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The IAI Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) Advisory Board met in March 2023 to refine the Center's strategic framework and identify flagship activities. The SDC aims to enhance the capacity of IAI member states to address global change through a science diplomacy knowledge hub, regional training for policymakers, and improved science-policy communication. Proposed priority actions include landscape analyses of scientific information flow in government and the development of training courses on negotiation and science diplomacy. The SDC intends to co-design its three-year working plan with member states, utilizing engagement at CoP 31 to ensure initiatives meet regional needs.

The Scientific Diplomacy Center (SDC) of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is establishing a framework to strengthen the science-policy interface across the Americas. The center aims to provide member states with scientific evidence to address global change challenges, including food security, water resources, and disaster risk management. Key proposed initiatives include developing a scientific diplomacy knowledge hub, creating training courses for policymakers and negotiators, and conducting outreach to analyze how scientific information is translated into policy. The SDC plans to co-design its three-year priority activities with IAI member states, with a specific engagement plan for COP 31 to ensure these initiatives meet regional needs.

Analysis of 150 U.S. weather stations shows that 91% experienced an increase in hourly rainfall intensity between 1970 and 2022, with an average increase of 13%. This trend is linked to climate warming, which allows the atmosphere to hold more moisture, increasing the risk of flash flooding and landslides regardless of whether a location is typically wet or dry.

President Sauli Niinistö emphasizes that the world is facing a series of interlocking crises—including climate change, food insecurity, and the war in Ukraine—that cannot be solved by any single nation. He highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on African countries and commits Finland to increasing international climate finance for developing nations. Niinistö also discusses Finland's decision to join NATO as a security measure in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, while advocating for a just peace for Ukraine and the importance of African leadership in global governance.

The 2023 Extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) was held on 18 April 2023 to elect a new Executive Director. Following a recruitment process overseen by a 10-member search committee, Dr. Anna Stewart Ibarra was recommended and subsequently elected to a three-year term. The search committee highlighted the need for the IAI to bridge the gap between science and policy to address global environmental change challenges in the Americas.

The text outlines the mission of the Global Research and Action Network for a New Eco-Social Contract, which seeks to define and implement a new framework for the 21st century. This proposed eco-social contract aims to ensure human rights for marginalized groups, provide security in a changing world, and drive the economic transformation necessary to halt environmental destruction and climate change.

The document examines Germany's transition toward a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) and the 2023 BMZ Africa Strategy, 'Shaping the Future with Africa'. While it acknowledges the shift toward 'respect and reciprocity' and the alignment with Africa's Agenda 2063, the author argues that the feminist approach is currently too limited to international development. The brief suggests that for FFP to be truly transformative, it must be integrated into peace and security, trade (specifically the care economy), climate change (integrating indigenous knowledge), and migration policy, while consistently tackling the structural impacts of racism and colonialism.

The document examines Germany's transition toward a feminist foreign policy (FFP) specifically within its engagement with Africa, focusing on the BMZ's 2023 Africa Strategy. While it acknowledges the strategy's commitment to overcoming structural inequalities and aligning with African-led priorities like Agenda 2063, it argues that the 'feminist reflex' is currently limited to international development and fails to systematically penetrate other critical domains such as peace and security, trade, climate change, and migration. The author suggests that for FFP to be truly transformative, Germany must move beyond gender equality platitudes to address the care economy, indigenous knowledge in climate action, and the racialized nature of migration policy.

The paper examines the rise of trade measures based on non-product-related process and production methods (PPMs) used to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and human rights. It analyzes the legal requirements for such measures to be WTO-compliant, highlighting the importance of non-discrimination and proportionality. The authors provide examples of current PPM-based policies, including forced labour import bans, deforestation-free supply chain regulations, and sustainability-linked tariff preferences in regional trade agreements, while noting ongoing WTO disputes between the EU, Indonesia, and Malaysia over biofuels.

The report examines food crisis challenges and resilience interventions in East Africa and Southeast Asia, identifying shared drivers such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The report examines the gap between soybean production distribution and rural insurance coverage in Brazil, highlighting how climate change—manifesting as severe droughts, hail, and frost—has led to unprecedented insurance claim payments. Using LASSO machine learning models, researchers found that while insurance data is insufficient to predict losses in the North and Northeast regions, agricultural yield data from PAM/IBGE can effectively identify climate variables (precipitation, fire risk, and wind) that correlate with losses. The authors recommend expanding insurance supply to vulnerable regions like MATOPIBA, utilizing production history for pricing in underserved areas, and strengthening the reinsurance market and public-private funds to ensure insurer liquidity.

