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The document details the energy efficiency trajectories of the U.S. and China, noting that the U.S. has seen a steady decline in energy intensity since 1950, while China experienced significant fluctuations, including a sharp increase between 2000 and 2005 before implementing binding reduction targets. It outlines current targets, such as the U.S. goal of net-zero by 2050 and China's goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, and highlights the history of U.S.-China cooperation through initiatives like the Energy Efficiency Action Plan and the Energy Efficiency Forum.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of the climate and energy landscapes in China and the United States. For China, it highlights a 4.7% increase in CO2 emissions in 2023, the growth of non-fossil fuel power capacity to 53.9% of the total, and the implementation of the 'Carbon Peak' pilot program and the restart of the CCER market. For the United States, it notes a projected 1.9% decrease in emissions for 2023, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the focus on decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. The briefing also details the 'Sunnylands Statement' as a framework for bilateral cooperation on methane and energy transition, while noting tensions regarding trade policies and the potential impact of the 2024 US election.

The document outlines a data-intensive process for local governments to match electricity demand with carbon-free energy resources on an hourly basis. It identifies three essential datasets: hourly load data, hourly grid mix and emissions data, and hourly generation data from additional energy procurements. The guide details four methods for obtaining load data—ranging from actual meter readings to machine learning models—and directs users to resources like the EIA and NREL for grid and emissions information.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides an analysis of global adaptation finance based on the Global Landscape of Climate Finance. It examines the sources, instruments, and sectoral distribution of adaptation funding for 2015-2016, identifies significant data gaps in private and domestic public sector reporting, and offers recommendations to improve tracking methodologies to better align investments with climate vulnerabilities.

The document identifies seven key principles for water adaptation: gender, equity, and social justice; inclusion of Indigenous and local knowledge; participative and bottom-up engagement; access to appropriate technologies; adequate finance; effective water governance; and strong political support. It emphasizes that climate change impacts are primarily experienced through the water cycle, manifesting as more frequent and intense droughts, storms, and flooding, which threaten health, food security, and political stability.

This report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) outlines a strategic pathway for China to achieve deep decarbonization by 2050, focusing on the critical transition period of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025). It argues that adopting a 'Strengthened Ambition Scenario' (SAS) can lead to significant economic and social benefits, including a net social gain of 6.5 trillion yuan in 2050 and the avoidance of 1.89 million premature deaths annually by that year. The report emphasizes the role of key economic regions—the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—in leading the national transition by peaking emissions early.

This working paper, produced by the Agreement on Climate Transformation 2015 (ACT 2015) consortium, proposes a framework for the 2015 Paris Agreement. It suggests a structure based on two long-term goals, three continuous improvement cycles (mitigation, adaptation, and support), and a foundation of transparency and accountability to drive a global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

The African Cities Water Adaptation Fund (ACWA Fund) aims to leverage $5 billion by 2032 to implement urban water resilience projects in 100 African cities. The fund employs a blended finance model—combining grants, concessional loans, equity, and debt—to support the full project lifecycle, from risk-based city water plans to the creation of standardized toolkits for scalable solutions. It focuses on an 'investment menu' of low-cost, replicable solutions such as nature-based solutions for flood and wastewater management, rainwater harvesting, and on-site sanitation.

The ACWA Platform is a pan-African coalition led by WRI and various partners to address projected tripling of water demand and extreme climate risks in African cities by 2050. It operates alongside the ACWA Fund, a blended finance instrument providing grants and investments to transform strategic plans into investment-ready projects. The platform focuses on nine strategic priorities, including prioritizing vulnerable communities and leveraging emerging technology, with a goal to increase water resilience in 100 city-regions by 2032.

The ACWA Platform is a pan-African alliance of 24 organizations and cities launched at COP27 to address water resilience in Africa. It aims to provide 29 million people across 100 cities with improved water services and protection from shocks by 2032. The platform offers a four-level engagement model: widening the discourse through community engagement, providing a resilience toolbox of analysis and planning tools, facilitating a community of practice for knowledge transfer, and operating gamechanger labs for place-based ideation and testing.

