Search Climate Insights Directory

The report evaluates the revitalization of Sherwan Hill Adventure Park in Abbottabad, Pakistan, as part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project. Using the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology, the analysis compares a nature-based infrastructure scenario—including reforestation and expanded green areas—against a business-as-usual scenario. The findings indicate that the project provides a significant return on investment, with every USD 1 spent yielding USD 2.49 in benefits over 30 years, totaling PKR 1.8 billion in avoided costs and gains across health, employment, property values, and climate resilience.

The Just Transition Planning Masterclass provided practitioners from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Namibia with frameworks to ensure nature-based solutions (NbS) are equitable. The program highlighted that while NbS are often seen as 'win-win', they can cause socio-economic disruptions, such as loss of employment in extractive industries or displacement of communities without formal land tenure. Participants explored the Climate Investment Fund’s Just Transition Planning Toolbox and identified strategies to mitigate negative impacts, including livelihood diversification, re-skilling, and social protection measures. The report also notes barriers to implementation, such as limited institutional capacity, financial constraints, and community mistrust.

The document serves as a legal reference guide, listing the specific laws and regulations used to implement the Brazilian Forest Code (Lei nº 12.651/2012). It details federal legislation and provides a state-by-state breakdown of the legal frameworks for the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) in 26 Brazilian states and the Federal District. The listed legislation covers topics such as ecological-economic zoning, legal reserve compensation, the restoration of degraded areas, and the administrative procedures for validating rural property registrations.

The IRES project in Cuba is on track to achieve its expected results, though implementation of productive landscape modules is significantly behind schedule due to COVID-19, procurement delays, and fuel shortages. The project has successfully strengthened institutional capacities, improved governance, and contributed to national policy reforms. While it has a strong gender focus, the evaluation recommends moving toward a more gender-transformative approach to better capture and empower women's leadership and economic roles. The project is currently meeting its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, but requires improved monitoring and reporting capacities.

The document outlines various carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies, categorising them into natural/biotic and technological/abiotic approaches. It highlights the United States' leadership in the sector, supported by billions of dollars in public investment and tax incentives, while noting a significant gap between current trajectories and midcentury needs.

The itinerary describes a guided tour from January 25–30, 2026, focusing on the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico. Participants visit the El Rosario and Chincua sanctuaries to observe monarch butterflies and learn about WWF-Mexico's conservation work, including reforestation and the promotion of ecotourism as a sustainable economic alternative to logging. The trip includes visits to Mexico City, Angangueo, and Jungapeo, with a focus on the oyamel fir forests essential for butterfly hibernation.

The ESMP outlines the management of 87.25 hectares of plantations across three sites in Bhutan, focusing on maintenance activities such as weeding and fencing. It identifies minor environmental risks, including waste generation and invasive species, and social risks, such as worker safety and grazing restrictions. Mitigation measures include waste removal, the use of native species, and community consultation. Implementation is led by Green Bhutan Corporation Limited (GBCL) under the supervision of the Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS), with monitoring conducted by the Bhutan for Life (BFL) project's ESS officer.

The report evaluates the 'One School, 5 Hectares of Forest' initiative in Côte d'Ivoire, specifically a project at Collège moderne de Bougousso. Comparing Nature-Based Infrastructure (NBI) against grey infrastructure and business-as-usual scenarios, the assessment finds that reforestation provides a return of USD 7.50 in benefits for every USD 1 invested. These benefits include carbon sequestration, avoided flood damages, and USD 4,100 in additional income from agroforestry, which supports women's cooperatives.

The document outlines a two-step process for choosing climate scenarios that effectively guide greenhouse gas emission reductions. It advises avoiding scenarios produced by entities with conflicts of interest, such as oil and gas companies, and instead prioritizing independent sources like the IEA and IPCC. A robust scenario must have at least a 50% probability of limiting warming to 1.5°C with low or zero 'overshoot' and must rely on limited negative emissions to avoid risking irreversible climate tipping points.

The document examines how discrepancies between NDC accounting and IPCC standards lead to an overestimation of land-based carbon sequestration, potentially reducing the global carbon budget by 15-18%. It highlights that current NDC pledges for land-based removal involve approximately 1 billion hectares, which the author claims is impossible without threatening food security and biodiversity. Furthermore, the briefing critiques IPCC Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) for ignoring land tenure, human rights, and the declining ability of natural sinks to store carbon under rising temperatures, suggesting that sustainable removal potential is up to 79% lower than IPCC estimates.

