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The IAI is seeking nominations for its Expert List to provide technical consultation to regional stakeholders. Nominees must possess authoritative knowledge in one of eight strategic scientific themes: food security, energy security, water security, biodiversity and ecosystem services, climate action, health and wellbeing, poverty and equity, or clean air, water and soils. The list currently includes former and current members of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Science and Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), as well as IAI-funded researchers. Nominations must be submitted by June 6, 2025.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is expanding its Expert List to provide regional actors with a curated directory of professionals for technical consultations. Nominees must possess authoritative knowledge in one of eight priority themes: Food Security, Energy Security, Water Security, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Climate Action, Health and Well-Being, Poverty and Equity, or Clean Air, Water, and Soils. The list currently comprises investigators from IAI-funded projects and members of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and Science-Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC). Parties must submit nominations by 6 June 2025.

The document examines UNI2, a Colombian microfinance institution, to determine how financial intermediaries can support responsible investment in agricultural value chains. By applying an adapted RAI Tool methodology involving self-assessments and interviews, the study explores UNI2's role in influencing sustainable practices and providing feedback to improve the RAI Tool's scoring and filtering mechanisms. The analysis demonstrates that financial institutions contribute to responsible agricultural investment by providing capital, influencing behaviors, and sharing knowledge within rural economies.

The report finds that while carbon markets have the potential to generate social and economic benefits for LMIC communities, current impacts are often suboptimal or negative due to poor project design and governance. Agricultural and energy efficiency projects generally show higher potential for positive community impact than pure forest conservation projects, which often restrict access to vital resources. Key barriers include low carbon prices in voluntary markets, delayed payments, and the exclusion of women due to land tenure structures. Positive outcomes are linked to pro-poor design, inclusive governance, higher carbon prices for co-benefits, and adherence to stringent standards like the CCB Standard.

The report analyzes how climate change acts as a driver of conflict in Nigeria, specifically through resource competition, livelihood loss, and displacement. It details the interaction between environmental stressors and security issues, such as farmer-herder clashes and recruitment into armed groups like Boko Haram. The document proposes a five-step sequence to mainstream conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding into the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), ranging from institutional framework development to the inclusion of peacebuilding markers in monitoring and evaluation.

The report examines the environmental impacts of agricultural subsidies, noting that total global support ranges from $610 to $842 billion per year. It argues that while production-linked supports—such as market price support and input subsidies—are often the most harmful, impacts are highly context-specific. The authors propose several frameworks for identifying harmful subsidies, including the use of meta-analyses of farming practices and the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model. To address these issues internationally, the report suggests options such as enhanced transparency, the use of 'rebuttable presumptions' to shift the burden of proof to subsidizing countries, and special and differential treatment for developing nations to balance environmental goals with food security and livelihoods.

The document highlights the effectiveness of community-based organisations (CBOs) in implementing sustainable agricultural practices through local trust and social proofing. It uses the example of Itanya Africa Group's vertical garden project to show how leveraging community influencers can overcome resistance to new methods. However, it notes that CBOs face a significant funding gap as major institutions often prefer larger NGOs, which limits the scale and speed of local interventions. The text calls for prioritising financial support for CBOs to scale models for food security and regenerative agriculture.

The African Union's admission as a permanent member of the G20 in September 2023 represents a shift in global economic governance, increasing the G20's global population representation from 65% to 80%. Historically, the G20 has been viewed as favoring advanced economies, with initiatives like the 2017 Compact with Africa (CWA) and the 2021 debt service suspension initiative (DSSI) criticized for serving the interests of wealthier nations or creditors. The AU's debut at the November 2024 Rio de Janeiro summit focused on priorities including financial system reform, food security, and climate resilience. However, the document warns that rising nationalism, specifically the 'America First' agenda of the Trump administration, poses a threat to the multilateralism necessary for the AU's effectiveness. To move beyond symbolism, the paper argues the AU must leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to increase aggregate purchasing power—projected to reach USD 1.8 trillion by 2035—and emulate the European Union's model of policy harmonization to attract global investment.

A study by World Weather Attribution found that human-induced climate change made a March 2025 heatwave in Central Asia approximately 4 °C hotter and three times more likely. The event saw temperatures exceeding 30 °C even at 1000m altitude, affecting regions including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The analysis notes that climate models underestimate the recent increase in March temperatures, meaning the reported influence of climate change is a conservative estimate. The heatwave coincided with critical agricultural periods, such as the sowing of spring wheat in Kazakhstan and the flowering of export fruit crops, potentially impacting yields in a region where agriculture employs up to 50% of the workforce.

The document outlines the complexities of climate migration, emphasizing that most displacement occurs internally and is often driven by a combination of extreme weather and systemic vulnerabilities. It provides practical interviewing advice for reporters and lists specific global examples—from the Marshall Islands to Senegal—to illustrate the diverse ways communities face environmental displacement.

