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The report investigates the governance of climate finance in the Global South, arguing that current mechanisms often prioritize mitigation over adaptation and corporate profit over local needs. Through case studies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, it highlights systemic issues including the 'greenwashing' of industrial activities, the marginalization of indigenous land rights, and a lack of transparency in fund disbursement. The authors advocate for a normative framework based on democratic governance, downward accountability to vulnerable communities, and the separation of public and private funding sources to ensure climate finance addresses actual developmental and environmental needs.

The report analyzes the 'water-energy nexus,' highlighting how the transition to low-carbon electricity can create new pressures on water resources. It compares the water withdrawals and consumption of conventional fossil-fuel plants, nuclear power, and various renewables. A case study of California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) demonstrates that while shifting to renewables can reduce emissions, certain choices—like solar thermal—can increase water consumption. The authors argue for integrated planning that prioritizes low-water technologies, efficiency improvements, and water recycling to ensure energy security without compromising water availability.

The research examines historical private capital flows—including foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio equity, and bank lending—to assess their suitability for climate adaptation in developing countries. It finds that private finance is heavily concentrated in a few emerging economies and resource-extraction sectors, often bypassing the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and critical adaptation sectors like water and small-scale agriculture. The author argues that the unpredictability and sectoral bias of private investment pose significant challenges for the delivery of the USD 100 billion annual climate finance pledge, suggesting that public finance must fill these gaps rather than simply attempting to leverage private flows that naturally avoid the most vulnerable areas.

The report estimates that at least USD 97 billion per annum in climate finance was provided in 2009/2010, with private finance (USD 55 billion) significantly outweighing public finance (at least USD 21 billion). The vast majority of these funds (USD 93 billion) are directed toward mitigation, while adaptation receives only USD 4.4 billion. The analysis highlights a critical lack of standardized definitions and a significant gap in data regarding the effectiveness of these financial flows.

The document argues that rural women in the Global South face severe gender-based inequality, including restricted land access and economic exploitation, which is exacerbated by a corporate-led agribusiness model. It highlights how this model causes environmental destruction and social displacement, disproportionately affecting women who are often the primary preservers of biodiversity and traditional seeds. Through testimonies from regions such as Nigeria, Indonesia, and Latin America, the report details the 'work overload' women face as they manage both social reproduction and agricultural production, often without recognition or fair pay. It advocates for 'food sovereignty'—the right of peoples to control their own seeds, lands, and food production—as a political and practical alternative to the industrial model. The report concludes that rural women are leading resistance through agro-ecological practices, political self-organisation, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge to ensure the sustainability of human life.

The document examines the governance of climate finance across three developing regions, arguing that funding is heavily skewed toward mitigation over adaptation and private over public sources. It highlights that this imbalance often ignores the urgent needs of the most vulnerable populations and the preference of developing nations for public finance to address historical climate debt. Additionally, it critiques the role of regional development banks, noting conflicts of interest where banks fund both fossil-fuel and renewable energy projects while prioritizing loans over grants.

The document argues that climate finance priorities should be driven by local environmental and developmental needs rather than donor preferences. It advocates for a bottom-up approach, the delinking of public and private funding to prevent profit-driven motives from overriding social needs, and the implementation of rigorous safeguards to ensure the integrity of emission-reducing projects. The brief emphasizes the need for downward accountability to affected communities, inclusive decision-making, and the protection of indigenous livelihoods to prevent climate finance from becoming a source of social instability or conflict.

The report identifies a shift in tropical deforestation from state-initiated to enterprise-driven processes, primarily fueled by global urban and export demand for commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, and timber. While drivers vary by region—cattle and soy in Latin America, palm oil and timber in Southeast Asia, and small-scale farming in Africa—the document highlights that global emissions from land-use change have declined by 39% between 2000 and 2009. It argues that development without deforestation is possible through agricultural intensification, the restoration of abandoned lands, and international mechanisms like REDD+.

The report documents the negative impacts of Holcim's cement and mining activities in Latin America, focusing on the destruction of aquifers and landscapes, air pollution, and health crises. It highlights the use of 'co-processing' to incinerate hazardous waste and criticizes the role of Free Trade Agreements and international arbitration (CIADI) in protecting corporate interests over community rights. Specific cases include the criminalization of Maya Kaqchikel communities in Guatemala, the degradation of the Tunjuelo River in Bogotá, and neurotoxic acrylates emissions in Mexico. The document concludes by detailing a 2010 complaint filed against Holcim at the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal in Madrid.

