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The construction sector is identified as the world's most material-intensive sector, accounting for 50% of global resource extraction and contributing to biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and deforestation. To align with Paris Agreement climate mitigation targets amidst growing urbanization, the document advocates for a value-chain approach to policy interventions. It identifies five interconnected areas for potential step-change: transparent and systematic data, material efficiency and innovation, green public procurement, and urban planning.

The document addresses industry resistance to the proposed EU deforestation regulation, specifically the 'Geolocation Requirement' which mandates that operators collect latitude and longitude coordinates for all plots of land where covered products (cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soy, and wood) were produced. ClientEarth argues that traceability is indispensable for ensuring products are 'deforestation-free' and produced legally. It refutes claims that the regulation mandates specific supply chain models like 'identity preserved' or 'segregated' chains, clarifying that mixed-origin supply chains remain permissible as long as they are traceable. The briefing also contends that geolocation requirements will not necessarily exclude smallholders, noting that many in the cocoa and palm oil sectors already support transparency to improve their market position. Furthermore, it argues that compliance costs are likely to be negligible when implemented at scale and that voluntary certification schemes, while useful tools, cannot serve as automatic evidence of compliance due to documented shortcomings in governance and reliability.

The briefing outlines the political and structural challenges Brazil faces in achieving net-zero emissions, focusing on land use, agriculture, transport, carbon markets, waste management, and industry. It argues that climate policies must be aligned with national development and income generation to overcome weak governance and industry opposition. The report highlights specific opportunities for international funding, such as supporting biomethane, nature-based solutions in carbon markets, and technology transfer for industrial decarbonization and waste sorting.

The document examines the high socio-environmental costs of logistics infrastructure in the Legal Amazon, such as deforestation and carbon emissions. It proposes replacing inconsistent geographic-based delimitation of a project's 'area of influence' with a 'market access approach' based on international trade literature. Using the BR-319 highway as a case study, the report demonstrates how this method more accurately identifies affected populations and environmental risks, including impacts on 49 indigenous territories and 49 conservation units. It concludes with policy recommendations for the Brazilian Ministry of Infrastructure to mandate early risk assessments and transparent, public-domain methodologies for delimiting influence areas.

The report examines the regulatory gap between industrial mining and 'garimpeiro' (artisanal) mining in Brazil, specifically focusing on how cooperatives exploit legal protections meant for low-income individuals. It argues that Presidential Decrees 10,965/2022 and 10,966/2022 further incentivize this by simplifying licensing and providing support programs for small-scale mining without restricting the size or nature of the activity. Data shows that some garimpeiro cooperatives in the Amazon hold larger active mining areas than the industrial giant Vale, suggesting that these entities operate at an industrial scale while avoiding the strict preliminary research and environmental requirements of mining concessions.

The report demonstrates that nature-related risks are material for African financial institutions, particularly in the agriculture and extractives sectors. Using the TNFD's LEAP approach, it finds that ambitious nature-positive transitions could lead to equity value changes between +2% and -5% and loan book changes between +0.3% and -0.6% by 2030. While aggregate portfolio impacts appear small due to limited sector exposure, specific risks in agriculture and extractives could double expected credit losses for some portfolios. The report highlights critical physical risks, such as water stress affecting 25% of African countries and habitat loss threatening ecotourism in Eastern and Southern Africa. It concludes that African financial institutions face significant capacity and data gaps in implementing nature-related disclosures and recommends an integrated approach that combines climate and nature risk management.

Global Witness analysis indicates that industrial rubber plantations in West and Central Africa caused nearly 520km2 of deforestation between 2000 and 2020. The report highlights that the EU imports over 30% of rubber from six key African producers, yet rubber was excluded from proposed EU anti-deforestation laws following tyre industry lobbying. The study links this deforestation to three multinational companies—Olam, Halcyon Agri, and Socfin—which are financed by major European banks. Additionally, the report documents severe impacts on local and indigenous communities, including land loss, lack of water, and violent repression in countries like Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

The global construction and buildings value chain is a primary driver of resource extraction and greenhouse gas emissions, with significant impacts often outsourced from high-income to lower-income regions. The document argues that sustainability depends on decisions made at early stages—planning and finance—rather than later construction phases. Key challenges include the high cost of low-carbon materials and the difficulty of decarbonizing steel and cement. To address this, the brief recommends a combination of transparent data, material innovation, green public procurement, sustainable urban planning, and expanded retrofitting.

The document outlines the reciprocal relationship between food systems and climate change, noting that agriculture and food systems contribute 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It encourages journalists to move beyond 'problem' stories by highlighting systemic solutions, such as regenerative agriculture and the reduction of food waste, while emphasizing the importance of climate justice and the role of women in agriculture. The guide specifically highlights the impact of industrial agriculture, the vulnerability of global food systems exacerbated by conflict and pandemics, and the critical need to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius to maintain food security.

