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447 results
Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability amid uncertain rainfall trends
The 2026 floods in Upper Assam, which affected over 500,000 people and caused at least 99 deaths, were driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability rather than climate-driven rainfall increases. Analysis shows the rainfall events had return periods of less than two years and that human-induced warming of 1.4°C did not materially alter their likelihood or intensity. The study highlights that unplanned urbanization, deforestation, and colonial land policies have increased vulnerability, while reliance on rigid embankments has proven insufficient for adaptation.
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Document type: Research paper
Biocombustibles para principiantes
The document explains that biofuels are intended to reduce, rather than replace, fossil fuel use, particularly in hard-to-electrify sectors like aviation and shipping. It distinguishes between three generations of biofuels: first-generation (food-based), second-generation (waste-based), and third-generation (algae-based). While they can reduce emissions if produced sustainably, first-generation fuels can increase deforestation and biodiversity loss. The guide highlights regional production patterns in the Americas, noting Brazil's leadership in sugarcane ethanol and Colombia's role in palm oil biodiesel.
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Document type: Guide
Over 30 Organizations Issue Letter to US Senate Opposing Year-Round Ethanol 'E15' Proposal
Over 30 environmental organizations have petitioned the U.S. Senate to oppose 'year-round E15' legislation, asserting that increasing the ethanol blend from 10 percent to 15 percent would raise food and fuel costs, increase greenhouse gas emissions through land-use changes, and cause environmental degradation.
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Document type: Statement
Sudan Development Futures
The report analyzes Sudan's development prospects through 2043, identifying violent conflict as the primary constraint to growth. It uses scenario modelling to demonstrate that while the 'Current Path' leads to stagnation and high poverty, a 'Combined scenario' of reforms in agriculture, governance, and infrastructure could significantly increase GDP and reduce extreme poverty. The analysis emphasizes that peace is a necessary precondition for these transformations.
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Document type: Report
Carbon Opportunity Cost Calculation Tool
The World Resources Institute has released the Carbon Opportunity Cost Calculation Tool (Version 1.0), an Excel-based resource that automates the estimation of carbon lost from plants and soils when land is converted from native vegetation to agriculture. The tool provides default factors for nearly 90 agricultural products across 10 regions and 5 countries, allowing users to input product volumes to determine land occupation in hectares and carbon opportunity cost in carbon dioxide equivalent.
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Document type: Guide
Environmental Organizations Issue Letter Opposing US Ethanol ‘E15’ Fuel Bill
Environmental organizations oppose the 'year-round E15' bill, claiming it would increase greenhouse gas emissions through land-use changes, harm wildlife and water resources, and increase costs for consumers while primarily benefiting land investors.
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Document type: Statement
O Financiamento da Agropecuária Sustentável no Cerrado
The report finds that while significant financial flows enter the Cerrado, the current financial architecture fails to align agricultural funding with sustainability and zero-deforestation goals. Subsidized sustainable credit represents only 5.7% of total rural credit in the biome between 2020/21 and 2023/24, and is highly concentrated among large producers and a few financial institutions. The Matopiba region is particularly vulnerable, concentrating over 55% of the biome's deforestation (2013–2022) while relying heavily on Constitutional Financing Funds (FCFs), which often lack transparent sustainability criteria. Blended finance instruments show potential through risk mitigation and flexible terms but remain limited in scale compared to the economic incentives driving land conversion. The authors recommend improving transparency via the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy (TSB), expanding the role of sustainable credit, and fostering financial innovation to mobilize private capital.
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Document type: Report
Food Securities Fund Accountable Cocoa and Coffee Tranche (FSF ACCT) Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic (the), Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, Uganda
The FSF ACCT is a blended finance programme targeting cocoa and coffee supply chains in 10 countries. It combines a USD 200 million investment facility for pre-harvest working capital loans with a USD 12 million Technical Assistance Facility (TAF). The programme aims to mitigate 8.47 million tCO2e and benefit over 8.7 million people over 15 years by promoting agroforestry and regenerative agriculture.
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Document type: Report
Vietnam REDD-plus results-based payments for results period of 2014 Viet Nam
Vietnam is seeking results-based payments for 14,040,000 tCO2e of net emission reductions and removals from 2014, totaling an expected payment of 71,955,000 USD. The funds will finance a six-year project (2027-2033) targeting the North West and North East agro-ecological regions, specifically six provinces: Phu Tho, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, and Tuyen Quang. The project focuses on four outcomes: strengthening institutional systems, improving land and forest management, enhancing forest value for local socio-economics, and project management. It aims to benefit 9.24 million people and protect 3.79 million hectares of terrestrial forest, with an ex-ante mitigation impact of 17.29 million tCO2e.
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Document type: Report
Carbon Emissions: Global Picture and Forecast
The report analyzes global carbon emissions, noting that 2023 saw record levels of 36.1 billion tons of CO2 equivalent from fossil fuels. It highlights the dominance of a few producers and the significant impact of coal and methane. While China and the EU are pursuing decarbonization, the US experience fluctuates with political administrations. The report forecasts a peak in emissions by 2037/8, but warns that atmospheric CO2 concentrations could reach 551 ppm by 2063, potentially leading to a 3°C temperature rise. Africa is identified as particularly vulnerable, facing increasing emissions from population growth and significant forest loss, with 100 million hectares cleared over three decades.
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Document type: Report
Dangerous Distractions
The briefing argues that the meat and dairy industry exploits narratives of efficiency and food security to obstruct transformative changes to food systems and the adoption of sustainable diets. It notes that despite scientific consensus, only 4% of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) include quantified, time-bound agricultural methane reduction targets. The document specifically analyzes industry messaging from the World Meat Congress and COP30 to illustrate how these actors hinder the inclusion of food systems in official climate conference texts.