The brief asserts that Defendants had actual knowledge of the catastrophic risks of fossil fuel combustion as early as the late 1950s, confirmed through internal research and industry-wide consensus. It details a coordinated strategy to manufacture doubt via public relations campaigns, funding of contrarian scientists, and the use of 'shadow groups' to undermine scientific consensus. The document highlights a contradiction where companies protected their own physical assets from sea-level rise while publicly denying such risks. Finally, it argues that current 'net zero' pledges and natural gas promotions constitute ongoing greenwashing and deception.

The analysis finds that younger generations, women, and people of color—particularly women of color—are more likely to be 'Alarmed' or 'Concerned' about global warming, while White adults are more likely to be 'Doubtful' or 'Dismissive'.

The document examines the gap between soybean production and rural insurance coverage in Brazil, highlighting how climate change exacerbates risks through extreme events. Using LASSO machine learning models, researchers demonstrate that while insurance data is scarce in regions like the North and Northeast, agricultural yield data can effectively identify climate variables—primarily precipitation, fire risk, and wind—that drive production losses. The brief argues for expanding insurance to vulnerable regions like MATOPIBA and improving the solvency of insurers through reinsurance and public-private funds to support a low-carbon agricultural transition.

The report explores the integration of systems thinking into asset management to better assess sustainability impacts. It identifies six key dimensions of systems thinking—considering multiple sustainability dimensions, both positive and negative impacts, indirect effects, co-benefits and trade-offs, long-term perspectives, and the scale of impacts. The study finds that while there is interest among 'front runner' practitioners, the finance sector's reliance on quantitative, aggregated data and short-term horizons creates a significant barrier to operationalizing a systems approach. The authors argue that improved, standardized, and audited company reporting, particularly through EU regulations like the CSRD and EU Taxonomy, is essential to provide the data necessary for effective systems-level analysis.

The document argues that the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill (B13 - 2021) is fatally flawed because it seeks to "accelerate exploration and production" of oil and gas, which contradicts South Africa's climate commitments and the global goal of net zero by 2050. The authors highlight significant administrative shortcomings, specifically the lack of a clear definition for "interested and affected party" (IAP) and inadequate consultation requirements for most application types. Furthermore, the Bill is described as being in conflict with the One Environmental System (OES) by attempting to legislate on environmental matters that fall under the exclusive purview of the Minister for Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. The submission also calls for the incorporation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and a robust Social and Labour Plan (SLP) framework to protect vulnerable communities from the health and economic risks associated with petroleum extraction.

Atmospheric rivers are corridors of moisture that provide essential water resources to the western U.S. but also cause severe flooding and landslides. Climate change is increasing the intensity and moisture content of these storms, which is projected to raise annual flood damages in the western U.S. to between $2.3 and $3.2 billion by 2090. While a series of atmospheric rivers in early 2023 significantly reduced drought coverage in California, the trend toward warmer storms is reducing snowpack and increasing the risk of compounding climate hazards.

The UN 2023 Water Conference, held in New York, focused on accelerating progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) through the Water Action Agenda. The event resulted in approximately 700 voluntary commitments totaling USD 300 billion and the announcement of a UN Special Envoy for Water. Discussions emphasized the water-food-energy nexus, the human right to water and sanitation, and the need for innovative finance and improved global water data. While the conference generated significant political momentum and new partnerships, analysis suggests that many pledges lack quantifiable targets and that the international community must quadruple its efforts to meet 2030 goals.

The report examines the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in the global banana industry, noting that while VSS-compliant bananas grew significantly between 2008 and 2019, growth is now slowing. VSS-compliant producers can earn 60% to 100% more than conventional producers, but they struggle against artificially low conventional prices. The industry faces threats from climate change, pests like Tropical Race 4, and economic disruptions. The report argues that the costs of sustainable production must be shared across the supply chain, involving retailers, governments, and regional networks.

CIEL supports the OHCHR report on climate change's impact on vulnerable populations, arguing that States must regulate fossil fuel corporations and their financiers to address the root causes of the crisis. The statement emphasizes the need for an urgent transition from fossil fuels, increased grants-based climate finance, and the protection of environmental defenders.