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The 2016 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard evaluates corporate adoption of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). While many companies have joined the RSPO and increased CSPO use, a significant gap remains between high-level commitments and the use of physically segregated supply chains. The report highlights that while 77 companies committed to 100% CSPO by 2015, only 56 achieved this. It emphasizes the need for companies to move beyond 'book and claim' certificates toward segregated sourcing to effectively eliminate deforestation and habitat loss in producer regions like Indonesia and Malaysia.

The report identifies Burkina Faso's vulnerability to climate change due to its reliance on agriculture and livestock, and outlines the government's response through adaptation planning and the mainstreaming of climate considerations into priority sectors.

The report argues that Brazil's insecure land rights hinder economic growth and environmental protection, specifically in rural areas where agriculture is a key GDP driver. It identifies five urgent consequences of this insecurity: land-related conflicts and violence, a lack of tenancy markets, increased deforestation, unconventional land use decisions, and production inequality for small farms. The document further outlines systemic governance challenges, including institutional complexity, limitations of the Land Registry, and the absence of an integrated database for public and private land.

The report argues that Brazil's insecure land rights lead to significant rural conflicts, deforestation, and economic inefficiencies. It highlights a systemic failure in land governance characterized by institutional complexity, unreliable registries, and the absence of an integrated database for public and private lands. These issues are exacerbated by the 'social function of property' requirement, which can incentivize land clearing to prove productivity and legitimize illegal land grabbing (grilagem).

The report argues that Brazil lags globally in property rights protection, leading to severe consequences including land-related violence, deforestation, and inefficient land use. It highlights a systemic failure in land governance characterized by institutional complexity, unreliable registration systems, and the absence of an integrated database for public and private lands. The document specifically notes that insecurity encourages deforestation as a means to prove land productivity to avoid expropriation and suppresses the land rental market due to legal and social distrust.

The paper argues that relying on future large-scale negative emissions to 'undo' current carbon emissions is a high-risk strategy that may lead to insufficient near-term decarbonization. It identifies three primary risk types: technological/biophysical infeasibility, unacceptable social and ecological impacts, and the potential for sequestered carbon to be re-released or for climate impacts to become irreversible. The authors evaluate four land-based options, concluding that while ecosystem restoration and reforestation may provide some viable negative emissions, high-reliance scenarios (e.g., those requiring 1,000 Gt CO2) are likely unachievable. BECCS is highlighted as particularly risky due to unproven commercial scale and extreme land and resource requirements. The paper advocates for a 'zero fossil carbon' goal over 'net zero' to ensure aggressive immediate mitigation.

The World Resources Institute developed Global Forest Watch Water (GFW Water) to provide a public database and mapping tool for 230 major global watersheds. The tool assesses watershed health by scoring four primary risks—recent forest loss, historical forest loss, erosion, and fire—within the context of baseline water stress. It aims to support downstream beneficiaries, financing institutions, and researchers in implementing natural infrastructure, such as forest protection and restoration, to enhance water security and quality. The document details the underlying hydrologic science, the specific spatial data sets used (including Landsat imagery and the RUSLE erosion model), and the normalization process used to generate risk scores from 1 to 5.

The document argues that biomass energy, specifically wood pellets exported from the U.S. to the UK, does not provide significant greenhouse gas benefits and may actually increase carbon pollution. It disputes USDA claims regarding forest growth in the Southern U.S., attributing reported increases to changes in surveying and categorization rather than new planting. Additionally, it warns that the demand for wood pellets threatens southeastern bottomland hardwood forests and misrepresents modeling studies as retrospective evidence of forest growth.

The document argues that current development and climate policies in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru often conflict, particularly where biofuel and hydropower expansion undermine forest conservation and water security. It advocates for a 'security agenda' based on the water-energy-food nexus to better manage resource trade-offs and improve coordination between national and subnational governments.

The document argues that increasing transparency in agricultural supply chains is a critical pre-condition for improving governance and reducing deforestation in Amazonia. It introduces a 'middle-ground' modelling approach that links specific production jurisdictions (municipalities or departments) to downstream actors, allowing for the identification of risk exposure and the formation of public-private coalitions to manage production landscapes sustainably.

