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The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uzbekistan's environmental status using the DPSIR framework. It highlights critical challenges including severe water scarcity, land degradation, and the ongoing Aral Sea crisis, while noting progress in expanding protected areas and transitioning toward renewable energy. The document emphasizes the high vulnerability of the region to climate change, which manifests in rising temperatures and glacier loss, and outlines national strategies for adaptation and sustainable resource management.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uzbekistan's environmental state from 2012 to 2022, utilizing the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses (DPSIR) framework. It highlights critical challenges including severe water scarcity, land degradation, and the ongoing Aral Sea crisis, while noting improvements in protected area coverage and the adoption of green energy. The document emphasizes the link between environmental degradation and public health, particularly in the Aral Sea region, and details national strategies to mitigate climate change and improve waste management.

The project aims to build climate resilience for approximately 1.28 million people in Tanzania's Kigoma region, specifically targeting refugees in the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps and their host communities. It employs an integrated landscape approach to address environmental degradation, food insecurity, and water scarcity caused by rising temperatures and erratic rainfall. Key interventions include participatory climate-resilient land-use planning, the establishment of 30,000 hectares of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) reserves, 12,000 hectares of agroforestry and afforestation, and the construction of flood and erosion control infrastructure. To improve livelihoods, the project provides climate-smart agricultural inputs, rainwater harvesting systems, and support for beekeeping and mushroom cultivation. The initiative is executed by the Government of Tanzania's Vice President's Office and UNHCR, with a total financing of USD 23.62 million.

The report finds that comprehensive requirements for benefit sharing arrangements are not common practice across major carbon crediting programmes. While some projects, particularly those under Plan Vivo, demonstrate best practices by providing detailed monitoring reports on monetary and non-monetary benefits, many others provide only procedural information or limited evidence of actual implementation. Major carbon crediting programmes like Verra (VCS), CAR, and ACR have largely resisted mandatory disclosure of benefit sharing terms, citing commercial confidentiality and a lack of institutional expertise to monitor downstream financial flows.

The report argues that current carbon dioxide removal (CDR) governance systems are flawed because they often treat carbon removal as equivalent to emission reductions, leading to 'mitigation deterrence'. It examines regulatory tools like emissions trading systems (ETS), tax credits, and public auctions, as well as voluntary carbon markets (VCMs). The authors conclude that CDR must be a complementary tool, not a substitute for decarbonization. They propose a policy framework based on three principles: precaution, 'do no significant harm' (DNSH), and the primacy of emission reductions. Key recommendations include separating emission reduction targets from CDR and land-based sequestration targets, implementing rigorous measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems, and shifting from offsetting models to 'contributive approaches' or public procurement like reverse auctions.

The document argues that current carbon dioxide removal (CDR) policies often encourage 'mitigation deterrence' by treating removals as equivalent to emission reductions. It reviews various mechanisms—including emissions trading systems, tax credits, and voluntary markets—and concludes that most fail to ensure environmental integrity or permanence. The authors propose a 'blueprint' for sensible policy that strictly separates emission reduction targets from removal targets, mandates robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), and prioritizes the 'Do No Significant Harm' principle. It suggests that funding for CDR should come from carbon pricing revenues or dedicated procurement schemes rather than offsetting mechanisms.

The playbook argues that infrastructure is a primary driver of biodiversity loss and climate change, contributing approximately 79% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It advocates for a shift from 'no net loss' to 'nature-positive' development, where biodiversity gain is central to design. Based on an analysis of nearly 200 projects, the guide categorizes solutions across transport, energy, water, buildings, and coastal protection. Key findings highlight an implementation bias toward well-known solutions like reforestation, while more complex options like peatland restoration remain underutilized. The document emphasizes that nature-based solutions can complement or replace 'grey' infrastructure, offering superior adaptability to climate change and providing diverse co-benefits including improved water quality, carbon sequestration, and social well-being.

The authors provide a classification of land-based mitigation technologies and practices (LMTs), identifying afforestation, reforestation, and forest management as having high potential worldwide. While bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and biochar are more viable in higher-income countries due to funding and technology, the broader deployment of LMTs is hindered by insufficient financing and limited implementation knowledge. The text emphasizes that large-scale deployment must account for gender and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and marginalised groups to avoid increasing inequalities.

The Climate Change (Amendment) Bill, 2023 aims to integrate carbon markets into Kenya's climate response to attract investment and achieve low-cost emissions reductions. However, Natural Justice warns that without robust legislation, these markets could allow developed nations to continue burning fossil fuels while negatively impacting the global south. The document identifies several critical flaws in the Bill, including the removal of specific requirements for civil society and marginalized community representatives on the National Climate Change Council, which may contravene the Constitution of Kenya 2010. It also highlights a lack of clear role distinctions between national and county governments and insufficient procedures for effective public participation. Regarding the forestry sector, the Bill suggests that afforestation and reforestation will be part of an emissions trading system, necessitating strict monitoring of emissions. Natural Justice urges the government to delay implementing carbon market mechanisms until all necessary regulations are adopted through a transparent public participation process.

