Search Climate Insights Directory

The inventory describes the emergence of diverse multilevel governance (MLG) coordination mechanisms for climate action—covering adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage—over the last thirty years. It aims to provide national teams, subnational decision-makers, and non-state actors with information on existing mechanisms to support the NAP process and to help international development practitioners avoid duplicating efforts.

Private equity firms have invested nearly $200 billion in data center-related industries since January 2022, driving a strategy of acquiring vertically integrated retail energy utilities and fossil fuel power plants to secure power for AI infrastructure. BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) has acquired ALLETE Inc. and is pursuing a $38 billion takeover of AES, while Blackstone has invested in the Potomac Energy Center and is seeking to acquire TXNM Energy. The report argues that this expansion risks creating stranded high-emitting assets if AI demand is overestimated, while already causing increased electricity costs for ratepayers—rising up to 267% in some data center hubs—and significant environmental degradation. Organized community resistance has already delayed or blocked $64 billion in data center projects across 24 U.S. states.

The We Mean Business Coalition asserts that the Paris Agreement has created a shared global framework that made climate policy investible, leading to a surge in clean energy investment and the growth of renewables. Despite progress, such as renewables supplying nearly a third of global electricity and clean-energy investment surpassing $2 trillion in 2024, the document warns that overall ambition remains insufficient. It calls for governments to redirect fossil-fuel subsidies toward clean investment, reform energy markets, and deliver more credible Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by COP30 to ensure a stable economic and climatic future.

The We Mean Business Coalition calls on governments to redirect public finance away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy to unlock business investment. The statement argues that current national climate plans are insufficient and that removing approximately $1 trillion in annual fossil fuel subsidies is a critical economic strategy to ensure energy security and market fairness.

The document examines the challenges facing ECOWAS in its peacekeeping efforts, particularly the lack of formal integration with the AU and UN. It highlights how the ambiguous application of the AU's subsidiarity principle and the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have strained regional security. To address these issues and access UN-assessed funding under Resolution 2719, the paper recommends formalising the division of labour between ECOWAS and the AU and increasing ECOWAS's direct engagement in global peace operations planning.

The report finds that 27 countries have set national offshore wind targets, with global capacity projected to almost triple from 83 GW in 2024 to 238 GW by 2030. While targets have driven market growth, many countries are expected to miss their 2030 goals due to cost inflation, supply chain pressures, and permitting delays. The analysis highlights a significant gap between current projections and the 413 GW required by 2030 to align with the UAE consensus for tripling renewable capacity.

The authors report a 71% decline in global shark and ray populations due to overfishing and bycatch, noting that slow reproductive rates hinder recovery. While some U.S. regions like Florida and Hawai’i show signs of recovery, this has led to increased 'depredation'—sharks taking fish from fishers' lines. The authors criticize the SHARKED Act (S. 2314/ H.R. 207) for potentially allowing shark culls as a mitigation strategy and for excluding Indigenous and tribal communities from its task force. They advocate for collaborative, non-lethal strategies, such as reassessing fishing practices and locations, to ensure coexistence between sharks and the fishing industry.

The author argues that as more jurisdictions implement border carbon adjustments (BCAs), the lack of harmonized standards for measuring, reporting, and verifying emissions could create a "trade-restrictive, costly mess." While full harmonization is deemed unrealistic due to differing national economic and political realities, the document proposes "interoperability" as a viable alternative. This approach would involve splitting emissions accounting into discrete modules, harmonizing basic reporting information, and mutually recognizing accredited verifiers. The author suggests that existing forums like the OECD's Inclusive Forum for Carbon Mitigation Approaches and the Climate Club are appropriate venues for this coordination, warning that interoperability will be harder to achieve once multiple regimes are fully operational.

Climate Central analysis of 221 marathons indicates that the probability of optimal, cool race-day temperatures is decreasing due to global warming. For recreational runners in the U.S., the current average chance of optimal temperatures is 27%, and this is projected to decline in 46 of 51 analyzed U.S. marathons by 2045 if high levels of heat-trapping pollution continue. The analysis highlights regional disparities, with the Northwest having the best current odds (55%) and the Southwest the worst (14%). Beyond performance, the document notes that rising heat and humidity increase risks of heat-related illness and that climate-driven air quality issues, such as wildfire smoke, further threaten runner health.

