Scaling up climate action in South Africa

This report examines how the Caribbean can operationalise the Global Stocktake's (GST) “energy package” within its structural constraints. It assesses current transition targets, proposes guidance, and establishes benchmarks to support the global objective of limiting warming to 1.5°C – including country deepdives for Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago.

This briefing explores how the European Union’s new rules for imported oil, gas, and coal could drive methane emissions cuts far beyond its borders – and how, if other major importers follow, they could help close more than 40% of the gap to a 1.5°C-consistent methane pathway.

New peer-reviewed papers highlights that adaptation to heat waves in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, relies largely on reactive behavioural responses – such as modifying activity schedules, increasing water consumption, or using outdoor spaces for sleeping – rather than structural strategies. Adaptive capacity is heavily constrained by socioeconomic inequalities.

The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) proposed Net Zero Framework (NZF) offers a critical pathway for reducing emissions in international shipping and aligning the sector with global climate goals. This Climate Action Tracker briefing examines the potential temperature warming implications of the NZF, comparied with a business-as-usual scenario.

New peer-reviewed study examines the effectiveness of nature-based adaptation solutions to combat heat stress and high temperatures in Lisbon and Islamabad. Local stakeholders were involved in the design of the urban nature-based solutions, which were found to offer localised respite from heat stress by up to 40% during the day, mainly by providing shading from direct sunlight and by reducing land surface temperatures.

Report finds that heat extremes are projected to rise significantly across German cities this century, with levels strongly determined by global climate change mitigation efforts. The report highlights on seven urban areas: Berlin, Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt a. M.), Cologne, Düsseldorf, Munich, Leipzig, and Hamburg.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has just released its gas projections for Western Australia, the results of which highlight the absence of climate policies in the state.

Carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems, such as mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows (blue carbon) is viewed as a potential bridge between mitigation, adaptation, and climate finance. However, as this brief explores, the viability of blue carbon as a mitigation option is questionable due to the fragility of these systems and the use of blue carbon as offsets counterproductive.