Search Climate Insights Directory

This report by Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean (ATALC) analyzes the role of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in the region, arguing that they drive a capitalist system based on exploitation and the violation of peoples' sovereignty. The document details how TNCs use 'corporate capture' to influence governments and the 'architecture of impunity'—specifically Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms—to avoid accountability for human rights and environmental abuses. It examines specific impacts across agribusiness, forestry, mining, energy, and services, highlighting the disproportionate burden on women and the criminalization of land defenders.

This report by Amigos de la Tierra América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC) analyzes the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the accumulation of capital and their impact on human, environmental, and collective rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. It details how TNCs utilize 'corporate capture' to influence governments and legal systems, creating an 'architecture of impunity' that protects their interests over popular sovereignty. The document characterizes the impacts of TNCs across extractivist sectors—including agribusiness, forestry, mining, and energy—and services, while advocating for a legally binding UN treaty to regulate TNCs and a systemic shift toward popular sovereignty and economic justice.

The 2020 assessment of NYDF Goal 5 finds that the target of restoring 150 million hectares of forest by 2020 is not on track, with only 18% of the goal met since 2000. While some Central American countries like El Salvador and Costa Rica show net tree cover gains, others like Nicaragua and Honduras show net losses. The report highlights significant challenges in monitoring restoration due to satellite data limitations and emphasizes the need for better financial transparency and planning to scale forest landscape restoration (FLR).

This November 2020 report assesses progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation within the framework of a post-2020 global climate agreement. While the goal of including forests in the global agreement was considered met with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the report identifies significant barriers to the operationalization of REDD+ and a lack of quantifiable detail in many Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

This methodology note describes the framework used by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and its partners to track and score government support for fossil fuels across G20 countries between 2014 and 2020.

This policy brief by the Latinoamérica Sostenible alliance argues that Latin American governments must shift their economic development 'recipe' following the COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes a 'just and resilient recovery' framework that integrates economic, social, and environmental goals to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 2008 financial crisis and to reduce the region's vulnerability to climate change and primary-commodity dependence.

This report by the NewClimate Institute, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and IIASA provides an update on climate mitigation policies, COVID-19 response measures, and the status of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS) across 25 countries and regions between July 2019 and August 2020.

The World Resources Institute provides a three-step guide for governments and communities to transform degraded landscapes effectively. The process emphasizes the integration of biophysical data with social landscape analysis to avoid pitfalls such as planting trees in incorrect locations or violating human rights, ensuring that restoration pledges to initiatives like the Bonn Challenge and AFR100 result in high-impact outcomes.

This whitepaper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) argues that current environmental assessments for transportation infrastructure in the Amazon fail to account for indirect effects, leading to an underestimation of ecological footprints. The authors propose a 'market access' approach using geoprocessing and statistical analysis to better quantify how reduced transport costs drive deforestation and agricultural expansion far beyond the immediate project site.

This whitepaper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) argues that current environmental and technical feasibility studies for transport infrastructure in the Amazon fail to account for indirect effects, specifically how reduced transport costs induce deforestation far from the project site. The authors propose a 'market access' approach using geoprocessing and statistical analysis to better quantify these risks and recommend that these methodologies be integrated into official project evaluations to avoid underestimating environmental costs.

This report, produced by Friends of the Earth International, the World March of Women, and the Latin American Network of Women Transforming the Economy (REMTE), synthesizes a webinar on feminist economics and environmentalism. It argues that the COVID-19 pandemic is a symptom of a systemic crisis caused by a capitalist, racist, and patriarchal model. The document proposes a 'just recovery' centered on the sustainability of life, the decommodification of public services, and a rupture with neoliberal doctrines to prioritize social, environmental, and gender justice.

This report, produced by Friends of the Earth International, the World March of Women, and the Latin American Network on Women Transforming the Economy (REMTE), presents a feminist and environmentalist critique of the capitalist system in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It argues that the pandemic is a symptom of systemic crises—including climate, biodiversity, and care crises—driven by capital accumulation and neoliberal globalization. The document advocates for a 'just recovery' based on the 'sustainability of life,' which requires decommodifying essential services, redistributing care work, ensuring food sovereignty, and transitioning away from fossil fuels through a framework of internationalist solidarity and grassroots power.

The Sustainable Agriculture Finance Facility (SAFF) is a specialized credit vehicle designed to increase the adoption of integrated crop-livestock-forest (ICLF) systems in Brazil to help meet national climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ferrogrão (EF-170) railroad is a proposed 930 km project in Brazil designed to reduce soy export costs and emissions, but it faces significant environmental risks and legal challenges due to its path through the Amazon rainforest. Despite a potential delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project remains a priority for government-led economic recovery, even as global investment trends shift toward stricter sustainable standards.

This research paper presents a methodology for analyzing subnational climate risk exposure for individual commodity traders by linking high-resolution supply chain data with gridded crop yield projections, using Brazilian soy production as a case study.

The report details the proceedings and decisions of the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP-28) to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), held via videoconference on 19 August 2020. The meeting focused on budgetary approvals, governance updates, and the expansion of the Institute's associates.

This report details the proceedings and recommendations of the 49th meeting of the Executive Council (EC) of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), held via videoconference on August 19, 2020.

This fact sheet from the Climate Bonds Initiative details a USD 705 million green bond issued by Coca Cola FEMSA on September 1, 2020, with a maturity date of September 1, 2032.

The report by IPEN and CIEL proposes a coordinated international tax on chemical feedstocks (basic chemicals) to generate sustainable funding for the sound management of chemicals and wastes, particularly in developing and transition countries. It argues that current funding mechanisms are inadequate and that the chemical industry must internalize the social and environmental costs of its products in accordance with the polluter pays principle.

This white paper by the Climate Bonds Initiative proposes a comprehensive framework and five core principles to define and finance 'credible transitions' for high-emitting entities and activities. The goal is to provide a scientifically robust standard that prevents greenwashing and aligns transition finance with the Paris Agreement's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.