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The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) issued a statement honoring the life and career of Ciata Bishop, an international trade and investment lawyer and former Liberian government official. Bishop served as an advisor to IISD, contributing her expertise to the development of a model contract for responsible investment in agriculture and conducting workshops for government officials on contract farming and international investment agreements. Her work focused on ensuring that agricultural investments are conducted sustainably and with the involvement of affected communities.

The 2022 Theme 2 Assessment of the Forest Declaration finds that the world is not on track to meet 2030 forest goals or 2025 zero-deforestation targets for agricultural supply chains. While commodity-driven tree cover loss declined by 6% in 2021 compared to 2018-20, rates remain higher than in any year before 2016. The report highlights a significant gap between government 'green growth' agendas and actual investment, noting that trillions of dollars are mobilized for infrastructure like the Belt and Road Initiative while global public investments in forest goals are only USD 2.3 billion per year. In the private sector, only a quarter of major agricultural companies have ambitious policies to eliminate deforestation, and less than 20% of companies disclosing to CDP report near full compliance. The extractives sector shows even lower transparency and a lack of explicit forest-focused policies. Grassroots resistance, led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, has achieved some successes, such as a temporary moratorium on new concessions in Ecuador, but defenders face high rates of violence, with over 200 killed in 2021.

The document is a comprehensive guide designed to assist WTO Members in aligning their national policies with the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (ASP). It focuses on three primary pillars: prohibiting subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; prohibiting subsidies for overfished stocks; and regulating other subsidies, such as those in unregulated high seas or for non-flag vessels. The guide provides a structured methodology using inventory and alignment tables to help officials identify gaps in their legislation and procedures, formulate needs for technical assistance, and meet transparency and notification requirements to the WTO Committee on Fisheries Subsidies.

The paper examines how the Russia-Ukraine conflict challenges the BRICS bloc's stated principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It analyzes the divergent voting patterns of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa at the United Nations, noting that the group lacks a common stance on the conflict. While the bloc advocates for a more equitable international order and criticizes Western double standards, the author argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine risks compromising the bloc's credibility and creating a precedent where powerful states ignore international principles.

The report examines BNDES's role in the Legal Amazon from 2009 to 2019, finding that while the North Region receives the highest share of disbursements relative to its GDP, it receives the lowest total share of BNDES funds. Financing is heavily concentrated in large-scale infrastructure, specifically hydroelectric power generation, which often serves the rest of Brazil while local populations remain energy-poor. The authors argue that BNDES has a significant opportunity to pivot toward the energy transition by replacing diesel-based isolated systems with renewable energy and improving basic services like sanitation and internet access to reduce regional inequality.

The document identifies key governance challenges for cities implementing circular economy (CE) models, such as administrative silos, lack of holistic visions, and insufficient data for monitoring. It proposes four strategic pillars for urban policymakers: creating shared visions with inclusive strategies, establishing supportive regulatory and financial instruments (particularly circular public procurement), facilitating multi-level collaboration, and utilizing Urban Living Labs to scale innovations from local pilots to city-wide implementation.

The E-Mobility Program for Sustainable Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean is a 450 million USD initiative (200 million USD from GCF) designed to accelerate the transition to commercial electric vehicles (EVs) and enhance the climate resilience of urban transport systems. The program focuses on high-utilization commercial vehicles, including buses, taxis, trucks, and vessels, while excluding private passenger cars. It integrates EV deployment with sustainable urban mobility measures, such as cycle lanes and pedestrianization, and explores advanced technologies like green hydrogen and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems to improve grid stability. The program targets nine countries: Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Key goals include reducing GHG emissions by 7.55 million tCO2e and benefiting approximately 8.9 million people through adaptation measures.

The document critiques the draft National Land Policy of Mozambique for its limited scope, lack of clarity on land tenure, and failure to integrate climate change strategies and human rights protections. It advocates for the adoption of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), stronger protections for customary land rights, and a coordinated inter-sectoral approach to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from the oil and gas industry. The authors emphasize the need for gender equality in land access and the establishment of clear mechanisms to combat corruption and land grabbing.

The document outlines a proposed constitutional framework for Chile that integrates ecological principles with human rights. It highlights specific articles that establish the rights of nature, the right to a healthy environment, and the state's obligation to mitigate climate risks. Additionally, it details the proposed creation of a National Water Agency and a Nature Defender's office to ensure sustainable resource management and environmental justice.

