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This guide describes the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), a free, open-source System Dynamics computer model developed by Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC to help policymakers evaluate the effectiveness of climate and energy policies on greenhouse gas emissions, economics, and public health.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute examines China's transition away from financing overseas coal projects following its 2021 pledge. It argues that China possesses a significant comparative advantage in renewable energy due to its dominance in global manufacturing and supply chains, making renewables a more viable and sustainable investment path than natural gas, where China lacks domestic market maturity and technical export capacity.

This briefing by RMI discusses the environmental impact of cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, and outlines the efforts and challenges associated with decarbonizing the industry. It details the transition of Ethereum to a lower-energy mechanism, the development of accounting frameworks for emissions, and the necessity for Bitcoin to move away from proof-of-work mining or utilize additional renewable energy to avoid hindering climate progress.

This report summarizes the first in-person meeting of the Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) Advisory Board, held from November 11 to 13, 2022, in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The meeting focused on co-developing an implementation plan for the SDC, defining its mission and vision, exploring sustainable funding, and strengthening partnerships to enhance the science-policy interface across the Americas.

This policy brief by RMI argues that the lack of universally accepted, machine-readable data standards for carbon accounting hinders the ability of companies to exchange and compare emissions data, thereby slowing decarbonization. The document proposes the creation of an ecosystem based on open standards, open-source collaboration, and industry-wide software support to enable real-time, interoperable carbon tracking acrossSS across supply chains.

This briefing from RMI's Center for Climate-Aligned Finance (CCAF) outlines six key trends expected to influence the climate strategies, implementation, and reporting of financial institutions (FIs) in 2023. These trends include the shift toward short-term transition plans, the political debate surrounding ESG, the growth of renewable energy investment, the need for workforce upskilling, increased regulatory scrutiny of greenwashing, and the move toward using transition-relevant data for portfolio steering.

The research paper 'Toward Multipurpose Trade Policy?' by Nicolas Lamp describes a paradigm shift in international trade, moving from a primary focus on economic efficiency and liberalization toward 'multipurpose trade policy.' This new approach integrates substantive policy objectives—such as climate mitigation, national security, and labor rights—directly into trade policy rather than treating them as externalities. The author outlines the domestic challenges of balancing incommensurable goals and the international implications, including a declining role for multilateral trade law and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This briefing from RMI describes the role of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)—aggregations of distributed energy resources like batteries and electric vehicles—in enhancing grid reliability, affordability, and decarbonization, while outlining priorities to scale the market.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes energy efficiency (EE) mechanisms for electricity-intensive consumers, comparing international experiences from the European Union, USA, China, and other nations with the current policy landscape in Brazil. It identifies direct and indirect benefits of EE, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased industrial competitiveness, and evaluates various regulatory, fiscal, and market-based instruments to provide recommendations for improving Brazil's energy efficiency framework.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes the sustainability of the road freight value chain during a period of disruptive technological change. It identifies three primary 'megatrends'—automation, digitalization, and electrification—that are shifting the industry's environmental and social hotspots from vehicle operation to manufacturing and labor dynamics.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights synthesizes the 2022 activities of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) regarding climate change. It details specific recommendations made to the United States, France, and Cameroon, and discusses the potential for the upcoming General Recommendation No. 37 on the right to health to address environmental racism and climate-related health disparities.

This briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the outcomes of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, focusing on the integration of human rights into climate policies. It highlights a major breakthrough in loss and damage finance while criticizing the failure to address fossil fuel phase-out and the restrictions placed on civil society by the host country.

This white paper by the Climate Bonds Initiative presents a blueprint for a climate resilience classification framework designed to mobilize capital market investment into climate-resilient assets, activities, and entities. It proposes a systematic approach to identify eligible investments based on their 'Substantial Contribution' to resilience while avoiding maladaptation and significant harm to other sustainability goals.

This report examines the state of global forest governance, highlighting the critical link between strong legal frameworks and the ability to curb deforestation. It evaluates progress across protected areas, national policy reforms, industrial logging practices in developed nations, trade regulations, and the legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples' and local communities' land rights.

This document provides the technical annexes for the 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment, detailing the definitions, regional aggregations, and methodologies used to track forest loss, degradation, restoration, and biodiversity. It includes a specific data table comparing 2022 deforestation levels against a 2018-2020 baseline for 30 high-impact countries.

The report 'Boom & Bust Coal 2023' analyzes the global state of coal-fired power plants in 2022, highlighting a stark divergence between China's surge in new capacity and a general decline in coal development elsewhere. While global operational capacity grew by 19.5 GW, the report notes that nearly one-third of global operational capacity (580 GW) is scheduled for phase-out, though the current pace of closures remains insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals.

This report analyzes whether 67 countries integrated climate adaptation and resilience into their COVID-19 recovery measures between January 2020 and December 2021. The analysis reveals a paradox where a country's income level was a more significant determinant of climate-responsive recovery than its actual vulnerability to climate risks.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that Canada is unlikely to be the last country to sell oil due to a combination of declining global demand, price volatility, and higher production costs compared to Middle Eastern competitors. While Canada's heavy reliance on U.S. refineries provides a temporary buffer, the document suggests that ESG credentials will not protect market share and that the sector faces an existential threat as the world moves toward a post-peak oil market around 2030.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the state of the global coal transition in 2022, highlighting a contradiction where coal emissions are poised to break records while retired and canceled coal capacity also hit record levels. The document focuses on the emergence of Coal Transition Mechanisms (CTMs) and Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) as critical financial levers to accelerate the shift from coal to clean energy, particularly in South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The report details the 54th meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Executive Council, held on 15 November 2022 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and via videoconference. The meeting focused on reviewing decisions from the 30th Conference of the Parties (CoP-30), discussing the IAI's core budget, and reviewing scientific and capacity-building activities for the 2022-2023 inter-sessional period.