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A coalition of environmental organizations requests that the U.S. Department of the Interior and BOEM halt Lease Sale 257 or perform a supplemental NEPA review. They contend that previous environmental impact statements from 2016 and 2017 are obsolete, failing to account for current climate science, the shift toward deepwater drilling, threats to newly listed endangered species, and the impacts of offshore fracking and pipeline failures. The authors argue that the lease sale, which could produce 1.12 billion barrels of oil and 4.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, is inconsistent with President Biden's climate and environmental justice goals.

The document examines the challenges of integrating scientific evidence into policymaking for ocean governance, specifically within the Western Indian Ocean region. It highlights the role of the Nairobi Convention and WIOMSA in bridging these gaps and advocates for a shift from linear communication to interactive, dialogic networks. The brief emphasizes the importance of trust, the need for institutional reforms in researcher performance evaluation, and the adoption of strategies to increase the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of scientific information to support evidence-based decision-making.

A letter from a Stockholm Environment Institute scientist to the Massachusetts Attorney General arguing that Harvard's fossil fuel investments are misaligned with the Paris Agreement and contribute to global health and environmental crises.

Friends of the Earth International criticizes the draft Global Biodiversity Framework for adopting a utilitarian approach to nature, failing to regulate industrial drivers of biodiversity loss, and marginalizing indigenous peoples and Global South nations in virtual negotiations.

The document advocates for a comprehensive EU directive on corporate due diligence to prevent environmental harm. It argues against size-based thresholds for companies, citing the seafood and timber industries as examples where small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can cause significant damage. It emphasizes the necessity of a 'life cycle' approach to value chains, particularly for fossil fuels (addressing Scope 3 emissions and methane leakage) and plastics (addressing pellet pollution). Finally, it calls for mandatory, detailed public reporting to ensure corporate accountability, using the automotive sector's emissions and battery supply chains as a case for transparency.

The document provides a multi-faceted analysis of how trade policies impact environmental and social sustainability. It highlights the new environmental provisions in the USMCA/T-MEC/CUSMA, the European Union's leadership in circular economy product policies, and the vulnerability of small island states' tourism sectors post-COVID-19. It also warns of rising non-tariff protectionism and discusses India's potential as a hub for electric vehicle battery recycling, while detailing the complexities of trade agreements in Latin America and the EU's proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism.

The report argues that GDP is an insufficient measure of national well-being because it ignores the depletion of assets and favors short-term gains. It advocates for 'comprehensive wealth' measurement, which tracks five capital types: produced, financial, natural, human, and social capital. The document reviews global initiatives from organizations like the World Bank, UNEP, and OECD, noting that while human and produced capital have generally grown, natural capital is declining globally, particularly in developing countries. It concludes that comprehensive wealth accounts are essential for building resilience to climate change and achieving the UN 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 17.

The report 'Driven to Waste' estimates that 1.2 billion tonnes of food, or 15.3% of global production, is lost on farms. When combined with retail and consumer waste, total global food loss and waste is estimated at over 2.5 billion tonnes (approximately 40% of all food produced), contributing 10% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. The document highlights a geographic disparity: high- and middle-income countries in Europe, North America, and Industrialised Asia contribute 58% of global harvest loss, while low-income countries account for 54% of post-harvest farm-stage loss. It argues that farm-stage loss is driven by downstream market decisions and asymmetric power balances, and calls for national governments to include food loss and waste in Paris Agreement national carbon plans.

The policy brief examines the history and impact of UN mega-conferences on sustainable development, focusing on the 1972 Stockholm Conference, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and the 2012 Rio+20 conference. It highlights the persistent tension between developed and developing nations regarding the priority of economic development versus environmental protection. While these events have established global agendas, common principles, and institutional mechanisms like UNEP and the HLPF, the author notes that they often struggle to catalyze national-level action due to a lack of political will and a tendency for negotiations to protect narrow national interests. The document concludes that while mega-conferences are valuable for stakeholder integration and agenda-setting, they are not a substitute for the political will required to solve global sustainable development challenges.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting for groundWork, submitted a formal objection on 18 June 2021 to the Water Use Licence (WUL) application for the Nseleni Independent Floating Power Plant (NIFPP) at the Port of Richards Bay. The objection argues that the 12-page application is 'woefully deficient and incomplete,' failing to provide necessary data on water resource impacts, climate change, and the full scope of associated infrastructure to allow for an informed decision.