A coalition of civil society organisations condemns the UNDP's signing of an MoU with the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in South Africa. The letter argues that the MMSEZ is a coal-dependent project that would generate approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its lifetime, jeopardising South Africa's Paris Agreement commitments and exacerbating water insecurity in the Limpopo region. The authors further claim that the UNDP's grievance mechanisms, specifically the Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) and the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU), are inadequate because they are reactive and do not cover non-binding MoUs that lend legitimacy to flawed projects.

The report examines BNDES's role in the Legal Amazon, finding that while the North Region receives the highest share of disbursements relative to its GDP, it receives the lowest total share of BNDES funds. Financing is heavily concentrated in large-scale hydroelectric infrastructure, often serving the rest of Brazil while local populations remain dependent on expensive, polluting diesel generation. The authors argue for a transition toward renewable energy, decentralized solar power, and improved basic services to reduce regional inequality.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is facing a critical need for reform across its negotiating function, dispute settlement system, committee transparency, and Secretariat role. While members generally agree on the need for change, they are divided on the approach: some advocate for 'coalitions of the willing' to modernize the agenda, while others, particularly developing countries, prioritize the Doha Development Agenda and the preservation of special and differential treatment (SDT). The dispute settlement system remains crippled by the United States' refusal to appoint new Appellate Body members since 2019. Divergent priorities exist between the EU, US, African Group, India, and LDCs, with disagreements extending to whether reform should proceed via working groups or General Council review processes.

The document argues for a structural green recovery agenda that addresses the divergent economic trajectories of the global north, south, east, and west following the COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes the need for a combination of structural responses and local solutions to address systemic challenges and diverse national experiences, aiming to avoid the mistakes of the 2008-10 financial crisis by integrating green priorities into long-term policy.

The 1972 Stockholm Conference established the foundation for modern environmental diplomacy by linking environment and development. Its legacies include the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the catalyst for numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) such as the Montreal Protocol and the Rio Conventions, and the introduction of legal principles like the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle. While it expanded participation to include NGOs and Indigenous Peoples, the document notes that implementation of these frameworks lags behind the accelerating 'triple planetary crisis' of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

The report highlights a critical gap in the state of Pará, Brazil, where infrastructure planning prioritizes large-scale projects like roads and railroads over essential local services. Using high-resolution data, the authors demonstrate that access to sanitation, healthcare, education, and digital connectivity is extremely low and unequally distributed, with residents in the areas of influence of large projects often facing worse conditions than the state average. The report suggests using compensation payments from large-scale projects to fund these essential local infrastructure gaps.

The paper analyzes how regional trade agreements (RTAs) act as 'incubators' for promoting trade in environmental goods and services (EGS) in the absence of significant multilateral progress at the WTO. It examines various RTA approaches to defining EGS, implementing market access commitments, coordinating regulations, and providing support measures for developing countries. The authors highlight that RTAs often go beyond WTO rules, utilizing tools like specific EGS lists, 'ex-outs' for precise product classification, and sectoral chapters to address non-tariff barriers. These regional experiences are presented as potential models for the WTO's Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussion (TESSD) and the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP).

The Green Economy Coalition calls for a new social contract to replace current economic systems that subsidize nature's destruction by $1.8 trillion annually. The proposal outlines five areas of action: recognizing economic dependence on nature, adopting green and fair economy principles, utilizing the Green Economy Tracker for policy interventions, ensuring inclusive citizen engagement in transitions, and renewing the social contract through mechanisms like ecological constitutions and social compacts.

The document examines the evolution of disaster risk reduction (DRR) from a reactive emergency response model to a proactive strategy focused on reducing vulnerability and exposure. It highlights the disproportionate impact of disasters in countries with poor infrastructure, such as Haiti compared to Chile, and emphasizes the economic benefits of proactive investment, citing Bangladesh as an example. The brief traces the international policy trajectory from the 1960s through the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, noting a growing integration between DRR and climate change adaptation. It specifically advocates for the protection of wetlands as natural buffers against water-related disasters and calls for a 'whole-of-society' approach combining top-down institutional changes with bottom-up community actions to build resilience in a climate where extreme events are becoming the 'new normal'.

The document identifies a gap in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, noting that none of its 169 targets reference individual animal welfare. It argues that this oversight hinders the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and proposes three pathways for integration: incorporating welfare into international legal instruments, improving national and local policies, and enhancing knowledge and international cooperation. The authors acknowledge that this process will require transformative changes to industries and values, necessitating innovative thinking and just transition planning to manage trade-offs.

This research paper argues for a redefined approach to multilateralism to address chronic and catastrophic global risks, specifically the climate crisis and pandemics, which are overwhelming the responsive capacities of nations and communities.