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FSD Africa defines 'sustainable futures' as a framework ensuring current interventions do not adversely affect future generations or other groups, emphasizing a 'just transition' and the preservation of five types of capital: financial, manufactured, human, social, and natural. The organization assesses its projects through two lenses: the impact of interventions on these capitals and the dependency of project success on a stable enabling environment. To measure progress, FSD Africa utilizes a mix of country-level macro indicators (such as the Gender Inequity Index and Corruption Perception Index), social impact indicators, and market system change metrics, specifically tracking 'Green finance mobilised'. Practical examples of this approach include facilitating over £100m in Green Bonds in Nigeria and £35.3million for green student accommodation in Kenya.

The document examines the historical evolution of poverty definitions and the growing recognition of the link between poverty and environmental degradation. It highlights how climate change, conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbate systemic inequalities and push millions into poverty. The author argues that current global systems cannot provide acceptable living standards for all without exceeding planetary boundaries unless the wealthiest 10% of the population reduce their excessive resource consumption. The briefing recommends that governments shift from GDP-focused economic indicators to national wellbeing indices that incorporate the environment and marginalized groups.

The document traces the transition from the 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the shift toward a more universal, integrated, and human-rights-based approach. While the MDGs successfully increased official development assistance and reduced extreme poverty, they were criticized for ignoring the multidimensional causes of poverty and environmental factors. The SDGs expanded this scope to 17 goals and 169 targets, integrating climate action via the Paris Agreement and financing through the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The brief concludes that although COVID-19 has reversed progress on poverty and education, the SDGs offer the best roadmap for a resilient recovery, provided that governments utilize timely, disaggregated data to target the most vulnerable populations.

The Green Economy Coalition asserts that the COVID-19 crisis provides a unique opportunity for a radical economic break, urging governments to implement a green recovery that integrates short-term stimulus with long-term structural reforms. The author warns that current recovery efforts are often insufficiently green and risk accelerating climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. To prevent this, the document proposes six strategic recommendations, including the creation of a strategic guide for governments, fostering societal debate, aligning financial criteria, encouraging leadership from G7 and G20 nations, ensuring transparency, and improving global communications.

The report explores how social protection can support adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and resilience against slow-onset climate events—such as sea-level rise and biodiversity loss—while noting that climate change itself may threaten the viability of these social protection systems.

The paper explores 'Buen Vivir', an indigenous-rooted concept from Latin America that challenges anthropocentrism and infinite economic growth. It examines the concept's formal introduction into EU-Latin American relations via a 2015 EuroLat resolution and contrasts it with the 'Green Economy' and 'European Green Deal', which the authors argue maintain a growth-centric logic. While governmental adoption in Europe remains limited, the text identifies local 'post-developmentalist' practices in countries like Spain, Greece, and the Netherlands—such as agroecology and the recognition of nature's rights—as aligned with Buen Vivir principles.

The document argues for a broad interpretation of 'legitimate interest' in environmental litigation, asserting that any person with a link to a vulnerable ecosystem service—even if indirect or remote—should have legal standing. It specifically applies this to the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, detailing how the project threatens the Veracruz Reef System (SAV) through sedimentation, destruction of coastal dunes, water pollution, and air degradation, thereby violating the human right to a healthy environment.

The report examines how fuel subsidies artificially lower operating costs, enabling overfishing and the expansion of industrial fleets at the expense of small-scale fishers and marine ecosystems. It posits that removing these subsidies is essential for meeting EU climate and biodiversity goals, as well as international obligations under the WTO and the Paris Agreement. The author identifies the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) as a critical opportunity to end fuel tax exemptions, suggesting that resulting revenues and existing funds like the Just Transition Fund be used to support low-impact fisheries.

The document traces the history of UN development goals from the 1972 Stockholm Conference to the 2030 Agenda. It contrasts the MDGs, which focused on specific time-bound targets for poverty and health but lacked a multidimensional approach, with the SDGs, which are universal and integrated across social, economic, and environmental pillars. The briefing highlights the role of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement in supporting the SDGs and argues that the 2030 Agenda provides a critical roadmap for recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic through inclusive and resilient growth.

The document argues that corruption in the forest sector leads to significant environmental degradation and financial loss, costing governments approximately US$29 billion annually. It recommends that companies implement robust anti-corruption compliance programs and engage in collective action initiatives to mitigate these risks. The brief highlights the role of international laws like the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act in incentivizing corporate integrity, while noting that transparency alone is insufficient without strong monitoring and civil society oversight.

