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The report maps 30 international financial mechanisms totaling US$ 25.9 billion aimed at tropical forests, highlighting a significant funding gap compared to the US$ 66.8 billion annual need identified by UNEP. It analyzes the roles of various actors, the prevalence of result-based payments like REDD+, and the geographic concentration of funds in Latin America, specifically Brazil and Guyana.

The report proposes the Reversing Deforestation Mechanism (RDM), a results-based payment system designed to scale up tropical forest restoration through jurisdictional agreements. Unlike existing frameworks like JREDD+ and TFFF, which focus on halting deforestation and maintaining standing forests, RDM incentivizes net carbon removal by compensating jurisdictions for carbon captured through restoration minus emissions from deforestation and degradation. The report simulates the potential of RDM to transform tropical forests into high-impact climate assets, highlighting its potential to generate significant revenues and carbon sequestration, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the scale and diversity of the forest-climate nexus across 91 tropical countries. It quantifies forest extent, carbon stocks, and deforestation rates to argue for differentiated, fit-for-purpose policy strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The analysis concludes that there is no inherent trade-off between forest conservation and economic development.

The report examines climate litigation in the oil and gas sectors of Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting a strong reliance on human rights and constitutional frameworks. While the region leads the Global South in climate cases, it faces significant barriers including institutional weaknesses, violence against environmental defenders, and a gap in scientific evidence. The study contrasts these with Global North trends, such as 'climate washing' and corporate-focused lawsuits, and discusses the potential for transnational litigation to hold Northern companies accountable for Southern impacts.

A Global Witness investigation reveals that 17 of the world's least developed countries and largest US aid recipients have signed lobbying contracts worth over $21 million since November 2024. The report highlights a trend where nations facing humanitarian crises and aid freezes—such as Pakistan, the DRC, and Somalia—are bartering preferential access to critical minerals, oil, gas, and strategic ports for US political or military assistance. Many of these deals involve firms and individuals closely linked to Donald Trump's inner circle, creating a transactional 'America First' dynamic that Global Witness argues risks resource exploitation in fragile, conflict-affected states.

U.S. tariffs have created a mixed impact across Latin America, with Mexico and Central American countries facing the highest effective tariff rates due to their export profiles and reliance on the U.S. market. However, the authors argue that South American nations are more vulnerable to indirect spillovers from China, which is now the primary trading partner for most of the subregion. A slowdown in Chinese demand for minerals, metals, and energy products, driven by high U.S. tariffs on China, could depress regional growth and commodity prices if China fails to implement effective countercyclical fiscal and monetary policies.

The report evaluates the Article 6 carbon market rules finalized at COP29. It finds that Article 6.2 provides a weak, decentralized framework with significant loopholes in additionality, permanence, and accountability. Article 6.4 is rated more robust due to its centralized Supervisory Body and structured transparency, though it still lacks sufficient safeguards for land rights and permanence. The author argues that the current framework is not robust enough to ensure high-quality carbon credits and warns developed countries against using these markets to meet their NDCs.

The document details how illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon is sustained by a complex network of corrupt politicians, logistics providers, and international smuggling routes for mercury and aviation fuel. It highlights a systemic failure of Brazilian regulatory agencies to coordinate efforts, leading to significant gold exports lacking proper documentation. The report also establishes strong links between illegal mining and other serious crimes, including drug trafficking by organizations like the First Capital Command (PCC), forced labor, and sexual exploitation. Geographically, the illicit activity extends across borders into Guyana, French Guiana, and Venezuela, with specific hotspots identified in Roraima, Rondônia, Pará, and Amapá states.

An open letter from Carbon Market Watch and other signatories urging EU leadership to reject the use of Article 6 international credits to meet 2040 climate goals. The authors argue that relying on international credits undermines EU leadership, poses reputational risks due to poor environmental integrity, fails to provide genuine climate finance, and increases the long-term economic costs of the energy transition. They call for a science-based domestic target of at least 90% net reductions to ensure environmental integrity and maintain the EU's credibility as a historic emitter.

The briefing warns that 63 oil and gas fields in development could emit 2,300 kilotonnes of methane annually by 2030, a volume comparable to current fossil fuel production emissions in Europe. It highlights a critical gap where high-emitting projects in countries exporting to the EU will reach peak capacity before EU methane regulations take full effect in 2027 and 2030. The report notes significant data transparency failures among top operators and argues that continued investment in new infrastructure undermines the Global Methane Pledge and overall climate mitigation efforts.

