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The document contends that the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) adopted at COP28 is insufficient because it treats climate reparations as voluntary donations rather than legal obligations. It argues that the fund's governance excludes frontline communities and indigenous peoples, lacks a human rights framework, and ignores the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The authors request that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights clarify that UNFCCC decisions do not limit state obligations to provide full reparation to climate victims.

The document outlines strategic recommendations for Lebanon's early-stage National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, drawing on experiences from 12 peer countries. It emphasizes the need for strong institutional leadership, the prioritization of low-cost catalytic actions for implementability, and the blending of public and private finance. Key recommendations include establishing a multistakeholder coordination mechanism, integrating gender equality and social inclusion, and developing a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system. The analysis highlights specific examples, such as Albania's Inter-Ministerial Working Group and Bosnia and Herzegovina's municipal financing tools, to guide Lebanon in creating a science-based, inclusive, and implementable adaptation strategy.

The document presents case studies on mangrove restoration in Grenada and biological corridors in Costa Rica to demonstrate how nature-based solutions (NbS) can enhance climate resilience while protecting biodiversity. It argues that to achieve 'multiple wins' for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, projects must be designed from the outset to provide measurable benefits for ecosystem health.

The document is a list of participants for the 56th Meeting of the Executive Council to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, held via videoconference on 14 November 2023.

The document outlines a five-year agreement between the IAI and CICAG to strengthen scientific cooperation in the Americas. The partnership focuses on exchanging knowledge regarding climate change, biodiversity, and the role of indigenous and local communities in sustainable development. It specifies areas of cooperation including science diplomacy, open science, and South-South cooperation, while clarifying that the agreement does not create a legal partnership or joint venture.

The document argues that the industrial agro-food model is a patriarchal capitalist system that causes systemic socio-environmental crises, disproportionately affecting women through land dispossession, health risks from toxic chemicals, and increased violence. It details how monocultures—such as palm oil, soy, and pineapple—lead to deforestation, water pollution, and the loss of food sovereignty. The report emphasizes that women are central to biodiversity conservation and calls for a transition toward a feminist economy and community-led land management to replace corporate-driven agro-extractivism.

The report examines two nature-based solutions (NbS) projects: mangrove restoration in Grenada and interurban biological corridors in Costa Rica. It highlights the importance of establishing ecological baselines, using participatory monitoring and citizen science, and integrating biodiversity targets into urban planning to ensure that climate adaptation efforts also provide net gains for ecosystem health.

The document presents two case studies to illustrate the practical application of nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate adaptation. The first case focuses on mangrove restoration in Grenada, emphasizing the use of a specific restoration protocol and diverse biodiversity monitoring tools to improve seedling survival and ecosystem health. The second case examines the Biodiver_City project in Costa Rica, which implements interurban biological corridors in the San José metropolitan area to combat urban heat islands and flooding while enhancing ecological connectivity. Both cases highlight the importance of baseline data, citizen science, and multi-stakeholder coordination in achieving biodiversity co-benefits.

The report examines vertical integration in National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes, finding that while most countries reference sub-national governments and non-governmental actors, there are varying levels of integration across planning, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) stages.

The report examines vertical integration in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), highlighting the roles of subnational governments and non-governmental actors. Based on an analysis of 45 multisectoral NAPs, it finds that while most countries recognize subnational roles in planning and implementation, gaps remain in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and stable financial flows to local levels. It provides recommendations for national governments, subnational authorities, development partners, and funding bodies to strengthen multi-level coordination and capacity.

This report details the activities of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Directorate from 1 July 2023 to 13 October 2023. It focuses on the implementation of decisions from the 31st meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP-31), specifically regarding research programs on climate-health and ocean systems, science diplomacy, and the expansion of institutional associations.

The IAI Executive Directorate has advanced several strategic mandates from CoP-31, including the launch of a climate, environment, and health research program, the establishment of an Oceans, Islands, and Coastal Regions Committee, and the expansion of scientific diplomacy initiatives. Key achievements include the distribution of initial grants to 12 research teams across 15 countries, the development of partnerships with the University of the West Indies and the Global Change Research Center in Paraguay, and the implementation of the Science, Technology, and Policy (STeP) Fellowship with 45 fellows. The Directorate is also coordinating regional efforts on the Amazon and tropical forests, as well as enhancing gender and indigenous inclusion through new advisory committees and targeted funding for underrepresented researchers.