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Document type: Briefing
Strengthening Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) Protocols
A technical assessment of 25 BiCRS protocols reveals that only 28% are satisfactory, with 72% scoring below satisfactory. The report identifies critical flaws in greenhouse gas accounting, particularly regarding system boundaries, biomass production emissions, and the treatment of uncertainty. It recommends adopting comprehensive system boundaries, standardizing the treatment of biomass baselines, and implementing robust measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) to protect market and climate integrity.
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Document type: Report
Dangerous Distractions: How agribusiness narratives continue to undermine climate action
The document analyzes the strategies used by agribusiness to delay climate action, focusing on the 24th World Meat Congress and COP30. It identifies key industry narratives—such as the claim that meat is sustainable, essential for health, and that the industry is simply meeting inevitable demand—as tools to distract from the need for dietary shifts and methane reductions. The report highlights the role of industry-funded media, like the film 'World Without Cows', and the influence of agribusiness on the FAO and US dietary guidelines to maintain 'meat primacy' and avoid systemic reform.
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Document type: Briefing
Investing in Africa’s Food Future: A Philanthropic Road Map for Transformation
The report argues that Africa's food systems are under severe strain from climate volatility, urbanisation, and structural inequality, which marginalise small producers and exacerbate food insecurity. It proposes a multi-level investment strategy for philanthropy—targeting niches (local innovations), regimes (policy and governance), and landscapes (structural reform)—to shift from industrial agriculture toward agroecology. The authors identify the 'regime level' as the priority entry point for systemic change, advocating for the creation of inclusive governance platforms and the removal of barriers that favour large corporations.
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Document type: Report
Story Spark: Deforestation
The document outlines the current state of global deforestation, noting that 8.1 million hectares were lost in 2024 and that the world is off track to meet the COP26 goal of halting and reversing deforestation by 2030. It identifies agriculture as the primary driver, accounting for 86% of global deforestation over the last decade, and highlights the critical role of old-growth forests in carbon storage. The guide also notes that climate-driven risks, particularly wildfires, have become leading causes of forest loss, with fire becoming the principal driver of tropical forest loss for the first time in 2024.
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Document type: Guide
Deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado reduces soy production and threatens supply chains
Analysis of 840 municipalities in the Cerrado shows that land clearing for soy creates a 3:1 productivity loss, where climate spillovers outweigh the gains from new farmland. While individual farmers profit by externalizing costs, the region lost USD 9.4 billion in potential soy production between 2013 and 2023 due to deforestation-induced drying. Global importers, particularly China and Germany, face significant supply chain vulnerabilities, with China's sourcing regions losing USD 5.0 billion in annual production capacity. The report argues for urgent conservation and intensification strategies, noting that most municipalities are still below a critical climate threshold where protection delivers maximum benefit.
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Document type: Briefing
Mapping wetlands in Sápmi
The 'Wetlands in Sápmi' project emphasizes the critical importance of Arctic wetlands for forest Sámi reindeer herders, providing essential grazing, calving grounds, and climate respite. These ecosystems also serve as global carbon sinks, storing approximately 20% of the world's carbon. The document advocates for Participatory Topological Mapping (PTM) to capture the dynamic social-ecological relationships that conventional GIS mapping misses, thereby preventing the exploitation of areas erroneously assumed to be unused. It recommends that policymakers implement Indigenous engagement frameworks, data-driven protections for critical herding areas, and integrated land management plans to enhance climate resilience and preserve Sámi cultural heritage.
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Document type: Briefing
Factsheet – Bioenergy
The document evaluates the role of bioenergy in the energy transition, specifically critiquing the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario for its heavy reliance on biomass. It argues that solid biomass creates a 'carbon debt' and threatens biodiversity, while biogas and biofuels often have greenhouse gas intensities comparable to fossil fuels due to land-use change and methane leaks. Reclaim Finance concludes that bioenergy should not be included in sustainable financing frameworks, as it competes with wind and solar power and risks prolonging the use of fossil gas infrastructure.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Introducing the minerals-energy-food (MEF) complex
The report proposes the minerals-energy-food (MEF) complex as an evolution of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus. It argues that the WEF nexus fails to account for the global trade of commodities, the critical role of minerals in the energy transition, and the systemic power asymmetries between resource-rich low-income countries and wealthy consuming nations. The MEF complex integrates three commodity clusters (minerals, energy, food), three local mediating factors (water, land, labour), and five higher-order global factors (global governance, trade, supply chains, geopolitics, and climate change). Using examples from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, and Ukraine, the authors demonstrate how these components interact to create cascading risks and unequal exchange. The report concludes with a research and policy agenda focused on data transparency, risk ownership, governance mapping, and inclusive participation.
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Document type: Report
Private Sector Guidance: Setting Biobased Plastic Content Targets
The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA) outlines a framework for companies to transition from virgin fossil-based plastics to responsibly sourced biobased alternatives. The guidance emphasizes that biobased content targets should be measurable, time-bound, and integrated into existing corporate sustainability goals, such as those related to climate, nature, and social performance. It provides a five-step recommended approach: understanding materiality, identifying desired outcomes, aligning with existing goals, developing targets based on portfolio analysis, and evaluating progress. The document also highlights the importance of responsible sourcing, the role of external certifications, and the impact of emerging regulatory frameworks like the Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's Land Sector and Removals Guidance.
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Document type: Guide