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This report analyzes the role of risk mitigation and transfer instruments in utility-scale renewable energy investments across East Africa, utilizing six case studies from Burundi, Djibouti, Uganda, and Kenya to identify how these tools facilitate the transition from project development to financial close.

The paper evaluates a two-year knowledge co-production process in Malmö focused on urban heat vulnerability, finding that collaborative efforts can reproduce power imbalances and sideline certain perspectives. Applying the lens of epistemic injustice, the authors identify seven unintended consequences, including territorial stigmatization and token participation, and argue that adaptation projects must be treated as political and moral undertakings rather than purely technical exercises.

The report examines the growth of the bioeconomy and the deployment of biobased technologies—including bioenergy, bioplastics, and sustainable land use—as a means to reduce emissions and build climate resilience. It highlights the potential for these technologies to operate locally and inclusively, leveraging regional resources and indigenous knowledge to support a low-carbon transition.

The report defines intergenerational justice as an ethical obligation to balance present needs with the needs of future generations, incorporating distributive, procedural, and recognitional dimensions. It highlights that youth view themselves as current stakeholders and proxies for the future, provided they have meaningful participation and institutional support. The document identifies a broad range of youth concerns, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and mental health, and argues for integrated solutions over single-issue fixes. It examines various European participatory mechanisms, such as Youth Councils and participatory budgeting, and recommends strengthening these through improved accountability, diversity, and intergenerational dialogue.

The document argues that forests are essential 'natural insurance' against climate change, yet they remain underfunded, receiving only 4% of international climate finance. The author calls for tropical countries to prioritize zero deforestation and for high-income nations to transform consumption patterns and supply chains. The text advocates for a sustainable bioeconomy and binding accountability mechanisms, citing the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) as a potential starting point for paying for standing forests.

The report argues that forests and trees are essential allies to agriculture, providing critical regulation of climate, water, and ecosystem functions. It challenges the perception of forests and agriculture as competing land uses, demonstrating that synergies between the two are vital for sustainable agrifood system transformation and the support of crops and rural workers.

The study assesses the vulnerability of the Boyacá-Santander region to climate change, projecting temperature increases between 1.3°C and 2.4°C by 2040-2070. It identifies significant risks to surface and groundwater availability, particularly in the northeast, and uses econometric modeling to project negative impacts on agricultural production, municipal value added, and social indicators such as multidimensional poverty and education. The authors recommend diversifying climate finance, improving intersectoral coordination, and implementing specific hydrogeological interventions like artificial aquifer recharge in the Middle Magdalena Valley.

The report examines how activists and civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean use climate litigation to block fossil fuel expansion and promote policies aligned with the Paris Agreement. It highlights a predominantly rights-based approach, emphasizing the right to a healthy environment and the protection of Indigenous communities. The analysis identifies significant institutional barriers in the region, including high litigation costs, structural violence against environmental defenders, and a lack of specialized judicial training. While the region leads the Global South in climate litigation volume, it lags behind the Global North in lawsuits targeting private corporations directly. The document also warns of 'backlash' through investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, where companies use international arbitration to challenge decarbonization policies.

The report identifies 27 factors across four themes—EU internal dynamics, expected effects of enlargement, attitudes/norms/perceptions, and external factors—that influence EU accession decisions. It argues that while the process is formally merit-based, EU actors exercise significant discretion, with normative factors dominating early candidacy and economic or political interests predominating during later negotiations. The analysis highlights how these factors varied across the 'Big Bang' (2004), 'Coda' (2007), and Croatia (2013) rounds, and provides forecasts for the 'Trio' of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.

The report examines the role of risk mitigation and transfer (RMT) instruments in supporting utility-scale wind and solar projects in East Africa. Through six case studies, it finds that while RMT tools—such as political risk insurance, guarantees, and blended finance—are essential for reaching financial close, risks remain high due to macroeconomic instability, currency volatility, and utility financial strain. The analysis highlights a 'start-stop cycle' in countries like Kenya, where rapid deployment led to overcapacity and subsequent government moratoriums on new contracts. Conversely, the GET FiT program in Uganda is presented as a successful model of systematic de-risking through transparent procurement and institutional support.

