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The document argues that the rapporteur's proposal for MPV 867/2018 introduces drastic changes to Law 12.651/2012 that could paralyze environmental regularization, increase legal uncertainty, and incentivize illegal deforestation. Key concerns include shifting the responsibility for PRA adherence from landowners to state agencies, altering Legal Reserve calculations to be based on existing native vegetation rather than total property area, and creating a new legal regime for specific biomes that may not guarantee ecosystem integrity.

The report argues that the proposed Boliden copper mine in Laver would effectively end traditional Sami reindeer herding for the Semisjaur Njarg community by destroying critical winter pastures. Through scenario analysis, the document demonstrates that the mine would force herders into either unsustainable 'reindeer farming' based on artificial feeding or the total abandonment of the area, both of which threaten intergenerational succession and the survival of the critically endangered Pite Sami language. The report further highlights a systemic failure in the Swedish permitting process to recognize indigenous property rights and the cumulative effects of multiple land encroachments, such as wind farms and forestry, which leave the community at a breaking point.

The document outlines the evolution of the IAI's Scientific Agenda, moving from seven initial research areas to four broad themes. It presents a revised version of these themes—covering climate variability, comparative ecosystem studies, chemical composition of the environment, and human dimensions—to be adopted by the Conference of the Parties.

The document examines Provisional Measure 867/2018, which aims to extend the deadline for entry into the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) under Brazil's Law 12,651/2012 (the new Forest Code). While the author supports the deadline extension to protect small producers and traditional communities, they warn that 35 proposed amendments to the measure could undermine the Forest Code by altering rules on Legal Reserves and forest offsets, potentially reintroducing provisions already rejected by the Supreme Court in 2018. The brief recommends that the National Congress approve the original version of the measure and reject all amendments to avoid legal uncertainty and the interruption of state-level PRAs.

The document warns that 35 amendments to MPV 867/2018, which was intended only to extend the deadline for joining the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), seek to drastically alter the Forest Code. The authors argue these changes are unconstitutional, lack thematic relevance, and risk creating legal insecurity, potentially undoing the consensus reached during the law's creation and subsequent STF rulings.

The document argues that rural credit is a central agricultural policy in Brazil that significantly boosts productivity and supports environmental conservation by shifting land use from pastures to croplands, thereby increasing forest areas. It highlights that a 1% increase in rural credit leads to measurable gains in municipal crop production, agricultural GDP, and cropland productivity. However, the brief notes that the current distribution system is complex and fragmented, creating inconsistencies in credit access. It recommends using rural credit to reconcile production and conservation goals and suggests that any policy reforms be introduced gradually to avoid disrupting agricultural output.

The document presents findings from the INPUT project by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), demonstrating that rural credit in Brazil significantly boosts agricultural productivity and municipal GDP while promoting a shift from pasture to crop land, which correlates with an increase in forested areas. It argues that rural credit can be a tool to balance economic growth with environmental protection, though it notes that the current distribution system is complex and fragmented.

The study examined the alignment between the sustainability perspectives of palm oil smallholders in Indonesia's Riau province and the frameworks of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) schemes. While smallholders define sustainability through the long-term viability of their families and communities—emphasizing access to credit, inputs, and fair pricing—the study found that the rhetoric of both RSPO and ISPO has evolved to include these priorities. However, the effectiveness of these schemes remains limited by low smallholder participation; as of 2016, only 3,500 independent households and 80,300 'plasma' scheme producers in Indonesia were certified, despite smallholders accounting for 36% of total production.

The PRINCE project, led by Statistics Sweden with SEI as a key partner, created a tailor-made model combining the EXIOBASE3 multiregional input-output (MRIO) model with Swedish national environmental-economic accounts. This framework allows for detailed tracking of environmental impacts—including greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and hazardous chemicals—linked to Swedish consumption across international supply chains. The model was adopted in 2018 by Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for national greenhouse gas emissions statistics to support Sweden's 'Generational Goal' of solving environmental problems without exporting them.

The document introduces SEI-PCS, a modeling tool designed to overcome the limitations of traditional country-level footprinting by providing spatially explicit data on production-to-consumption systems. By integrating subnational production data, domestic trade flows, and international customs data, SEI-PCS allows for the tracing of commodities back to their origin to assess impacts such as carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. The tool is the foundation for the Trase initiative, which specifically monitors deforestation risks associated with agricultural commodities like soy in Brazil, Indonesia, and Latin America, helping companies and governments evaluate the effectiveness of zero-deforestation commitments and identify policy 'leakage' effects.

The document outlines a protocol for a systematic review of the positive and negative impacts of mining activities—from prospecting to decommissioning—on social and environmental systems in Boreal and Arctic regions, following Collaboration for Environmental Evidence and ROSES standards.

