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The study finds that Sweden experienced faster green bond growth than Norway, particularly in the corporate and municipal sectors, due to a stronger sustainability focus in business culture and a more diversified corporate sector. In contrast, Norway's market was hindered by competition from oil, gas, and shipping investments, a green energy sector that viewed green bonds as unnecessary, and small municipal sizes.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines strategies for enhancing community-based conservation in the Chindwin River Basin of Myanmar to combat habitat loss and species decline caused by economic development and climate change.

The document outlines a project exploring the 'ripple effects' of deploying distance health and social care solutions. It specifically examines potential climate benefits from reduced transport and uses the SDG Synergies tool to identify conflicts and synergies with the UN Agenda 2030 goals, arguing that systematic, collaborative examination of these interactions improves policy effectiveness.

The document describes the use of a WEAP model and a 36-year remote sensing dataset (1984–2020) to analyze bofedales wetlands in Bolivia's Katari watershed. It identifies that while glacier retreat in the Cordillera Real is evident, bofedales currently show a greening trend potentially due to increased meltwater and higher temperatures, though long-term decline is expected as aquifer recharge drops. The study also notes that human activities, including overgrazing and mining-related groundwater extraction, are deteriorating wetland health.

Togo's revised NDCs aim for a total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 50.57% by 2030 compared to a reference scenario, consisting of a 20.51% unconditional target and a 30.06% conditional target. The plan prioritizes the energy, agriculture, forestry, and waste sectors for mitigation, while focusing on food security, water management, and coastal protection for adaptation. Implementing these goals requires an estimated total investment of 5.48 billion USD, with 78% of the funding needed as international conditional support. The document also outlines a national Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system and a communication strategy to increase public awareness and local ownership of climate actions.

Based on a quantitative mapping of OECD data from 2014 to 2018, the document identifies five primary failures in climate adaptation finance for Africa: insufficient funding levels compared to mitigation and actual needs, a lack of strategic targeting toward the most vulnerable countries, over-concentration in agriculture and water sectors, low disbursement rates of committed funds, and an over-reliance on loans rather than grants.

The document examines the opportunities and barriers to moving UNFCCC climate negotiations online. While digital tools could disrupt outdated and opaque practices, the transition is hindered by a lack of trust among Parties and concerns that virtual formats might exacerbate structural inequities or reduce transparency for media and NGOs. The author recommends the creation of a taskforce to design future session formats and calls for leadership from the UN Secretary-General and the UNFCCC Secretariat to modernize multilateral diplomacy.

The manual details a seven-step methodology for Rapid Village Assessments (RVAs) in the Upper Chindwin River region to support the 'Community-based integrated catchment management for conserving the Upper Chindwin River' project. The process involves collecting contextual data, village profiles, sketch mapping, and assessing ecosystem services using the RAWES toolkit. It also includes identifying threats based on Ramsar typologies and conducting rapid surveys for reptiles and birds. The ultimate goal is to short-list priority wetlands for community management and feed data into Community Action Plans (CAP) for sustainable agricultural, mining, and water management practices.

The report examines bio-waste (kitchen and garden waste) and textile waste in Tallinn, noting a general increase in generation. It highlights that while kitchen waste collection is improving, garden waste collection has declined. It recommends expanding mandatory bio-waste bins, improving waste purity through EN 13432 standard bags, and strengthening the reuse system for textiles while calling for national-level solutions for textile recycling.

The briefing outlines six insights for investors to drive net-zero transitions in the oil and gas, agricultural commodities, steel, and cement sectors. It emphasizes that while divestment is a common strategy, coordinated engagement to prevent new investments in polluting assets, promote sector-wide transitions, and influence value chains is more likely to achieve real-economy emission reductions. The authors suggest that investors should push for concrete actions, such as carbon capture projects in cement or production decreases in oil and gas, rather than relying solely on general emission trajectories.

The document argues that progress on loss and damage (L&D) finance has been stalled by disagreements over liability and compensation. It proposes a near-term 'solidarity-based' approach to unlock funding without requiring strict legal liability, while advocating for the eventual creation of a formal L&D mechanism within the UNFCCC. The authors emphasize that L&D finance must be additional to mitigation and adaptation funding and should be distributed based on a needs-based approach prioritizing the most vulnerable populations.

