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The document serves as a legal resource for South African communities to navigate the transition from fossil-fuel-based energy to renewable sources. It defines the Just Energy Transition (JET) and environmental justice, analyzes South Africa's current energy mix—which is 80% coal-dependent—and outlines the legal frameworks, such as the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act, that support community participation. The guide provides practical steps for accessing information via PAIA requests, securing Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and engaging in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). It also highlights the potential for community-based renewable energy initiatives and the importance of Community Development Agreements to ensure local benefits.

Carbon Market Watch argues that the draft EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is fundamentally flawed due to poor definitions of carbon removals and a failure to specify their role in climate policy. The author contends that the proposal risks promoting 'mitigation deterrence' by allowing removals to substitute for deep emission reductions and by permitting the use of temporary storage for offsetting permanent emissions. Furthermore, the document criticizes the CRCF for conflating emissions reduction with removals, utilizing vague quantification baselines, and failing to implement social protections against land grabbing.

The policy brief provides a detailed 'radiography' of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It identifies a significant gap between the initial registration of properties and the final stage of environmental regularization, noting that while registration is consolidated, the analysis of data remains a primary bottleneck. The authors highlight extreme heterogeneity among states, with a few leaders like Mato Grosso and Pará, and others remaining stagnant. The document outlines systemic challenges across individual, institutional, technical-economic, and legal dimensions and recommends a national implementation plan, strengthening of the SICAR system, and better integration with agricultural credit and anti-deforestation policies.

The report analyzes deforestation in the Amazon biome from 2012 to 2021, highlighting that federal public lands and private areas accounted for 45% and 28% of deforestation, respectively. It argues for a coordinated strategy where the federal government focuses on rural settlements and land tenure regularization, while state governments prioritize the implementation of the Forest Code on private lands. The study emphasizes a recent acceleration of deforestation in federal lands and areas without land tenure information, particularly from 2019 onwards, and calls for improved public data integration to enhance transparency and effectiveness.

Nearly a decade after Typhoon Haiyan, residents of resettlement sites in Tacloban report that durable solutions criteria have not been achieved. While safety from water-related hazards has improved, significant gaps remain in land tenure security, access to water, and livelihood opportunities, with vulnerabilities intersecting across gender and housing provider types.

The report examines how 'maldevelopment'—development that prioritizes economic growth over social equity—increases the vulnerability of marginalized groups, particularly women and Indigenous peoples, to disasters in Nepal and the Philippines. It details how inadequate planning and failed free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) processes lead to land grabs and forced displacements, which are experienced as disasters. The study highlights the role of WEHRDs in resisting these processes through grassroots mobilization, legal advocacy, and capacity building, while also documenting the severe hostility, violence, and systemic fragmentation they face.

The toolkit argues that rights-based approaches lead to more effective and legitimate climate outcomes. It outlines a three-step process for integrating rights into NDCs: inclusive planning, transparent communication of how rights informed that planning, and reflecting human rights obligations in implementation and monitoring. The document provides specific recommendations across seven thematic areas: ambition, participatory planning, general human rights integration, gender mainstreaming, Indigenous Peoples' rights, land tenure, and just transition. It emphasizes that states must align their climate ambition with the 1.5°C target to fulfill human rights obligations and should account for all emissions under their jurisdiction, including extraterritorial ones. The toolkit includes guiding questions and illustrative examples from the NDCs of Canada, Mexico, Vanuatu, Nepal, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Chile to demonstrate best practices in human rights-based climate action.

The document argues that climate action must be aligned with human rights to be effective and legitimate. It provides a framework for integrating these rights into NDCs, focusing on scientific ambition, inclusive public participation, gender equality, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, land tenure, and a just transition for workers.

The document argues that climate action is most effective and legitimate when based on a human rights approach. It outlines a framework for integrating these rights into NDCs, focusing on scientific ambition, inclusive public participation, gender equality, the rights of indigenous peoples, land tenure, and a just transition for workers.

The report establishes a monitoring tool for forest legality and governance in the Congo Basin, based on Chatham House methodology. It defines 50 indicators categorized into forest goals, sustainable production and development, forest financing, and forest governance. Additionally, it provides a comparative matrix of the legal frameworks, dedicated agencies, and development policies of Cameroon, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo, specifically addressing drivers of deforestation such as commercial agriculture, extractive industries, and small-scale farming.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment for the Congo Basin reports a rise in deforestation in 2021, with 636,000 hectares lost, meaning only Gabon and the Republic of the Congo are currently aligned with the trajectory to end deforestation by 2030. While the region is a critical carbon sink, absorbing 0.61 Gt CO2eq annually, it faces threats from small-scale agriculture, industrial mining, and weak land tenure security. Despite international pledges of 1.5 billion USD (2021-2025) and national legal frameworks, the report highlights significant gaps in law enforcement, intersectoral policy alignment, and funding for indigenous peoples and local communities.

