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Earthjustice supports the Inflation Reduction Act's unprecedented funding for renewable energy, building electrification, and climate justice for disproportionately affected communities. However, the organization condemns 'atrocious concessions' for the fossil fuel industry, such as mandatory lease offers and carbon capture tax subsidies, which it argues threaten ecosystems in the Gulf Coast, Appalachia, and Alaska.

The Government of Jamaica is seeking USD 322,148.00 over 12 months to strengthen its REDD+ readiness. Building on the initial JAM-RS-003 project, this supplement focuses on establishing a National Bureau for REDD+ Management, enhancing Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) capacity, engaging private forest landowners who own over 70% of the island's forest resources, and creating a Social Safeguard Information System (SIS). The proposal identifies critical gaps in jurisdictional control of forested lands and the lack of systematic social and gender-disaggregated data. Key deliverables include a Forest Disturbance Index for broadleaf forests and non-binding agreements with 15 private landowners.

The document outlines the complex regulatory environment of Ghana's cocoa sector, highlighting the central role of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the tensions between production targets and forest conservation. It details the hierarchy of Ghanaian law, specific primary legislation affecting land and agriculture, and the roles of various state institutions. The briefing also addresses socio-economic challenges, such as poverty and child labour, and examines international treaties and emerging sustainability standards like the Ghana Climate-Smart Cocoa Production Standard (GCSCPS) and the African Regional Standard for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS 1000).

The document examines the intersection of corruption, land tenure, and Community Forest Management (CFM) in the Peruvian Amazon. It argues that systemic corruption in regional governments—manifesting as the prioritization of individual land titles over communal ones and the 'active inaction' of monitoring bodies—facilitates land grabbing and illegal logging. These factors undermine the sustainability of CFM initiatives, expose Indigenous leaders to violence, and leave communities vulnerable to economic scams and legal penalties. The authors recommend prioritizing community land titling, updating land registries with georeferenced maps, and strengthening the autonomy and funding of environmental enforcement agencies.

The briefing outlines a strategic framework for G20 nations to integrate forest conservation into climate action. It proposes six key measures: legal commitments to minimize deforestation, a collective goal to plant 1 trillion trees by 2030, food system transformation, safeguarding Indigenous rights, improving non-timber forest product markets, and establishing high-quality nature-based carbon credit policies. The author emphasizes Indonesia's role as a 'carbon superpower' to lead by example through expanded moratoriums, social forestry permits, and robust carbon credit frameworks.

The document argues that the 2030 global mitigation targets of the Paris Agreement cannot be met without protecting and empowering IPLCs. Analysis of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru shows that 92% of forested IPLC lands are net carbon sinks, sequestering an average of 30 metric tons of carbon per hectare annually—more than twice the rate of non-IPLC lands. Despite this, the NDCs of these four countries largely fail to acknowledge the role of IPLC lands in meeting national targets. The paper identifies critical governance gaps, including lack of legal land recognition, limited land rights, and poor implementation of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). It also highlights the prevalence of illegal deforestation and violence against environmental defenders. The authors recommend that governments strengthen partnerships with IPLCs, ensure full legal land titling, and integrate specific IPLC carbon sequestration data into national inventories.

The report argues that the climate goals of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru are heavily dependent on the carbon sequestration provided by IPLC lands, yet these lands are insufficiently recognized in national climate policies and face severe threats from illegal activities and governance gaps.

The document examines the Forest Conservation and Management (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to remove the requirement for the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to recommend petitions for the variation of public forest boundaries before they are forwarded to the National Assembly. While proponents argue that KFS has used its power to block legitimate petitions and that the Constitution does not require such recommendations, Natural Justice and other opponents warn that this change would politicize the process and remove mandatory safeguards, including Independent Environmental Impact Assessments and public consultation. The document asserts that such changes could exacerbate climate challenges like prolonged droughts and extreme heat by compromising forest integrity.

The Jordan Cove Energy Project, a proposed 229-mile pipeline intended to transport fracked gas from Canada for export as LNG via Coos Bay, Oregon, was withdrawn by the company Pembina. The cancellation followed significant grassroots opposition, including lobbying of officials like Representative Peter DeFazio and Senator Ron Wyden, participation in the Climate Strike Week of Action, and the submission of 25,000 member signatures to elected officials.