The Chindwin River Basin in northwest Myanmar is a highly biodiverse region facing habitat loss and species decline due to economic development and climate change. The document argues that conservation success depends on community buy-in and recommends a community-based natural resource management approach. It evaluates three conservation models—National Parks, Ramsar Wetlands, and Biosphere Reserves—noting that Biosphere Reserves are the most inclusive. While Myanmar has legal frameworks like the Conservation of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law of 2018, implementation is hindered by poor governance, lack of funding, and a failure to recognize customary land rights. The brief recommends enhancing coordination between government levels, prioritizing biodiversity for livelihood enhancement, and formally recognizing customary resource rights.

The report examines four high-emitting sectors—steel, cement, agriculture, and oil and gas—concluding that none have seriously initiated the disruptive changes required to align with the Paris Agreement. It emphasizes that while long-term transitions will take decades due to investment cycles and systemic complexity, immediate action is required to avoid locking in polluting assets. The authors argue that investors can drive impact through active engagement with value chains and by pressuring companies to commit to fundamental business model shifts rather than simple portfolio reallocation.

The document analyzes how socio-economic vulnerabilities—including gender, age, disability, and minority status—increase the risk and impact of climate-related hazards in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It highlights that disadvantaged groups are more likely to live in hazard-prone areas and lack the resources to adapt. The brief argues for inclusive policymaking and warns that both adaptation and mitigation strategies can lead to 'maladaptation' or detrimental socio-economic effects if not carefully designed to protect the most vulnerable populations.

The report analyzes how multidimensional inequality and poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) intersect with environmental risks and policy. It finds that marginalized groups—including Roma communities, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities—face disproportionate exposure to pollution and hazards, while social norms limit their access to natural resources. The document argues that environmental policies can either exacerbate these inequalities (e.g., through energy taxes) or mitigate them (e.g., through energy efficiency in social housing). It recommends collecting disaggregated data, increasing the representation of disadvantaged groups in decision-making, and implementing gender-responsive budgeting to ensure a more inclusive and effective environmental strategy.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute explores how digital health and social care tools, such as Virtual Health Rooms (VHRs), can reduce carbon emissions and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using a case study of Storuman municipality in Sweden, the report estimates that VHRs can save approximately 31 tons of CO2 annually by reducing patient travel. It also details a co-production workshop that identified synergies between distance health solutions and SDGs related to health, climate action, responsible consumption, and public-private partnerships, advocating for a systemic, evidence-based approach to policy implementation to maximize benefits and mitigate trade-offs.

The report assesses the progress of SDG localization across 28 global case studies, highlighting a significant gap between high-level commitment and practical local implementation. Key findings indicate that while some 'SDG champions' like New York City lead in data analysis and engagement, many regions struggle with weak institutional governance, a lack of systematic analysis of SDG interlinkages (synergies and trade-offs), and limited financial resources. The COVID-19 pandemic is noted as a major setback that reallocated budgets toward healthcare, though it also created opportunities for green recovery. The study emphasizes the need for better evidence-based local data, increased participation of local actors in international forums, and the use of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) to enhance accountability.

The document outlines a methodological plan to evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation finance in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically focusing on projects funded by multilateral climate funds and bilateral donors from the UK and Sweden. It proposes a theory of change to link financial inputs and project design to outcomes such as reduced climate risk and vulnerability. The protocol details a multi-pronged search strategy across academic and grey literature, and a synthesis approach combining meta-analysis, framework synthesis, and qualitative comparative analysis. However, the authors note that funding for the review was discontinued in March 2021, and the review will not be completed as described.

The research finds that social impacts are rarely considered in studies of circular cities, and when they are, the focus is limited primarily to governance and employment, particularly regarding informal sector workers. The authors argue that the lack of a coherent overview of social consequences hinders effective policy decision-making and that further research is required to understand effects on health, culture, and human aspirations.

The research finds that climate adaptation finance for Africa is significantly lower than mitigation finance and the actual investment needs of the region. Between 2014 and 2018, adaptation finance was dominated by loans over grants, heavily concentrated in only two sectors, and suffered from low disbursement rates compared to general development finance.