COP26 Briefings

This briefing examines post-Paris Agreement 2015 legal mobilisation, discussing the who, why, how and what for of this new wave of activity.

This briefing outlines how responsible policies for transitioning to a zero-carbon economy can address the climate crisis and offer co-benefits for addressing the other challenges.

This briefing connects the structural disadvantage experienced by many young people in low- and middle-income countries, to the upheaval, uncertainty and stress caused by climate change.

Calls for urban climate action are happening simultaneously with unprecedented rates of urbanisation. Urban climate action is required to avoid carbon lock-in in rapidly growing areas that demand new infrastructures. At the same time, rapid urban growth is associated with the growth of informal settlements, in which urban communities may lack basic services. Urban climate action must deliver infrastructures that build resilience while allowing every citizen to thrive.

This briefing explores the ways in which nature-based solutions may contribute to a green economy, and also identifies some of the challenges and contestations when it comes to enacting a green economy through nature-based approaches.

To promote their wider uptake and unleash their full potentials require valuing inclusion and diversity that underlie the concept of NbS and embracing uncertainty that is inherent to nature. Whilst NbS are unquestionably an important and powerful ally, they are not a panacea that can tackle the pressing climate, biodiversity and wider sustainability challenges alone. With humanity at a critical juncture, where climate and biodiversity predictions grow more dire, every action that can make a difference need to be taken.

Just urban adaptation requires recognising the multiple ways in which climate change shapes cities, through its impacts but also through human responses to it.

The objective of this briefing is to characterise this urban climate investment challenge across multiple dimensions, survey financial pathways emerging today and consider future directions.

In the coming decades, 90% of urbanisation will take place in the developing world. It is estimated that in 2030, 40% of the world population will live in informal settlements, needing access to adequate housing and energy infrastructure. Energy transition is an opportunity to rethink the city and to include previously unacknowledged groups, such as informal settlement dwellers, in decision-making.

This briefing aims to shed light on the role that human rights bodies currently play in climate litigation. It illustrates the different features of climate complaints brought before national and international human rights bodies so far, developing a typology of such complaints. Drawing on this analysis, the briefing also identifies and summarises some of the principal obstacles that stand in the way of human rights bodies addressing climate change. It concludes with some brief reflections and recommendations on the potential future contribution of these bodies.

To unpack the transformative potential of NbS, this brief synthesises the current state of knowledge surrounding nature-based solutions. It maps the overall landscape of NbS, including the challenges which NbS can address, the policy frameworks which drive NbS approaches, and the enabling conditions which support NbS implementation. Accordingly, it aims to answer the following questions:

Which issues do NbS address and where?
Who is driving forward the NbS agenda?
Why are some NbS becoming more successful and emblematic than others?
How can the evidence base be strengthened to promote upscaling of NbS?