Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the global coffee market, highlighting a growth in VSS-compliant production which reached at least 34% of total production in 2016. While demand is increasing in emerging economies, the sector faces risks from price volatility and climate change. The analysis identifies Ethiopia and Uganda as having high potential for VSS expansion among LHDCs.

The global tea market is growing, with retail value projected to reach USD 73 billion by 2024, driven by demand in Asia and the Pacific. While VSS-compliant tea grew significantly from 2.4% of the market in 2008 to 19.4% in 2016, the sector faces challenges including climate change, poor labour conditions, and a highly concentrated value chain. The report identifies significant opportunities to expand sustainable production in China, India, and Sri Lanka, as well as in LHDCs like Burundi and Uganda.

The document analyzes the intersection of five major agricultural voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) and gender equality themes. It finds that while VSSs can improve working conditions for waged women and promote children's education, they risk exacerbating gender inequalities if they prioritize cash crops over women's subsistence farming or increase women's unpaid labor burdens without providing childcare or gender-transformative training.

The report details a March 2019 workshop aimed at addressing the opportunities and challenges of Voluntary Sustainability Certification (VSC) in Kenya's tea industry. Key findings highlight that while VSCs improve market access and environmental practices, they impose prohibitive costs and create 'certification fatigue' due to a multiplicity of standards. The document recommends the development of a national benchmarked standard, similar to the Kenya Flower Council's model, and the creation of a multistakeholder platform to implement a collective action plan.

The report details a multistakeholder workshop focused on the impact of Voluntary Sustainability Certification (VSC) on Rwanda's coffee sector. It identifies significant barriers for smallholder farmers, including high annual audit costs, a lack of local certification bodies, and a mismatch between the supply of certified coffee and market demand. The document proposes solutions such as the development of a national 'Rwanda GAP' standard, the translation of training manuals into Kinyarwanda, and the creation of a multistakeholder platform for data sharing and coordination to improve the economic viability and sustainability of the sector.

The global cocoa market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2019 to 2025, driven by demand in Western Europe, North America, and emerging Asian economies. While VSS-compliant cocoa grew significantly between 2008 and 2016, the sector faces long-term supply risks from ageing trees, climate change, and systemic poverty. The report highlights the potential for VSS expansion in LHDCs, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Togo, to improve farmer livelihoods and environmental outcomes.

The report examines the global sugarcane market, noting that while demand is growing in Asia and Africa, it is stagnating in developed countries due to health concerns. It highlights the rise of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs), which grew at a compound annual growth rate of about 52% from 2008 to 2016, though sales have not kept pace with production. The document identifies significant sustainability risks, including land grabbing, forced labor, and greenhouse gas emissions from field burning, and suggests that expanding VSSs in low human development countries like Sudan and Uganda could catalyze development benefits.

The document analyzes the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and gender equality in agriculture. It identifies six key themes—household food security, access to productive resources, education, unpaid domestic work, decision-making, and decent work—where VSS can either support or potentially hinder women's empowerment. The guide provides specific recommendations for development organizations to ensure VSS implementation is gender-transformative and does not exacerbate existing inequalities.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is facilitating the participation of Latin American and Caribbean funding agencies in a Collaborative Research Action (CRA) on Food Security and Climate Change. This joint initiative, involving the Belmont Forum, the European Commission, and the EU Joint Programme Initiative (JPI) FACCE, aims to develop climate-resilient food value chains and assess the impacts of climate change on food systems across Europe, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The program seeks to provide scientific knowledge to support Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), with the European Commission providing matching funds for eligible participating agencies.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is promoting a joint call by the Belmont Forum and the European Commission for a Collaborative Research Action (CRA) focused on the interactions between climate change and food systems. The initiative seeks to develop sustainable and resilient food value chains and assess climate impacts on markets, specifically targeting regional food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. The CRA aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 13 (Climate Action), offering funding opportunities, including potential matching funds from the European Commission via the ERANET Cofund mechanism, to support interdisciplinary research on agricultural food, waste residues, and socio-economic vulnerabilities in the Global South.

The letter calls for the swift approval of the Healthy Eating Strategy and a national food policy to address food insecurity and environmental degradation.

The report argues that Brazil can align economic growth with natural resource protection by intensifying production on underutilized pasture lands. It identifies three main directives for reform: improving risk management tools (insurance and derivatives), aligning rural credit with the 2012 Forest Code to incentivize environmental conservation, and simplifying the complex, public-sector-dominated credit system to increase private bank participation and predictability.

The document argues that Brazil can align economic growth with environmental protection by reforming its rural credit system to support the 2012 Forest Code. It identifies inefficiencies in the current credit design, such as annual planning horizons and a dominance of public banks, and proposes a phased transition toward risk management tools, private sector participation, and subsidies strictly tied to the provision of public environmental goods.

The document identifies storage, decentralized renewable energy, feeder roads, and irrigation as the four infrastructure assets with the most robust links to ending hunger. It argues that financial viability should be viewed broadly, suggesting that government availability payments can make projects bankable even without direct user fees. The brief proposes a variety of financing tools—including viability gap funds, blended capital, and project bundling—and emphasizes the need for 'intermediate infrastructure' (logistics and transport) to link physical assets with human capacities.

The document argues that while there is significant global potential for policy coherence between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda, this must be translated into national-level implementation. Using the NDC-SDG Connections tool, the authors analyzed over 7,000 climate activities, finding strong synergies in energy, agriculture, and water. However, it warns that trade-offs—such as bioenergy competing with food security for land—are rarely documented in policy papers and must be proactively managed to avoid maladaptation.

The briefing examines the first EU-South Africa summit since 2013, highlighting the importance of attracting foreign direct investment and leveraging the EU's External Investment Plan. It notes that while the EU is South Africa's largest investment partner and a primary destination for manufactured exports, the partnership has struggled due to internal crises in both regions. The agenda includes economic cooperation, sustainable energy, multilateralism, and climate change.

The document explores how green bonds can support Brazil's agricultural sector, noting that while the forestry sector has successfully used these instruments, sustainable agriculture remains underfunded. It highlights the underutilization of government programs like the ABC Program and suggests that securitizing small loans via Certificados de Recebíveis do Agronegócio (CRA) and leveraging bank-issued green bonds could bridge the financing gap for sustainable practices.

The document examines the gap between Brazil's agricultural importance and its limited use of green bonds for the sector, which has been primarily restricted to forestry and paper. It highlights that while government programs like the Low Carbon Agriculture Program (ABC) exist, they are underutilised due to complex application processes and a lack of understanding among financial institutions. The authors argue that green bonds and securitisation tools like Certificates of Agribusiness Receivables (CRA) could scale sustainable financing by aggregating small loans and attracting international capital.

The executive summary advocates for agroecology as a holistic alternative to the dominant industrial agri-food model, which it links to environmental degradation and climate change. It proposes a 13-criteria framework to evaluate the sustainability of innovations, emphasizing social justice, gender equality, and environmental health. The text contrasts agroecology with 'false solutions' like climate-smart agriculture and provides a detailed set of policy recommendations for governments to support small-scale producers, protect biodiversity, and transition away from industrial agrofuels.

The report advocates for a paradigm shift from industrial agri-business models to agroecology to address global hunger, environmental degradation, and climate change. It proposes a 13-point evaluation framework to assess sustainable innovations and warns against 'false solutions' like climate-smart agriculture. The document concludes with detailed policy recommendations for governments to secure land rights, ensure gender justice, and shift subsidies toward agroecological practices to achieve food sovereignty.