforALL's 2021-2023 business plan introduces 'SEforALL 3.0', an evolution from global agenda-setting to an implementation-focused model. The strategy centers on four thematic areas: Energy Diplomacy and Advocacy, Energy Access and Closing the Gap, Energy Transitions and Climate Change, and Intersection with Other SDGs. Key initiatives include the Universal Energy Facility for results-based financing, the 'Women at the Forefront' program, and the 'Powering Healthcare' agenda. To support these goals, SEforALL requires a three-year budget of USD 58.9 million and plans to establish regional staff presence in Africa and Southeast Asia to better support high-impact countries.

The IEU report for the first half of 2020 outlines the progress of several major evaluations, including assessments of the GCF's country ownership approach, environmental and social safeguards, and the Simplified Approval Process. It highlights the unit's efforts to integrate behavioural science through the new Behaviour and Design Lab (BaDLab) and the LORTA programme. The report also details extensive communication efforts via webinars and social media to increase the uptake of evaluation findings, and provides a budget update showing a total expenditure and commitment of USD 2,447,221 against a 2020 budget of USD 5,581,985 as of 30 April 2020.

The briefing analyzes the intersection of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic instability, deteriorating governance, and nuclear-armed geopolitical tensions in South Asia. It argues that these converging risks create non-linear dynamics that could lead to a systemic collapse or 'regime shift,' posing significant spillover risks to the global international system.

Between January 2017 and June 2020, Japanese public and private institutions provided at least US$23.4 billion in financing for LNG infrastructure across 10 countries. The report argues that the original rationales for this policy—energy security, climate friendliness, and economic viability—are now flawed due to the vulnerability of supply chains exposed by COVID-19, the high global warming potential of methane leakages, and the declining costs of renewable energy. It highlights that major Japanese banks (MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC) provided the bulk of this funding, while five major trading companies saw a combined year-on-year profit drop of US$625 million in LNG-related businesses by March 2020. The document concludes that continuing to fund LNG infrastructure risks creating stranded assets and contradicts the UN's Principles for Responsible Banking.

Between January 2017 and June 2020, Japanese public and private institutions provided at least $23.4 billion in funding for LNG infrastructure across 10 countries. The report argues that this strategy, led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), is flawed due to the high carbon footprint of LNG, the falling cost of renewable energy, and market volatility exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights significant financial risks, including potential stranded assets and declining profits for major Japanese trading houses, and calls for an immediate shift toward clean energy investments.

The NGO Forum on ADB calls for the Asian Development Bank to align its energy policy with the 1.5°C goal, divest from coal, and provide unconditional debt relief to developing member countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also demands the 'No Dilution' of the 2009 Safeguards Policy Statement and the introduction of binding labor and social protections.

The policy brief examines the intersection of migrant integration and development contributions, specifically focusing on the Norwegian experience. It argues that while diaspora members engage in development and remittance-sending largely independently of government policy, the quality of their integration—including their economic stability and legal security—significantly influences their capacity to contribute. The authors critique the current fragmentation of migration, integration, and development policies, noting that some security-focused narratives regarding remittances can stigmatize these contributions. The brief recommends recognizing diaspora initiatives as transnational civic engagement and reducing remittance costs to enhance development outcomes.

The statement argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for governments to focus all resources on public health, specifically the procurement of medical supplies, vaccines, and medicines. It calls for the immediate suspension of trade and investment negotiations at the WTO, bilateral, and regional levels, asserting that such activities divert critical resources and personnel. The authors highlight that intellectual property rules under the WTO's TRIPS agreement and free trade agreements may obstruct the affordability and accessibility of life-saving supplies. The document demands the removal of all trade barriers and unilateral sanctions that hinder medical procurement and urges a fundamental rethink of trade rules that encourage monopolies and limit healthcare access.

Friends of the Earth International and a broad coalition of global endorsers call for an immediate cessation of trade and investment treaty negotiations. They argue that governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, lack the resources to engage in these negotiations while managing the COVID-19 health crisis. The statement demands that trade negotiators focus exclusively on removing obstacles, such as intellectual property rules and unilateral sanctions, that hinder access to affordable vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.

The document analyzes policy coherence between the Paris Agreement's NDCs and the 2030 Agenda's SDGs in Germany, Kenya, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the Philippines. It finds that while synergies exist, significant conflicts often emerge around energy transitions, economic growth, and inequality (SDG 10). These incoherencies are driven by institutional fragmentation, conflicting national ideologies, and vested interests. The authors argue that achieving both agendas requires moving beyond institutional fixes to address deep structural changes and political dynamics.

