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The briefing evaluates 16 countries against 1.5°C-aligned power sector benchmarks, finding that no assessed country is fully on track. It argues for a global phase-out of coal and fossil gas by 2040, noting that while some countries are making progress on coal, there is a critical lack of explicit fossil gas phase-out plans and insufficient renewable energy acceleration globally.

The analysis finds that most net-zero portfolio commitments by large asset managers are unlikely to achieve global net-zero emissions by mid-century and often do not signal a shift toward serious climate action. The report highlights that intensity-based sectoral targets and absolute targets without re-baselining are ineffective for driving a low-carbon transition, while short-term investor focus hinders collective action. It recommends that financial institutions, particularly universal owners, shift focus toward systematically supporting the transition of economic actors to sustainable business models and calls for more stringent oversight to prevent greenwashing.

The briefing asserts that current Nationally Determined Contributions are collectively insufficient to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals, necessitating that the Global Stocktake provide clear, sector-specific mitigation actions and targets. It proposes a comprehensive list of actions—including phasing out fossil fuels and subsidies, boosting renewables, and decarbonizing industry—to inform the 2030 and 2035 time horizons. The author suggests these outputs be integrated into the CMA cover decision or technical annexes and provide a structured guidance framework for Parties to update their NDCs with achievable targets aligned with IPCC emission reduction goals.

The document assesses the role of non-state actors (NSAs) in climate action, highlighting the risk of greenwashing and the need for improved accountability. It recommends streamlining reporting to align NSA data with national governments, expanding the Global Stocktake's tracking parameters to include contextual data beyond emissions, and adapting progress tracking to account for local complexities and tangible outcomes.

Urban areas face significant financing gaps for climate action due to limited local government borrowing powers and a lack of bankable projects. To address this, the document advocates for the creation of a city climate finance roadmap based on a robust climate action plan. This roadmap should include a pipeline of bankable projects with clear costs and benefits, identified funding sources, and strategies to leverage public and private finance through stakeholder engagement and alignment with national goals.

The assessment of 17 G20 long-term strategies reveals that while most members have set net zero targets—predominantly for 2050—there is a significant lack of quantitative detail regarding climate finance and specific renewable energy targets. Most strategies prioritise decarbonisation in power, buildings, agriculture, industry, and transport, with hydrogen viewed as a key opportunity. France is the only member committing to phase out fossil gas and oil exploration on its own territory, and the UK is the only one including international aviation and shipping in its net zero target. To reach net zero, G20 countries aim to reduce 2019 emissions by an average of 72-81% by 2050, relying on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for residual emissions.

The study finds that Germany's transport sector remains on a trajectory consistent with approximately 3°C of global warming, despite new measures such as EU emission standards for vehicles and changes to truck tolls.

The report highlights that AFOLU emissions account for 46% of total emissions in Latin America, primarily due to livestock and commodity agriculture. It argues that while significant investment enters the region, very little is directed toward sustainable alternatives. The document advocates for redirecting foreign capital and public support toward innovative solutions such as alternative proteins and biochar to meet climate and development goals.

The document defines 'high-hanging fruit' as decarbonisation measures that are inaccessible to host governments due to extraordinary costs or insurmountable barriers. It argues that these projects are essential for enhancing overall climate ambition and proposes a shift in how voluntary climate finance and carbon crediting mechanisms identify and fund them. The author suggests redefining 'additionality' to include project inaccessibility, introducing specific labels for such projects, establishing dedicated funds for climate contributions, and calling for leadership from corporations and intermediaries to develop a project pipeline.

The research finds that while state and regional governments possess significant hard powers—particularly in federal systems and within the agriculture, buildings, and transport sectors—their ability to act is primarily hindered by a lack of human capacity, followed by financial and informational constraints.

The NewClimate Institute introduces the concept of climate contributions as a financial commitment to support global climate action without claiming to offset or neutralise a company's own emissions. This approach is presented as a necessary alternative to traditional carbon offsetting, which the authors argue can undermine decarbonisation progress.

The document highlights that national budgets in developing and emerging economies are insufficient for deep emission reductions due to high debt distress. It asserts that developed countries must lead by providing finance, technology, and knowledge transfer under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR). The paper introduces nine exploratory principles to scale ambition and facilitate just transitions, recommending a bottom-up approach to articulating finance needs rooted in national priorities and the development of shared goals for international climate finance.

The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) finds that while the EU is generally moving in the right direction toward its 2050 climate neutrality goal, the pace of change is too slow across most sectors. Governance is the only building block currently assessed as 'on track', while finance and carbon dioxide removals are moving in the 'wrong direction'. Significant gaps exist in the agricultural sector, where policies have supported intensive animal agriculture, and in external action, where the EU's 'climate bank' continues to finance fossil fuels abroad.

The Net Zero Stocktake 2023 analyzes net zero pledges across over 4,000 entities, finding that while the number of corporate targets is growing rapidly and national targets are increasingly underpinned by policy, many subnational and corporate entities still lack emission reduction targets or robust strategies, and no major producer has committed to a fossil fuel phase-out.

The research finds that a higher number of climate policies is associated with lower projected emission change rates up to 2030, a result that remains robust when controlling for GDP, historical emissions, and the rule of law. The study identifies specific policy gaps based on emission trends: countries with fast-increasing emissions lack policies in energy-demand sectors like buildings and transport, while those with stalling emissions lack cross-sectoral climate strategies. Across all groups failing to reduce emissions, there is a notable deficiency in policies targeting the reduction of energy and material demand.

The Climate Action Tracker finds that the world's largest fossil fuel producers have not committed to ending new investments in oil and gas, and many governments continue to provide fossil fuel subsidies. The briefing argues that COP28 must prioritize a phase-out of oil and gas production and set an ambitious global renewable energy target exceeding 1 TW of added capacity per year, while avoiding distractions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and co-firing technologies.

The EU aims to mainstream climate into all foreign policy channels via the European Green Deal, but faces challenges in translating announcements into action. The report recommends that the EU solidify its credibility by avoiding misaligned gas infrastructure investments, institutionalising climate mainstreaming across all foreign policy decision-making, shifting from a technical to a geopolitical approach to climate diplomacy, and strengthening the 'Team Europe' approach to improve coordination between EU institutions and Member States.

The study finds that current climate policy in the German transport sector is consistent with a global temperature increase of approximately 3°C, significantly exceeding the 1.5°C target. Using a CO2 budget approach, the analysis reveals that the transport sector is the worst-performing sector in Germany, projected to consume nearly double its allocated 1.5°C budget between 2016 and 2030, with an excess of 840 to 1000 MtCO2eq.

The report evaluates three approaches to determining Belgium's fair share of the global carbon budget. Under a 'grandfathering' approach based on 2020 emissions, Belgium would need a 61.0% reduction by 2030. A population-based distribution would require an 81.5% reduction by 2030. However, the report concludes that when accounting for historical responsibility and capability, Belgium has already used its fair share of carbon space and would need to reach emissions below zero by 2030 to be unambiguously fair.

The NewClimate Institute argues that Germany's planned LNG terminal expansion exceeds necessary reserve buffers and threatens the country's climate targets. The report suggests that current floating terminals are sufficient for energy security, while further onshore expansion risks creating stranded assets and fossil fuel lock-ins. It criticizes the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Energy Economics Institute (EWI) for underestimating technical capacities in their analyses and for assumptions that conflict with the legally binding Climate Action Act.