The report argues that while Kenya is advancing in renewable energy and climate policy, its transition to a low-carbon economy risks marginalizing informal workers, women, and youth. It examines sectoral vulnerabilities in agriculture, energy, transport, industry, forestry, waste, and tourism, highlighting a critical gap between national climate goals and the social protection mechanisms needed to ensure a just transition. The document recommends integrating just transition principles into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Medium-Term Plans, emphasizing the need for reskilling, gender quotas, and the formalization of the informal sector to prevent livelihood losses.

The report examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can support poverty reduction for smallholder farmers across three dimensions: access to resources, opportunities and choices, and power and voice. Through an analysis of 13 major VSSs and interviews in six countries, it finds that while VSSs can improve crop income, natural resource management, and skills development, their overall impact on poverty is inconclusive and context-specific. Significant barriers to smallholder access include high certification costs, limited financial resources, and asymmetrical power relations in supply chains. The report recommends that VSSs better integrate gender equality, support business diversification, and harmonize standards, while urging governments to provide better land tenure and financial support to enable smallholder compliance.

Friends of the Earth International criticizes the COP26 deforestation promise as a 'relooking' of failed initiatives like REDD+, claiming it facilitates corporate carbon offsetting rather than actual emission reductions. The statement highlights the hypocrisy of signatory nations, citing the EU-Mercosur trade agreement and Brazil's treatment of indigenous peoples, and calls for binding regulations and direct climate finance instead of market-based mechanisms.

This policy brief summarizes a March 24, 2021 webinar regarding the use of international trade policy, specifically voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) and free trade agreement provisions, to reduce deforestation and preserve forest ecosystems.

The document argues against the exoticization and generalization of Indigenous peoples and their environments, specifically criticizing the 'white savior' narrative and the use of staged imagery. It emphasizes the need to represent the diversity of forests beyond the Amazon and to acknowledge the cultural and climatic adaptations of Indigenous communities in various settings, including urban and industrial areas. The guide advocates for narratives driven by the voices of Indigenous people themselves to protect their dignity and prevent the social segregation and land dispossession that result from harmful stereotypes.

This guide argues against the exoticization and generalization of Indigenous peoples and forests, urging media practitioners to move beyond 'white savior' narratives and 'pure' stereotypes. It emphasizes the importance of reflecting cultural adaptations, recognizing Indigenous presence outside of forests (such as in cities), and centering the voices of Indigenous individuals to protect their dignity and support their self-determination.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative evaluates the effectiveness of public policies used to combat deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, consolidating academic evidence to propose a strengthened policy framework for forest protection and sustainable development.

The report evaluates progress toward the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) and the Paris Agreement, concluding that current efforts are insufficient to end forest loss and greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It argues that forest mitigation goals are fundamentally conflicted with an economic system based on unlimited production and consumption. To address this, the document outlines six key strategies for governments: strengthening land governance, securing indigenous and local community rights, aligning financial incentives, supporting multi-stakeholder collaboration, improving forest monitoring, and implementing demand-side measures in importing countries.

The report finds that while the Paris Agreement has confirmed the role of forests in the international climate agenda, global efforts to end forest loss and greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 remain insufficient. It argues that current economic systems incentivize forest exploitation and that existing government initiatives—such as REDD+ programs and monitoring systems—have not been enough to counter these drivers. To realize forests' mitigation potential, the authors recommend that governments increase ambition in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), massively scale up domestic and international finance, and implement six specific strategies: strengthening land governance, securing Indigenous Peoples and local communities' (IPLCs) rights, aligning fiscal incentives, promoting multistakeholder collaboration, ensuring robust monitoring, and expanding demand-side measures in importing countries.

The document explores the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) and international trade policy to combat deforestation. It details the design, implementation, and assurance mechanisms of VSSs for commodities like cocoa, palm oil, soy, and timber, noting that while they have demonstrated positive impacts, results are often context-specific. The brief categorizes forest-related provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) into declarative clauses, cooperation provisions, and binding commitments, highlighting a shift from purely promotional references to mandatory requirements. A key example is the EFTA-Indonesia CEPA, which links preferential tariffs to sustainability certifications. The document also discusses the EU's FLEGT regulation and the UK's proposed due diligence laws as mandatory alternatives or complements to VSSs, concluding that a multi-pronged approach combining regulation and VSSs is necessary to address global deforestation.

Earthjustice calls for the conservation of all mature and old-growth trees within the U.S. National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management lands. The organization argues that protecting these carbon sinks is a cost-effective climate solution, essential for meeting Paris Agreement commitments, and vital for preserving Indigenous cultural heritage and endangered species habitats.