The report analyzes methane emissions in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Costa Rica, comparing their national frameworks with EU regulations. It identifies significant emission sources—primarily oil and gas operations in energy, landfills in waste, and enteric fermentation in agriculture—and highlights a general lack of binding methane-specific targets and granular monitoring (MRV) in the LAC region. The document recommends aligning LAC policies with EU benchmarks and the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0) to enhance transparency, attract climate finance, and improve international market access.

The research investigates the 'soft securitization' of offshore wind energy in Sweden, finding a disconnect between the European Union's framing of wind energy as a security imperative and Sweden's technical planning approach, while noting that national defence actors exert significant non-transparent influence over outcomes.

The report argues that the shift toward locally led anticipatory action is constrained more by political factors and donor risk tolerance than by technical capacity. It identifies five core challenges: centralized design and decision-making, a lack of devolved funding and trust, a 'burden of proof' regarding evidence, the privileging of formal science over local and Indigenous knowledge, and persistent institutional hierarchies. The document suggests that for the IFRC to scale these actions beyond 2025, it must reconcile the need for global standardization with local autonomy and reform financing and governance to empower local actors.

Belarus's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2026–2035 sets an unconditional target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 42% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels (including LULUCF), and a conditional target of 47% contingent on international support and the removal of sanctions. The energy sector is the primary emission source, while forests and peatlands are key carbon sinks. The plan integrates gender equality and youth education into its climate strategy.

The authors propose a new paradigm of "strategic resilience" to help governments navigate polycrises and transboundary climate risks. This approach emphasizes building the capacity to recover from complex shocks while pursuing strategic national objectives, suggesting a "third way" that avoids both strictly territorial adaptation and the securitization of adaptation driven by defense logics. The authors argue for new governance structures or institutions capable of orchestrating national coordination and steering finance and policy.

The study examines the adoption of solar drying technologies to reduce mango post-harvest losses in Mozambique's Inhambane Province, finding that while these technologies can improve food security and livelihoods, adoption is hindered by high costs, lack of technical knowledge, and poor market access.

The document argues that Colombia's previous renewable energy auctions, which focused exclusively on price, led to social conflicts and project cancellations, particularly in La Guajira. It proposes a new framework incorporating non-price criteria—such as local employment, community benefit-sharing, and gender perspectives—into qualification and award processes. Additionally, it suggests creating a dedicated support agency and a 'joining process' (proceso de adhesión) to enable small-scale community energy projects (up to 5 MW) to access the market without competing directly with large developers.

The document describes a project running from November 2025 to December 2026 aimed at helping Nigerian transport-related businesses transition to low-carbon operations. It highlights that the transport sector accounts for over 25% of Nigeria's GHG emissions and identifies significant barriers for SMEs in accessing climate finance. The initiative provides training, technical guidance for bankable projects, and support for carbon market engagement to improve business competitiveness and public health.

The document highlights the risks of planning water and energy sectors in isolation, particularly as climate change increases water stress and impacts hydropower. It proposes the combined use of the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) and Water Evaluation and Adaptation Planning (WEAP) tools, alongside macroeconomic modelling, to identify trade-offs and synergies. Case studies in Rwanda and Central Asia illustrate how this integrated approach can prevent GDP losses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The brief further suggests that such integration helps countries align their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to optimize limited climate finance.

The document argues that while the IFRC has expanded anticipatory action, progress toward local leadership is hindered more by political factors and donor risk-aversion than by technical capacity. It identifies structural trade-offs between the need for global standardization and local autonomy, noting that funding and decision-making remain overly centralized. The briefing recommends a shift toward multi-year, flexible funding, the integration of Indigenous knowledge, and a reimagined operating model that places National Societies at the center of design and governance.