In 2024, the oil and gas industry showed a marked preference for offshore development, with all twelve projects reaching a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) being offshore. New discoveries were heavily concentrated, with 85% of the volume found in just ten offshore fields, including the Nokhatha field in Kuwait and the Mopane field in Namibia. Startups were also dominated by offshore activity, which accounted for 71% of the total volume of field startups, including six projects in China. The report highlights significant environmental risks across the project lifecycle, from seismic noise pollution during exploration to the long-term danger of leaky wells during decommissioning. It further argues that the industry's focus on 'low emissions intensity' ignores scope three emissions, which constitute 80% to 85% of lifecycle emissions, and warns that these investments conflict with the scientific consensus on climate goals.

The document outlines a 24-month readiness project implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to operationalize a national MRV system in Guyana. It focuses on filling data gaps in the Waste and IPPU sectors, strengthening institutional arrangements, and building technical capacity for government and private sector stakeholders. The project aims to align Guyana's reporting with IPCC and Paris Agreement standards, develop a pipeline of bankable mitigation projects, and implement a system for tracking internal and external climate finance flows.

The report identifies a critical need to accelerate the integration of health and climate policies in the Caribbean to address climatic vulnerability and a dual burden of non-communicable and infectious diseases. While there is general support for this integration, current links remain nascent and tenuous. Key barriers include siloed government operations, a rigid top-down policymaking process, inadequate financial and technical resources, and significant data gaps. Opportunities for progress lie in national development plans, international climate commitments, and the health co-benefits of renewable energy. The authors advocate for a 'climate in all policies' approach, enhanced multi-sectoral communication, and the use of analytical risk assessment tools to move from awareness to decisive policy action.

The briefing details the systemic failures in decommissioning offshore oil and gas sites, highlighting how abandoned wells leak methane and toxins, threaten marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods, and how corporations use legal and financial loopholes to shift cleanup costs to the public.

The report argues that offshore oil and gas activities pose severe threats to the global commons, specifically the oceans and atmosphere. It details how seismic surveys harm marine life, production leads to catastrophic blowouts and underreported methane emissions, transportation increases the risk of spills and invasive species, and improper decommissioning leaves a legacy of leaking 'orphan' wells. The document emphasizes that these risks are magnified by climate change and that existing legal frameworks, including UNCLOS and the polluter pays principle, should be leveraged to phase out offshore fossil fuel extraction.

The document argues that offshore oil and gas production poses severe risks, including underreported greenhouse gas emissions from flaring and methane leaks, the high potential for devastating well blowouts—especially in deep waters—and chronic marine pollution from produced water. It highlights the failure of current cleanup technologies and the long-term socio-economic damage to coastal communities, concluding that halting offshore expansion is essential to meeting the 1.5°C global warming limit.

Based on 225 interviews with high-level stakeholders, the report finds that while climate and health policies are currently largely siloed across the six studied regions, there is a strong consensus that further integration is necessary to maximize co-benefits and address complex challenges. Common barriers include funding shortages, data gaps, and institutional silos, while opportunities include upcoming policy deliberations and rising public awareness. The report suggests strategies such as adopting 'health in all policies' approaches, increasing the use of scientific evidence, and enhancing cross-sectoral collaboration.

The report synthesizes 225 interviews with stakeholders to assess how climate and health policies are integrated. It finds that while these policies are currently siloed, there is a strong consensus that integration is necessary to maximize co-benefits and address complex health threats. The document identifies systemic barriers such as funding shortages and institutional silos, while proposing strategies like 'health in all policies' and the use of trusted health professionals as climate advocates.

The document details Jamaica's engagement with the IAI, highlighting national representatives from the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport and the National Commission on Science and Technology. It notes specific funding for a project on the 'Climate-Health-Environment Nexus Risk in the ‘Shared Economy’ Hotel Sector' and participation in science diplomacy training and committees.

The policy brief argues that CARICOM lacks a cohesive trade strategy aligned with the global 'Sustainability and Inclusiveness' (S&I) agenda. It analyzes the region's economic vulnerabilities—including small market size, dependence on fossil fuels, and climate risk—and evaluates existing trade agreements like the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and the CARIFORUM-EU EPA. The authors recommend a regional approach that integrates trade with policies on energy, climate change, the blue economy, and food security, while increasing the participation of non-traditional stakeholders such as MSMEs and civil society.