The document reports that the expansion of sugarcane mills in Mato Grosso do Sul between 2005 and 2012 led to significant local economic growth, including a 30% GDP increase within three years of mill arrival. This growth was characterized by a shift in land use from cattle pastures to sugarcane, increased productivity in other crops like soybean and corn, and a reduction in average deforestation by 6.3 thousand hectares. The expansion also stimulated the labor market, increasing overall employment by 40% and expanding access to financial services and rural credit.

The study finds that the entry of sugarcane mills in Mato Grosso do Sul triggers significant local economic growth, including a 30% increase in municipal GDP and a 40% rise in employment three years after construction. While sugarcane expansion primarily displaces cattle pastureland, it creates positive productivity spillovers for soybean and corn crops. Additionally, the research indicates a decrease in deforestation in hosting municipalities, potentially due to increased environmental scrutiny and law enforcement associated with large-scale industrial investments.

The document argues that a general trend in Brazilian transport regulation seeks to reduce the economic profits of private concessionaires, which is being offset by hidden subsidies from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). This shift is claimed to erode incentives for private operators to select the most efficient projects and maintain high quality, thereby increasing costs for the agricultural sector. While highways and railways are seen as suffering from increasing regulatory complexity and unbundling, the port sector is highlighted as a relative success due to the deregulation of private usage terminals (TUPs), although the authors suggest further deregulation of public ports is needed.

The expansion of sugarcane plants in Mato Grosso do Sul between 2005 and 2012 led to significant local economic growth, including a 30% average increase in municipal GDP over three years. The study finds that this growth was accompanied by a shift in land use from pasture to sugarcane, increased productivity in other crops like soy and corn, a reduction in deforestation by an average of 6.3 thousand hectares, and substantial growth in local employment and financial services.

The report argues that sustainable timber markets are essential for preserving global economic activity and securing the long-term supply of raw materials for UK businesses. It highlights that forests contribute approximately US$17.6 trillion to the global economy, with timber and paper making up 16% of international soft commodity trade. The document warns that legal and sustainable timber supplies from several key source countries are at risk of depletion, while global demand is rising due to expanding Asian economies and the biomass energy industry. For UK businesses, the report identifies commercial benefits including regulatory advantages under the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), easier access to finance, enhanced brand value, and improved workforce engagement. It also examines the UK domestic timber industry, noting that while it contributes ~£21.0 billion in GVA, domestic softwood supply is threatened by a long-term decline in new planting.

The report assesses the impact of corporate commitments—specifically RE100, Science-Based Targets, EP100, Zero-Deforestation, and the LCTPi—on global emission reductions and evaluates how supportive policy environments could enhance these contributions.

Friends of the Earth International asserts that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are insufficient because they are not standing UN policy and do not obligate states to incorporate them into national law. The statement highlights ongoing environmental damage by companies like Shell in the Niger Delta and Vale and BHP Billiton in Brazil as evidence of corporate impunity. It advocates for the 'Treaty' established by UN Human Rights Council resolution 26/09 to create binding rules for transnational corporations, while criticizing the European Union and United States for opposing this process in favor of corporate-friendly investment treaties.

The policy brief argues for the immediate integration of Rural Credit and the Forest Code in Brazil to incentivize environmental preservation. It proposes that producers without environmental liabilities, or those in the process of regularization via the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), should receive expanded credit limits. This approach is presented as a more effective alternative to the government's 2018 plan, which only required registration in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). The authors highlight that such a policy requires no additional Treasury funds and aligns with international models like the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.

The Living Amazon Report 2016 provides a comprehensive overview of the Amazon biome, highlighting its immense biodiversity and critical role in global climate and hydrological regulation. It identifies primary threats including large-scale agriculture, cattle ranching, hydropower dams, and extractive industries, while advocating for a coordinated, biome-wide conservation approach. The report emphasizes the importance of protected areas and indigenous territories, which currently cover over 50% of the biome, and recommends strategies for enhancing climate resilience and securing water connectivity.

The document outlines the regulatory steps for rural properties in Bahia to achieve environmental compliance, focusing on the registration in the CEFIR system and the management of Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RL). It details the requirements for vegetation recovery, the use of Environmental Recovery Plans (PRA and PRAD), and options for compensating legal reserve deficits through Environmental Reserve Quotes (CRA) or environmental easements.