The report argues that the IDC's investment in MC Mining demonstrates a continued funding of unsustainable, climate-risky projects and highlights critical failures in the IDC's Responsible Investment Policy and due diligence processes. It details the environmental and social risks associated with MC Mining's operations in the Soutpansberg area, including threats to the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site and the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. The document concludes that the IDC's lack of transparency and failure to integrate sustainability and human rights standards into its decision-making expose public funds to significant risks and undermine South Africa's climate goals.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) held a five-day global meeting in November 2021 to identify interventions for a green and fair COVID-19 recovery. The event focused on four primary themes: the 'Code Red' status of nature and climate, the role of a new social contract in addressing inequality, the need for a nature-positive economy, and the alignment of recovery packages with the energy transition. Key outcomes include the finalization of a 'Declaration on a Green COVID-19 Recovery' and a strategic decision to prioritize green recovery advocacy leading up to Stockholm+50 in June 2022. The GEC also agreed to restructure its growth around three working groups: policy, funding, and communications.

The 2021 state of global environmental governance was characterized by a shift toward voluntary pledges and a struggle to maintain multilateral progress during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some major meetings, such as the Glasgow COP, returned to in-person formats, many other processes remained in a 'maintenance mode' with only procedural outcomes. The report highlights a growing gap between environmental promises and action, exacerbated by systemic inequalities and vaccine disparity, which hinder the collective ability of states to address climate, nature, and pollution crises.

The document examines how international trade drives biodiversity loss through agricultural commodity expansion and resource extraction, while analyzing the potential for trade policies, multilateral rules, and supply chain initiatives to support nature conservation.

The report details the critical state of primates in the Greater Mekong, where over half of the 44 species are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered. It identifies habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade—driven by biomedical research, traditional medicine, and the pet market—as the primary drivers of decline. The document also highlights the ecological importance of primates in seed dispersal and pollination, the risk of zoonotic disease transmission, and various conservation initiatives led by WWF and other NGOs to protect these species through habitat management, rescue centers, and community engagement.

The document examines the potential impacts of deep seabed mining, highlighting risks to biodiversity, ocean cycles, and the global fisheries economy. It challenges the necessity of seabed mining for the energy transition, suggesting that material efficiency and recycling could reduce mineral demand by 60-90%. WWF calls for a moratorium on these activities to protect the 'Common Heritage of Humankind' and promote a circular Blue Economy.

The document identifies agriculture and infrastructure as primary threats to nature, noting that 70% of biodiversity loss and 80% of deforestation are caused by agriculture, while 63% of the world's longest rivers are obstructed by dams. WWF's strategy is organized around four pillars: innovation and influence, conservation of critical landscapes, regenerative and resilient systems, and thriving people and communities. Key initiatives include promoting free-flowing rivers, sustainable protein systems, and reducing global food loss and waste. By 2030, WWF aims to achieve zero land conversion of native habitat in priority landscapes and protect the world's remaining free-flowing rivers.

The document highlights that only one-third of the world's longest rivers remain free-flowing, with hydropower dams and other infrastructure posing severe threats to biodiversity and human livelihoods. WWF identifies specific high-risk regions—including the Amazon, Balkans, and Southeast Asia—and proposes a four-part strategy involving science, sustainable development, advocacy, and policy governance to protect these ecosystems. By 2030, WWF aims to secure legal protections for at least 15 rivers and avoid connectivity loss on 22,500 km of river.

The report details the restoration of biological corridors in Nepal's Terai Arc Landscape from 2001 to 2021. It highlights the transition from fragmented habitats to functional corridors through community-based conservation, forest restoration, and transboundary cooperation with India. Key successes include the doubling of tiger numbers and the identification of high-altitude climate refugia. However, the report warns that linear infrastructure development, such as highways and irrigation canals, poses a significant emerging threat to connectivity.

The report finds that 15.3% of global agricultural production, approximately 1.2 billion tonnes, is lost at the farm stage, with an estimated economic value of $370 billion. It challenges the assumption that losses are primarily a low-income country issue, noting that higher- and middle-income countries are responsible for 58% of global harvest losses. Environmental impacts are significant, including 2.2 gigatonnes of CO2 eq. emissions, 760 km3 of freshwater withdrawals, and 4.4 million km2 of land use, with meat and animal products having a disproportionately high impact. The report identifies a complex web of direct drivers (biological, agronomic, and technological) and indirect drivers (market structure, governance, and human factors) and argues for synchronized, holistic interventions rather than isolated technical fixes.