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The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote non-food cellulosic biofuels. However, a decade later, the mandate is primarily filled by corn ethanol and soy biodiesel, which together comprise approximately 85% of the RFS. These first-generation biofuels may have higher lifecycle emissions than the petroleum fuels they replace. While corn ethanol and soy biodiesel volumes meet or exceed targets, cellulosic biofuel production has struggled due to technological and economic hurdles, leading the EPA to reduce its annual volume requirements by more than 90% in recent years. The document concludes that the RFS is an ineffective climate policy and recommends that Congress reform it to target truly low-carbon fuels for hard-to-decarbonize transportation sectors.

The document identifies five high-priority mitigation options for Pakistan's forestry sector: community-based forest management, preservation of conifer forest land, agroforestry practices, commercial plantations, and reforestation of degraded land. These options are characterized by low marginal abatement costs (mostly <$25/Tonne CO2e) and the potential to reduce emissions by a total of 21.7 MtCO2e by 2030. The sector faces significant challenges, including a net loss of over one million hectares of forest between 1990 and 2015, an entrenched illegal timber trade, and a lack of a national carbon monitoring system.

The briefing argues that the EU's RePowerEU target to produce 35 billion m3 of biomethane by 2030 lacks an environmental impact assessment, creating risks of methane leakage and the intensification of industrial livestock farming. It finds that no existing EU policy sufficiently mitigates the environmental and social impacts of the sector, and that financial frameworks may channel over €37 billion into projects without robust sustainability checks. The report highlights a systemic issue with methane leaks, noting that real-world losses may be higher than official estimates, and warns that using biomethane to maintain existing gas grids could delay the phase-out of fossil fuels.

The European Union is the global leader in biogas production, reaching 22.8 billion m3 in 2024. While promoted as a renewable energy source, the report argues that the sector risks causing significant environmental harm through methane leakages, the incentivisation of industrial animal farming, and the use of food crops as feedstock. It further contends that the injection of biomethane into existing gas grids may postpone the transition to truly sustainable energy systems by locking in fossil gas infrastructure. The report examines the policy landscapes of seven European countries, noting that while most support biogas expansion, regulatory safeguards against these environmental risks are often insufficient. It also details the role of major oil, gas, utility, and agri-food companies in the sector and identifies the primary financial institutions providing credit and investment to biogas producers.

The Agrifood Transition Plan Assessment Framework establishes a methodology for evaluating corporate transition strategies in the agrifood sector. It categorizes companies into 'committed' (early) and 'advanced' phases based on the maturity of their transition plans. The framework emphasizes a holistic approach that integrates greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction—specifically targeting methane and nitrous oxide—with nature-based goals such as eliminating deforestation and land conversion. It provides detailed requirements for Paris-aligned targets, action plans for producers and downstream actors, and accountability metrics, while aligning with international disclosure standards like TCFD, TNFD, and ICMA.

DNV GL has provided limited assurance that the Federal Government of Nigeria's proposed N20,000 million climate bond aligns with the Climate Bond Standard Version 2.1, specifically regarding solar energy and afforestation projects. While the bond is deemed compliant in all material respects for pre-issuance, DNV GL issued a Forward Action Request concerning the management systems for the afforestation project to be reviewed during post-issuance verification.

A coalition of civil society organisations advocates for a more ambitious EU regulation on deforestation-free products. They propose expanding the scope to include other natural ecosystems like peatlands and savannahs, broadening the list of covered commodities to include all livestock, rubber, and maize, and implementing stricter due diligence requirements. The statement emphasizes the need for mandatory traceability to the plot of land, the removal of 'simplified' due diligence, and the inclusion of civil and criminal liability for non-compliance to protect indigenous peoples' rights and global biodiversity.

The document assesses the UK's proposed law to minimise deforestation linked to 'forest risk commodities', arguing that its reliance on 'relevant local laws' creates a loophole that would allow commodities from Brazil to enter the UK market even if they result from legalised deforestation. It details several Brazilian legislative proposals (such as PL 2633/2020 and PL 490/2007) that aim to legalise land grabbing and restrict Indigenous land rights. ClientEarth recommends that the UK adopt an objective standard covering all deforestation, mandate free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples, and explicitly include cattle, soy, and non-agricultural commodities like mining and oil and gas in the framework.

The STARRS pilot project, initiated by Climate Group and Climate TRACE, demonstrates how satellite imagery and artificial intelligence can provide timely, granular greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for subnational governments. By tracking six pilot regions—Abruzzo (Italy), Basque Country (Spain), Jalisco (Mexico), Querétaro (Mexico), Pernambuco (Brazil), and Western Cape (South Africa)—the project addressed common barriers to emissions accounting, such as high costs and long timeframes associated with traditional bottom-up methods. The project provided historical data from 2015 to 2021 across sectors including electricity, heavy industry, and road transport, while also mapping biomass changes. Findings for the pilot regions highlighted specific emission drivers, such as the dominance of the Bilbao Refinery in the Basque Country's oil and gas sector and the significant impact of feedlots in Jalisco and Western Cape.