The document defines carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as the physical extraction and permanent storage of atmospheric CO2. It argues that CDR must supplement, not substitute, deep emission reductions of over 90%. The handbook evaluates six negative emissions technologies and practices (NETPs)—biochar, BioCCS, DACCS, enhanced weathering, afforestation/reforestation, and soil carbon sequestration—detailing their technical readiness, permanence, and environmental trade-offs. It emphasizes the need for robust 'cradle-to-grave' carbon accounting, separate targets for reductions and removals to avoid mitigation deterrence, and the integration of the Planetary Boundaries framework to ensure Earth system stability. The text also critiques current EU legislation, such as the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), for lacking ambition and failing to distinguish between permanent and temporary storage.

The document defines carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as the physical extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere and its permanent storage. It argues that CDR must be a complement to, not a substitute for, aggressive emission reductions (over 90%). The guide evaluates six negative emissions technologies and practices (NETPs)—including Bio-CCS, DACCS, and biochar—while critiquing current EU policies for failing to distinguish between permanent removals and temporary biological sequestration. It advocates for a diversified portfolio of CDR methods, rigorous life-cycle accounting, and a governance framework based on the 'planetary boundaries' to avoid ecological trade-offs.

The research paper examines the critical role of women in climate mitigation across sectors like agriculture and energy, while highlighting systemic barriers such as limited land ownership and educational gaps. It advocates for feminist climate justice frameworks and gender-responsive policies, citing successful initiatives in Kenya, Nepal, Senegal, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia, and aligning these with global frameworks like the UNFCCC's Lima Work Programme on Gender.

The report evaluates the economic and environmental benefits of nature-based infrastructure (NBI) in Kenya, specifically within the Integrated Natural Resources Management Programme (INReMP). It finds that NBI investments yield a return of USD 1.71 to 1.91 for every dollar spent, with the highest gains coming from agroforestry and drought mitigation.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are being integrated into climate strategies across Latin America and the Caribbean to address biodiversity loss and climate change. While they offer significant economic and ecological potential—such as protecting coastal resilience and sequestering carbon—they cannot replace the need for deep emissions reductions from fossil fuels. The document warns that vague definitions of NbS can lead to 'greenwashing' by polluting corporations and risk the displacement of Indigenous and local communities through land grabs and monoculture plantations. For NbS to be sustainable, the author argues they must be based on local knowledge, ensure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), and be supported by diverse financing mechanisms beyond voluntary safeguards.

The PROEZA project in Eastern Paraguay aims to combine social protection with climate action by implementing agroforestry systems and efficient stoves for vulnerable households. While the evaluation recognizes the project's innovative approach and its success in improving land tenure security, it finds that overall implementation is very low, with less than 5% of final targets for agroforestry plantations achieved. Major obstacles include weak project design, high personnel turnover, the COVID-19 pandemic, and an unattractive credit line for medium-sized landowners. The report highlights risks to sustainability due to low institutional ownership and a lack of clear future financing, and it recommends a revised roadmap with realistic targets and a strengthened exit strategy.

The report evaluates the effectiveness of nature-based infrastructure (NBI) and hybrid infrastructure in 12,000 hectares across the Lambussie, Wa West, Lawra, and Jirapa districts of Ghana. Comparing a reference scenario of no action against NBI and hybrid interventions, the analysis finds that both NBI and hybrid options effectively mitigate floods and droughts across various Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP). Specifically, reforestation of a 3,500-hectare area in one district reduced flood risk by 46.7%.

A small group of community members in southern Zambia spent 13 years restoring a 300-metre stretch of the Nsongwe River through desilting and reforestation, which successfully revived natural springs and attracted wildlife. This local effort has been scaled up by the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative, supported by IISD, WWF Zambia, and Global Affairs Canada. The expanded project now includes restoring the river and its tributaries (Lubemba and Lutwa streams), restoring 400 hectares of forest, and constructing check dams and fire breaks to improve water recharge and protect biodiversity in the Kavango–Zambezi landscape.

The Clean Air Task Force supports integrating greenhouse gas removals (GGRs) into the UK ETS but argues that this must be phased in gradually to avoid market volatility and price drops. The organization emphasizes that emissions reductions must remain the priority and suggests maintaining the gross emissions cap to preserve the system's integrity. To ensure long-term deployment of durable GGRs, the document recommends complementary policies such as carbon contracts for difference (CCfD) or carbon takeback obligations (CTBO), as the ETS alone may not sufficiently drive innovation. Additionally, it calls for a separate UK GGR certification scheme and strengthened permanence frameworks to manage variable durability GGRs, including limits on their use that decline over time.

The Nature-Based Solutions Inventory for Fiji catalogues various projects across the country's ecosystems, highlighting a concentration of efforts in the northern and western divisions. The inventory reveals a primary focus on coastal protection through mangrove planting and hybrid seawalls, alongside riverbank stabilization using vetiver grass and reforestation of native forests. These initiatives aim to address climate risks such as sea level rise, tidal surges, and flooding, while simultaneously tackling biodiversity loss and improving food security for local communities.