The report identifies Iraq as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, facing severe water scarcity, rising temperatures, and desertification. It proposes a strategic framework to prioritize GCF funding across key sectors, including energy, agriculture, water, and urban development. The document details a prioritized list of 19 projects, with high-priority initiatives focusing on climate-resilient livelihoods in southern Iraq and the transformation of the agricultural and water sectors. It emphasizes the need for international financial support, technology transfer, and the mobilization of private sector investment to bridge significant development gaps and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from the energy sector, which accounts for 85% of national emissions as of 2019.

This guide explains how model contracts—both generic and nationally tailored—can help governments ensure responsible investment in agriculture. It details how these templates can integrate international standards, prevent problematic omissions, flag risky clauses like stabilization provisions, and promote transparency and legal harmonization.

The report explores how traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the iTaukei people in Fiji serves as a cost-effective tool for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. It details specific TEK applications, such as traditional building techniques, food preservation, and natural early warning systems based on animal and plant behavior. The document also discusses the importance of traditional governance and spirituality in resilience and outlines current government efforts to revitalize and preserve this knowledge.

The document analyzes how climate change disrupts agricultural yields and trade flows, particularly in developing regions, while contributing significantly to global GHG emissions. It highlights the risks of food insecurity and the potential for trade-related climate measures to marginalize vulnerable economies. The author argues for a comprehensive international cooperation agenda focused on reducing trade tensions, reforming harmful subsidies, facilitating technology transfer, and securing global food stocks to ensure a fair transition to sustainable agriculture.

The document outlines the risks climate change poses to global agriculture, such as a projected 22% decrease in yields for maize, rice, soy, and wheat. It suggests reporting on 'climate-smart agriculture'—including indigenous rain-fed farming, sustainable crops like cherimoya in the US, and the use of natural pollinators for cocoa—while advising journalists to visit farms in person, include the perspectives of vulnerable farmworkers, and distinguish between small-scale farming experiences and the interests of large agribusiness.

The statement describes the systemic marginalization of approximately 2.2 million U.S. farmworkers, who face dangerous working conditions, toxic pesticide exposure, and housing insecurity. It emphasizes how the threat of mass deportation and anti-immigrant rhetoric allows employers to bypass labor laws and increases worker vulnerability to climate-driven disasters. The author calls for specific policy interventions, including banning toxic pesticides and reinstating heat safety rules, while noting that anti-immigrant crackdowns threaten the national food supply.

The RE-GAIN programme is a 5-year initiative designed to strengthen food security and climate resilience in seven African countries by scaling the adoption of Food Loss-Reduction Solutions (FL-RS). The programme addresses climate hazards—such as extreme heat, erratic rainfall, and flooding—that cause grain shattering, rotting, and mycotoxin contamination. It employs a three-pronged strategy: increasing farmer demand through awareness and training, enhancing supply and affordability via MSME business development and innovative financial models (including 'smart-subsidies'), and creating an enabling environment through policy reform. The project targets 2.63 million direct beneficiaries and expects to reduce GHG emissions by 111,275 tCO2e over 10 years.

The Regional Tuna Programme (RTP) addresses two primary climate threats in the Pacific: the loss of coral reef fish as a protein source and the eastward shift of tuna biomass away from national exclusive economic zones (EEZs). The programme will deploy 333 anchored Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) to help coastal communities catch tuna, improve the distribution of industrial tuna bycatch to urban areas, and develop an Advanced Warning System (AWS) to provide high-resolution forecasts of tuna redistribution. This AWS is intended to serve as an economic planning tool to help tuna-dependent nations negotiate the retention of fishing license revenues. The project targets 790,000 direct beneficiaries and 2.5 million indirect beneficiaries across 14 participating countries.

The report argues that the private equity model of high leverage and short-term profit maximization is ill-suited for the US agricultural industry, which is characterized by fluctuating margins and a vulnerable migrant workforce. It highlights a trend of consolidation, citing that two private equity-owned firms control a majority of US fresh carrot production. The document details several case studies of bankruptcy and labor abuse, including Prima Wawona, Trinitas Farming, Windmill Farms, and Grimmway Farms. It further notes that the industry's reliance on H-2A visas and exemptions from the National Labor Relations Act exacerbates worker vulnerability, a situation further complicated by the Trump administration's mass deportation policies.

Egypt's Fourth National Communication details the country's climate vulnerabilities, particularly regarding water scarcity and sea-level rise, and outlines a strategic framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24% by 2030 compared to business-as-usual levels. The report emphasizes a transition toward a green economy through the Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035, aiming for a 42% share of renewables by 2035, and the implementation of extensive adaptation measures in agriculture, coastal zones, and public health. It also highlights the critical impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on water security and the need for enhanced international climate finance and technology transfer.