The report argues that Brazil can align agricultural growth with natural resource protection by linking rural credit access to compliance with the Forest Code. It proposes amplifying credit limits for producers without environmental liabilities or those with approved Environmental Regularization Programs (PRA). The authors assert that this alignment would require no additional treasury resources, as it merely redirects existing funds toward producers providing public goods like forest conservation. The document highlights that a significant portion of current credit contracts are near their limits, suggesting that such a policy would have a substantial impact. It draws parallels to the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, which conditions payments on environmental rules, and notes that previous Brazilian Central Bank resolutions linking credit to environmental compliance in the Amazon led to a 15% reduction in deforestation between 2008 and 2011.

The white paper proposes increasing credit limits for Brazilian rural producers who comply with the Forest Code, specifically those without environmental liabilities or those with approved regularization programs. It argues that this alignment would use public subsidies to provide public goods (environmental conservation), improve international trade competitiveness, and accelerate agricultural modernization. The authors suggest reinstating rules from previous Central Bank resolutions (4.106/2012 and 4.226/2013) to implement these limits. Analysis of 2016/2017 data shows that 14% of the total credit volume across ten analyzed lines was granted in contracts exceeding 95% of their limits, indicating a significant potential impact for producers who could benefit from expanded limits.

The report examines the intersection of gender inequality and climate vulnerability in Côte d’Ivoire, providing a framework to integrate gender-responsive strategies into the National Adaptation Plan (NAP). It identifies systemic barriers—such as limited land rights for women, economic disparities in agriculture, and institutional gaps in gender monitoring—that amplify climate risks. The document offers detailed recommendations for the NAP process, including the creation of gender-specific indicators, the involvement of the National Observatory for Equity and Gender (ONEG), and sector-specific interventions in agriculture, water access, land use, health, and coastal zones to ensure that adaptation measures do not exacerbate existing inequalities.

The policy brief proposes using public lands in the Brazilian Amazon as a starting point for large-scale reforestation, leveraging natural forest regeneration to meet Brazil's Paris Agreement commitments. It highlights that protected territories offer a strong regulatory framework and biophysical advantages, while undesignated public lands, despite higher conflict risks, present a significant opportunity to address wasteful land use and illegal occupation.

The report proposes using public lands in the Amazon as a starting point for large-scale reforestation in Brazil. It highlights that natural regeneration is already occurring, with regenerated areas in the Brazilian Amazon increasing from 10 million to 17 million hectares between 2004 and 2014. The authors suggest that the 3 million hectares of deforested land within protected territories are ideal for initial efforts due to established governance and proximity to primary forests. Additionally, the document identifies approximately 13 million hectares of deforested non-designated public lands as potential areas for reforestation combined with land tenure regularization. This strategy is presented as a necessary complement to the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (Planaveg), which focuses on private lands, to help Brazil achieve its Paris Agreement commitment to restore 12 million hectares by 2030.

The document argues that women's economic empowerment (WEE) strategies in South and Southeast Asian agriculture often fail to achieve gender equality because they ignore systemic patriarchal norms and power imbalances. It identifies four primary barriers: the perception of women as secondary labour, the gap between legal access and actual control over resources, the confinement of women to low-value stages of the agricultural value chain, and gender-blind policy implementation. The author contends that economic growth and market inclusion do not automatically lead to gender equality. To address this, the briefing recommends positioning social equality as central to projects, facilitating power negotiations, supporting collective action for women, and ensuring gender-responsive policy implementation across ministerial bodies.

The H1 2019 green bond market report by the Climate Bonds Initiative tracks global issuance trends, noting that Euronext Amsterdam was the top listing venue and HSBC was the leading global underwriter. The data highlights the performance of sovereign green bonds, which often showed higher book cover and larger spread compression than vanilla equivalents, and identifies energy as a primary area for use of proceeds.

The green bond market in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is growing, with USD 12.6 billion issued since 2014. Brazil, Chile, and Mexico dominate the market, with Chile leading the region in sovereign green bond issuance. While energy is the most funded sector, LAC shows a higher proportion of funding for land use and industry compared to global trends. The report highlights significant opportunities for growth in sustainable agriculture and the 'blue economy' (ocean-based resources), while noting that public sector entities and financial institutions have substantial untapped potential for future green issuances.

The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) green bond market experienced a strong recovery in 2019, largely driven by Chile's first sovereign green bonds. While Brazil, Chile, and Mexico dominate the market, the region shows significant potential for expansion in green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and ocean-based 'blue' finance. The report highlights a high prevalence of USD-denominated issuance and a strong reliance on external reviews, though post-issuance reporting varies by issuer size and type.