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The report finds that improvements in forest governance are too slow to quantifiably reduce deforestation, with significant gaps remaining in the legal recognition of indigenous land rights and the enforcement of laws against illegal logging. While some progress has been made in transparency and demand-side regulations in emerging Asian economies, corruption and violence against land defenders continue to undermine forest conservation efforts.

The report finds that improvements in forest governance are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, with natural forest loss increasing by 42% between 2014 and 2017 compared to the previous decade. While some progress exists in transparency and international cooperation to combat illegal logging, significant challenges remain, including widespread corruption, inadequate implementation of existing laws, and increasing violence against land defenders. The report emphasizes that securing legal land rights for indigenous peoples and local communities is more effective for forest protection than legally protected areas, yet a substantial portion of their lands remain unrecognized by governments.

The report finds that improvements in forest governance are too slow to measurably reduce deforestation, with rampant corruption and illegal land conversion persisting. While some progress has been made in transparency and demand-side timber regulations, significant gaps remain in recognizing the land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The document highlights a dangerous increase in violence and criminalization of land defenders and argues that secure tenure for IPLCs is more effective for forest protection than state-managed protected areas.

The Bangkok Climate Change Conference focused on operationalizing the Paris Agreement through the PAWP, covering mitigation, adaptation, finance, and transparency. While some technical progress was made in streamlining negotiating texts, overall progress was characterized as "uneven," with significant deadlocks remaining over climate finance (Article 9.5) and the principle of differentiation in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

CIEL argues that IDB Invest's Access to Information Policy must be rooted in democratic principles and international law to protect affected communities and environmental defenders. Key recommendations include eliminating fees for information requests, extending the disclosure window for environmental and social documents to 120 days before Board approval, and ensuring the policy aligns with the Escazú Agreement. CIEL also emphasizes the need for robust protections for indigenous peoples' free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and the safety of environmental human rights defenders in the region.

The paper examines transparency as a site of political conflict, arguing that while transparency is often seen as a tool for improving environmental outcomes, it can be used to avoid strict regulation. Using a new theoretical framework, the authors analyze climate finance under the Paris Agreement, finding that strong transparency norms have not translated into effective accountability mechanisms or donor compliance, meaning transparency alone is insufficient for an equitable climate policy regime.

The document outlines a proposal by the Project for Advancing Climate Transparency (PACT) to assist climate negotiators in creating cohesive implementing guidelines for the Paris Agreement. It focuses on the cycle of planning, implementing, and reviewing climate actions, identifying core requirements for elements such as common timeframes and cooperative processes to ensure accountability and sustainable development.

The document provides specific wording suggestions to ensure that the Paris Agreement's rights-based vision is reflected in the guidelines for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Transparency Framework, the Global Stocktake, and Article 6 mechanisms. It emphasizes that these guidelines should promote the integration of human rights, gender equality, and indigenous rights without creating new obligations for Parties or new conditionalities for climate finance.

ClientEarth argues that the European Commission's 2018 proposal to reform the General Food Law and EFSA's functioning could inadvertently restrict transparency. The analysis highlights risks that new proactive disclosure rules might override the right to access documents upon request and that the definition of 'confidential information' is too broad, potentially allowing industry to keep critical health and environmental data secret. It calls for the maintenance of existing lists of non-confidential information and the preservation of broad 'transparency safeguards' to ensure public trust and meaningful consultation in risk assessments.

Polling data indicates strong Canadian opposition to public subsidies for oil and gas companies, with a demand for transparency and a preference for political parties that commit to phasing out these financial supports.

The briefing emphasizes that the Paris Agreement requires a strong 'rulebook' of implementing guidelines to turn the pact into a functioning regime. It highlights the upcoming April 2018 negotiations in Bonn, Germany, as a critical step toward finalizing these rules by December 2018 at COP24 in Katowice, Poland. Key areas of negotiation include transparency, the global stocktake, NDC communication, market approaches, and finance predictability. The author stresses that the rulebook must balance universal frameworks with flexibility for developing countries based on their capacities to ensure equity and durability.

This briefing, delivered by Richard Sizani, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, addresses the tension between political and professional roles in South Africa's public administration. It advocates for a clear demarcation of roles to prevent service delivery breakdowns, proposes a structured professionalisation of the civil service and procurement functions, and suggests reforms to curb patronage and mismanagement in state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The document argues that public participation and access to information are essential for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, contributing to higher ambition and resilience. It outlines specific entry points for enhancing these procedural rights across several UNFCCC agenda items, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Adaptation Communications, the Transparency Framework, the Global Stocktake, and Article 6 mechanisms. It also highlights the importance of regional frameworks like the Aarhus and Escazú Conventions and calls for improved engagement of observer organizations and the operationalization of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.

The report evaluates the APRM, OGP, and EITI, finding that while the OGP and EITI successfully employ peer learning and pressure to enforce standards and protect civil society, the APRM lags behind due to a lack of critical engagement and a failure to implement sanctions for non-compliance.

The report finds that while MSIs like the APRM, OGP, and EITI produce significant research on governance, they remain largely unknown to the general public and are often perceived as esoteric, technical exercises for elites. A media monitoring survey from mid-2016 to mid-2017 showed that the EITI has the highest media footprint, followed by the OGP, with the APRM lagging behind. The authors argue that MSIs struggle with 'open-washing,' where governments join for publicity without intending to reform, and that their reports are often too long and technical for journalists to translate into public action. To increase impact, the report recommends that MSIs move beyond merely informing the public toward mobilizing citizens through strategic alliances with social movements, using local languages and radio, and adopting a more aggressive 'naming and shaming' approach for non-compliant members.

The report assesses three multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs)—the APRM, OGP, and EITI—finding that while they provide platforms for transparency and civil society engagement, their ability to drive fundamental governance transformation is limited by varying levels of political will, uneven implementation, and challenges in measuring direct impact.

The report evaluates the impact of the APRM, EITI, and OGP, concluding that while these initiatives provide platforms for dialogue and some policy changes, there is little measurable evidence that they consistently drive significant governance reforms. It highlights the challenges of voluntary compliance, the risk of 'open-washing' by governments, and the critical but often tokenistic role of civil society. The document recommends that donors support civil society capacity, invest in impact research, and align funding with MSI action plans to better foster accountability and transparency.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle campaign, has raised concerns to the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs about ambiguities in greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution prevention reporting. The campaign argues that current regulations allow for aggregated company-level reporting instead of the necessary facility-level data, which undermines the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and South Africa's international obligations under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. They also highlight contradictions in the submission and review timelines for pollution prevention plans and call for greater public transparency of emissions data.

The report argues that while ECHA has made some progress in transparency, it continues to withhold critical data on tonnage bands, exposure scenarios, and non-compliant companies, thereby hindering the ability of civil society, investors, and innovators to promote safer chemical alternatives.

Carbon Market Watch urges COP23 negotiators to phase out the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to prevent the use of credits that lack environmental integrity and could increase overall emissions. The organization advocates for strong rules for Article 6 to ensure net mitigation and protect human rights, and calls for the integration of aviation and shipping sectors into the Paris Agreement's transparency and accounting frameworks to avoid double counting and emissions increases from schemes like CORSIA.