The evaluation concludes that the GCF's interim ESS standards, based on IFC Performance Standards, are not fit-for-purpose as they focus on risk mitigation ('do no harm') rather than generating positive environmental and social outcomes ('do good'). Key gaps were identified in human rights, gender equity, and the monitoring of co-benefits. The report finds that the accreditation process is largely a desk review that fails to verify institutional capacity, and the Project Preparation Facility (PPF) suffers from excessive processing times. Monitoring is heavily reliant on AE self-reporting via Annual Performance Reports (APRs) due to the non-operationalization of the Monitoring and Accountability Framework (MAF). Additionally, the REDD+ pilot programme was found to be inconsistent with the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ (WFR) by imposing additional safeguard requirements and a binary pass/fail assessment.

Civil society organizations have urged the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to extend the Phase 1 consultation deadline for its Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) review from February 28 to the end of March 2020. The CSOs argue that the current timeframe is too short to provide informed inputs based on field data and that the bank has failed to clarify its theoretical approach and methodology for the review. Additionally, they note that a scheduled workshop on March 9, 2020, organized by the German government, should be allowed to inform the consultation process.

The report assesses gender-based vulnerabilities and inequalities in Sri Lanka's agricultural and forestry sectors to inform a climate resilience project in the Knuckles Mountain Range. It identifies that while women are central to home gardens, nursery production, and forest monitoring, they face systemic barriers including limited land rights, lower wages in plantations, and restricted access to technical extension services. The document outlines a gender-sensitive project design that integrates women into decision-making for irrigation and forestry, promotes female-led SMEs, and targets female-headed households for land allocation to improve food security and economic resilience.

The Global Futures project uses a new integrated environment-economy model to quantify the economic risks of biodiversity loss. Under a 'Business-as-Usual' scenario, the loss of six key ecosystem services is projected to reduce annual global GDP by 0.67% by 2050, totaling a cumulative loss of US$ 9.87 trillion. Conversely, a 'Global Conservation' scenario could result in a net annual gain of US$ 490 billion compared to the BAU scenario. The report highlights that low-income countries and coastal infrastructure in high-income nations are most vulnerable, and recommends a 'New Deal for Nature and People' including the protection of 30% of land and oceans.

The IISD database serves as a tool for estimating the financial performance of infrastructure assets by accounting for systemic costs and benefits often omitted in conventional assessments. It contains 2,057 entries across five categories: environmental externalities (1,059), social externalities (291), governance externalities (4), direct costs (192), and climate risks (511). The database covers infrastructure types including transport, energy, water management, materials management, building, mining, and nature-based infrastructures, and is used to support the SAVi simulation service and SAVi Academy training.

The document analyzes the scale and nature of food export restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis compared to the 2007/08 period. It finds that while 22 countries imposed restrictions in 2020, the overall impact on globally traded calories and monetary value is significantly lower than in 2008. The brief notes that current food availability challenges are driven more by logistical disruptions than the supply shortages and high energy prices that characterized the previous crisis.

The guide identifies significant energy access gaps in South Asia, with 152 million people lacking electricity and 990 million lacking clean cooking as of 2018. It proposes that governments allocate 25% of stimulus budgets to renewables and target 30% localization of clean energy value chains. Key benefits cited include a GDP multiplier where every USD 1 invested in renewables yields USD 0.93 in additional growth, and the creation of 2 to 2.5 times more jobs than fossil fuel investments. The document recommends eight enablers for this transition, including the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, a moratorium on new coal-fired power, and the adoption of cost-reflective tariffs.

The 2020 Partnership Report details the collaboration between Royal Caribbean Group and WWF to reduce the cruise line's environmental footprint and support global ocean conservation. The partnership established measurable targets for greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable seafood and commodity procurement, and sustainable tourism. While the COVID-19 pandemic halted progress on several seafood targets, the company surpassed its goals for sustainable tour offerings and destination stewardship. Royal Caribbean achieved a 32.6% to 34.5% reduction in GHG intensity by 2019 and committed to a further 25% reduction by 2025. The report also highlights philanthropic support for WWF projects in the Arctic, Philippines, Australia, and other regions.

The paper examines the relationship between internal armed conflict and horizontal inequality, using regional disparities in human development as a proxy. The authors find that high-intensity, long-duration conflicts (over 1,000 battle deaths and lasting more than 5 years) are associated with significantly higher levels of horizontal inequality in infant mortality, wealth, and education. This inequality persists for many years, with declines only appearing 10-15 years after conflict termination. Sub-national analysis suggests that regions directly exposed to fighting suffer more, further widening the gap. Preliminary findings indicate that neither peace agreements nor UN peacekeeping operations significantly mitigate these increases in horizontal inequality.

The document highlights Sri Lanka's progress in linking sustainable development, climate change, and disaster risk reduction within its policy documents. It identifies the iterative updates of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) as critical entry points for further alignment. The study notes that alignment is more straightforward when a single entity, specifically the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, leads the processes. Additionally, it suggests that alignment can create efficiencies in establishing monitoring and evaluation systems and sub-national planning processes.