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This report analyzes the energy transition in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, highlighting the state's struggle to meet renewable energy targets despite its significant role in India's total power demand. The authors argue that UP's heavy reliance on coal-fired power creates financial and operational vulnerabilities, and they propose reforms for the state's distribution companies (Discoms) to facilitate a shift toward solar and biomass energy.

This case study examines the risks and impacts of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, highlighting the transboundary nature of these disasters and the need for regional cooperation in disaster risk reduction.

This briefing by RMI discusses the role of non-state actors in narrowing the 'ambition gap' between current global emissions trajectories and the 1.5°C goal. It argues that while national pledges are currently insufficient, 'ambition loops'—cycles of leadership and followership among businesses, investors, and cities—can accelerate the adoption of climate solutions through collective action and positive feedback mechanisms.

This policy brief examines the development and implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a legally binding global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from mercury emissions and releases. It details the transition from regional marine protections to a comprehensive global framework, the specific challenges posed by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), and the reasons why mercury was addressed separately from other toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium.

This briefing by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the impact of China's pledge to stop building new coal-fired power projects abroad on the Asian energy pipeline. It argues that Chinese withdrawal, combined with similar pledges from Japan and South Korea, could reduce the pre-construction coal pipeline in Asia (excluding China and India) to 22 GW, most of which is unlikely to be completed due to financing obstacles.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) identifies perceived knowledge gaps and barriers hindering the adoption of 'gridless' (decentralized) water, sanitation, and energy services. Based on workshops with 48 global stakeholders, the report argues that project failures often stem from socio-technical and systemic issues—such as regulatory mismatches, lack of user-centric design, and unsustainable business models—rather than technical performance.

A statement by research organizations tracking global recovery spending calling for the redirection of COVID-19 stimulus away from carbon-intensive activities toward nature- and climate-positive investments to align with the 1.5°C temperature limit of the Paris Agreement.

This briefing argues that African governments should avoid a zero-sum approach to the geopolitical rivalry between the US and China, instead leveraging this competition to secure more resources and better trade agreements. The author suggests that by playing rivals against each other and implementing embedded domestic strategic plans, African nations can increase their agency and align foreign investment with national development priorities.

The Life After Coal campaign, consisting of groundWork, Earthlife Africa, and the Centre for Environmental Rights, issued a statement calling on South Africa to meet the lower bound of its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target range by accelerating the coal phase-out and renewable energy expansion. The campaign urges the South African government to lead developing nations at COP26 in demanding increased financial support from wealthy nations for adaptation and loss and damage.

This report by Ember, E3G, and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) analyzes the global pipeline of proposed coal power plants as of July 2021. It identifies economies that have already committed to no new coal, those that could readily do so because they have no active pipeline, and those that still have projects proposed, with a particular focus on the role of Chinese financing and the impact of the Paris Agreement.

This executive summary of the 2021 NYDF Progress Assessment report evaluates government efforts to utilize forests for climate mitigation, focusing on the ambition of climate pledges, investment levels, and implementation strategies. While it notes that the Paris Agreement has confirmed the pivotal role of forests, the report finds that current national targets and financial investments are significantly insufficient to meet the global mitigation potential of forests.

This executive summary evaluates the progress of Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which aimed to agree by 2015 to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation as part of global climate agreements. While the goal is considered achieved through the Paris Agreement, the report finds that national commitments and investments remain insufficient to halt global forest loss.

This report by the World Resources Institute outlines the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) and community lands in climate change mitigation. It argues that while community lands cover approximately half of the world's land and provide immense ecosystem services and carbon sequestration, they are often legally unrecognized and underfunded. The document provides evidence that secure land tenure leads to lower deforestation rates and proposes six strategic steps to better integrate community land management into global climate action.

This report, commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), examines how just transition policies can address employment and social justice challenges in developing countries and emerging economies during the shift to an ecologically sustainable economy.

The UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), held on 24 September 2021, convened over 130 global leaders to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) and the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. The event resulted in the first-ever global roadmap for SDG7 and the announcement of over 160 Energy Compacts, which committed more than USD 400 billion in new finance and investment to combat energy poverty and decarbonize energy systems.

This fact sheet provides a summary of the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge as of May 24, 2022, listing the financial commitments and geographic focus of 43 participating companies.

The outcome document of the South Asia Regional Resilience Dialogue outlines strategies to foster climate adaptation and resilience in South Asia, emphasizing the need to reposition local actors as agents of change. It highlights successful community-driven initiatives, identifies systemic barriers such as top-down governance and financial inflexibility, and provides recommendations for inclusive planning and decentralized financing to support the most vulnerable populations.

This research paper evaluates 168 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement against international environmental law. It finds that some countries use unjustified indicators (like cost or emissions per GDP) to set targets. The author argues that to meet temperature goals, developed states must be net-negative by 2030, and among the G20, only India and Indonesia have justification for temporary emission increases relative to 2010.

This statement from the Stockholm Environment Institute argues that climate change adaptation must be treated as a global, transboundary ambition rather than a local matter, while emphasizing that adaptation cannot replace the urgent need for emissions mitigation.

This commentary by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that nature-based infrastructure (NBI) can be a powerful tool for women's empowerment and climate adaptation. It highlights how women, particularly in the Global South, are disproportionately affected by climate change due to their reliance on natural resources and systemic barriers to resource control. The document advocates for gender-responsive NBI projects and valuations to ensure equitable benefits and leadership roles for women.