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The report finds that while the Paris Agreement has integrated forests into the international climate agenda, national ambitions in NDCs remain insufficient and often lack quantitative targets. Public finance for forest climate goals is a small fraction of the required amount, with 'grey' finance for deforestation-driving sectors vastly outweighing 'green' investments. While many countries have established REDD+ programs and robust monitoring systems, implementation is hindered by weak governance, widespread illegality, and a lack of secure land tenure for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). The report recommends scaling up domestic and international finance, strengthening land rights, and expanding demand-side regulations in consumer countries to curb illegal deforestation.

The report describes the 'Blue Acceleration,' a phenomenal increase in the diversity and scale of ocean-based industries since 2000. It argues that while the ocean is viewed as an economic frontier, the benefits flow disproportionately to a small number of powerful states and corporations, leaving SIDS and LDCs exposed to risks. The document details the environmental and social impacts of sectors like offshore wind, deep-sea mining, and industrial fishing, while highlighting the emergence of interconnected 'Anthropocene risks' including climate-driven regime shifts and stranded assets. It concludes by exploring the role of sustainable finance in redirecting the ocean economy toward equity and stewardship.

The policy brief argues that gender-smart sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) can scale up financing for gender objectives by utilizing multi-KPI structures. It analyzes four different approaches to determining 'trigger events'—the conditions that lead to financial adjustments like coupon step-ups—using examples from Schneider Electric, EQT, H&M, and BlackRock. The authors recommend that issuers avoid structures that allow KPIs to be ignored and instead prefer frameworks requiring the full achievement of all sustainability targets to ensure high ambition and credibility.

The document explores the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) and international trade policy to combat deforestation. It details the design, implementation, and assurance mechanisms of VSSs for commodities like cocoa, palm oil, soy, and timber, noting that while they have demonstrated positive impacts, results are often context-specific. The brief categorizes forest-related provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) into declarative clauses, cooperation provisions, and binding commitments, highlighting a shift from purely promotional references to mandatory requirements. A key example is the EFTA-Indonesia CEPA, which links preferential tariffs to sustainability certifications. The document also discusses the EU's FLEGT regulation and the UK's proposed due diligence laws as mandatory alternatives or complements to VSSs, concluding that a multi-pronged approach combining regulation and VSSs is necessary to address global deforestation.

The analysis of 404,375 tweets from 151 far-left and 75 far-right accounts reveals that both groups are primarily driven by oppositional narratives, where activity by one fringe inspires counter-mobilisation by the other. While the far right frequently engaged in hateful content targeting minorities and promoted conspiratorial views on COVID-19, the far left focused on social and economic justice, with only a small fraction of content meeting specific definitions of antisemitism. The report concludes that the far left does not pose a security threat equivalent to the far right and suggests that moderating far-right extremism could reduce overall counter-mobilisation.

The document investigates whether Russia exerts significant influence over African states in the UN Security Council (UNSC) by analyzing voting patterns between 2014 and 2020. It argues that Russia's influence over the A3 is often exaggerated, as statistical evidence shows that African member states remain more aligned with the P3 (US, UK, and France) and are largely independent of Russian vetoes and abstentions. While the A3 have increasingly sought to present unified positions on African peace and security issues, their voting behavior on non-African files shows a declining coincidence with Russian positions over time.

The document argues that to meet the 1.5°C climate goal, new coal infrastructure must stop immediately and most existing plants must be retired by 2030. It provides a framework for financial institutions to assess corporate coal exit plans, emphasizing that credible plans must include facility-by-facility closure dates, a prohibition on selling assets to new owners, and a ban on converting plants to other fossil fuels or biomass. The briefing also highlights the necessity of funded just transition plans and the cessation of anti-climate lobbying and legal challenges via investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms.

The document argues that to meet the 1.5°C climate goal, the global coal industry must be phased out rapidly, with 80% of the global fleet and all facilities in the OECD, Eastern Europe, and the Former Soviet Union closed by 2030. It provides financial institutions with a ten-point framework to assess corporate phase-out plans, emphasizing that plans must include facility-by-facility closure dates, prohibit the sale of assets to new owners, and forbid conversion to fossil gas, biomass, or fossil-based hydrogen. The briefing also warns against using carbon capture and storage (CCS) or Science-Based Targets (SBTi) as substitutes for concrete closure plans and insists on funded just transition roadmaps and the cessation of anti-climate lobbying and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims.

The report finds that most G20 and Eurosystem central banks lack credible sustainable investment policies for their non-policy portfolios, often relying on opacity or weak ESG criteria to mask continued support for fossil fuel companies. While the Banque de France is highlighted as a leader for its fossil fuel restrictions, the majority of analyzed banks either have no public SRI policy or use 'tricks' such as investing in green bonds without excluding major polluters. The document recommends that central banks adopt strict exclusion policies for coal and new fossil fuel projects to align with a 1.5°C warming trajectory.

