This guidebook translates current knowledge on climate change and international climate policies into practical options for mitigation and adaptation in Africa, outlining the links with sustainable development. It is aimed at policymakers, decision-makers and other interested practitioners such as environment and climate change negotiators.

The guide focuses on potential climate change impacts on key sectors in Africa, such as small-scale farming. It highlights tools, methodologies and literature available to help countries assess mitigation and adaptation needs.

The authors outline the governance, technological, financial and capacity-building opportunities to take action on climate change, and how they can benefit development. The guidebook also includes sources of financing, and case studies on mitigation and adaptation, including rainwater harvesting, coastal zone adaptation, fisheries and restoration of degraded lands.

This technical report presents a tool designed to help understand the consequences of climate change on the coastal zone systems of the Asia Pacific regions, and examine long-term adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The tool comprises three components: a model of hydrological and biogeochemical processes, an impact assessment tool and a multi-criteria decision-making tool. It focuses on flooding, nutrients, salinity and sedimentation in the coastal areas of Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The report presents the methodology used to develop the tool, results of case studies conducted using the tool, and key findings. It highlights that different countries prioritise flooding issues and adaptation measures differently. The case studies are ongoing, and are due to be expanded to other parts of Asia Pacific and to include other issues such as groundwater.

This policy brief looks at the role of intellectual property rights in developing and accessing technologies for mitigation and adaption to climate change. It provides an overview of intellectual property rights as the main mechanism of encouraging technological innovation for responding to climate change, and describes the issues that prevent constructive discussion in the area. The brief brings together diverse perspectives to propose action, beginning with building trust and exploring potential policy options, challenging countries to go beyond their entrenched positions and thus enable productive climate talks. It concludes with a caution that without reaching a compromise, the impasse will prevent a significant move towards green technologies.

This report aims to inform energy and forestry policymakers in non-OECD counties about biomass energy, which these countries depend on mostly for cooking and heating. It draws on global literature to give an account of the emerging biomass energy boom, the advantages and disadvantages of biomass and how it compares with alternative renewable energy sources. It also provides guidance on developing policies that optimise the positive impact of biomass energy on poverty reduction and the preservation of ecosystem services.

The International Energy Agency predicts that biomass, which currently makes up ten per cent of the world's primary energy supplies, will become increasingly important as a source of energy, rising to 30 per cent by 2050. The report argues that since non-OECD countries are disproportionately dependent on biomass energy (26 per cent), they could capitalise on this trend by acting now to legalise biomass supplies and ensure that it is produced sustainably. This would allow them to create more advanced biomass energy options in the future, such as generating electricity or producing second generation biofuels.

This handbook documents implementation issues and pitfalls to be avoided by developers of a Programme of Activities (PoA) — a tool designed to capture emission reductions associated with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows emission-reduction credits earned by developing countries to be traded and sold under the Kyoto Protocol.

PoAs aim to reduce the transaction costs of the CDM and help adapt it to small-scale activities. But progress in adopting the tool has been slow. This is mainly because running and operating PoAs differs from managing CDM activities, and carries additional requirements, says the report. Unclear and constantly changing operational rules is another factor.

The handbook provides guidance for those working on PoAs, including an overview of the tool, models of how it can be structured, managed and operated, as well as information on costs and registration details. It also gives information about new market opportunities, and management and issues associated with PoAs.

This guide aims to help developing country negotiators and others who are working on REDD-plus — a programme of activities that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, which includes a role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and increasing forest carbon stocks. It provides tips for negotiators such as how to make effective statements in a meeting and review written proposals, outlines the formal rules for negotiations, and provides useful glossaries.

The guide, written by the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development, includes related documents such as the Bali Action Plan and The Copenhagen Accord. It states that negotiations over activities that aim to reduce emissions while protecting forests are difficult because REDD-plus is a complex concept not yet clearly defined, whose components may have implications that need to be considered separately and in how they relate to each other or to future decisions.

This handbook offers developing countries guidance on how to conduct technology needs assessments systematically to address climate change.

It was prepared by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Expert Group on Technology Transfer of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and the Climate Technology Initiative.

This updated version of the 2004 handbook provides a more detailed framework for the development and implementation of needs assessments designed to help countries make informed choices on the technologies they can adopt to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. In particular, it advises on how to identify, assess and prioritise technologies. It also examines ways to support capacity building and help establish environments to enable technology transfer.

This report provides guidance to developers of forest carbon projects. It outlines the requirements for analysing and documenting carbon benefits, as well as legal, business, and community relations issues. The document also includes a guide to creating carbon benefits through reforestation, forest and land management activities.

It proposes steps for projects aiming to produce marketable emissions reductions under the most widely utilised carbon standards: the Voluntary Carbon Standard, the Clean Development Mechanism, and, as co-certification to verify additional benefits, the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards.

The report states that although the future of projects in REDD+ forest-protection schemes is unclear, the approaches currently used will continue to be relevant to afforestation and reforestation activities that aim to generate and quantify carbon benefits effectively.