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The report analyzes the first round of Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) under the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework, focusing on the voluntary adaptation sections (A-BTR). By reviewing 10 diverse countries, the authors find that while there is strong commitment to reporting, most countries lack comprehensive monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, leading to a gap in evidence regarding the actual effectiveness of adaptation actions. The report highlights significant reporting gaps for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), a lack of gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) integration, and insufficient transparency regarding financial flows.

The ICJ issued a unanimous advisory opinion establishing that States have binding international legal obligations to prevent climate harm, including a duty to phase out fossil fuels and provide reparations for damages. The ruling affirms the right to a healthy environment as a binding norm and clarifies that sea level rise does not terminate a State's legal statehood or maritime borders.

Deep-sea mining targets critical minerals like cobalt and nickel from polymetallic nodules, sulfides, and crusts, primarily in international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. While proponents argue it can meet surging demand for the energy transition and avoid some terrestrial mining harms, the practice faces significant opposition due to risks of species extinction, disruption of the ocean's carbon sink, and threats to food security in small island states. Commercial exploitation remains stalled as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has failed to reach a consensus on regulations as of July 2025, though some companies may attempt to bypass this via U.S. domestic law. Alternatives such as scaling up recycling and shifting to LFP or sodium-ion batteries could reduce the necessity of seabed extraction.

The authors contend that the ICJ has a legal and moral imperative to name fossil fuels as the root cause of climate change and mandate their phase-out. They argue that international law, including the transboundary harm and precautionary principles, requires States to constrain fossil fuel production and hold corporate polluters accountable. The text highlights recent advisory opinions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) as precedents for a heightened due diligence standard regarding climate emissions. The authors criticize the political reluctance within the UNFCCC and the UN Human Rights Council to explicitly mention fossil fuels, asserting that legal clarity from the ICJ is necessary to overcome political paralysis and protect human rights, particularly for climate-vulnerable Pacific Island States.

The report assesses gender dynamics in water access and climate resilience across four Pacific Island Countries (PICs). It finds that women and girls bear the primary burden of water collection and management but are systematically excluded from decision-making and governance. Climate change exacerbates these inequalities through droughts and saltwater intrusion. The assessment recommends increasing women's leadership in water committees, investing in gender-sensitive infrastructure, and improving the collection of sex-disaggregated data to inform policy.

As of March 31, 2025, the GCF's total pledged amount decreased to USD 29.9 billion following the United States' revocation of USD 4 billion in outstanding pledges. The Fund has committed USD 16.7 billion to 297 projects across 133 countries, with a portfolio balance of 59% adaptation and 41% mitigation in grant-equivalent terms. The accredited entity network consists of 145 entities, 64% of which are Direct Access Entities. The Readiness Programme has approved USD 713 million for 862 grants, with 62% of support directed toward LDCs, SIDS, or African States. To manage a pipeline of 182 concept notes and 85 funding proposals, the GCF is implementing a 'targeted approach' to retire inactive legacy projects. The Project Preparation Facility (PPF) has committed USD 69.5 million to support 110 applications, unlocking USD 7.2 billion in total climate finance.

The document asserts that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions constitute marine pollution, creating a legal duty for States to phase out fossil fuels. It examines how advisory opinions from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) reinforce the rights of vulnerable island States and establish standards of due diligence and corporate accountability for climate-related ocean harm.

ClientEarth advocates for a shift from 'paper commitments' to legal action to address the ocean crisis. The briefing prioritises the enforcement of existing frameworks, such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), to protect marine biodiversity and combat climate change. It specifically calls for the elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies, the banning of bottom trawling in marine protected areas (MPAs), and the ratification of the BBNJ Agreement to protect the high seas. The document also highlights the need for a 'Protection Principle' that makes ocean conservation the default norm and outlines specific legal priorities for the EU, Mediterranean, China, and the UK.

The document defines 'loss and damage' as climate change consequences that exceed human adaptation limits, categorizing them into economic losses (e.g., infrastructure damage) and non-economic losses (e.g., cultural loss). It details the evolution of UN negotiations, from the 1991 proposal by Vanuatu to the 2023 operationalization of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), which had pledges totaling $768.4 million as of April 2025. The text emphasizes that this funding is far below the estimated $580 billion needed by vulnerable countries by 2030 and argues for a 'mosaic of solutions' combining public, private, and innovative funding sources to support activities such as humanitarian aid, relocation, and livelihood restoration.

The author argues that the OACPS should move beyond traditional tariff liberalization to a 'muscular' trade and sustainability agenda at the WTO. This proposed plan includes negotiating a plurilateral agreement on green industrialization, creating a dedicated technical facility for sustainable development, and establishing a coherence platform to align trade with global sustainability initiatives like the UNFCCC and UN SDGs. To support this, the document suggests replicating EU models of strategic partnerships on critical raw materials and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs), which combine private investment with public guarantees and technology transfer. The author emphasizes that such an integrated approach is essential for OACPS members—particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and commodity-dependent nations—to mitigate climate vulnerability and transition toward green industrialization.