The case study argues that forests influence climate stability through biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—beyond the carbon cycle. In Chile, the loss of over 40% of forest cover, particularly the matorral in the central region, has likely contributed to local temperature increases and exacerbated the 'Mega Drought' (2010-2018). The authors propose enhancing Chile's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Long-Term Climate Strategy, and REDD+ frameworks by incorporating non-carbon cooling effects as performance indicators and targets. They also suggest expanding the ARClim risk assessment platform to include deforestation-induced warming to better prioritize adaptation measures in agriculture and public health.

The document argues that forests influence climate not only through carbon sequestration but also through biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—which affect temperature and precipitation. In Chile, the conversion of native vegetation to crops and pastures has been linked to local surface temperature increases of up to 4°C. The authors suggest that Chile can enhance its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Long-Term Climate Strategy, and REDD+ strategies by incorporating these non-carbon effects as performance indicators and adaptation goals. Specifically, they recommend prioritizing native species over exotic plantations to maximize cooling effects and utilizing the ARClim digital platform to identify areas at risk of non-carbon warming.

The report examines the non-carbon biophysical effects of forests—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—and their impact on local and global temperatures and precipitation. Using Chile as a case study, it highlights how deforestation of native vegetation, such as the matorral, has contributed to local surface temperature increases. The document proposes specific policy enhancements for Chile, including adjusting its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to favor native species over exotic plantations, expanding the ARClim risk assessment platform, and incorporating biophysical indicators into the National Strategy for Climate Change and Plant Resources (ENCCRV). It suggests that Chile's approach can serve as a model for other UNFCCC parties to recognize deforestation as a climate hazard beyond carbon emissions.

Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) is presented as a middle ground between waiting for native vegetation to grow and costly tree planting. The strategy aims to reduce implementation costs by 77% and can potentially bring 240 million hectares under restoration worldwide. Implementation involves protecting regenerating plants from fire, fencing off areas, controlling invasive species and insects, and managing cattle. Success requires motivating stakeholders through social and economic benefits and enabling action via rural extension services, sustainable value chains, and political will. The document highlights the restoration of 9.6 million hectares in the Amazon and 794,000 hectares in the Cerrado.

The document is a participant list for a dialogue series focused on aligning COVID-19 economic recovery with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. It lists representatives from international organisations, national governments, research institutes, and non-governmental organisations.

The document argues that the COVID-19 crisis is a critical window to shift from 'snapshot to transition thinking,' urging governments to use stimulus packages to accelerate future technologies like renewable energy while phasing out fossil fuels. It highlights a concerning trend where approximately 30% of global fiscal stimulus is directed toward high-environmental-impact sectors, often without sustainability conditions. The report advocates for a 'One Health' approach to prevent future zoonotic pandemics by protecting biodiversity, and calls for the integration of informal workers and urban poor into city-level recovery planning. Key recommendations include the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, the implementation of 'do no harm' standards for bailouts, and increased financial support and debt restructuring for developing countries to facilitate a just transition.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions, failing to account for biophysical processes—such as evapotranspiration and albedo—that make tropical forests critical for cooling the planet. This omission leads to overly conservative credit valuations for tropical nations and indigenous communities, while potentially overvaluing credits from higher latitudes. The authors suggest integrating these biophysical benefits as premium attributes or CO2 equivalents to ensure a just transition and better incentivize large-scale forest conservation.

The document estimates that agricultural soil carbon management in the United States could remove 100–200 MtCO2 per year by 2050 at a cost of approximately $40 per ton of CO2. It advocates for a hybrid federal policy approach combining financial subsidies, technical assistance, and expanded research and monitoring to overcome farmer risk-aversion and scientific uncertainty.

The document identifies critical infrastructure and policy needs for scaling carbon removal in the United States, including the requirement for low-carbon energy to power direct air capture, the need for independent life-cycle assessments, and the expansion of geologic storage and CO2 pipeline networks. It emphasizes the importance of improving monitoring systems for natural carbon capture and increasing land use efficiency to balance food production with ecosystem restoration.

Direct air capture (DAC) involves scrubbing CO2 from ambient air for underground storage or use in products, requiring low-carbon energy to achieve net carbon removal. The document argues that the U.S. could plausibly remove over 1 gigaton of CO2 by midcentury if commercial deployment begins by 2025 with 20–30 percent annual growth. Achieving this requires a dual policy approach: approximately $150 million in annual public funding for R&D and demonstration over the next decade, and amendments to the 45Q tax credit to incentivize private investment, with estimated tax expenditures rising from $360 million per year by 2025 to $1.3 billion by 2030.