As the COP27 climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt fade from the headlines, governments are convening now at another COP in Montreal, Canada: The 15^th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. In the most-read post for November, Jesse Rodenbiker describes how China’s active leadership as COP15 president is crucial to achieving the meeting’s central aim: The adoption of a new set of global biodiversity targets. Yet China’s role in shepherding this international forum is not without complications. Rodenbiker observes that the country’s extensive protected area program—which could influence the nature of global conservation efforts—includes controversial practices that have displaced communities and reinforced inequality.

The second top post for November brings attention to a new Population Institute report, published in the wake of the U.S. government’s commitment to invest $4 million towards tackling the root causes of migration in Central America. President and CEO of the Population Institute Kathleen Mogelgaard distills the report, illuminating how sound investments in women and girls in Guatemala can support broader development and reduce the push-factors of migration from the region. Mogelgaard describes the overlapping challenges Guatemalan women and girls face, and shares guidance about what can be done to ensure they—and by extension, their communities—are not forced to leave home.

In November’s third top post, Brad Handler and Morgan Bazilian counter burgeoning pessimism around the global phaseout of coal, which accounts for a large share of emissions. War and and climate-related disruptions to renewable energy have recently repositioned coal as “security blanket” for countries worried about energy security. But amidst fears of worldwide backsliding on coal retirement, Handler and Bazilian say there is reason to believe the world will continue transitioning away from coal.

Erica Yunyi Huang circles back to the topic of China’s environmental leadership in the fourth most-read post in November. As Western multinationals look to the high seas for marine genetic resources (MGR), Huang writes that developing countries, wary of being left behind and losing out on potential profits from these resources, are calling for equal access and benefit-sharing. With MGR negotiations stalling, however, she calls on countries to “stop their brinkmanship and work together for a consensus-based solution.” And China, she suggests, is uniquely positioned to lead such cooperation.

Rounding out last month’s top five posts is a New Security Broadcast episode featuring former U.S. Ambassador Daniel Speckhard and non-profit director Dr. Mariia Dolynska, who is on the ground in Ukraine. Moderated by ECSP’s Lauren Risi, the episode offers both a somber look at the country’s unfolding healthcare crisis—including its underappreciated mental health dimension—and a more promising window into how one partnership between NGOs is having a tangible impact in the health sector.

1. High Stakes: China’s Leadership in Global Biodiversity Governance by Jesse Rodenbiker
2. Investing in Women and Girls is Central to Addressing Root Causes of Migration from Guatemala by Kathleen Mogelgaard
3. Retiring Coal? The Prospects Are Brighter Than They Appear by Brad Handler & Morgan Bazilian
4. Deadlock in the Negotiation Rooms to Protect Global Oceans by Erica Yunyi Huang
5. Mobile Clinics and Mental Health Care: The NGO Response to Ukraine’s Health Crises by Wilson Center Staff