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The briefing highlights a significant funding gap in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where current climate finance flows represent only 0.5% of regional GDP, far below the 3.7% to 4.9% estimated by ECLAC to meet Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). While developed nations eventually met the USD 100 billion annual pledge in 2022, the LAC region's share of international finance (17% between 2016-2020) consists largely of loans (81%), exacerbating regional debt. Financing is heavily concentrated in Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia, with a strong preference for mitigation over adaptation projects.

This report analyzes international development and cooperation finance flows for land use in Brazil from 2021 to 2023, identifying multilateral development banks and international governments as the primary sources of funding, with a strong emphasis on the forest sector.

Between 2021 and 2023, climate finance for land use in Brazil averaged US$ 17.1 billion per year, a 99% increase from the 2015-2020 period. Domestic sources provided 97% of these resources, with rural credit serving as the primary instrument (58% of total flows). While the crop sector was the largest recipient (74%), the native forest sector remained heavily dependent on the federal public budget. The report highlights a significant rise in 'loss and damage' spending due to extreme weather events and notes a sharp decline in the use of thematic bonds for land use after 2021.

Peru is implementing a phased roadmap to establish a national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for climate change adaptation, aligned with its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The system focuses on seven priority sectors—water, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, forest, health, tourism, and transport—and aims to be fully operational by 2030. The process is divided into four phases: Analysis (completed), Design (underway), Development (underway), and Implementation (not started). Recent progress includes the creation of a final project design, interoperability proposals for data exchange with the National Environmental Information System, and the establishment of a baseline for loss and damage indicators.

The methodology for the Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa 2024 describes the framework used to identify and categorize climate finance flows. It employs a taxonomy to distinguish between mitigation, adaptation, and dual-benefits finance across sectors such as energy, transport, and agriculture. The approach relies on a mix of public and proprietary data from sources like the OECD, BNEF, and the World Bank, while acknowledging significant gaps in domestic public expenditure tracking and private sector reporting. The document also details the classification of African countries by subregion and income status.

The Amazon Food&Forest Bioeconomy Financing Initiative addresses financial barriers facing Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the Brazilian Amazon through a proprietary fintech platform and a blended finance structure. The initiative combines private debentures (senior and subordinated tranches) with a philanthropic fund to provide growth capital and discounted invoices to regenerative businesses. Currently in a pilot phase with 17 projects and USD 2.7 million deployed, the initiative aims to raise USD 23.12 million in its market phase to scale activities across value chains such as non-timber forest products (NTFPs), community-based tourism, and agroforestry. The goal is to mitigate land-use emissions, protect biodiversity, and improve local livelihoods while attracting commercial private capital to the region's socio-bioeconomy.

The document explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and Earth observation technologies can enhance the mapping, monitoring, and stewardship of forests to combat climate change and support Sustainable Development Goals. While these tools offer potential for more efficient forest management, the author warns that their increased use could introduce new risks that might make sustainability efforts counterproductive. The article focuses on identifying these risks and opportunities, as well as proposing governance mechanisms to ensure the design of sustainable, forest-focused AI.

The report argues that while GDP growth suggests sound economic development in Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2020, an analysis of comprehensive wealth reveals an unsustainable path. The country's wealth is heavily skewed toward the petroleum industry, leaving non-oil sectors like agriculture, fisheries, and forestry under-invested. Additionally, human capital has declined globally from 35th in 2009 to 46th in 2018, and financial capital contributes little to overall wealth despite sovereign wealth fund efforts.

The document outlines a framework for the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, specifically focusing on land use activities such as crop production, cattle, and forestry. It argues for the need for harmonized, technical, and verifiable criteria to direct financial flows toward sustainable production and prevent greenwashing. The report proposes a phased implementation approach, suggests a three-tier verification system (automatic, remote, and on-site), and highlights the importance of interoperability with international standards. It also identifies critical challenges, such as defining the scope of the 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) principle and determining the appropriate level of granularity for classification (economic activity versus rural property).

The report analyzes national and international frameworks to support the creation of the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy for land use. It highlights the significant variance in sustainability measurements—ranging from 1% to 44% of rural credit for the 2022/23 year depending on the criteria used—and recommends a technical, scientific, and gradual implementation process. The document details specific criteria from the EU, Colombian, and Mexican taxonomies, as well as domestic initiatives like the ABC+ Plan and FEBRABAN, to identify areas of consensus and points of attention such as the 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) principle.

The report analyzes national and international sustainability taxonomies to propose criteria for the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy's land-use sector. It highlights the high sensitivity of sustainable finance measurements to the chosen classification, demonstrating through a rural credit case study that alignment varies from 1% to 44% depending on the reference used. The authors recommend a technical, science-based approach with granular application levels and a gradual implementation roadmap to prevent greenwashing and attract international investment.

