Library | ESG issues
Public Policy
Public policy refers to the actions and decisions taken by governments to address societal issues through laws, regulations, and funding priorities. It shapes the business environment by influencing regulatory requirements, market conditions, and corporate responsibilities. Policies related to taxation, labour laws, environmental regulations, and trade agreements can impact business operations, costs, and investment strategies.
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Untapped potential: Asset owners and climate policy influence
Assesses major asset owners’ influence on climate policy, finding limited stewardship and advocacy despite significant potential. Most score poorly on climate lobbying oversight and transparency, with few aligning engagement to net zero goals. Highlights gaps in managing asset managers and industry associations, and calls for stronger, coordinated policy engagement.
Emissions Gap Report: Off Target – Continued Collective Inaction Puts Global Temperature Goal at Risk
UNEP's annual assessment of the gap between countries' climate pledges and emission reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement's temperature goals, with 2025 focus on new NDCs and 2035 targets.
The slow forces behind this year’s fast crises
The article argues that today’s rapid global crises (political, ecological, and social) are the visible outcomes of long-building systemic pressures. Using complexity science and systemic risk analysis, it highlights how understanding these deep drivers can help societies both anticipate crises and accelerate positive, transformative change.
Scaling up green investment in the global south: Strengthening domestic financial resource mobilisation and attracting patient international capital
This report examines why capital flows ‘uphill’ from emerging and developing economies and argues that scaling green investment requires stronger domestic financial resource mobilisation. It recommends developing local currency bond markets, empowering national development banks, reforming multilateral development banks, and establishing a climate finance facility to attract patient international capital.
PerilScope: Strategic Deep Dive Copernicus Global Climate Highlights 2025 — From Records to Operating Conditions in the 3°C World SRP® Frame
The article interprets Copernicus’s Global Climate Highlights 2025 as a shift from episodic extremes to a structurally warmer, more volatile baseline. It argues that persistent temperature exceedances, ocean heat, cryosphere decline, and overlapping hazards demand a move from climate risk awareness to disciplined adaptation and continuity planning.
The production gap series
This benchmark series examines the gap between governments’ planned fossil fuel production and pathways consistent with international climate goals. It assesses alignment with temperature limits by reviewing national production plans and policy signals, providing a consistent framework to track progress and comparability across editions.
Sustainable Finance Progress Tracker: First Progress Report on the 2025-2027 Sustainable Finance Action Plan
Annual progress report assessing Australia's sustainable finance agenda across 26 priority actions in eight domains under the 2025-2027 Sustainable Finance Action Plan.
Unblocking climate and biodiversity finance: Global public investment for global missions
The report proposes integrating mission-oriented policy with Global Public Investment to unblock climate and biodiversity finance. It argues for predictable, equitable public funding, shared decision-making, reduced debt reliance, and reforms such as a Climate and Biodiversity Marshall Plan and redesigned debt-for-nature swaps.
IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored Workshop: Biodiversity and climate change
This IPBES–IPCC workshop report examines interlinkages between biodiversity, climate change and society, identifying synergies, trade-offs and risks. It assesses mitigation and adaptation impacts on ecosystems and people, and outlines integrated, nature-based solutions to inform climate and biodiversity policy and governance.
Energy and AI
The IEA’s Energy and AI report examines AI’s rising electricity demand and its capacity to improve energy efficiency, security and innovation. It assesses data centres, grids and end-uses, highlighting skills, infrastructure and policy needs to manage costs, emissions and resilience globally.
Global Nation
Global Nation is an independent think-do tank advancing global cooperation and solidarity.
It produces research, policy analysis and convenings on geopolitics, climate, development and governance, supporting governments, multilateral institutions and civil society with practical insights, partnerships and evidence-based recommendations across regions and sectors worldwide, through collaboration and dialogue initiatives programmes.
It produces research, policy analysis and convenings on geopolitics, climate, development and governance, supporting governments, multilateral institutions and civil society with practical insights, partnerships and evidence-based recommendations across regions and sectors worldwide, through collaboration and dialogue initiatives programmes.
We can’t ignore the largest source of methane
This article argues the global food system is the largest source of human-caused methane and deserves far more policy and funding attention. It maps key emission “hot spots”—ruminant livestock, food waste in landfills, biomass burning, and flooded rice fields—and outlines practical mitigation options from dietary shifts to landfill capture and improved rice management.
State of transition in sovereigns series
Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Opportunities and Risks (ASCOR) is a benchmark series that provides an investor-led framework to assess how sovereigns manage climate-related risks and opportunities. It supports sovereign bond analysis, engagement, and comparison by evaluating national policies, emissions pathways, and climate finance using transparent, publicly available information.
Transition forecast series
This benchmark series presents forward-looking assessments of global energy, land use and nature transitions. It consolidates expert judgement with structured policy tracking to outline plausible transition pathways across major economies, supporting investors and financial institutions in scenario analysis, risk assessment and strategic planning.
Global rights index series
This benchmark series provides an annual, country-level assessment of how governments and employers respect internationally recognised labour rights. It offers a consistent framework to compare workers’ rights protections across regions and over time, supporting analysis of legal conditions, enforcement practices, and systemic risks affecting working people.
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is a global trade union federation representing national union centres worldwide. It advocates for workers’ rights, democracy, and social justice through research, policy advocacy, and campaigns. ITUC publishes the Global Rights Index and engages with governments, employers, and multilateral institutions on labour standards globally issues.