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The IAI Executive Directorate is implementing a multifaceted approach to improve the provision of scientific information to governments in the Americas. This includes drafting procedural regulations for the Science-Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), establishing links with multilateral environmental agreements, and strengthening the capacity of member states to integrate science into public policy. The report highlights the conclusion of the third round of Cooperative Research Networks (CRN3), detailing how specific projects on nitrogen cycles, tropical dry forests, water security, and marine ecosystems have influenced national policies and management plans in countries such as Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Mexico.

The research examines the soy-meat value chain to determine if market-based governance, such as certification and eco-labeling, effectively manages sustainability. It finds that fragmented commitments based on different risk factors—such as deforestation for upstream traders versus animal welfare for downstream actors—lead to low instrument uptake and the displacement of environmental impacts. The authors conclude that network governance is necessary to overcome this 'sustainability gridlock' through better information exchange and trust between global regions.

The document argues that the rapporteur's proposal for MPV 867/2018 introduces drastic changes to Law 12.651/2012 that could paralyze environmental regularization, increase legal uncertainty, and incentivize illegal deforestation. Key concerns include shifting the responsibility for PRA adherence from landowners to state agencies, altering Legal Reserve calculations to be based on existing native vegetation rather than total property area, and creating a new legal regime for specific biomes that may not guarantee ecosystem integrity.

The report explores the use of impact tokens—blockchain-based digital representations of social and environmental impacts—to overcome five primary barriers in the impact investing industry: lack of appropriate capital, market segmentation, limited exit options, unsophisticated measurement practices, and a shortage of high-quality opportunities. Through ten case studies across sectors like agriculture, energy, and forestry, the document demonstrates how these tokens can increase trust, promote financial inclusion, accelerate monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) processes, and incentivize sustainable behaviors.

The study addresses the lack of hydrological monitoring in the tributaries of Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake, which contribute 25–30% of the annual flow and are critical for maintaining dry-season lake levels. It aims to simulate baseline flows and project future climate change impacts across 11 sub-basins to support water resource management in a country where 80% of the population depends on agriculture.

The analysis finds that between 2010 and 2014, tropical deforestation for agriculture and forestry caused approximately 2.6 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions annually, with cattle and oilseed products accounting for over half. International trade drove between 29% and 39% of these emissions, with Europe and China identified as major importers. In EU countries, deforestation emissions represent about 15% of the total carbon footprint of food consumption.

The document introduces a report focusing on the actions of companies involved in the Indonesian palm oil value chain, utilizing data from CDP's global disclosure platform to help investors and purchasing organizations drive accountability and deforestation-free outcomes.

The Bio-CLIMA project aims to transform extensive cattle ranching and agriculture in Nicaragua's Caribbean Region into sustainable, deforestation-free production. The project targets the buffer zones of the BOSAWÁS and Rio San Juan Biosphere Reserves, focusing on 66,223 hectares and approximately 26,260 direct beneficiaries. It employs a three-pronged strategy: providing technical assistance and financial incentives for climate-smart production modules (silvo-pastural, agroforestry, and sustainable forest management), strengthening local governance and law enforcement, and developing adaptive capacity through training and early warning systems. The project is estimated to cost USD 110.4 million, with USD 79.8 million requested from the Green Climate Fund as a mix of grants and loans.

The project aims to support approximately 380,500 direct beneficiaries in the Kigoma region of Tanzania, focusing on Nduta, Mtendeli, and Nyarugusu refugee camps and surrounding host communities. It addresses risks including rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and increased flooding, which threaten subsistence agriculture and ecosystem services. The proposed interventions include participatory climate-resilient land use planning, community-based forest management, agroforestry, and the promotion of climate-resilient agricultural practices and diversified livelihoods such as beekeeping and mushroom cultivation. The project will be executed by UNHCR and overseen by UNEP, with a total indicative cost of USD 31,985,328, requesting USD 18,835,253 from the Green Climate Fund.

The document argues that rural credit is a central agricultural policy in Brazil that significantly boosts productivity and supports environmental conservation by shifting land use from pastures to croplands, thereby increasing forest areas. It highlights that a 1% increase in rural credit leads to measurable gains in municipal crop production, agricultural GDP, and cropland productivity. However, the brief notes that the current distribution system is complex and fragmented, creating inconsistencies in credit access. It recommends using rural credit to reconcile production and conservation goals and suggests that any policy reforms be introduced gradually to avoid disrupting agricultural output.

