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The report analyzes deforestation mitigation strategies in five Global South countries, highlighting the effectiveness of combining financial incentives, land tenure reform, national certification, and landscape restoration. It emphasizes that success requires a combination of context-specific measures, targeting high-risk areas, and leveraging both digital and physical monitoring systems, often complemented by voluntary sustainability standards.

WWF and USAID are implementing two major projects in Viet Nam to combat illegal wildlife trade, protect forests, and provide sustainable income for local communities. The Biodiversity Conservation project (2020-2025) and the Saving Threatened Wildlife project (2021-2026) focus on law enforcement, community-led patrols, and the management of protected areas, particularly in the Central Annamites mountain range.

The document defines REDD+ and traces its evolution from a UNFCCC results-based finance mechanism to the use of private standards like the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) for generating tradable carbon credits. It asserts that REDD+ projects, primarily located in the Global South, frequently overestimate their climate impact due to methodological flexibility in baseline setting, leakage, and permanence. The author argues that biological carbon storage cannot fully offset fossil fuel emissions and calls for more stringent, science-aligned standards and alternative financial avenues for forest conservation.

The document analyzes the impact of the EUDR on Brazilian exports of commodities such as cattle, soy, and coffee. It argues that while Brazil possesses a sophisticated framework of environmental policies—including the Forest Code and satellite monitoring systems—that align with EU goals, significant challenges remain. These include the short implementation timeline, the high cost of due diligence for smallholders, and the lack of a comprehensive national traceability system. The authors suggest that the EUDR could serve as a catalyst for Brazil to achieve zero illegal deforestation by 2030 and enhance its market share in Europe by utilizing the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) as a sustainability certificate.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reported total assets of $533,266,191 as of September 30, 2023, an increase from $384,549,025 in 2022. The organization's operating revenues for the 2023 fiscal year totaled $250,310,049, with $235,185,176 in operating expenses. An independent audit by Grant Thornton LLP issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements and compliance for major federal programs, although a significant deficiency was identified regarding the preparation of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA). WRI's programmatic work is organized across seven critical issues, including climate, energy, and forests, with a global presence including subsidiaries and offices in India, Europe, Colombia, Kenya, China, and Ethiopia.

The document asserts that REDD+ forestry credits are not equivalent to emission reductions due to systematic failures in five key areas: overestimated baselines, underestimated permanence risks, underestimated leakage, exaggerated carbon accounting, and weak safeguards. It concludes that current offsetting is unfit for purpose and recommends rigorous scrutiny, independent data verification, and a ban on using forest carbon storage to offset fossil fuel emissions.

Between 2015 and 2020, climate finance for land use in Brazil averaged US$ 6.6 billion per year, dominated by domestic private finance and rural credit. While the crop sector was the primary recipient, the report highlights a significant gap in the proportion of total rural credit that is climate-aligned and notes a decline in public budget allocations for the forest sector.

The report identifies critical methodological failures in Verra's REDD+ carbon credit system, specifically regarding overestimated baselines, underestimated leakages, inflated carbon accounting, and ignored permanence risks. It concludes that these credits do not represent real emission reductions and should not be used to offset fossil fuel emissions, recommending a shift from 'offsetting' to 'contribution' funding for forest conservation.

The report identifies critical methodological failures in REDD+ forestry projects certified by Verra, specifically regarding baselines, leakage, carbon accounting, permanence, and safeguards. It argues that project developers exploit methodological flexibility to inflate emission reductions, resulting in low-quality carbon credits that do not represent real climate benefits. The document concludes that REDD+ credits are not equivalent to emission reductions and should not be used to offset fossil fuel emissions.

The report identifies systemic failures in Verra's REDD+ methodologies, specifically regarding baseline inflation, underestimated leakage, exaggerated carbon accounting, and underestimated reversal risks. It argues that these flaws allow project developers to maximize credit issuance through 'convenience' selections rather than scientific accuracy. The document concludes that REDD+ credits do not represent real emission reductions and should not be used to offset fossil fuel emissions, recommending a shift toward 'contribution' claims and stricter, independent oversight.

The report examines the disconnect between Nigeria's top-down climate adaptation frameworks and the actual practices of frontline communities. Through case studies in Ogun, Lagos, and Anambra states, it demonstrates that community-led initiatives—such as biogas production, aquaculture modifications, and traditional erosion control—are already occurring despite limited finance and technical support. The authors argue that integrating these bottom-up strategies into national policies like the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) is essential for sustained climate resilience.