The Congo Basin, the world's second-largest tropical forest and a critical carbon sink, experienced an increase in deforestation in 2021, reaching 636,000 hectares. While historically low, current trends show that only Gabon and the Republic of the Congo are aligned with the 2030 goal of zero deforestation. Primary drivers include small-scale subsistence agriculture combined with road construction, though industrial mining and logging pose severe risks to intact forest landscapes. Despite the existence of legal frameworks and international funding commitments—such as $1.5 billion from COP26 donors—implementation is hindered by poor governance, land tenure insecurity for indigenous peoples, and a lack of intersectoral policy alignment. The report emphasizes the need for stronger community land rights and more transparent, quantifiable financial mechanisms to protect this vital ecological region.

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 argues that Ghana's cocoa sector is plagued by high deforestation rates, poverty-driven child labour, and a lack of transparency in pricing and governance. It highlights that cocoa is the "single most important commodity driving deforestation in Ghana," with a loss rate of 3.2% per annum in the cocoa forest landscape. The briefing recommends clarifying forest conversion laws, reforming tree and land tenure to incentivise agroforestry, and establishing a mandatory national legality and traceability system to comply with emerging EU and UK due diligence regulations. It also calls for legislative reforms to the definition of child labour and greater transparency in the management of the Living Income Differential (LID) and the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC).

The briefing analyzes the legislative and institutional deficiencies in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa sector, highlighting a lack of traceability, inadequate pricing mechanisms, and weak law enforcement. It argues that these gaps contribute to deforestation, child labor, and farmer poverty. The report recommends the creation of a centralized traceability system, a more transparent price-setting process, and a collaborative institutional framework to coordinate the various government ministries and agencies involved in cocoa and forest management.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 goals of stopping forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of landscape. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to halt deforestation, global rates declined only modestly by 6.3% in 2021 compared to the 2018-20 baseline. The report highlights a critical funding gap, noting that annual mitigation finance for forests is less than 1% of the estimated USD 460 billion needed. It further identifies failures in the private sector to eliminate deforestation from agricultural supply chains by 2025 and notes that 50% of lands held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities remain legally unrecognized.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 targets for stopping forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of ecosystems. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to stop deforestation by 2030, global forest loss still exceeds gains, resulting in a net loss of 100 million hectares. The report highlights critical gaps in sustainable production, where commodity-driven tree cover loss decreased by only 6% in 2021, and in finance, where current annual funding of $2.3 billion is less than 1% of the estimated $460 billion needed. Governance remains a significant hurdle, with at least 50% of lands held by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) lacking legal recognition. The document calls for a shift from voluntary corporate actions to mandatory regulations, a 200-fold increase in forest funding, and the strengthening of land tenure rights for IPLCs.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet its 2030 forest goals. While some regional progress exists, global deforestation rates decreased only modestly in 2021, and financial investments for forest protection remain less than 1% of the required annual amount. The report highlights a critical gap between ambitious government pledges and actual policy implementation, noting that voluntary corporate commitments have failed to significantly alter the trajectory of forest loss. It emphasizes the vital but underfunded role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in forest stewardship and calls for a radical transformation in economic flows, governance, and legal mandates to avoid catastrophic climate and biodiversity loss.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment concludes that the world is not on track to meet its 2030 forest goals. While Tropical Asia is the only region currently on track to halt deforestation, global rates of forest loss and degradation remain too high, and financial investments are less than 1% of the required amount. The report highlights a gap between ambitious national goals and actual implementation, noting that voluntary corporate actions have been insufficient and that indigenous peoples and local communities remain severely underfunded despite their effectiveness as forest guardians.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 goals of halting forest loss and degradation or restoring 350 million hectares of landscape. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to stop deforestation, global primary forest loss decreased by only 3.1% in humid tropics. Financial investment for forests is critically insufficient, with current mitigation funding at US$ 2.3 billion per year—less than 1% of the estimated US$ 460 billion needed annually. Corporate action to eliminate deforestation from agricultural supply chains by 2025 is lagging, and governance remains weak, with at least 50% of lands occupied by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPCs and LCs) lacking legal recognition.