Search Climate Insights Directory

The document outlines the climate and social risks associated with the expansion of data centers, highlighting their massive energy and water consumption. It warns journalists against uncritically accepting corporate claims about job creation and investment, urging them to investigate local resource competition, 'digital sacrifice zones,' and extractivist dynamics in the Global South.

The document describes the methodology for a tool that catalogs sustainable financial instruments in Brazil, including public programs, constitutional funds, and blended finance initiatives. It details the inclusion criteria, the classification structure for beneficiaries based on annual gross revenue, and provides a technical glossary of financial and environmental terms used in the database.

WRI Brasil conducted 30 road-safety audits in Rio de Janeiro, providing the analytical basis for a $135.2 million World Bank loan. This funding has enabled the city to implement traffic-calming measures in 57 school-adjacent areas, including narrower roadways and expanded sidewalks, while funding broader goals like expanded cycling networks and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The briefing identifies a significant gap in global efforts to reduce agricultural methane, noting that only 4% of NDCs include specific targets for the sector. It argues that current policies rely too heavily on technical 'end of pipe' solutions like biogas and feed additives, while failing to address systemic issues such as overconsumption of animal protein and the need for dietary shifts. The document highlights 'agricultural exceptionalism' as a barrier in high-livestock producing countries and warns that some nations, such as Aotearoa (New Zealand), are weakening their targets. It recommends that NDCs implement mandatory reduction targets aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory and prioritize sustainable diets and agroecology.

The document examines the role of the proposed UN Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) in addressing corporate impunity for environmental and human rights abuses. It argues that existing voluntary frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, are inadequate because they lack enforceable obligations. The LBI is presented as a mechanism to turn the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (RtHE) into actionable obligations, including strict liability for parent companies and extraterritorial jurisdiction. The text highlights specific cases of corporate harm in Uganda, Chile, Senegal, India, Brazil, Colombia, Serbia, Iraq, and the 'Lithium Triangle' to illustrate the need for binding regulation. It also discusses how recent Advisory Opinions from the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights reinforce the necessity of state-led regulation of private actors to prevent climate and environmental harm.

As of the end of 2025, the Climate Bonds Initiative recorded a cumulative aligned GSS+ debt volume of USD6.8tn, with annual aligned volume reaching USD1.0tn for the third consecutive year. Green bonds remain the dominant label, accounting for 64% of 2025 aligned volume (USD653.5bn), while sustainability bonds reached a record annual volume of USD217.3bn. Europe leads globally in both annual and cumulative aligned volume, though the USA remains the largest single country source of cumulative aligned volume at USD887.4bn. The report also highlights the launch of the Climate Bonds Resilience Taxonomy (CBRT) to address the funding gap for climate adaptation and resilience, exemplified by the world's first CBRT-certified resilience bond issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The 12th Meeting of the San Giorgio Group (SGG12) focused on moving climate finance from ideas to large-scale delivery, emphasizing system coherence and country-level impact. The group highlighted that annual climate finance now exceeds USD 2 trillion, driven by renewable energy and transport electrification. Key priorities include reforming Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), scaling guarantees and catalytic equity, and addressing the high cost of capital in developing countries. The agenda also calls for 'radical localism' to center people in the climate narrative and suggests leveraging artificial intelligence and underutilized public financing institutions, such as export credit agencies, to accelerate the energy transition.

The document presents linear regression models based on 2017 Agricultural Census data to determine the impact of cooperatives and technical assistance (ATER) on the share of smallholder farmers accessing PRONAF in Brazil. The results indicate that both cooperative membership and ATER access are significant positive drivers of credit access across all analyzed regions, while illiteracy did not yield significant results.

The document details a quantitative analysis of Pronaf access in Brazil, using 2017 Agricultural Census data. It employs linear regressions to assess how the presence of cooperatives and Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER) services impact the share of family farmers accessing the program. The results indicate that both cooperatives and ATER have a statistically significant positive effect on Pronaf access, with the South region showing a positive correlation and the North, Northeast, and Southeast regions showing negative correlations relative to the baseline.

The report analyzes inequalities in access to Pronaf credit among Brazilian family farmers, identifying technical assistance (ATER) and cooperatives as key drivers of access. It highlights a stark regional divide, with the South region having significantly higher access than the North and Northeast. The study argues that credit alone is insufficient for climate adaptation and calls for increased investment in ATER, which has seen a downward trend in federal spending, to ensure a just and sustainable agricultural transition.