The document argues that voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can act as partners in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing granular data and 'best practice' case studies for government reporting. While governments require high-level aggregated data for Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), VSSs offer detailed monitoring that can fill data gaps, particularly in the Global South. An analysis of 13 VSSs showed high coverage of criteria related to SDG 8 (77.81%) and SDG 6 (72.82%), and moderate coverage for SDGs 15, 2, and 12. The brief provides guidelines for governments to engage VSS stakeholders and incorporate their findings into VNR sections such as 'Institutional mechanisms' and 'Progress on goals and targets'. Case studies from Uganda, India, and Tanzania illustrate how VSSs contribute to specific targets, such as improving land tenure for women in Uganda and reducing child labour through school infrastructure in Tanzania.

The Biftu Beri women’s village savings and loan association (VSLA) in Kumbi Kebele, Ethiopia, integrates forest conservation with economic empowerment to address climate-induced droughts and shrinking water sources. Led by Momina Adam and supported by Farm Africa, the group employs agroforestry, indigenous tree planting, and a weekly savings scheme to build climate resilience and improve household livelihoods.

GreenLatinos reports that Manuel "Manny" Tortuguita Terán, a queer, non-binary, and Indigenous Venezuelan defender, was shot and killed by a Georgia State Patrol Officer while opposing the conversion of the South River (Weelaunee) Forest into a police and fire training facility and film studio. The organization characterizes this as an act of "climate racism" and notes that 13 other forest defenders faced "domestic terrorism" charges. The statement links this event to a broader pattern of violence against land and water protectors, citing that 200 such defenders were killed in Latin America in 2020, a 67% increase from 2019. GreenLatinos argues that preserving natural spaces is essential to remediating climate disasters, citing IPCC findings.

The document outlines sustainability standards for the mining and processing sectors, such as the ICMM Mining Principles and IRMA Standard, which emphasize biodiversity conservation and the mitigation hierarchy. It provides financial estimates for forest protection, noting a global need of USD 45–460 billion annually to meet Paris Agreement goals, while contrasting this with 'gray finance'—including agricultural subsidies estimated between USD 378 billion and USD 635 billion per year—that may risk deforestation. Additionally, it identifies the emergence of green taxonomies in the EU and Colombia and risk assessment frameworks in countries like Brazil and Malaysia to align financial flows with nature preservation.

The 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment argues that a radical transformation of development pathways and finance is necessary to stop forest loss. It calls for a shift from 'business-as-usual' extraction to rights-based governance, urging signatories of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration to increase transparency and data collection. Key recommendations include redirecting 'gray' finance toward 'green' finance, securing land tenure for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and implementing mandatory corporate disclosures to eliminate deforestation from supply chains.

The 2022 Climate, Environmental, and Energy Congressional Hearings Tracker catalogs hearings held by various U.S. House and Senate committees. The tracker covers a wide array of topics including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, electric vehicle infrastructure, methane pollution, and agricultural resiliency. It details the specific dates and titles of hearings across committees such as the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The document analyzes the momentum behind the 30x30 goal to protect 30% of the world's land and marine areas by 2030, noting the roles of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Global Ocean Alliance. It highlights the influence of the UN Ocean Conference and the upcoming CBD COP15 on COP27, suggesting that while the 30x30 framework will be settled after COP27, the summit may see new country commitments and policies regarding forests and marine resources.

The document outlines a framework of 12 principles to ensure that nature-based solutions (NbS) provide fair, accountable, rights-based, and effective benefits to local stakeholders. It emphasizes the need to prevent 'elite capture' and corruption by requiring deep stakeholder participation, transparency, and the protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights, including free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). The framework argues that for NbS to be sustainable, the net socioeconomic benefits must be positive for those affected, accounting for all costs and trade-offs.

The document outlines a framework for high-integrity benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSMs) in forest-based nature-based solutions. It organizes 12 principles under four values: Impartiality, Accountability, Rights-based approach, and Effectiveness. These principles aim to prevent elite capture and corruption while ensuring that Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) receive fair, transparent, and additive benefits that outweigh the costs of participation.