The document highlights how current life-cycle assessments (LCAs) for building materials in Canada may misdirect decarbonization efforts due to data gaps and a lack of transparency. It specifically notes that LCAs often ignore biogenic carbon emissions from wood products, which can account for up to 72% of their total lifecycle emissions, potentially overstating the carbon advantage of wood over materials like concrete and steel. The briefing recommends that the federal government invest in regionalized national life-cycle inventories and that policymakers prioritize energy efficiency, building durability, and material efficiency over a narrow focus on embodied emissions.

The report examines several classification systems used to identify sustainable investments, including the Climate Bonds Taxonomy, the EU Taxonomy, the Colombian Green Taxonomy, and the Mexican Sustainable Taxonomy, as well as domestic Brazilian initiatives from FEBRABAN and BNDES. It provides detailed breakdowns of the technical screening criteria, eligibility requirements, and mitigation and adaptation goals for agricultural and forestry activities across these frameworks. The analysis highlights the transition from general environmental objectives to specific, measurable metrics such as GHG emission reductions and carbon stock increases, while noting the varying degrees of regulatory force—ranging from mandatory EU regulations to voluntary guides in Mexico and Colombia.

The report analyzes the growing prevalence of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) in free trade agreements (FTAs), noting a significant increase in references since 2018. It identifies five common rationales for their inclusion: cooperation, promotion, recognition, guidelines, and support. While VSSs can complement public regulations and drive innovative trade policy—such as using sustainability criteria for preferential tariffs—the report warns of pitfalls, including vague terminology, lack of enforcement, and the risk of VSSs becoming de facto market barriers for small-scale producers in developing countries. The authors argue that the effectiveness of VSSs depends on their credibility and the establishment of clear multilateral guidelines.

The proposal seeks USD 687,710 over 24 months to address five key barriers hindering Nicaragua's climate action: limited knowledge of GCF investment criteria, technical capacity gaps within the National Climate Change Management System (SNGCC), the absence of a long-term strategic roadmap, a lack of a scalable knowledge platform, and inadequate climate integration in educational curricula. The project, implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), will deliver training on project design, develop a National Climate Change Strategy Roadmap, update the NDC, and create an online educational platform for government officials, academia, and the private sector.

The assessment identifies agriculture as the most vulnerable sector in the Kassena Nankana Municipality, with high sensitivity in zonal councils like Biu and Doba due to the prevalence of mud-brick housing and flood-prone farmlands. While the quantitative Vulnerability Index suggests that adaptive capacity currently outweighs exposure and sensitivity across all zonal councils, Naaga is identified as the most vulnerable area due to its low adaptive capacity and high exposure to the White Volta River. Future projections indicate rising temperatures and irregular rainfall, which are expected to reduce maize and soybean yields and increase the prevalence of climate-sensitive diseases like cerebrospinal meningitis.

The report provides a comprehensive vulnerability assessment for the Kintampo Municipal Assembly, identifying agriculture as the most sensitive sector. It combines historical climate data (1980–2020) with future projections to 2100, highlighting increasing temperatures and variable rainfall. The study identifies specific community-level vulnerabilities, with Busuama being the most vulnerable and Kintampo the least, and recommends targeted adaptation strategies including conservation agriculture, irrigation, and gender-responsive initiatives.

The assessment identifies the Awaso Zonal Council as the most vulnerable area in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai municipality due to high exposure to bushfires and droughts, combined with high sensitivity in agriculture and infrastructure. Agriculture and human health are ranked as the most vulnerable sectors, with rainfall variability and rising temperatures threatening crop yields and increasing disease prevalence. Projections indicate annual rainfall will increase to 1678 mm by 2050, while both day and night temperatures are expected to rise by 1°C by mid-century. The report recommends policy interventions including livelihood diversification, the construction of feeder roads, the implementation of early warning systems, and the promotion of climate-smart agriculture and irrigation.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) advocates for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to implement more rigorous standards for voluntary carbon credit derivatives. CATF suggests adding 'durability' and 'vintage' to the CFTC's proposed commodity characteristics and requiring dynamic baseline analysis, independent third-party verification, and explicit accounting for the risk of carbon reversal to prevent low-quality credits from distorting prices and undermining climate goals.

The paper examines the current state and future potential of land-based mitigation technologies (LMTs) in China, noting that while forestry is well-integrated into policy, other sectors like agriculture, grasslands, and wetlands remain underexploited. It argues that land-based sequestration has not been prioritized as much as energy or industry and suggests that reaching net-zero by 2060 will require improved policy frameworks, standardized procedures, and enhanced technical capacity.