The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
The Paris Agreement established a Global Stocktake process as a key safeguard mechanism to facilitate enhancement of the NDCs toward meeting the collective goals of the Agreement. This paper examines the questions of what an effective Global Stocktake process would look like, and what information and data are needed to …
From 2024, all countries will face more stringent reporting requirements on their climate action under the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework (ETF). For developing countries — and the least developed countries (LDCs) in particular — it is a big step up from existing arrangements. This paper analyses over 20 years …
There are clear challenges and opportunities for getting climate negotiations on track in 2021. After a lacklustre COP25, the vaunted 2020 ‘super year’ designed to reset the UNFCCC process succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite rolling postponements, the UNFCCC process and climate diplomacy has continued, albeit in dramatically altered …
This report discusses inputs for countries to set their mitigation targets under the Paris Agreement, so that those targets are in line with long-term temperature limit. It reconciles different approaches and suggests closing the disparity of the results from the equity and cost-effectiveness approaches through international support. Further, it analyses …
The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, launched South Africa’s updated draft Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for public consultation during a virtual stakeholder session. The updated draft NDC, the cornerstone of South Africa’s climate change response, was approved by Cabinet on 24 March 2021 to be released for public …
UN Climate Change has published an initial assessment of Nationally Determined Contributions, the NDC Synthesis Report, showing nations must redouble efforts and submit stronger, more ambitious national climate action plans in 2021 if they’re to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise by 2°C—ideally 1.5°C—by the end …
Because of the international community’s delay in cutting carbon emissions, some degree of reliance on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) options is now inevitable to achieve the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal. This report seeks to answer questions regarding implementation of CDR options at scale. Can the sustainability challenges, risks and …
With signing of the Paris Agreement, countries pledged to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to adapt to the impacts of climate change. By scaling up renewable energy, countries can sharply reduce one major source of the problem: energy-related CO2 emissions. Nationally Determined Contributions …
Every country has an important role to play in increasing the ambition of domestic climate action in response to our collective climate crisis. This report looks at the main mechanisms and drivers for the uptake of climate policies beyond just the borders of the country implementing them.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides the framework for a new generation of carbon markets in a context where all countries are supposed to formulate and implement ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) towards a temperature target and ratchet their contribution on a regular basis. Under this new regime, carbon …
Time is running out to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and adapt to the impacts of climate change. While this reality has been widely acknowledged, global ambition is still not strong enough and the pace of action is too slow to achieve the objectives of the …
The world is facing an existential threat. But it is also clear that without equity, ambition is not possible. The ongoing CoP25 must not duck this question any further says Centre for Science and Environment in its new position paper "COP 25: What the world must do" Centre for Science …
Almost three-quarters of the 184 climate pledges made under the Paris Agreement aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions are inadequate to slow climate change, and some of the world's largest emitters will continue to increase emissions, according to a panel of world-class climate scientists. It is these increasing greenhouse emissions …
The 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Madrid, Spain, this December will be a turning point for global action towards the Paris Agreement. COP25 must build on the political momentum generated by the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit held on 23 …
Riven with scientific uncertainty, contending interests, and competing interpretations, the problem of climate change poses an existential challenge. For India, such a challenge is compounded by the immediate concerns of eradicating poverty and accelerating development. Moreover, India has played a relatively limited role thus far in causing the problem. Despite …
The paper formulates 10 points for mitigation ambition and includes recommendations on ways to support ambition raising through international cooperation. All governments have committed to the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement. The findings of IPCC 1.5 Special Report (IPCC 1.5SR) illustrate the climate impacts and risks associated with exceeding …
UN Climate Change launched its Annual Report, highlighting the progress made on tackling climate change in 2018 and the ways in which the international community can raise ambition and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The report covers the key achievements of the UNFCCC intergovernmental process and the activities …
For the past two years, at the invitation of the Argentine and Japanese G20 presidencies, UNDP and WRI have together advised the G20 Climate and Sustainability Working Group on the key role that long-term strategies and NDCs are playing to advance the G20 agenda and address climate change. This paper …
The EU’s global climate leadership is at stake as a new political cycle begins amid increasingly polarised public opinion. Climate-sceptic far right parties are surging in polls ahead of European Parliament elections 23-26 May, while on the streets, activists are demanding emergency measures to prevent climate chaos. In the middle, …
The Katowice Climate Conference has come and gone, and a busy 2019 calendar headlined by the UN Secretary-General’s September climate summit is already in full swing. It’s important to not only look back at the developments of 2018 with a focus on the package of outcomes from COP24 but also …