The report analyzes the surge in foreign acquisitions and long-term leases of agricultural land and water, driven by food and energy security concerns and the 2008 food crisis. It highlights a critical lack of transparency and public contracts, which obscures the impact on local communities. The authors argue that a complex interplay between national laws, investment contracts, and International Investment Agreements (IIAs) often prioritizes foreign investor protections over the rights of local users and the regulatory autonomy of host states, potentially hindering sustainable development and public health measures.

The report analyzes urban sanitation trends across Sub-Saharan Africa, China, India, South East Asia, and Latin America, while examining the technical and social interactions between these systems and menstrual waste disposal. It finds that menstrual products, particularly those with super-absorbent materials, frequently cause blockages in water-borne sewerage systems and reduce the design life of on-site pit latrines. The document argues that menstrual management is largely ignored in sanitation design, leading to privacy issues for women and operational failures in infrastructure. It recommends the use of solid waste streams for menstrual product disposal and the design of 'women-friendly' facilities that include private waste bins and hand-washing stations.

In 2010, four members of the UNEP BFI CCWG (AFD, EIB, JICA, and KfW) committed approximately 15.5 billion USD to climate finance in developing countries, a 22% increase over 2009. Mitigation received 80% of these funds, primarily targeting the energy (51%) and transport (31%) sectors, while adaptation funding decreased by 28% to 20% of the total, focused largely on water supply and treatment. Concessional loans were the dominant financial instrument at 70% of total flows. The report also details carbon finance initiatives managed by EIB, KfW, and NEFCO, which are tracked separately from direct climate finance.

The document discusses how the AGF's goal of mobilising US$100 billion annually by 2020 for climate-resilient development affects Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasizing the need for private sector frameworks, public sector catalysis of investment, and the protection of regional development and adaptation needs.

The report challenges the 'miracle crop' narrative of jatropha, presenting ten reasons why industrial-scale plantations fail. It argues that jatropha requires fertile land, significant water, and chemical inputs to be productive, contradicting claims that it thrives on marginal land. This leads to competition with food production, displacement of local communities, and biodiversity loss. Economically, the report highlights a pattern of failed investment projects and unrealistic yield promises. Environmentally, it asserts that land-use change for jatropha can increase carbon emissions, undermining its purpose as a climate solution.

The document outlines ten reasons why jatropha is an unsustainable investment, noting that yields are often lower than claimed and the crop requires significant water and fertile land rather than thriving on marginal soils. It highlights negative impacts including the displacement of local communities, loss of biodiversity, and competition with food production. The text concludes that large-scale plantations are not economically viable and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use change.

The report argues that traditional trade liberalization agendas are insufficient for addressing food security, particularly when risks stem from global market volatility. It suggests that a 'new agricultural deal' and differentiated treatment for developing countries are necessary to reconcile trade and food security.

The document examines how Latin American governments responded to the 2007-2008 food crisis through social protection policies, new legislation, and a focus on food security and sovereignty. It finds that responses were largely uniform across countries, often prioritizing short-term price reductions and trade barriers over long-term agricultural investment and regional cooperation. The report argues for a balanced approach combining macroeconomic stability, targeted social programs, and supply-side agricultural stimulus to address persistent high food prices.

The report analyzes how developing regions responded to the 200608 food crisis, noting a prevalence of short-term, often protectionist measures such as export bans and consumer subsidies. It argues that these immediate responses frequently conflicted with long-term goals of increasing agricultural production and that regional cooperation mechanisms were largely ineffective during the crisis. The author advocates for a 'new agricultural deal' at the global level and the institutional strengthening of regional agreements to provide credible collective economic security.

The document examines the tension between short-term food security measures and long-term economic sustainability in three developing regions. It contrasts strategies of food self-sufficiency with food self-reliance and argues that regional integration mechanisms failed to provide collective security during the 2006–08 crisis. The author advocates for a 'new agricultural deal' at the global level to reconcile trade liberalization with the vulnerability of developing countries.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) planned a series of training institutes and science programs between July 2010 and June 2011, focusing on seasonal climate predictions, urban responses to climate change, and biodiversity in the Andes. Key initiatives included a MacArthur Foundation project to assess research and institutional needs for Andean biodiversity and a research internship program with IAI-INPE/CPTEC.