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The 2023 Year in Review for the Corporate Consultative Group (CCG) outlines how WRI partners with the private sector to accelerate the energy transition and protect nature. The report details member benefits such as 'Tailored Advice' and 'MindShare' events, while aligning corporate engagement with WRI's 2023–2027 Strategic Plan. It highlights specific goals for decarbonizing energy, halting deforestation, and shifting finance, noting that CCG members provide critical unrestricted funds and practical input to ensure WRI's research is fit for corporate application.

WRI Brasil's 2023–2027 strategy focuses on transforming cities and food, land, and water systems to reduce inequality and protect ecosystems. Key goals include achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, expanding green urban infrastructure, and promoting a 'bioeconomy' in the Amazon. The strategy emphasizes a 'count it, change it, scale it' approach, leveraging research and partnerships to implement nature-based climate solutions and sustainable agriculture.

The WRI 2023-2027 Strategic Plan aims to facilitate a 'great transition' by addressing the systemic links between human needs, ecosystem health, and climate stability. The strategy focuses on transforming three primary human systems—food, land and water; energy; and cities—while reforming the underlying economic, financial, and governance 'enabling systems.' WRI intends to implement these strategies through global initiatives and deep engagement in 12 focus countries, utilizing evidence-based theories of change and multi-year flexible funding to achieve measurable impact aligned with international targets like the Paris Agreement.

The document highlights the critical role of grasslands in biodiversity and carbon sequestration, noting that over 70 percent of American prairies have been destroyed. It identifies federal crop insurance subsidies and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as primary drivers of habitat loss and proposes six policy interventions, including amending the RFS, strengthening the Sodsaver provision, and passing the North American Grasslands Conservation Act.

The document warns that the estimated USD 8 trillion investment needed in nature by 2050 to tackle the 'triple crisis' of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation introduces significant corruption risks. It highlights a 2020 study from Bangladesh where corruption led to the embezzlement of 35% of climate adaptation project funds and poor construction in nearly 80% of projects. To counter these risks, the document recommends a three-step approach: understanding how corruption impacts conservation, assessing specific programming situations, and adapting programming through nature-based solutions, increased transparency in carbon markets and climate finance, and the detection of illicit financial flows.

The 2023 Forest Pathways Report by WWF International highlights that the world is off track to meet 2030 goals to halt deforestation, with a 21% divergence from targets in 2022. It identifies a massive funding gap, where approximately US$2.2 billion in annual public forest-positive finance is dwarfed by up to US$1 trillion in environmentally harmful subsidies. The report emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, noting that their territories often have lower deforestation rates. It advocates for a shift from single-value carbon offsets to a 'contributions approach' and the repurposing of agricultural subsidies. Case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, and Australia illustrate specific challenges and successful interventions in forest conservation and restoration.

The document identifies the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and crop insurance subsidies as primary drivers of grassland conversion in North America. It proposes specific reforms to these policies, alongside the expansion of Farm Bill conservation programs and the passage of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, to mitigate biodiversity loss and enhance carbon sequestration.

The document warns that the estimated $8 trillion needed for nature by 2050 creates significant corruption risks that can divert resources from climate mitigation and adaptation. It cites a study from Bangladesh where 35% of climate adaptation infrastructure funds were diverted. To counter this, the document advocates for strengthening climate finance integrity, increasing decision-making transparency, and preventing illicit financial flows.

The project seeks USD 25 million in GCF grants to modernize Namibia's meteorological and hydrological infrastructure, which currently lacks the density recommended by the WMO. The initiative aims to transition from fragmented, project-based early warning services to a comprehensive national system that provides sector-specific advisories for agriculture, health, and water management. Key components include the establishment of a National Forecasting Centre, the deployment of automated weather stations, and the integration of private sector financial mechanisms such as weather-index insurance and forecast-based cash transfers. The project specifically targets the resilience of vulnerable rural communities, women-headed households, and small-scale farmers who are highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture and severely impacted by erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts.

WWF urges the NRCS to use IRA funding to establish a National Agricultural Soil Carbon Plus Monitoring Network, prioritize the conservation of the Central Grasslands, and transition toward a 'regenerative agriculture' tier of technical assistance. The document emphasizes the need for better data infrastructure, the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for Native Nations, and the reduction of on-farm food loss and waste to maximize climate and biodiversity outcomes.

The report advocates for the creation of the Seal River Watershed Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in northern Manitoba, highlighting its role in biodiversity, carbon storage, and the preservation of Indigenous cultures. It asserts that Canada and Manitoba cannot meet conservation targets without Indigenous involvement and recommends that the Manitoba government implement interim protections and a feasibility study for the IPA.