The report finds that 86% of analyzed global marathons will see a decline in the odds of optimal running conditions by 2045. While elite women are more resilient to heat, elite men are most affected, particularly at the Tokyo Marathon, which is projected to see the largest decline in ideal conditions among the Abbott World Marathon Majors. The analysis highlights that the 2025 Tokyo and Berlin Marathons experienced unusual heat made two to three times more likely by climate change. Shifting race start times to sunrise is identified as a potential adaptation to increase the likelihood of optimal temperatures for most runners.

The We Mean Business Coalition and BSR propose five key policy areas—governance, workforce skills, stakeholder engagement, financing, and monitoring—to reduce investment risk and provide the clarity needed for multinational businesses to implement fair and inclusive climate action.

The document outlines five key strategies to make Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects more investable, focusing on risk-sharing through corporate commitments, the use of take-or-pay contracts to attract lenders, and the implementation of robust 'Book and Claim' systems for tracking Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs). It emphasizes the need for cashflow stability for both physical fuel and EACs, and argues that projects delivering higher carbon intensity reductions should be able to capture the value of their innovation through tradability.

The report examines the risks associated with the renewed interest in tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) among global powers. It details three plausible use scenarios—targeting facilities, military forces in the field, or demonstration shots—and models the direct physical effects of a 20-kiloton blast. The authors argue that TNW use would trigger unpredictable international crises, erode the long-standing norm of nuclear non-use, and potentially lead to uncontrolled escalation. The paper recommends reinforcing the non-use norm and implementing risk-reduction measures to prevent the normalization of nuclear warfighting.

The paper examines the conceptual and political challenges of implementing Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement, highlighting diverging interpretations of its scope and the systemic barriers facing developing countries. It proposes a working definition that encompasses all financial flows and integrates equity and national circumstances to support future progress assessments, starting with a framework to be applied in Germany.

The document outlines a strategy to reduce livestock methane emissions, which account for up to 32% of human-caused methane, by focusing on three pillars: animal nutrition, genetics, and health. It emphasizes that increasing animal productivity reduces methane emissions per unit of food and can serve as an entry point for climate action in resistant markets. The brief calls for a 25% increase in productivity growth over historical rates to meet 2050 demand. It advocates for the scaling of breakthrough technologies like vaccines and feed additives, the development of more accurate measurement tools to reduce current error rates of 30–40%, and the implementation of farmer-led adoption strategies supported by innovative finance, such as the $360 million Dairy Interventions for Mitigation and Adaptation initiative in East Africa.

The document argues that well-designed nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) can address the root causes of biodiversity loss and climate vulnerabilities while delivering co-benefits for human well-being and sustainable development. It emphasizes that scaling these solutions requires an enabling policy environment characterized by systematic integration into development and climate strategies, inclusive governance, and long-term financing.

The briefing proposes a dual-metric approach to track methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, noting that a single metric cannot fairly assess the diverse physical and chemical makeups of petroleum resources. It highlights the economic viability of capturing wasted gas and calls for policy-driven demand to incentivize low-methane production.

During the UN General Assembly's 80th anniversary, African leaders challenged the traditional aid model, citing a legitimacy crisis driven by funding cuts and coercive conditionality. The document highlights a strategic shift toward 'aid to trade,' domestic fiscal capacity, and the demand for structural reforms in global governance. Key issues include a $4 trillion annual SDG financing gap, unsustainable debt servicing—with Sub-Saharan African countries spending approximately 12% of budgets on debt—and the failure of developed nations to meet climate finance pledges. Proposed solutions include the creation of a G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts to explore new financing models, the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency, and the use of the UN's Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to improve access to concessional finance.

The author contends that decarbonization is becoming the primary driver of global economic progress, citing the rapid adoption of renewables and electric vehicles in the EU, UK, and China. To remain competitive and diversify trade away from the US, Canada is urged to strengthen industrial carbon pricing, expand clean electricity grids, reduce oil and gas methane emissions, and maintain electric vehicle availability standards.

The document describes first-loss and second-loss capital facilities as mechanisms to absorb initial investment losses to encourage co-investor participation in high-risk climate sectors. It outlines the roles of commercial and concessional stakeholders, the impact on sovereign fiscal space, and the typical timelines for establishing blended funds.