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The document advocates for model investment contracts as a tool for governments, particularly in developing countries, to bridge gaps in domestic legislation and ensure balanced, consistent, and sustainable agricultural investments.

IISD recommends that the UK join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, close licensing loopholes, end development consents for new oil and gas fields, and replace the 'maximising economic recovery' objective of the North Sea Transition Authority with a mandate for a managed decline in production.

The document identifies that the 2014 legal framework for EU public procurement has failed to mainstream green purchasing due to fragmented rules, legal uncertainty, and the voluntary nature of green public procurement (GPP). It proposes shifting to mandatory GPP to create market signals for sustainable investment and establishing harmonized data systems to track climate impacts. The brief notes that public procurement constitutes approximately 15% of the EU's GDP and 10% of its greenhouse gas emissions.

The 'Cities in Transition' research argues that meeting emissions targets requires more than transitioning to renewables; it necessitates a reduction in total energy demand through urban planning. Using the city of Winnipeg as a focus, the study employs the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology to show that compact, walkable, and mixed-use infill development reduces emissions and municipal infrastructure costs compared to car-oriented sprawl. The research identifies three primary barriers to this transition: NIMBY opposition to infill, outdated governance models, and the high financial costs associated with urban sprawl.

The report highlights a debt crisis in low-income countries, noting that by 2025 African nations will spend USD 89 billion on debt servicing. It argues that current liquidity-focused relief is insufficient and introduces the Debt for Resilience (D4R) initiative to provide official debt reduction, prevent leakages to private creditors, and prioritize growth-focused policies over austerity to support climate resilience.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development warns that a weakened proposal in the FfD4 Outcome Document regarding the oversight of tax expenditures risks undermining domestic resource mobilization. The author advocates for the reinstatement of commitments to minimum reporting standards—defined by regularity, transparency, and specificity—to help governments identify and reform ineffective or harmful tax incentives. To support this, the document proposes the creation of a Coalition on Tax Expenditures comprising think tanks and academic institutions to provide technical support and research to low- and middle-income countries.

The report assesses climate risks in Belize, specifically around the Maya Forest Corridor and marine reserves, highlighting vulnerabilities to sea level rise and hurricanes. It emphasizes the need for gender-responsive and socially inclusive nature-based solutions to combat biodiversity loss and food insecurity.

The Natur'ELLES project in Senegal addresses fisheries challenges like overfishing and habitat loss by empowering women through data access, education, and leadership training. The project utilizes tools such as the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) analysis tool and a Google Earth Engine Mangrove Mapping app to monitor mangrove health and support nature-based infrastructure. Specific initiatives include 'mangrove platforms' for stakeholder dialogue, literacy classes for women, and a feminist leadership program to increase women's participation in natural resource decision-making, particularly in the Sine Saloum and Casamance deltas.

The report addresses the barrier of investor-state arbitration that prevents governments from implementing ambitious oil and gas phase-out policies. It argues that earlier action reduces both legal risks and the threat to 1.5°C goals, and proposes five guiding principles for policy design to minimize litigation risks.

The report highlights the role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and iTaukei governance in Fiji as cost-effective, sustainable alternatives to grey infrastructure for climate adaptation. TEK provides time-tested strategies for disaster risk reduction, including early warning systems and risk prevention for floods, storms, and wildfires, leveraging the accumulated knowledge of the Indigenous iTaukei people to build community resilience.

G7 countries are on track to miss their 2025 deadline to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, with total subsidies reaching a record USD 282 billion in 2023. The surge was primarily driven by consumer subsidies for natural gas and petroleum to mitigate energy price volatility following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While some members have implemented domestic reforms or joined coalitions like COFFIS and CETP, the author argues that the G7 must now drop the 'inefficient' qualifier, establish national action plans, and prohibit all subsidies to coal and fossil fuel production to align with 1.5°C climate pathways.

