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The document reports that as of March 31, 2025, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research had received 78% of the approved contributions for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. While overall expenses were 10% lower than budgeted, the Executive Directorate warns that delays in voluntary contributions significantly limit its operational capacity. The report also outlines projected voluntary contributions for the next three fiscal years, with the USA providing the largest share.

The IAI is requesting an operating budget of US$ 1.68 million for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which remains unchanged from the previous year. Preliminary requests for subsequent years show a gradual increase, reaching US$ 1.8522 million by 2027-2028. The budget is funded by contributions from member countries, with the USA providing the largest share. The IAI reports administrative adjustments to optimize spending and a reduction in IT costs following its move to Panama.

Reclaim Finance criticizes ENGIE for planning a 500 MW fossil gas power plant in Nijmegen, Netherlands, arguing the project is unnecessary given the Netherlands' goal of decarbonized electricity by 2035. The organization claims that ENGIE's promise of 'hydrogen compatibility' is an illusion and warns that the project risks becoming a stranded asset, potentially requiring taxpayer-funded compensation for early closure, similar to previous coal plant exits in the region. Reclaim Finance calls on shareholders, including the French government and private investors like Amundi, BNP Paribas AM, and AXA Investment Managers, to vote against ENGIE's climate plan and management resolutions.

The document examines the tension between mineral-exporting and importing nations, noting that traditional trade and investment agreements often prioritize importer access over exporter development. It highlights the limitations of current Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and voluntary ESG provisions, recommending that exporting countries reform 'old-generation' investment agreements and that importing countries support local value addition to build more resilient and responsible supply chains.

The statement argues that large-scale forest biomass energy is not carbon neutral and actively harms the climate, biodiversity, and human rights. It claims that current carbon accounting erroneously labels biomass as zero-emission, which masks the actual greenhouse gas releases and encourages deforestation. The document further asserts that biomass energy extends the lifespan of coal plants and diverts investment from truly low-emission renewables like wind and solar. It calls on governments and financial institutions to stop the expansion of the biomass industry and eliminate related subsidies in favor of forest restoration.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development calls for the inclusion of natural resource taxation in the FfD4 outcome document, noting that the current zero draft overlooks this critical revenue source. The author highlights that resource rents are vital for many lower- and middle-income countries but are often undermined by tax avoidance and weak governance. The statement proposes specific amendments to the FfD4 draft to ensure fair fiscal terms and better benefit-sharing, particularly regarding critical energy transition minerals.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach to reducing methane emissions from solid waste, which accounts for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic methane emissions. It proposes a policy matrix categorized into legislative/regulatory, market-based, voluntary, and information/education approaches, mapped across the integrated solid waste management (ISWM) chain. The guide emphasizes that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires the global implementation of solutions across all three categories of the ISWM chain: waste prevention/minimization, source separation/treatment of organics, and improved landfill engineering. It provides detailed case studies from Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Peru, the Republic of Korea, and the United States to illustrate how different policy combinations are applied based on national contexts.

The waste sector accounts for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, equivalent to 5.4 Gt CO2e annually. This guide proposes a policy matrix organized by the solid waste management (SWM) chain to help policymakers implement a combination of legislative, market-based, voluntary, and educational tools. Key strategies include waste prevention, organic waste diversion (composting and anaerobic digestion), and improved landfill engineering (gas capture and biocovers). The document emphasizes that meeting the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit requires a comprehensive approach across the entire SWM chain rather than isolated solutions. It provides case studies from Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Perú, the Republic of Korea, and the United States to illustrate how different nations layer these policy tools to reduce emissions.

The document examines the evolution of stabilization clauses in the mining sector, arguing that traditional 'freezing' and 'economic equilibrium' clauses often constrain a state's right to regulate. It promotes the 2020 OECD Guiding Principles, which delegitimize non-fiscal stabilization and advocate for a targeted, commercially justified approach to fiscal stabilization. The guide introduces the concept of 'revenue certainty' for governments and provides specific model clauses for laws and contracts to ensure that investors' needs for predictability are balanced against the state's public interest objectives and the need to prevent tax base erosion.

