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This guide, published by Friends of the Earth International, explains the causes and impacts of climate change, emphasizing the disproportionate responsibility of wealthy industrialised nations and the severe risks faced by Africa. It criticizes government failures driven by corporate interests and proposes a systemic transition toward renewable energy and sustainable food systems.

The statement by Friends of the Earth International and partner organizations denounces the RAI framework as a tool to legitimize land grabbing. It argues that large-scale land acquisitions are driven by financial speculation and result in human rights violations, environmental degradation, and threats to food security. The authors demand the cancellation of existing land grab agreements and the adoption of food sovereignty and agroecological models based on small-scale farming.

This document is a Vietnamese translation of excerpts from the 'Boom & Burst Coal 2024' report by Global Energy Monitor and its partners. It analyzes global coal power trends in 2023, highlighting a dichotomy where new construction has hit a 9-year low outside China but an 8-year high within China. The report provides a detailed assessment of Vietnam's energy transition, focusing on the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8) and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), while noting that global coal capacity reached an all-time high in 2023.

The report identifies a widening gap between coal capacity and generation, particularly in China and India, where new plants are built as 'system insurance' while renewables displace coal in actual output. Globally, the coal pipeline is narrowing geographically, with 95% of construction concentrated in China and India. However, the report notes a significant slowdown in retirements in the U.S. and EU due to policy interventions and energy security concerns. Regional analyses highlight Indonesia's growth in captive coal for industrial processing, the U.S.'s political push to sustain aging plants, and the EU's structural shift toward a coal-free system. The document also examines the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on the Western Balkans and the challenges of rebuilding Ukraine's energy system.

The document asserts that wood biomass power in Japan and South Korea is not carbon neutral and often emits more CO2 than coal. It criticizes the use of subsidies—such as Japan's FIT system and South Korea's REC system—to support these facilities, arguing that such policies prolong the operation of coal plants and divert investment from wind and solar energy. The report highlights safety risks, including fires and explosions, and notes that the carbon debt of wood biomass can take 44 to 104 years to repay.

The report analyzes India's steel industry, which accounts for 12% of the country's CO2 emissions, and argues that transitioning to green hydrogen-based steelmaking is the most viable path to net zero by 2070. It identifies significant barriers, including the high cost of green hydrogen, the lack of a legal definition for 'green steel', and the young age of existing blast furnace fleets. The authors recommend government intervention through carbon pricing, mandatory green steel procurement in public projects, and the implementation of green hydrogen purchase obligations to make low-carbon technologies commercially competitive.

Global Witness criticizes the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in Vietnam, stating that the $15.5 billion deal lacks sufficient protections for human rights and civil society. The organization highlights the imprisonment of environmental defenders and argues that a truly 'just' transition is impossible without the free participation of civil society and the release of unjustly arrested climate leaders.

Global Witness reports that Maxland (PNG) Limited, controlled by the Joinland Group, is using a purported rubber plantation project on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, as a cover for illegal logging. The investigation finds that the company has failed to plant the promised millions of rubber trees, has bypassed provincial government rejections of its permits, and has operated without legitimate landowner consent. The report links the destruction of this biodiversity hotspot to financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Norway, and the US, and notes that the harvested timber is exported to China and Japan.

Global Witness reports that Maxland (PNG) Limited, a subsidiary of Joinland Group, has engaged in illegal logging on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, under the guise of establishing a rubber plantation. The investigation finds that the company bypassed legal land-surveying processes, ignored provincial rejections of its permits, and failed to plant the promised rubber trees while exporting millions of dollars in hardwood to China and Japan. The report further links this activity to a network of international financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Norway, and the US, and calls for stricter import regulations in China and better governance in Papua New Guinea.

Between January 2013 and April 2020, Chinese financial institutions provided over $22.5 billion USD to companies producing and trading commodities at high risk of driving deforestation. The report highlights that a small number of major commercial banks dominate this financing, often with inadequate due diligence or safeguarding policies. Specific examples include financing for COFCO, which continues to use suppliers suspended by Unilever, and JBS, which has been linked to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The report argues that China's banking regulator should revise commercial banking laws to mandate the exclusion of companies linked to environmental destruction to align with China's 2060 carbon neutrality goal.

