Search Climate Insights Directory

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the role of cobalt as a critical mineral for the clean energy transition, detailing its applications in lithium-ion batteries, global distribution of reserves and production, and the significant human rights and environmental impacts associated with its extraction, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The document examines how climate change and human activity are increasing the vulnerability of both fire-adapted and non-adapted forests. It highlights the severe carbon emissions and ecological losses from recent record-breaking fires in 2023 and 2024, particularly in Canada and South America. The text details the drivers of vulnerability—including forest fragmentation and drought—and proposes resilience strategies such as securing Indigenous land rights, implementing fire breaks, and expanding restoration financing.

The research paper examines the role of Africa's natural carbon sinks, particularly in the Congo Basin and the Sahel, and evaluates the potential for a global carbon tax to fund the continent's energy transition and conservation efforts. It analyzes various carbon pricing scenarios, concluding that a differentiated payment model aligns best with the Paris Agreement's principles of fairness and historical responsibility.

Mighty Earth's Rapid Response program uses remote sensing and supply chain monitoring to identify deforestation at the 10-hectare level, prompting agribusinesses to act within 48 hours. The program has contributed to a 90% decline in commodity deforestation in Southeast Asia and parts of the Congo Basin, resulting in over 275 supplier suspensions in the palm oil sector and nearly 1,000 suspensions in Latin America and Africa.

Deforestation in the Congo Basin risks reducing regional rainfall by up to 40%, which could lead to cumulative cocoa yield losses of 3.06 million tonnes across nine African countries by 2050. This supply shock is projected to drive cocoa prices to USD 68.1 per kilogram by 2050, with deforestation accounting for 40.2% of that price. EU importers could face cumulative additional costs of USD 256 billion by 2050. The report argues that investing in forest conservation, particularly community-led restoration, is more cost-effective than inaction, offering avoided costs of USD 1.8 to USD 6 for every dollar invested.

Global Witness reports that 92% of surveyed environmental defenders have suffered online abuse, with Meta-owned platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) being the most frequent sites of harassment. The report highlights a direct link between digital attacks and offline violence, noting that 75% of those harmed offline believe online abuse contributed to it. It criticizes social media algorithms for promoting polarization and argues that inadequate moderation resources, particularly in Africa and Asia, leave defenders vulnerable to doxxing, cyberattacks, and criminalization. The document concludes that these digital threats create a chilling effect on the climate movement, leading to productivity loss and, in some cases, the cessation of activism.

Global Witness reports that 92% of surveyed land and environmental defenders have suffered online attacks, with Meta-owned platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) being the most frequent sites of abuse. These digital attacks often precede or contribute to real-world violence, including physical assaults and criminalization. The report argues that profit-driven algorithms and inadequate moderation resources facilitate this harassment, particularly targeting women through sexualized threats and defenders in the Global South through political criminalization.

Global Witness conducted a global survey of 204 land and environmental defenders, finding that 92% have experienced online abuse or harassment. The report highlights a strong link between online attacks—such as doxxing and cyberattacks—and offline harms, including physical violence and criminalisation. Meta's platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram) are identified as the most common sites of abuse. The report argues that profit-driven business models, polarising algorithms, and inadequate content moderation resourcing exacerbate these threats, creating a chilling effect on climate activism.

The Forests Forward Impact Report 2025 details the outcomes of a WWF programme that partners with 26 companies across 9 sectors in 23 countries to transition from forest extraction to conservation and regeneration. Key achievements include the management of 2.679 million hectares of tropical forests, with 75% being FSC certified, and the implementation of large-scale landscape projects in Brazil, Viet Nam, and the Congo Basin. The programme focuses on three action areas: responsible sourcing, improving forest management, and financing forest landscapes, while emphasizing the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in forest stewardship.

Friends of the Earth US evaluates the Biden-Harris administration's 6-point framework to reduce US imports of deforestation-linked commodities. The analysis highlights the role of seven forest risk commodities—palm oil, beef, soy, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and corn—and argues that the US must adopt a holistic approach to combat illegal deforestation, which is often linked to human rights abuses and land grabbing. The organization recommends the creation of a public, transparent federal due diligence procedure independent of third-party certification, the use of Earth-observation data, and coordination with the European Union's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). It also advocates for the passage of the federal FOREST Act and contributions to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

The document examines how collusive corruption—agreements between public officials and private individuals to defraud resources—undermines community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Using a hypothetical scenario based on timber auction fraud in Nepal, it illustrates how contractors, sawmill owners, local politicians, and forest agents coordinate to bypass regulations. To counter this, the guide proposes behavioral science interventions: addressing 'present bias' by monetizing future losses, increasing the prominence of illegal logging's negative impacts, challenging the perception of informal payments as 'reciprocity', and rewarding integrity among youth and officials. It advocates for a holistic approach that combines individual and institutional prevention and persuasion strategies to foster collective ownership of sustainable forest practices.

