The new Board of the Green Climate Fund will have its first meeting in late August in Geneva. This analysis looks at the issues on the agenda of the Geneva meeting and discusses what needs to be done, if the Fund stands a realistic change to be fully operational by 2014.

20 years after the first Earth Summit, the international community will gather once more in Rio de Janeiro from the 20th to the 22th of June 2012. But for a greener, more equitable and more resource efficient world mere declarations will not be enough. A serious shift in priorities is needed. A greener economy is possible, but it needs to be socially just, gender equitable and democratic.

The international community is focusing increasing attention on the need for more informatioon and transparency on climate finance. This brief reflects on the practical experience of monitoring climate finance from Climate Funds Update (CFU), a joint initiative of the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Overseas Development Institute.

Recognizing the significance of inequitable gender relations for women’s vulnerability to climate change, this study analyzes if and how an adaptation measure involving a relocation program that gives titles to new public housing to women implemented in response to severe flooding in the Mexican state of Tabasco in 2007, has contributed to modifying gender relations and strengthening gender equality.

Recent estimates of global fossil fuel subsidies for production and consumption are staggering, putting the total near US$730 billion annually or higher. This analysis looks at ways that fossil fuel subsidy phase out can benefit the climate and recommends actions that can be taken immediately in the UNFCCC.

Can Europe assert leadership on climate change in light of its myriad problems? The EU was key in shaping the outcome of the last UNFCCC negotiations, the so-called Durban Platform. This paper analyzes the prospects for Europe to continue to act as a driving force towards a greener planet, both at home and abroad.

The effects of climate change and current policy responses have disproportionately negative impacts on women. As part of the effort to address the imbalance, this research assesses policies and practices for gender-just adaption in India.

Solar power has the potential to provide secure and reliable energy to rural communities in developing countries. This case study examines an off-grid project in India and assesses it implications for national energy policy.

With negotiation time extended for more than 30 hours, the South African Presidency was able to conclude the climate summit in Durban with a "Durban Package" of measures. However, while agreement was reached - barely - many key issues remained unresolved, making the COP17 results in many respects "a largely empty package".

By some counts no less than eight distinct climate finance decisions are expected at COP 17 in Durban, making the climate finance cluster one of the most crucial ones to address in South Africa. Solving the complex web of interlocking climate finance decisions in Durban also holds the key to unlocking progress in other areas, as this commentary explains.