The report finds that while significant financial flows reach the Cerrado, particularly in the MATOPIBA region, the current architecture fails to align agricultural finance with zero-deforestation goals. Sustainable subsidized credit represents only 5.7% of total rural credit in the biome and is highly concentrated among large producers and a few financial institutions. In MATOPIBA, Constitutional Financing Funds (FCFs) provide 62% of subsidized credit but lack transparency regarding sustainability criteria. Blended-finance instruments show promise through risk-mitigation and value chain partnerships but remain limited in scale due to high Brazilian interest rates, regulatory complexity for foreign investors, and the strong economic incentive for land conversion. The authors recommend improving transparency via the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy (BST), increasing the share of sustainability-linked public credit, and scaling innovative blended structures to mobilize private capital.

The report finds that while agricultural credit flows to the Cerrado are significant, the current financial architecture fails to align with sustainability goals. Sustainable credit is limited, highly concentrated among large producers and a few financial institutions, and lacks sufficient territorial coverage, particularly in the Matopiba region. The authors recommend improving transparency through tools like the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, increasing the share of financing linked to sustainability results, and scaling innovative blended finance mechanisms to mobilize private capital.

The report examines a diverse array of transition mechanisms, including Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), national sectoral processes in countries like Germany and Chile, and first-mover alliances such as the Powering Past Coal Alliance. It highlights the necessity of national ownership, structured social dialogue, and blended finance to overcome political gridlock and ensure a just transition. The analysis reveals significant gaps in international support, particularly a shortfall in grants and concessional finance for Global South countries and a lack of coordinated global guidance for designing transition roadmaps.

The document outlines a structured approach to the global transition away from fossil fuels (TAFF), emphasizing that current production and consumption plans are misaligned with 1.5°C pathways. It proposes that effective TAFF roadmaps must be anchored in science, justice, and national ownership, while integrating elements such as subsidy reform, economic diversification, and decommissioning. The guide highlights the necessity of international coordination between producer and consumer countries to manage systemic risks, reform global finance, and ensure a just and orderly transition.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) 2025 results report details the organization's progress in driving sustainable development through scientific research, capacity building, and policy engagement. Key achievements include the development of the 2025 Production Gap Report, the creation of the Integrated Guide for Business Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emission Assessment, and the support of Kazakhstan's NDC 3.0. SEI also highlights its 'One-SEI' programs, which foster cross-centre collaboration on themes such as sustainable transport, food systems, and finance. Organizationally, SEI reports a 52% reduction in air travel emissions per employee since 2017 and an increase in peer-reviewed journal outputs by 30% over 2024.

The document examines energy storage as a structural resource for flexibility in Latin American electrical systems facing high penetration of variable renewable energy. It highlights that while Chile leads in battery deployment to manage curtailment, other countries like Colombia, Peru, and Brazil are at earlier stages, often focusing on reliability or specific industrial uses. The report argues that the primary barriers to deployment are institutional and regulatory rather than technological, and recommends shifting from a capacity-focused approach to a functional one that prioritizes specific flexibility needs.

The global pipeline for wind and utility-scale solar projects grew by 11% in 2025, reaching 4.9 TW. While China and India lead in construction and prospective capacity, G7 nations show stagnant growth in their pipelines, creating a gap in meeting the COP28 goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The document provides a comprehensive critique of the South African food system, highlighting how historical land dispossession and post-apartheid deregulation have led to extreme corporate concentration and persistent food insecurity. It advocates for a transition toward agroecology and food sovereignty, emphasizing the need for secure land tenure—particularly for women—and the realignment of social grants to meet the food poverty line. The submission also details the 'triple burden' of malnutrition affecting children and the increasing risks posed by climate change to a water-scarce agricultural sector.

The research paper examines the transition of trade-related climate measures from abstract policy debates to concrete implementation between 2025 and early 2026. It highlights the role of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EU Deforestation Regulation as primary drivers of international tension. The authors analyze discussions within the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), as well as new initiatives established at COP 30 in Brazil, including the 'Mutirão' technical dialogues and the Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade (IFCCT). The paper argues that MC14 serves as a critical moment for consolidating these debates around transparency, interoperability, and development support.

The Indigenous Advisory Group (IAG) of the Banks and Biodiversity Initiative calls on financial institutions to uphold the Amazon Soy Moratorium's (ASM) zero-deforestation standards despite Brazilian political rollbacks. The IAG argues that soy expansion drives land encroachment and tenure insecurity for Indigenous Peoples, while abandoning ASM criteria increases legal, reputational, and transition risks for banks. The group advocates for farm-level traceability, the treatment of all Amazon deforestation as incompatible with financing, and the integration of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) into due diligence.