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The September 2021 Global Update by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) finds that global climate action continues to lag behind the requirements for limiting warming to 1.5°C. While some countries have updated their NDCs, the 2030 emissions gap remains significant, estimated at 20 to 23 GtCO2e. The report introduces a new rating system that integrates targets, policies, and climate finance, revealing that only The Gambia is overall 1.5°C Paris Agreement compatible. Most net zero targets are rated as poor or incomplete, and developed countries are failing to provide sufficient international climate finance or implement policies that align with their fair share of global mitigation efforts.

The WWF-US FY20 Corporate Partnerships Report outlines the organization's strategic approach to collaborating with the private sector to address environmental degradation. It categorizes partnerships into four types: driving sustainable business practices, communications and awareness raising, philanthropic partnerships, and employee engagement. The document lists specific corporate partners across various revenue tiers, highlighting collaborations on issues such as plastic waste, deforestation, and climate change, and notes that corporate partnership income represented 4% of the WWF-US office's total income in FY20.

The study finds that new coal generation is unnecessary for energy security, more expensive than renewable alternatives, and incompatible with the Paris Agreement. Modelling shows that forcing 1.5 GW of new coal into the power system increases total discounted costs by R23 billion in a reference scenario and R109 billion in a climate policy scenario, while reducing GDP and employment.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis share analytical similarities as global shocks that exacerbate existing inequalities. It identifies six key lessons for South Africa: the necessity of accessible social protection, the need to value care work, the requirement for a strong and proactive state, the importance of localising industrial processes, the necessity of international cooperation, and the need to center justice in responses to mitigate worsening inequalities.

The document examines voluntary and mandatory digital traceability systems used to track timber and fish from harvest to consumer. It argues that while these systems can flag anomalies to deter crime, they are vulnerable to 'garbage in, garbage out' scenarios where initial data is falsified through corruption. Mandatory systems are viewed as having higher potential due to government enforcement, but their success depends on the political will to act on red flags. The authors recommend linking voluntary and mandatory systems and increasing transparency to reduce corruption risks.

The statement highlights the continued support of the coal industry by Japanese financial giants Mizuho, SMBC, MUFG, and Tokio Marine, noting billions of dollars in financing and insurance provided to coal developers and projects globally despite climate commitments.

The document argues that young people (aged 10-24) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionately affected by climate change but face structural barriers and tokenism that hinder their participation in decision-making. It proposes a research framework based on social context, substance, procedure, power, and agency to analyse youth engagement in Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) developed the HealthyNDCs Scorecard to analyze and rank 40 NDCs from 66 countries, assessing how health is incorporated into climate commitments and the level of climate ambition. The document serves as a guide for a Twitter campaign to pressure governments to set ambitious emissions targets and embed health protections into their national climate plans. GCHA identifies specific countries as failing to consider health or lacking ambition, while others are praised for leadership in this area.

The report uses the GSI-IF model to analyze 32 countries, representing 77% of global CO2 emissions, to determine the impact of removing fossil fuel subsidies and implementing a 10% fossil energy tax by 2030. It finds that subsidy reform alone could save nearly USD 3 trillion and abate 5.4 GtCO2e, while combining reform with taxation and sustainable energy investment could increase average emission reductions from 6% to 11.8% by 2030.

The report argues that the aquaculture industry faces significant systemic risks due to high fish mortality rates and a dependence on fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) derived from wild-caught fish. It finds that most investors fail to integrate these material risks into their policies, often relying on inadequate certification schemes. The document highlights the economic cost of fish deaths, the threat to food security in regions like West Africa due to FMFO extraction, and the potential for 'greenwashing' through green bonds. It recommends that investors require full supply chain transparency, the elimination of wild-caught fish in feed by 2025, and the adoption of robust fish-welfare standards.

The report analyzes the fragmentation of current biosurveillance systems and proposes a transition to a global early warning ecosystem. It highlights the role of emerging technologies like metagenomic sequencing and CRISPR-based diagnostics in reducing detection timelines. Through regional case studies and historical vignettes of outbreaks like COVID-19, SARS, and Ebola, the document identifies critical gaps in infrastructure, political will, and data interoperability, while providing a roadmap for future investments and diplomatic coordination.

