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This research paper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-RIO) examines barriers to accessing the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF) in Brazil. It identifies significant regional disparities in credit access, particularly favoring the South, and highlights technical assistance (ATER) and cooperative membership as critical determinants for expanding financial inclusion among smallholder farmers.

This report evaluates the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices of Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in Africa, specifically focusing on energy and industrial park sectors in Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

This research paper empirically examines whether increased international public climate finance leads to higher climate mitigation ambitions in developing countries, using data from 2015-2020.

This research paper examines the contested nature of legitimacy within global environmental governance, specifically focusing on the management of transboundary climate risks (TCRs) within agricultural supply chains.

This research paper examines how aid projects from international development organizations facilitate the familiarization of climate technologies in developing countries, specifically analyzing the relationship between project duration, cost, and the inclusion of technologies in Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) documents.

This briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes forest degradation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2007 and 2016, defining it as the partial loss of forest biomass. The study finds that degradation is more widespread than clear-cutting deforestation and often serves as a precursor to it, though this relationship varies significantly by land tenure category. The authors argue that forest degradation is currently under-prioritized in public policy and should be used as an indicator for imminent environmental damage to better allocate conservation resources.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes forest degradation in the Brazilian Amazon from 2007 to 2016, defining it as the partial loss of forest biomass. The study finds that degradation is a large-scale phenomenon that often precedes or occurs near clear-cut deforestation, with the relationship varying significantly based on land tenure categories. The authors argue that degradation should be a priority for conservation policy as a leading indicator of imminent environmental damage.

This research paper examines the relationship between green bond financing and the climate targets of the twenty largest European green bond issuers in 2018, finding a disconnect between the two and a lack of pressure to meet science-based targets.

This report analyzes the impact of the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) industrial policy on the energy and productive efficiency of the air conditioning (AC) sector in Brazil. It finds that despite significant tax incentives, the sector has experienced a deterioration in efficiency between 2003 and 2015, partly due to restrictive Basic Productive Process (PPB) rules that favor outdated domestic compressor technology over more efficient international alternatives.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the instruments and public policies used for agricultural risk management in Brazil. It examines the strengths and failures of current systems, including insurance programs and price guarantees, and provides recommendations to improve efficiency and sustainability in the face of climate change.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) evaluates the effectiveness of protected areas—including conservation units and indigenous lands—in reducing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. While the analysis finds that these areas effectively shield the forests within their boundaries, they have a negligible impact on aggregate deforestation levels because they tend to displace deforestation to unprotected regions.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes how Brazilian public policies aimed at combating primary deforestation in the Amazon unintentionally fostered tropical regeneration between 2004 and 2014. The document argues that environmental monitoring and enforcement acted as a deterrent, leading illegal actors to abandon regions and allowing natural forest recovery to occur.

This white paper by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the relationship between livestock productivity and pasture area in Brazil. It argues that increasing productivity is essential to grow meat production without further deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado, identifying a negative correlation where smaller pasture proportions often relate to higher productivity.

This white paper by the Climate Policy Initiative argues that strengthening environmental command and control—specifically through technological monitoring and law enforcement—is essential for Brazil to combat illegal deforestation, protect its native vegetation, and maintain its international agribusiness competitiveness.

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the effectiveness of mainstreaming climate adaptation objectives into existing policies by reviewing peer-reviewed empirical analyses.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the drivers of distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) generation in Brazil. Based on a study of 5,563 municipalities, the report finds that demand-side factors—such as income (GDP), population size, and electricity tariffs—are more significant drivers of solar adoption than the availability of solar radiation. The authors argue that policies to mitigate climate risk must address these demand-side barriers to encourage adoption in high-potential regions, particularly the poorest areas of the country.

This executive summary by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and the Núcleo de Avaliação de Políticas Climáticas da PUC-Rio (NAPC) examines the drivers of distributed photovoltaic (PV) generation in Brazil. Analyzing 5,563 municipalities, the study finds that demand-side factors—such as GDP, population size, and electricity tariffs—are more significant drivers of PV adoption than solar radiation levels. Consequently, regions with lower solar potential, specifically the South and Southeast, currently have higher concentrations of distributed PV units than the Northeast and Midwest.

This research paper analyzes the determinants of distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) generation penetration across 5,563 municipalities in Brazil. The study finds that demand-side factors—specifically population, GDP, and electricity tariffs—are more significant predictors of PV adoption than the availability of solar resources. The authors argue that current tariff subsidies in high-potential regions like the Northeast may be hindering PV growth and suggest that climate mitigation policies must address demand-side frictions to be effective.

This research paper analyzes the drivers and socioeconomic impacts of agricultural expansion in the Matopiba region of Brazil between 1995 and 2012. The author finds that expansion was heavily concentrated in the Cerrado biome, driven by technological innovations in soil management and soy varieties. This shift led to significant increases in GDP per capita and improved access to basic consumer goods and electricity, though it had no significant effect on migration or educational investments.

This research paper examines the diffusion of the Direct Planting System (DPS) in Brazil, a high-productivity agricultural technique that reduces soil erosion and greenhouse gas emissions. The authors argue that while DPS offers higher revenues and lower costs without significant upfront financial barriers, its adoption is hindered by the need for site-specific adaptation. Using data from the 2006 Brazilian agricultural census and soil maps, the study demonstrates that geographic soil heterogeneity acts as a barrier to social learning, reducing adoption rates most significantly at intermediate levels of technology penetration.