The Green Climate Fund's Accreditation Panel recommends the re-accreditation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for a second term, maintaining its scope for medium-sized projects and medium environmental and social risk (Category B). The assessment confirms FAO's strong technical expertise in adaptation, REDD+, and the blue economy, and its ability to implement GCF's gender and environmental and social policies. While generally compliant, the Panel identified a gap in explicit policy statements regarding Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), making the re-accreditation conditional upon the formal approval of an AML/CFT policy or the inclusion of consistent statements within its prohibited practices policies.

The document records the disclosure of environmental and social impact assessments and management plans for an e-mobility subproject in Panama City. It confirms that the subproject is classified as Category B and that required documentation was made available in English and Spanish on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) website and at a physical location in Panama City to comply with Green Climate Fund (GCF) policies.

The Mississippi Clean Hydrogen Hub (MCHH) aims to leverage natural salt domes for large-scale, long-duration green hydrogen storage to safeguard energy security. Domestically, the hub is positioned to supply critical sectors in the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic, potentially serving 52% of US refining, 44% of shipping, 19% of steelmaking, and 17% of heavy-duty trucking capacity. It also seeks to bolster US fertilizer security by transporting green hydrogen feedstock via the Mississippi River to the Midwest. Internationally, the MCHH intends to establish green shipping corridors to help the EU diversify away from Russian fossil fuels and provide backup energy to climate-vulnerable nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report argues that an initial public investment of $500 million could unlock billions in private capital by 2026, creating a national strategic hydrogen reserve and reducing industrial losses from power outages.

The document categorizes plastics-related instruments into government legislation, voluntary multistakeholder standards, and non-governmental initiatives. It identifies significant gaps in standards for upstream production and reuse systems, while noting a concentration of existing efforts in waste management. The authors argue for enhanced international cooperation to reduce regulatory fragmentation and improve inclusivity for developing countries, suggesting that a future global plastics treaty could drive the development of harmonized design and transparency standards.

The Stockholm Environment Institute commemorates Dr. Lisa Segnestam, a Research Fellow from 2000 to 2023, noting her influence on the organization's approach to gender and social equity. Her work emphasized norm-critical and intersectional perspectives on power, vulnerability, and gendered constructions within the contexts of poverty alleviation, disaster risk reduction, and water governance.

The document uses the example of international firefighters collaborating to fight Canadian wildfires as a metaphor for the necessary global cooperation required to address climate change and biodiversity loss. It highlights recent multilateral successes, such as the Convention of Biological Diversity COP15 agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, and the UN Treaty of the High Seas, as evidence of a positive trend in environmental diplomacy. The author emphasizes the ecological importance of the boreal forest, which contains 20 percent of the world's carbon, and calls for continued partnership between governments, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society at the Seventh GEF Assembly.

The report uses the Six Americas Super Short Survey (SASSY) to categorize Facebook users in 110 countries and territories into six groups: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive. The 'Alarmed' group is the largest in approximately 80 of the surveyed locations, with the highest percentages found in Chile (65%), Mexico (64%), Malawi (63%), Bolivia (62%), and Sri Lanka (61%). Conversely, the United States exhibits a higher proportion of 'Doubtful' and 'Dismissive' respondents (22%) compared to other major carbon emitters and is less 'Alarmed' (34%) than many of its peers. Regional analysis shows South America has the highest proportion of countries with a majority of 'Alarmed' respondents, while Southwest Asia and North Africa show higher levels of doubt or dismissal, particularly in Yemen (34%).

The sustainable debt market in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) reached a cumulative total of USD 154.1 billion by the end of 2022. While the region represents only 4% of global sustainable debt, these instruments account for approximately 21% of the region's total debt volume from 2019 to 2022. The market is led by Chile, Mexico, and Brazil, with a strong presence of sovereign issuers and development banks. Key trends include the rise of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), the emergence of 'blue bonds' for ocean conservation, and the development of national taxonomies in Colombia and Mexico to standardize sustainable investments.