The report identifies a critical lack of satisfactory federal legislation to resolve the overlap of Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) inscriptions on Indigenous Lands (TIs), noting that such overlaps are often used for land grabbing. It finds that most Brazilian states lack specific strategies for identifying and cancelling these irregular registrations, often relying on optional federal filters that only detect overlaps with fully homologated TIs, thereby leaving lands in the demarcation process vulnerable. The document analyzes state-level experiences—highlighting Pará as the only state with a specific cancellation strategy—and evaluates two pending bills (PL 4450/2021 and PL 486/2022) that aim to prohibit CAR inscriptions on public lands but still contain administrative gaps. It concludes with policy recommendations, including the need for the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) to revise Portaria 121/2021 and for Funai to maintain updated georeferenced data for all TIs to support fair and effective cancellation processes.

The study finds that BNDES credit for agricultural equipment increases land productivity and stimulates crop production without increasing deforestation. The effects are most pronounced in labor-intensive municipalities and when financing is directed toward labor-saving equipment, such as tractors and harvesters, which often leads to the replacement of pasture areas with more productive cropland.

The document examines the critical role of forests in climate regulation and biodiversity, noting that 420 million hectares have been lost since 1990. It analyzes the shift from failed attempts at a global forests convention to a polycentric governance system involving the UN Forum on Forests, REDD, and private sector deforestation commitments. The brief highlights the risks of carbon offsets and monoculture plantations, arguing that successful forest protection requires holistic valuation, strong political will, and the alignment of financial incentives.

The report argues that PL No. 2374/2020 would harm the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code by granting unjustified amnesty to a small group of medium and large landowners. It highlights that such a change would necessitate the re-analysis of approximately 378,000 rural property registrations (CAR), delaying environmental regularization and setting a dangerous precedent for renegotiating the legal timeframes of consolidated rural areas.

ClientEarth argues that the proposed EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans must prioritize the accessibility of remote sensing data and public transparency to combat forestry crime and mismanagement. The document highlights a significant decline in the carbon sequestration capacity of EU forests by 28% between 2013 and 2018 and criticizes the low rate of compliance checks under the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), where 99% of domestically-harvesting companies were excluded from checks between 2015 and 2020. ClientEarth advocates for a common EU-wide platform for real-time data to support risk-based compliance planning and the 'substantiated concerns' mechanism for public reporting of illegal logging.

The study finds that BNDES credit for agricultural machinery increases productivity and promotes the intensification of agriculture—specifically by replacing pasture with cropland—without increasing deforestation pressures. These effects are most pronounced in municipalities with high labor intensity and when financing 'labor-saving' equipment.

The report identifies a high prevalence of extreme poverty (69%) and undernourishment (19%) in Malawi, driven by the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to crop failure and climate shocks. Projections to 2030 suggest that while chronic hunger may decrease, poverty will remain extremely high, and agricultural GHG emissions—particularly from livestock—are expected to rise by 4.4% annually. The Malawian diet is heavily reliant on maize, leading to significant micronutrient deficiencies and a lack of dietary diversity, especially in low-income households. The document notes the absence of a national definition for a 'healthy diet' and highlights the critical role of Official Development Assistance (ODA), with USD 360 million disbursed annually (2014–2018) to food system projects. Climate change impacts, including increased floods and droughts, are exacerbating food insecurity, prompting the government to implement adaptation strategies such as crop diversification and climate-smart agriculture.

The report examines Nigeria's food systems, highlighting a projected increase in chronic hunger and extreme poverty by 2030. It identifies livestock as the primary source of agricultural GHG emissions and notes significant climate vulnerabilities, particularly for rice yields. The analysis reveals a stark dietary divide between income groups, with wealthier households consuming more animal-based proteins. While national dietary guidelines and climate policies exist, the report finds a substantial gap in Official Development Assistance (ODA) required to meet SDG 2 targets.

Reclaim Finance has submitted a series of critical questions to BNP Paribas ahead of its May 2022 General Meeting. The document argues that the bank's current sectoral policies are insufficient to meet a 1.5°C warming trajectory, citing continued support for major oil and gas developers like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies. It specifically highlights the bank's indirect support for the EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania, its failure to exclude parent companies of coal miners like Glencore and RWE, and its financial ties to companies linked to tropical deforestation. The organization calls for a total stop to new fossil fuel infrastructure financing and more stringent exclusion criteria for non-conventional hydrocarbons and coal.

The document argues that financial institutions must use their leverage to force soy traders to adopt strict no-deforestation commitments, including clear cut-off dates and full traceability, to mitigate climate and biodiversity risks.

The report examines how agricultural expansion and urban development in the Chiquitano dry forest region of Bolivia are altering water resources. It highlights the proliferation of 'atajados' (artificial ponds) and groundwater wells, noting that these decentralized systems are often unregulated and not captured in current hydrological models. The authors argue that these changes reduce deep infiltration and base flow, potentially threatening downstream ecosystems and water users, drawing a parallel to similar unregulated water diversions in Northern California.