The report examines over 100 trade and investment agreements and MOUs to determine if they support sustainable critical mineral supply chains. It highlights a shift toward incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) provisions in new treaties and suggests that exporting countries can use critical minerals as leverage in negotiations to secure concessions and align policies with sustainable governance goals. The analysis specifically focuses on case studies from Indonesia, Chile, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The document introduces a workbook designed to help businesses and policy-makers navigate the compliance landscape of due diligence laws. It maps 12 specific mandatory regulations—including the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the U.S. Lacey Act—against six common themes: risk management, transparency, traceability, accountability, stakeholder engagement, and legality. The analysis is based on the OECD's definition of due diligence, which focuses on identifying and mitigating adverse environmental and social risks in supply chains.

The report provides a comprehensive climate risk profile for Belize, detailing observed and projected climatic changes, their impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods, and vulnerability rankings for specific marine and terrestrial communities. It recommends a suite of nature-based solutions (NbS) and gender-responsive strategies to enhance climate resilience in protected areas.

The document assesses the failures of the 2014 EU Public Procurement Directives, noting that their voluntary nature and legal fragmentation have hindered the mainstreaming of green public procurement (GPP). It highlights that public procurement represents approximately 15% of EU GDP and 10% of its greenhouse gas emissions, presenting a significant opportunity for climate impact. The authors propose three primary reform opportunities: making GPP mandatory to simplify procedures and reduce legal uncertainty, linking 'buy European' initiatives to environmental requirements to boost green competitiveness, and implementing systemic data collection to improve monitoring and accountability.

This guide explains how model contracts—both generic and nationally tailored—can help governments ensure responsible investment in agriculture. It details how these templates can integrate international standards, prevent problematic omissions, flag risky clauses like stabilization provisions, and promote transparency and legal harmonization.

The report provides a comprehensive framework for negotiating international agreements on fossil fuel subsidies (FFS), detailing six key building blocks: objectives, scope, disciplines, carve-outs/exceptions, special and differential treatment (SDT), and enforcement. It analyzes various legal approaches, including those based on the WTO's Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) and the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), and highlights the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) as a primary precedent for specific FFS disciplines.

The document evaluates UNI2 Microcrédito, a Colombian microfinance provider, using the RAI Scoring Tool to determine its compliance with the CFS-RAI principles. While UNI2 is not an agribusiness, the exercise served to refine the tool's indicators and design. UNI2 achieved an overall compliance score of 69%, performing strongest in inclusive and transparent structures (97%) and weakest in environmentally sustainable processes (31%). The study highlights UNI2's role in providing critical credit to rural farmers and micro-entrepreneurs, particularly through its CARGA vehicle financing line, while identifying gaps in its environmental risk management and social empowerment programs.

The report argues that low-income countries face a systemic balance of payments crisis rather than a simple liquidity or solvency problem, driven by a rise in expensive, short-maturity non-guaranteed private debt and reversed capital flows. It proposes the Debt for Resilience (D4R) initiative, which would provide a standardized 50% reduction in the net present value (NPV) of official bilateral and multilateral debt for IDA-eligible countries. Participation would be contingent on an active IMF program and the development of nationally determined growth plans supported by the United Nations and World Bank to avoid austerity. The report also evaluates existing proposals like the Bridge Initiative and the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR), arguing they rely on a flawed binary between liquidity and solvency and fail to account for the heterogeneity of countries' credit compositions.

The report argues that while phasing out oil and gas is essential to meet the 1.5C Paris Agreement goals, the threat of investor-state arbitration often creates a 'regulatory chill' that discourages ambitious climate action. It identifies that legal risks increase as a project progresses through its life cycle, with the highest risks associated with targeting the production phase. To mitigate these risks, the authors propose five principles: stopping the issuance of new licenses, managing investor expectations through long-term frameworks and early notice, grounding policies in legislation and scientific evidence, leveraging existing environmental regulations, and ensuring consistent application across all investors. The report specifically suggests that governments should prioritize a managed phase-out with clear end dates and consider an internationally legally binding instrument to harmonize production deadlines and exclude arbitration rights for fossil fuel investors.