The Kurna community in Kano State, Nigeria, implemented the Afforestation Drive, a locally-led adaptation project using nature-based solutions to combat extreme heat and air pollution. Led by Dr. Dahiru Muhammad Hashim and the Panacea Foundation, the initiative planted over 2,000 adaptive trees in Kurna and expanded to plant 135,382 trees across Kano State. The project utilized an open-source digital data kit for monitoring and focused on indigenous species to improve air quality, reduce respiratory diseases, and create new livelihood opportunities through fruit trading. Despite success, the project faced barriers such as government bureaucracy and lack of funding, highlighting the need for a shift from top-down climate strategies to models that devolve decision-making and resources to frontline communities.

The report evaluates three emissions scenarios for the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region: an existing policy scenario, a low ambition scenario, and a high ambition scenario. It finds that while the high ambition scenario can meet the 2030 intermediate target of the CLCPA, none of the current scenarios are sufficient to meet the 85% reduction goal by 2050. Key challenges include high emissions from enteric fermentation in dairy cows and methane leakage from large landfills. The analysis emphasizes the need for a carbon-free grid, electrification of transport and heating, and enhanced agricultural manure management.

The ESMP outlines the environmental and social safeguards for the Bhutan for Life (BFL) project's activities from January 2023 to June 2024. Key planned activities include the establishment of a cane and bamboo enterprise in Mongar, the creation of 51.97 hectares of new plantations, the maintenance of 39.47 hectares of existing plantations, and the creation of 36.23 hectares of habitat enrichment plantations. The plan identifies potential risks such as construction waste, noise pollution, and the introduction of invasive species, providing specific mitigation measures and monitoring arrangements. Implementation is led by Green Bhutan Corporation Limited (GBCL) under the supervision of the Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS).

The Clean Air Task Force proposes several reforms to the 2023 Farm Bill to improve the quantification and procurement of carbon sequestration, facilitate rural clean energy transmission, and reduce livestock methane emissions. Key recommendations include streamlining the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) funding processes, establishing carbon cooperatives, and investing $350 million to $500 million in enteric methane research.

The report finds that most EU Member States cannot reach climate neutrality through natural sinks alone, with only Spain, Finland, and Sweden projected to have sinks of the necessary magnitude by 2050. While forestry is the primary focus of natural removals, there is a significant lack of attention to sink stability and other land-use categories. Technological solutions are discussed, with a clear preference for Carbon Capture and Storage/Utilization (CCS/CCU) over Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Capture (DAC), though distinctions between these technologies are often blurred in national strategies.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 targets for stopping forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of ecosystems. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to stop deforestation by 2030, global forest loss still exceeds gains, resulting in a net loss of 100 million hectares. The report highlights critical gaps in sustainable production, where commodity-driven tree cover loss decreased by only 6% in 2021, and in finance, where current annual funding of $2.3 billion is less than 1% of the estimated $460 billion needed. Governance remains a significant hurdle, with at least 50% of lands held by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) lacking legal recognition. The document calls for a shift from voluntary corporate actions to mandatory regulations, a 200-fold increase in forest funding, and the strengthening of land tenure rights for IPLCs.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 goals of halting forest loss and degradation or restoring 350 million hectares of forest landscape. While global deforestation rates declined by 6.3% in 2021 compared to the 2018-2020 baseline, this falls short of the 10% annual reduction required. Tropical Asia is the only region on track to halt deforestation by 2030, while Tropical Latin America and Africa remain off track. The report also notes that while 130.9 million hectares of tree cover were gained between 2000 and 2020, these were offset by 231.4 million hectares of loss, resulting in a net global loss of 100.5 million hectares.

The Fund for Nature (TFFN) is a financial instrument designed to provide market-rate project-level debt to nature-based carbon projects, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. By offering an alternative to the common practice of pre-selling carbon credits at steep discounts to corporate buyers, TFFN aims to increase the revenue captured by local project implementers and communities. A central innovation of the fund is the development of a standardized, open-sourced Simple Agreement for Future Offtake (SAFO), which serves as a bankable document to secure future carbon credit supply and act as collateral for debt. The fund targets the agriculture, forestry, and blue carbon sectors, specifically focusing on afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). A pilot fund of USD 50-70 million is envisioned, with the potential to scale as voluntary carbon markets are projected to grow significantly by 2030.

The land sector is essential for 1.5°C and 2°C pathways, potentially providing up to 30% of global mitigation. While it offers significant near-term potential at low cost, the IPCC warns that land-based mitigation cannot compensate for delayed emissions reductions in other sectors. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is deemed necessary for net-zero targets, but the IPCC highlights substantial uncertainties, risks, and a massive investment gap, with current annual investment at USD 0.7 billion against a needed USD 400 billion.

The methodology evaluates carbon credits across seven quality objectives: robust GHG impact determination, avoidance of double counting, addressing non-permanence, facilitating the transition to net zero, institutional arrangements of the crediting program, environmental and social impacts, and host country ambition. It employs a standardized scoring system (1-5) using point systems and 'inverse weighing' to ensure that a low score in one critical criterion cannot be offset by high scores in others. The guide focuses on ex-post credits and provides detailed indicators for assessing additionality, vulnerability in collapsed markets, and the alignment of credits with the Paris Agreement's Article 6 and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The policy brief advocates for a synergistic approach to the climate and biodiversity crises within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It argues that Africa must take a leadership role to ensure that climate finance and implementation are 'nature-positive' and based on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to prevent maladaptations, such as monoculture afforestation. The document emphasises that successful outcomes require the participatory inclusion of local and rural communities and the integration of urban ecological infrastructures.