The Economics For Nature initiative argues that current economic recovery plans largely ignore the dependency of all economic activity on nature. It asserts that investing in nature to meet Sustainable Development Goals could generate $40-50 trillion in value and calls on G7 ministers to embed nature's values into economic decisions and reward nature-positive outcomes.

The author contends that Total's climate strategy is incompatible with the IEA's net-zero scenario, as the company continues to expand oil and gas production while allocating only a small fraction of investment to renewables. The text highlights a contradiction among major investors—including AXA, BNP Paribas, and Amundi—who claim climate commitments but voted in favor of Total's plan to protect short-term dividends.

The research paper explores the concept of a restoration economy in Africa, focusing on the South African 'Working for Wetlands' programme. It identifies key enablers for success, such as linking restoration to poverty relief and vocational training, while noting constraints like bureaucratic rigidity and over-reliance on public funding. The author argues that for Africa to 'build back better' post-COVID-19, ecological restoration must be integrated into development planning and funded by the production sectors (mining, agriculture, forestry) that impact ecosystems, moving toward a circular economy model.

The document highlights that coral reefs are critically threatened by climate change and local stressors, noting that a 2C increase in global temperatures could lead to the disappearance of all coral reefs. While over 230 international agreements contain coral reef provisions, a UNEP analysis suggests that implementation is lacking due to a lack of incentives and financial mechanisms, with half of the 600 identified commitments being nonbinding. The brief emphasizes the socioeconomic importance of reefs, which provide over USD 20 billion in annual benefits, and advocates for a combination of meeting Paris Agreement targets, reducing local stressors, and leveraging new funding initiatives like the Global Fund for Coral Reefs.

The document is a pedagogical resource designed to teach the Ojibwe language using a video about climate change and its effects on boreal lakes. It includes a full English-Ojibwe transcript, a detailed sentence-by-sentence grammatical breakdown, a glossary of terms, and a lesson planning form for educators. The content focuses on scientific concepts such as the impact of decreased precipitation on lake color and the resulting habitat loss for lake trout, while providing the linguistic tools to express these concepts in Anishinaabemowin.

Mighty Earth alleges a significant gap between Sumitomo Corporation's public commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and its actual business practices. The report highlights Sumitomo's role in importing wood pellets from the US and Canada, which it claims destroys old-growth forests and increases CO2 levels. It also criticizes the company's ongoing development of coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, noting that these projects cause severe local pollution and human rights issues. Financially, the report notes that Sumitomo has suffered substantial losses from coal-related assets, arguing that the company must accelerate its transition to renewable energy to avoid further stranded assets and environmental destruction.

The report assesses the impact of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on African infrastructure, economic growth, trade, and debt sustainability. While finding that Chinese investment helps close the infrastructure gap and can boost GDP, the authors note risks including debt distress in specific countries, environmental degradation, and the crowding out of local manufacturing by Chinese imports. Case studies in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria demonstrate positive outcomes in transport and energy, though the failure of Nigeria's NIGCOM satellite highlights risks of using the continent as a testing ground. The report concludes that benefits generally outweigh costs, provided African nations improve project management and negotiate more symmetrical trade and loan terms.

The report estimates that 1.2 billion tonnes of food are wasted on farms annually, representing 15.3% of global production. This waste contributes 2.2 gigatonnes of CO2 eq, approximately 4% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis reveals that high- and middle-income regions contribute a disproportionate share of harvest waste per capita. The document argues that farm-stage waste is driven not only by direct biological or technical factors but by indirect systemic drivers, including market power imbalances, rigid retail specifications, and the diversion of edible food to animal feed. It calls for a 50% reduction target from 'farm to fork' by 2030 and a shift toward holistic interventions involving governments, retailers, and citizens.

Friends of the Earth International criticizes the CBD's draft decision on biodiversity mainstreaming, asserting that it promotes 'greenwashing' and corporate power while failing to address the drivers of biodiversity loss. The statement argues that the draft relies on flawed mechanisms such as offsetting, ecosystem accounting, and voluntary certification schemes instead of enforceable regulations to limit resource extraction and corporate expansion into natural areas. It further contends that the proposal unfairly shifts the responsibility for sustainable consumption onto individual consumers and sidelines the role of indigenous peoples and local communities, who protect 80% of biodiversity-rich areas.

Friends of the Earth International criticizes the CBD's biodiversity integration proposal, claiming it promotes 'greenwashing' through voluntary corporate actions and biodiversity offsets rather than mandatory government regulations. The statement argues that the proposal fails to address the drivers of biodiversity loss—unsustainable production and overconsumption—and risks marginalizing indigenous peoples and civil society while increasing corporate power.