The document examines how collusive corruption—where officials and private individuals collaborate to violate rules—undermines community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Using a hypothetical scenario based on timber auction rigging in Nepal, it illustrates how sawmill owners, contractors, local politicians, and forest officials form networks of mutual support and reciprocity to defraud communities. To counter this, the guide proposes behavioral science interventions: addressing 'present bias' by monetizing long-term losses, using 'salience bias' to make illegal logging impacts more emotionally resonant, and challenging the perception that informal payments are not corruption. It recommends cultivating 'champions' among youth and integrity-driven community members, providing incentives for honest law enforcement, and transitioning brokers into certified service providers. The guide concludes with a framework for prevention and persuasion at both individual and institutional levels.

The document examines how collusive corruption—where public officials and private individuals collaborate to violate rules—threatens community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Using a hypothetical scenario based on timber auction rigging in Nepal, it maps the motivations of sawmill owners, contractors, political leaders, and forestry officials. To counter this, the guide proposes behavioral science interventions to address 'present bias' and 'salience bias' among community members, challenge the normalization of bribery, and create incentives for integrity among officials and private sector actors.

The proposal aims to address the lack of coordination between climate, biodiversity, and development strategies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It proposes a 24-month project to create a 30x30 investment strategy that integrates biodiversity conservation with climate mitigation and adaptation, specifically focusing on the rights and engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs and LCs). Key activities include spatial modelling to identify priority conservation areas, policy alignment analysis, the development of a business plan for 30x30 implementation, and the submission of a technically sound GCF project concept note.

The 2024 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that the world is largely off track to meet its 2030 forest goals. In 2023, 6.37 million hectares of forest were permanently lost, exceeding the target required to eliminate deforestation by 45 percent. Tropical deforestation remains high, particularly in Asia, while primary forest loss is 38 percent higher than necessary to be on track. Forest degradation is widespread, with 62.6 million hectares losing ecological integrity in 2022. The report also highlights an escalation in forest fire frequency and intensity, with 138 million hectares of tree cover burned between 2001 and 2023. Restoration efforts are hindered by a lack of transparent monitoring, though tropical forest regrowth increased significantly after 2015. Biodiversity in forests is also under threat, with tree cover loss in forested Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) spiking by 10 percent in 2023.

Between 2013 and 2023, scientists described at least 742 new species in the Congo Basin, including 430 plants, 140 invertebrates, 96 fish, 42 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 10 mammals, and 2 birds. The report emphasizes that the region is a critical carbon sink and biodiversity hotspot, but faces severe threats from illegal logging, poaching, mining, and infrastructure development. WWF is implementing conservation strategies including biomonitoring, FSC-certified forestry, and human-wildlife conflict insurance to protect these ecosystems.

The report estimates the total quantifiable economic use value of water and freshwater ecosystems at US$58 trillion in 2021, representing 60% of global GDP. It argues that the world suffers from 'water blindness,' where direct use values (US$7.5 trillion) are prioritized over far more valuable indirect ecosystem services (US$50 trillion), such as water purification, flood regulation, and carbon sequestration. This undervaluation leads to overextraction, pollution, and habitat loss, with one-third of wetlands lost since 1970 and freshwater species populations declining by 83% on average. The document calls for a shift toward Nature-based Solutions, the implementation of the 'Freshwater Challenge' to restore 30% of degraded rivers and wetlands by 2030, and a fundamental change in how governments, businesses, and financial institutions value and manage water resources to build climate resilience.

The report examines Australia's exposure to illegally harvested timber, focusing on high-risk supply chains from East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. It highlights the role of China and Vietnam as processing hubs that obscure the origin of timber from high-risk regions like the Congo Basin. The authors argue that current enforcement of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act (ILPA) is limited and recommend increased transparency, scientific species testing, and a shift toward tracing timber back to the country of harvest rather than the country of export.

The Stakeholder Toolkit, updated in March 2023 by the Forest Declaration Assessment, provides a curated directory of resources, reports, and organizations designed to assist national and local governments in improving forest governance and sustainability.

The Stakeholder Toolkit is a directory of guidance documents and institutional partners designed to assist government entities at various levels in managing forests. It categorizes resources by their utility for national versus local governments, highlighting tools for gender analysis, poverty alleviation, and jurisdictional sustainability. The toolkit also lists key global forums and organizations, such as the UN Forum on Forests and the Global Environmental Facility, that provide funding, research, and policy frameworks for forest conservation and sustainable development.