The report analyzes the value chain of wind and solar projects to identify which components are suitable for local production versus global sourcing. It argues that while highly centralized components like solar modules and wind turbines are best imported to keep costs low, significant economic opportunities exist in localizing structures, towers, and electrical subsystems. Through case studies of countries like Mauritius, Namibia, Cambodia, and the Philippines, the report demonstrates how different tariff strategies—ranging from revenue generation to industry protection—impact renewable energy deployment and suggests that international cooperation to reduce trade barriers on environmental goods can accelerate the energy transition.

The report finds that the complete removal of fossil fuel consumption subsidies across 32 modelled countries could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 6.09% by 2030. When combined with a 'subsidy swap' (reinvesting savings into energy efficiency and renewables) and a 10% energy tax, the average national emission reduction increases to 11.84%. The analysis highlights that while some countries like Venezuela see reductions over 30%, G20 nations provide the largest absolute reductions due to their economic scale. Financially, fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR) alone could generate USD 2.99 trillion in cumulative savings by 2030, offering a cost-effective mechanism for a 'green recovery' from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The document outlines the objectives of a joint briefing by several institutes to analyze how the EU's CBAM, part of the "Fit for 55" package, affects climate-vulnerable countries, including least developed countries and small island developing states. It focuses on the differences between the European Commission and European Parliament positions, the identification of most-affected countries based on carbon-intensive sectors and export reliance, the implications for UNFCCC climate action, and the potential for CBAM revenues to support low-carbon transitions abroad.

Mighty Earth alleges a significant gap between Sumitomo Corporation's public commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and its actual business practices. The report highlights Sumitomo's role in importing wood pellets from the US and Canada, which it claims destroys old-growth forests and increases CO2 levels. It also criticizes the company's ongoing development of coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, noting that these projects cause severe local pollution and human rights issues. Financially, the report notes that Sumitomo has suffered substantial losses from coal-related assets, arguing that the company must accelerate its transition to renewable energy to avoid further stranded assets and environmental destruction.

Power Forward 4.0 finds that 60% of Fortune 500 companies have set at least one climate or energy target, a 12-percentage-point increase since 2017. While GHG reduction targets are most common (54%) and Science-Based Targets (SBTs) have increased sixfold, only 20% of the Fortune 500 have set or committed to an SBT. The report highlights a rise in net-zero commitments (17%) and 100% renewable energy targets (58 companies), though it notes significant gaps in the financial, fossil fuel, and retail sectors. Despite progress, the report argues that voluntary action is insufficient and calls for federal and state policies, such as carbon pricing, to align the US private sector with the Paris Agreement and the US Nationally Determined Contribution.

The statement argues that 100% clean power is a prerequisite for global carbon neutrality by 2050, as established by the IEA. It calls on P4G member countries to leverage recent momentum from the IEA and G7 to transition their power sectors away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, noting that the power sector must reach net zero well before the wider economy to enable the decarbonization of other sectors.

Reclaim Finance assesses Maybank's May 2021 announcement of its first coal sector financing exclusions, concluding that the policy is too limited because it focuses on new coal mining rather than new coal plants and lacks a phase-out commitment. The analysis notes that Maybank provided at least US$1.7 billion to the coal sector between 2018 and 2020 and currently supports companies planning 13.2 GW of additional coal capacity. The author urges Maybank to end all support for coal expansion and exit the sector by 2040.

The document argues that the innovative policy responses used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic can be repurposed to mitigate systemic climate-related risks. It details how prudential regulations, such as stress testing and capital buffers, and monetary instruments, including collateral frameworks and corporate financing facilities, can be 'greened' to support a sustainable recovery in the ASEAN region. The brief emphasizes the need for clear roadmaps and mandatory climate disclosures to manage both physical and transition risks.

The document argues that Middle Income Countries (MICs) face a critical gap in debt relief mechanisms following the COVID-19 pandemic, as they are ineligible for the Debt Suspension Servicing Initiative (DSSI) despite high debt burdens that crowd out climate spending. It proposes Debt for Climate (DFC) swaps, where creditor nations forgive a portion of external debt in exchange for the debtor nation making local currency payments toward climate projects. The report outlines eligibility criteria for debtor nations—including a requirement of no imminent liquidity crisis and high bilateral external debt—and suggests three specific use cases: an Accelerated Coal Power Retirement Mechanism (ACPRM), an Accelerated Energy Efficiency Adoption Mechanism (AEEAM), and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for adaptation. It identifies specific priority countries for these mechanisms, such as Vietnam and the Philippines for coal retirement, and South Africa and Uzbekistan for energy efficiency, based on energy intensity and carbon dependency data.