The report finds that human-caused climate change significantly increased extreme heat and health risks globally from December 2024 to February 2025. At least 1.8 billion people experienced temperatures at least twice as likely due to climate change every day of the period, with exposure peaking at 3 billion people on February 28, 2025. Africa was particularly affected, with 293 million people experiencing 30 or more 'risky heat days' added by climate change. The analysis also highlights that 110 out of 220 analyzed countries and 287 out of 940 cities saw the average person experience strong climate influence for at least one-third of the season.

The Regional Tuna Programme (RTP) addresses two primary climate threats in the Pacific: the loss of coral reef fish as a protein source and the eastward shift of tuna biomass away from national exclusive economic zones (EEZs). The programme will deploy 333 anchored Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) to help coastal communities catch tuna, improve the distribution of industrial tuna bycatch to urban areas, and develop an Advanced Warning System (AWS) to provide high-resolution forecasts of tuna redistribution. This AWS is intended to serve as an economic planning tool to help tuna-dependent nations negotiate the retention of fishing license revenues. The project targets 790,000 direct beneficiaries and 2.5 million indirect beneficiaries across 14 participating countries.

The report asserts that geoengineering is not an unregulated frontier but is subject to restrictive international laws, including a de facto moratorium by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and regulations under the London Convention/London Protocol (LC/LP). It warns that a proliferation of outdoor experiments, driven by voluntary carbon markets and recent COP29 decisions, threatens biodiversity and human rights. The author calls for a ban on outdoor experiments and the establishment of an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering.

The report argues that Australia is a 'fossil fuel behemoth' whose exported emissions are projected to be 3.3 times larger than its domestic emissions within five years. It highlights that despite IEA warnings against new developments, Australia has approved 30 new coal and gas projects since 2021. The document asserts that a conservative selection of planned projects could consume 6.2% of the remaining global 1.5°C carbon budget. It further criticizes the Australian Safeguard Mechanism as insufficient because it does not manage exported emissions or prevent new project approvals. Finally, it contrasts Australia's fossil fuel expansion with its public commitments to Pacific nations and its bid to co-host COP31.

The Gender Action Plan (GAP) for the "Adapting Tuna-dependent Pacific Island Communities and Economies to Climate Change" programme aims to ensure women and men benefit equitably from climate adaptation efforts in 14 Pacific Island Countries. The plan focuses on increasing women's capacity in post-harvest tuna processing and marketing, raising awareness of gender roles in coastal fisheries, and enhancing women's leadership in decision-making. Key activities include gender-responsive training for FAD fishers, improving hygienic working conditions for fish sellers, and integrating gender considerations into national disaster response and high-level negotiation training. The programme is managed by the Pacific Community (SPC) and Conservation International (CI), with dedicated Gender & Environmental and Social Safeguards (GESI) officers overseeing implementation and monitoring through sex-disaggregated data.

The report assesses gender dynamics in the Pacific fisheries sector, noting that while fishing is viewed as a male domain, women play critical but often invisible roles in post-harvest processing and marketing. It identifies risks such as the potential for FAD investments to overlook women's needs and the high prevalence of gender-based violence in the region. The document proposes regional objectives to increase recognition of women's roles, improve working conditions for fish sellers, and provide training in tuna processing. It includes detailed gender profiles for participating nations, highlighting specific bottlenecks like limited women's representation in decision-making and the impact of climate change on coastal resources.

The evaluation finds that while the GCF has a robust 'do-no-harm' policy framework, it is primarily treated as a compliance exercise rather than a strategic opportunity to empower Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Systemic barriers in the GCF's accreditation-based business model make direct access to resources nearly insurmountable for IPs. The report highlights inconsistent application of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), limited integration of traditional knowledge, and a lack of portfolio-level monitoring for IP-specific results. It recommends establishing a dedicated IP-specific funding window and shifting the organizational culture from passive compliance to proactive engagement.

The document identifies 14 distinct tactics of climate obstruction used during UNFCCC negotiations, ranging from overt rejection to subtle procedural delays. It argues that obstruction is unevenly distributed, with wealthier and fossil-fuel-producing nations exercising disproportionate influence. The brief maps these tactics across negotiation stages and predicts their likely application at COP30 in areas such as the Global Goal on Adaptation, fossil fuel phase-outs, and climate finance.

The 2025 Impact Report details the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative's progress in securing diplomatic support, engaging subnational governments, and conducting research to create a 1.5ºC-aligned mechanism for phasing out fossil fuels. Key achievements include the announcement of the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels for April 2026, the addition of Cambodia and Saint Kitts and Nevis to the participating nations, and a resolution in support of the treaty passed by the IUCN. The initiative has grown to include 18 participating countries from the Global South, over 140 cities, and 4,200 civil society organizations.

The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) has submitted comments on the Zero Order Draft of the First National Nature Assessment (NNA1), prepared by the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). CCS supports the draft's inclusion of anthropogenic ecosystems, biotic eruptions, and the link between global nature loss and U.S. security. However, CCS recommends that the NNA1 expand its analysis to include unprotected, privately owned nature as a source of hazard aversion and incorporate benefit-cost analyses comparing nature-based solutions with synthetic alternatives. Additionally, CCS urges the inclusion of maladaptation risks to human and national security, citing examples from São Tomé and Príncipe and Vanuatu where climate finance projects failed to account for social inequalities and power dynamics.