The report contends that carbon offsets in agriculture fail to reduce absolute emissions due to measurement uncertainties, lack of permanence, and issues with additionality. It highlights how these schemes often benefit agribusinesses while undermining food security, increasing land financialization, and locking in industrial farming models. The authors recommend excluding the land sector from international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and redirecting finance toward agroecological practices.

The handbook evaluates six carbon removal methods: BioCCS, afforestation/reforestation, biochar, terrestrial enhanced weathering, DACCS, and soil carbon sequestration. It highlights the trade-offs between permanence, cost, and ecological impact, emphasizing that land-based solutions often conflict with planetary boundaries and food security, while technological solutions like DACCS face high energy and cost barriers. The document recommends prioritizing sustainable feedstocks, rights-based approaches for local communities, and the development of standardized monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks.

The document asserts that fossil and biological carbon operate on fundamentally different timescales and cycles, making them non-fungible. While fossil carbon is permanent, biological carbon is subject to rapid fluxes and risks of reversibility from fires, pests, or rising temperatures. The author contends that relying on biological offsets to mitigate fossil emissions is scientifically unsound and practically limited by land area and nutrient requirements, concluding that emissions from both sources must be addressed in parallel rather than through offsetting.

The document outlines the systemic risks where agrifood-driven greenhouse gas emissions and climate-induced food insecurity intersect with geopolitical instability. It notes that the agrifood sector contributes one third of total GHG emissions and that food price inflation is spiking across low- and middle-income countries, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. The text argues that climate change acts as a social crisis that intensifies inequality and threatens human security, calling for a systems-thinking approach to integrate climate and security policies.

The report highlights the critical role of agricultural biodiversity, contrasting the diversity of peasant food networks with the narrow base of industrial food chains. It critiques the CBD for neglecting agriculture since the Rio summit and calls for the Global Biodiversity Framework to recognize both the destructive nature of industrial farming and the restorative potential of peasant-led agriculture.

The document highlights the critical role of agricultural biodiversity, contrasting the diversity of peasant food webs with the narrow focus of industrial food chains. It argues that while industrial agriculture is a primary driver of ecosystem destruction and climate change, peasant agriculture offers a solution for safeguarding biodiversity. The author contends that agricultural biodiversity has been sidelined within the CBD and must be brought back to the center of negotiations for the Global Biodiversity Framework.

The statement asserts that China's influence as Brazil's largest trading partner is critical for saving the Amazon. It highlights that 52% of Brazil's exported beef and 7% of its exported soybeans go to China, making Chinese demand a primary driver of deforestation. The author calls for China to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains, stop financial institutions from funding deforestation-risk commodities, and establish a joint China-Brazil task force to coordinate climate and biodiversity efforts to meet the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use goal of ending deforestation by 2030.

The report alleges that Brookfield Asset Management oversaw the deforestation of approximately 9,000 hectares of the Brazilian Cerrado between 2012 and 2021 across eight farms, subsequently selling these assets in a 'slash and sell' strategy. It further details a case where a Brookfield-controlled firm was fined R$800,000 for slave labour offences at Fazenda Colorado and an attempt to evict the Kayabí Indigenous community from ancestral lands in the Amazon via the company Agropecuaria Vale do Ximari. The document highlights a contradiction between these actions and the public roles of Brookfield Chair Mark Carney, a co-founder of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), and the firm's ESG policies. It argues that voluntary initiatives like GFANZ are insufficient and calls for mandatory government legislation on environmental and human rights due diligence for the financial sector.

The document defines Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) as a 'bottom-up' technique where a system is represented as a collection of autonomous decision-making entities called agents. Unlike traditional analytical methods that focus on system equilibrium, ABMs allow for the emergence of global patterns from local interactions. The guide details the components of an ABM—agents, environment, and rules—and highlights its utility in simulating complex systems characterized by interdependence, heterogeneity, and hierarchies. It provides specific guidance on when to use ABMs (e.g., for non-linear interactions or spatial relevance) and outlines a rigorous process for verification, calibration, and validation. Finally, it discusses implementation tools and the ODD protocol for standardized documentation.

The document outlines a 20-hour self-guided virtual course on satellite data for environmental monitoring, specifically targeting researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean. The curriculum focuses on using Google Earth Engine to analyze tropical forests, land cover, and climate extremes through eight technical modules and six sessions. Participants engage in case studies involving deforestation, drought modeling, and air pollution, culminating in a final assessment requiring a 70% score for certification.

The report examines the challenges of fragmented public policies in Latin America and proposes the Ecosystem Approach—a holistic strategy from the Convention on Biological Diversity—as a framework for integrating biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. It emphasizes the role of territorial planning (Ordenamiento Territorial) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in building resilience, using the Integrated National Adaptation Project (INAP) in Colombia's Chingaza Massif as a practical example of bottom-up implementation.