The document presents findings from the INPUT project by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), demonstrating that rural credit in Brazil significantly boosts agricultural productivity and municipal GDP while promoting a shift from pasture to crop land, which correlates with an increase in forested areas. It argues that rural credit can be a tool to balance economic growth with environmental protection, though it notes that the current distribution system is complex and fragmented.

The document examines the failure of private-sector sustainability initiatives in the palm oil supply chain, highlighting barriers such as lack of consumer demand, poor coordination among smallholders, and conflicting regulations in producer countries. It suggests that 'hybrid governance' involving private, public, and civil society actors is necessary to improve sustainability performance.

The document introduces SEI-PCS, a modeling tool designed to overcome the limitations of traditional country-level footprinting by providing spatially explicit data on production-to-consumption systems. By integrating subnational production data, domestic trade flows, and international customs data, SEI-PCS allows for the tracing of commodities back to their origin to assess impacts such as carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. The tool is the foundation for the Trase initiative, which specifically monitors deforestation risks associated with agricultural commodities like soy in Brazil, Indonesia, and Latin America, helping companies and governments evaluate the effectiveness of zero-deforestation commitments and identify policy 'leakage' effects.

The document argues that Brazil can align economic growth with natural resource protection by modernizing farming and reforming rural credit. It identifies three main directives: improving risk management for intensified production, aligning credit with the Forest Code to support public goods, and simplifying the rural credit system to reduce costs and political interference. Specific proposals include expanding credit limits for producers complying with the Forest Code in the short term, extending planning horizons to three or five years in the medium term, and gradually shifting public subsidies from credit to insurance and financial derivatives in the long term.

The report examines the increasing engagement of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) with climate change, specifically analyzing their 2018 Concluding Observations (COBs), general comments, and thematic initiatives. It highlights a shift toward addressing a broader diversity of countries, including developed nations, and identifies a continuing emphasis on adaptation and procedural rights over mitigation. The document provides detailed syntheses of recommendations from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), emphasizing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women, children, and persons with disabilities.

The report identifies ten 'building blocks' for enabling community forestry laws, emphasizing the need for secure tenure, simple allocation processes, and inclusive governance. Through case studies of Nepal, the Philippines, and Tanzania, it argues that legal frameworks should be supportive rather than restrictive, iterative in design, and coherent across multiple sectors to ensure sustainable forest management and improved local livelihoods.

The report argues that Brazil can align agricultural growth with natural resource protection by linking rural credit access to compliance with the Forest Code. It proposes amplifying credit limits for producers without environmental liabilities or those with approved Environmental Regularization Programs (PRA). The authors assert that this alignment would require no additional treasury resources, as it merely redirects existing funds toward producers providing public goods like forest conservation. The document highlights that a significant portion of current credit contracts are near their limits, suggesting that such a policy would have a substantial impact. It draws parallels to the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, which conditions payments on environmental rules, and notes that previous Brazilian Central Bank resolutions linking credit to environmental compliance in the Amazon led to a 15% reduction in deforestation between 2008 and 2011.

The white paper proposes increasing credit limits for Brazilian rural producers who comply with the Forest Code, specifically those without environmental liabilities or those with approved regularization programs. It argues that this alignment would use public subsidies to provide public goods (environmental conservation), improve international trade competitiveness, and accelerate agricultural modernization. The authors suggest reinstating rules from previous Central Bank resolutions (4.106/2012 and 4.226/2013) to implement these limits. Analysis of 2016/2017 data shows that 14% of the total credit volume across ten analyzed lines was granted in contracts exceeding 95% of their limits, indicating a significant potential impact for producers who could benefit from expanded limits.

The report details a series of Swedish-led dialogue forums in five countries aimed at integrating climate policies (NDCs) with sustainable development goals (SDGs). Common findings across the forums include a critical need for capacity building at local levels, the challenge of translating national policies into regional implementation, and the necessity of securing both international and domestic financing. While stakeholders generally recognized the synergies between NDCs and SDGs, concerns persisted regarding trade-offs between rapid industrialization and environmental sustainability. Country-specific insights highlight Vietnam's focus on integrated water management, Tanzania's debate on the economic costs of environmental degradation, Zambia's emphasis on research and solar potential, Cambodia's focus on inter-ministerial policy coherence, and Uganda's concerns over institutional silos and external financing dependencies.

The report finds that while some progress has been made, the world is not yet on track to achieve the 2020 climate turning point. Progress is uneven across the six milestones, with most outcomes designated as having insufficient or off-track progress, though some areas like shipping and public climate finance are on track.