The document examines international development finance for nature-based solutions (NbS) in developing countries, particularly least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). It highlights the difficulty of accurately quantifying NbS funding and suggests that current estimates may mask a significant finance gap if projects are not explicitly designed to deliver both biodiversity and human benefits.

The document highlights the critical state of global freshwater ecosystems, noting that one in three freshwater species face extinction and only one-third of long rivers remain free-flowing. It identifies unsustainable agriculture and poorly planned infrastructure as primary drivers of degradation, both exacerbated by climate change. The author calls for the Global Biodiversity Framework to include specific numerical restoration targets by 2030: 300,000 kilometers of rivers and 350 million hectares of inland waters. It further advocates for the elevation of freshwater to the same priority level as land and sea in conservation goals, urging the use of nature-based solutions and financial support to ensure water security and support the clean energy transition.

The ZAMBEZI ADMIT project is a proposed USD 50 million initiative (requesting USD 30 million from the Green Climate Fund) to address high deforestation rates and climate vulnerability in Zambia's North-Western province. The project focuses on the 'forest-water-climate nexus,' targeting five districts: Mwinilunga, Ikelenge, Kapombo, Manyinga, and Kalumbila. It seeks to reduce GHG emissions by 10.4 million tCO2eq over 20 years by sustainably managing 100,000 ha of forests, restoring 10,000 ha, and establishing 2,000 ha of agroforestry. The project aims to benefit 225,000 people by diversifying livelihoods away from unsustainable charcoal production and rain-fed agriculture. Key components include the establishment of Community Forest Management Groups (CFMGs), the development of non-wood forest product value chains, and the mobilization of diverse finance sources, including payments for environmental services (PES) from ZESCO and the development of a jurisdictional REDD+ program.

The report finds that investments in climate resilient infrastructure (CRI) are in their nascent stages, representing only about 1.1% of average annual infrastructure investment in 2019/20. It proposes a five-principle framework to define and track CRI, though data gaps limited its operationalization to three principles. The study highlights a significant gap between investment and vulnerability, noting no correlation between per capita CRI investment and the ND-GAIN Vulnerability Index. It recommends the adoption of common resilience principles, mandated double materiality disclosures, and the creation of a standardized CRI taxonomy to scale finance.

The document asserts that big business, a primary driver of biodiversity loss, has significantly increased its influence over the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It details how corporations use 'green-sounding' coalitions, revolving doors, and the infiltration of national delegations to promote ineffective, market-based solutions like 'Nature-Based Solutions' and 'Nature Positive' while avoiding regulation. The report highlights specific cases of biotech industry influence and the role of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which includes companies with poor environmental records. It concludes that corporate capture prevents the transformative change needed to stop species extinction and recommends strict limits on business participation in UN negotiations, including a ban on business representatives in national delegations and the end of corporate partnerships.

The report argues that corporate interests have systematically captured CBD processes to avoid stringent regulation and protect profits. It details how business lobby groups, such as Business for Nature and the WBCSD, use tactics like 'multistakeholderism', the promotion of vague terms like 'Nature Positive', and the advocacy for voluntary reporting over mandatory impact reductions to shape the Global Biodiversity Framework. The document highlights the role of the CBD Secretariat in facilitating this access and warns that the resulting framework fails to address the underlying economic drivers of biodiversity loss.

Friends of the Earth International calls for a Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) based on environmental integrity, human rights, and binding government regulation of business. The organization rejects 'false solutions' such as offsetting, 'Nature Positive' concepts, and corporate self-regulation, arguing that these facilitate continued biodiversity loss. Key demands include the recognition of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) as primary guardians of biodiversity, a transition from industrial agriculture to agroecology, and the provision of new, additional public financial resources for developing countries based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The report argues that large corporations, which are primary drivers of biodiversity loss, have systematically infiltrated the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through lobbying, 'green' coalitions, and partnerships. It details how these entities use tactics such as inserting representatives into national delegations and promoting voluntary, market-based 'solutions' like 'nature-positive' concepts to avoid binding regulations. The document highlights the role of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and biotechnology firms in manipulating processes and calls for a total separation of corporate interests from UN decision-making to achieve a 'transformative change' in biodiversity conservation.

Friends of the Earth International calls for a Global Biodiversity Framework based on environmental integrity and human rights, rejecting corporate self-regulation and 'false solutions' like nature-based offsets. The organization advocates for the recognition of indigenous peoples' land rights, a transition to agroecology, and the provision of new, public international financial resources for developing countries to implement biodiversity goals.