The document explores the intersection of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) agriculture and carbon markets, specifically within the South African context. It identifies three primary pathways for BSF farmers to access carbon credits: diverting organic waste from landfills to avoid methane, producing low-carbon alternative proteins for animal feed, and enhancing soil carbon sequestration through the use of BSF frass. The brief details the mechanics of mandatory and voluntary carbon markets, the specific phases of South Africa's Carbon Tax Act, and the complex 10-step process for project registration. It also highlights significant barriers to entry, including high upfront costs (starting at R1 million for small projects), a lack of BSF-specific methodologies, and legal restrictions in the Western Cape that prohibit credits for landfill diversion due to a 2027 organic waste ban.

The document identifies Cape Town as a strategic hub for textile recycling due to its concentration of clothing manufacturers and retailers. It argues that transitioning from a linear to a circular textile economy can mitigate supply chain volatility and reduce landfill pressure. The brief highlights two primary opportunities: creating a commercial open-loop recycling hub to process over 70,000 tonnes of annual textile waste and establishing Africa's first commercial-scale closed-loop fibre-to-fibre recycling facility. Key barriers include a lack of textile-specific waste data, high capital requirements for advanced technology, and the complexity of processing post-consumer mixed materials. The document recommends the development of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements and the use of the Retail-CTFL Masterplan to unite the industry under circularity targets.

This document is a participant list for the 37th Executive Council Meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, held in Mexico City on August 12, 2014. It details the names, affiliations, and contact information of attendees from several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Paraguay, Uruguay, USA, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and Peru, as well as representatives from international bodies and the IAI Directorate.

The report analyzes the environmental impact of Argentina's agricultural expansion from 1956 to 2005. Key findings include a significant increase in annual crop areas, leading to the loss of native forests and grasslands, particularly in the Chaco and Atlantic Forest regions. While the adoption of no-till farming has reduced soil erosion and the toxicity of pesticides has decreased over time, the expansion has caused a decline in soil phosphorus and carbon stocks, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced the provision of ecosystem services. The report specifically examines the role of soybean cultivation, linking its expansion to deforestation in Northwest Argentina and an increase in pesticide contamination risks, although it notes a favorable energy efficiency for the crop.

The document examines the tension between the WTO's multilateral Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and the plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on e-commerce. It highlights the conflict over the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, where some developing nations fear revenue loss while others advocate for a permanent ban on such duties. The analysis focuses on the upcoming MC14 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where members must decide on the future of the moratorium and whether to incorporate the JSI's proposed e-commerce agreement into the WTO framework.

The document discusses the path toward a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution, following the adoption of UN Environment Assembly Resolution 5/14 in March 2022. It highlights the shift in perception of plastic pollution from a purely marine issue to a terrestrial one and emphasizes the need for the treaty to address the entire plastic lifecycle, including the limitation of virgin plastic production and the creation of a sustainable circular economy. The author argues that the treaty must resolve regulatory gaps in the international waste trade, where developed nations often export plastic waste to poorer countries under the guise of recycling. To avoid past failures seen in chemical and electronic waste treaties, the document advocates for the integration of the World Trade Organization's Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastic Trade into the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee's process.

The paper analyzes the shift toward concrete implementation of climate-related trade measures, such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms and deforestation regulations. It details recent activities within the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment and the outcomes of COP30, emphasizing the need for international cooperation on transparency, interoperability, and development support to avoid market fragmentation.

The report traces the history of international climate policy, highlighting the shift from the 'top-down' prescriptive approach of the Kyoto Protocol to the 'bottom-up' voluntary system of the Paris Agreement. It examines the central role of the 'common but differentiated responsibilities' (CBDR) principle and the challenges of ensuring the participation of major emitters while maintaining equity for developing nations. The text concludes that while the regime has grown in complexity and universality, current collective emission reduction promises remain insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.

The document analyzes the shift toward concrete Climate-related Trade Measures (CTMs), such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms and deforestation regulations, and how these are being addressed within the WTO and UNFCCC. It highlights key concerns regarding transparency, interoperability, and the impact on developing nations, while positioning the WTO's MC14 as a critical moment for consolidating these discussions.

The document examines the dual tracks of e-commerce negotiations at the WTO: the multilateral Work Programme and the plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI). It highlights a shift in the JSI where contentious issues like data flows and source code were archived following a US policy shift in October 2023. A central point of tension remains the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, with developing nations citing lost public revenue and the need for industrial policy space, while developed nations argue the moratorium lowers trade costs and benefits consumers. The document notes that the outcome of the moratorium debate and the potential integration of JSI treaties into WTO law are key expectations for MC13.