The document investigates whether Russia exerts significant influence over African states in the UN Security Council (UNSC) by analyzing voting patterns between 2014 and 2020. It argues that Russia's influence over the A3 is often exaggerated, as statistical evidence shows little coordination and a trend of increasing divergence. While the A3 are increasingly presenting unified positions on African issues, their voting behavior remains more aligned with the P3 (US, UK, and France) than with Russia. The brief concludes that Russia's role as a 'loud dissenter' has not translated into a strategic alliance with the African grouping.

The document outlines a methodological plan to evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation finance in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically focusing on projects funded by multilateral climate funds and bilateral donors from the UK and Sweden. It proposes a theory of change to link financial inputs and project design to outcomes such as reduced climate risk and vulnerability. The protocol details a multi-pronged search strategy across academic and grey literature, and a synthesis approach combining meta-analysis, framework synthesis, and qualitative comparative analysis. However, the authors note that funding for the review was discontinued in March 2021, and the review will not be completed as described.

Ember argues that the assumption that biomass burning is carbon neutral is problematic and that the resulting reliance on BECCS for negative emissions in National Grid's FES scenarios is subject to high uncertainty. The organization advocates for BECCS to be treated as a 'technology of last resort' and requests that FES2022 include at least one net-zero scenario with very low or no BECCS deployment to better quantify trade-offs with nature-based solutions and behavior changes.

The briefing emphasizes that reaching net zero ambitions and maintaining a 1.5°C world requires significant individual behavioral changes, which in turn require public buy-in and government-led structural support. It highlights that the UK lacks a centrally-led public engagement strategy despite commitments under the UN's Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) protocol. The document recommends a strategy that is broad-based, utilizes trusted and diverse spokespeople, emphasizes two-way communication over top-down messaging, and focuses on internalizing reasons for change rather than relying on behavioral 'nudges'. It suggests the UK use COP26 to lead internationally on public engagement and invigorate the ACE protocol, noting that few nations, such as Italy, Costa Rica, and Scotland, currently have considered public engagement policies.

Over 200 civil society organizations are urging world leaders to stop international public finance for fossil fuels, noting that G20 members provide USD 77 billion annually to fossil fuels compared to USD 28 billion for clean energy. The statement calls for an immediate end to support for the entire fossil fuel value chain, the closure of financial loopholes, and increased climate finance for low-income countries in the Global South to ensure a just energy transition ahead of COP 26.

The brief contends that fossil fuel companies have engaged in a long-term strategy of deception, shifting from explicit denial to framing climate change as a manageable 'risk' and shifting responsibility to individual consumers. It provides evidence that companies like BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell promote themselves as clean energy leaders while maintaining massive investments in fossil fuels and funding third-party organizations to undermine climate science.

The Desert to Power G5 Sahel Facility is a large-scale program requesting US$ 150 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to leverage a total of US$ 966.7 million in financing. The initiative aims to add 500 MW of solar generation capacity and 239 MWh of utility-scale storage across five G5 Sahel countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.4 million tCO2equ over its lifetime. The program is structured into three components: grid investments to de-risk solar Independent Power Producers (IPPs), incremental finance for solar power generation, and technical assistance to improve the regulatory and institutional environment. The African Development Bank (AfDB) serves as the Accredited Entity, coordinating with national governments and private sector stakeholders to address technical, financial, and legal barriers to renewable energy adoption.

The document provides a comprehensive guide to adaptation communications (ADCOMs), which are voluntary reports used by countries to share climate adaptation priorities and needs. It outlines the four primary goals of ADCOMs: increasing the visibility of adaptation, strengthening support for developing countries, providing data for the global stocktake, and enhancing global learning. The text details flexible submission methods—standalone, in conjunction with, or as a component of other documents like NDCs or NAPs—and lists optional content elements ranging from national circumstances to gender-responsive actions. Finally, it explains how countries can leverage existing NAP processes to develop their ADCOMs, even if a final NAP document is not yet complete.

The document is a summary guide for UK campaigners focused on communicating about COP26 to increase public awareness. It argues that such awareness is necessary to motivate politicians toward ambitious decision-making and to encourage wider public engagement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The briefing analyzes Operation Warp Speed (OWS) to provide recommendations for strengthening the U.S. industrial base for medical countermeasures. It advocates for an 'ecosystem approach' that integrates platform technologies like mRNA, supports small innovative biotech companies, and maintains Advanced Development and Manufacturing (ADM) facilities. The authors propose establishing annual exercise programs to reduce development timelines and improving public-private partnerships to ensure the U.S. can design and approve vaccines within 100 days of detecting a pandemic threat.

The paper examines Africa's role in global nuclear disarmament, highlighting the Pelindaba Treaty as a model for regional non-proliferation and the shift from a security-based to a humanitarian-based narrative to challenge nuclear-armed states.