The document examines the evolution of stabilization clauses in the extractive sector, arguing for a shift away from 'freeze' and 'economic equilibrium' clauses toward a model based on the 2021 OECD Guiding Principles. It distinguishes between non-fiscal stabilization, which it argues should be abandoned to protect the state's right to regulate for the public interest, and fiscal stabilization, which should be limited to specific, time-bound commercial needs. The guide provides detailed model language for laws and contracts to ensure revenue certainty for governments and predictability for investors, while explicitly excluding the use of stabilization to protect against anti-tax avoidance measures or climate-related regulations.

The document defines a climate change adaptation investment plan (CCAIP) as a detailed set of investment-ready priority activities linked to specific financial sources. It outlines a structured process for developing these plans—including risk assessment, bundling activities into 'packages', and economic appraisal—to bridge the global adaptation finance gap. The briefing distinguishes CCAIPs from broader NAP financing strategies by their narrower scope, higher granularity, and focus on immediate implementation. It identifies key enabling factors such as political leadership (particularly from ministries of finance), institutional arrangements, and the integration of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI). The text also details various domestic and international funding sources and financial instruments, such as green bonds, blended finance, and debt-for-climate swaps, to support these investments.

Civil society organisations are protesting the handover of McDonald’s-branded ‘Mi Desk’ desks to Cape Town schools, facilitated by the Minister of Basic Education. The groups argue that such donations are not charity but junk food marketing targeting vulnerable children amidst a crisis of malnutrition and obesity. They contend that corporate philanthropy fills gaps created by state austerity and disinvestment, particularly in rural and working-class communities. The statement calls for the immediate recall of branded desks, the finalisation of regulations to restrict the marketing of harmful foods to children, and proper funding of education by the National Treasury to remove the need for corporate partnerships.

The document provides examples of global climate progress to counter pessimism, citing significant emissions drops in the EU and UK, China's rapid expansion of renewables and electric vehicles, and the resilience of subnational climate policies in the United States.

The document provides examples of climate progress to counter pessimism, noting that European Union emissions fell 8% in 2023 and the UK has reduced emissions by over half since 1990. It highlights China's rapid adoption of electric vehicles and its achievement of 2030 renewable targets six years early. In the United States, the text notes that carbon-pricing programs and renewable energy mandates persist at the state level despite federal policy shifts.

Climate Central analysis shows that human-caused climate change significantly increased the number of days with maximum temperatures exceeding 90°F in West Africa's cocoa belt from 2015 to 2024. The most severe impacts occurred in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, where climate change added approximately 40 days of growth-limiting heat per year. These temperature extremes, combined with shifting rainfall patterns and pests, threaten global cocoa supplies, increase chocolate prices, and endanger the health and livelihoods of small-scale farmers.

Climate change has significantly increased the number of days with temperatures above 32°C in West Africa's cocoa belt, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. This excessive heat, especially during the main crop cycle (October-March), can reduce cacao harvest quantity and quality by hindering photosynthesis and increasing water stress. In 2024, 71% of analyzed cacao-producing areas across Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria experienced at least six additional weeks of such heat. Beyond temperature, production is threatened by erratic rainfall, the cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV), smuggling, and illegal mining.

The study identifies increasing dryness in the Coquimbo region of Chile, particularly during spring and summer, noting that the frequency and duration of extreme dry events have increased over recent decades.

The study analyzes the expansion of timber plantations, primarily Pinus radiata, in south-central Chile from 1975 to 2007. Using satellite imagery and autologistic regressions, the research finds that plantations grew from 5.5% to 42.4% of the landscape. Early expansion (1975–1990) was strongly linked to forest-suitable soils, steep slopes, proximity to cities, and corporate landholdings. The study highlights that a significant portion of this expansion resulted from clearing secondary native forests, contributing to deforestation and biodiversity loss.

The document examines the challenges of energy integration in the Plata Basin, noting that while interconnection infrastructure developed in the 1990s increased energy exchanges, these gains were not sustained due to disputes over volumes and regulations. It specifically highlights conflicts between Argentina and Chile, and Bolivia and Brasil, which hindered regional energy complementarity and integration processes.

The document argues that increasing irrigation efficiency without restrictive policies can paradoxically increase overall resource use and aggravate water scarcity. It identifies three specific paradoxes: the efficiency paradox, where tighter water cycling increases use; the scale paradox, which manifests as scarcity and salinity in lower basin reaches; and the sectoral paradox, where declining ecological flows impact urban supply, energy generation, and ecosystems. These dynamics are examined through the lens of central Chile, the southwestern US, and south-central Spain.