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The report examines the bioeconomy in Brazil and the Amazon through three conceptual lenses: biotechnology, bioresources, and bioecology. It finds that while Brazil possesses a broad set of regulations covering these areas, it lacks a unified national strategy and coordinated governance. The analysis highlights that the 'various Amazons'—conserved, deforested, under pressure, and urban—require different bioeconomy approaches. Key regulatory tensions exist within the Biodiversity Law, which is viewed as too bureaucratic by the biotechnology sector and insufficient in protecting traditional knowledge by bioecology advocates. The report concludes that effective governance must integrate multiple ministries and prioritize land tenure regularization to ensure sustainability and legal security.

The document examines the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of palm oil, noting that emissions range from -0.3 to over 20 kgCO2e/kg CPO, with an average of approximately 6 kgCO2e/kg CPO. The primary drivers of these emissions are land-use change (LUC), particularly the conversion of tropical forests and peatlands, and the degradation of palm oil mill effluent (POME). The report highlights that emissions are highly spatially heterogeneous, with peat-based production being significantly more carbon-intensive than mineral-soil production. Mitigation strategies focus on preventing further deforestation and peatland development, managing water tables in existing peatlands, and implementing POME treatment technologies such as biogas capture and composting. The document also compares production characteristics across key regions, noting that Southeast Asia has the highest yields and production volumes, while West Africa has the lowest.

The document examines the GHG footprint of the pulp and paper industry, noting that emissions range from 14 to 75 tCO2e/t paper (excluding biogenic forestry emissions). It highlights that pulping and papermaking are energy-intensive stages that dominate the footprint, while forest management—specifically deforestation and premature harvesting—represents a significant source of emissions and a major mitigation opportunity. The report emphasizes the need for standardized GHG accounting in the sector and suggests shifting to renewable energy and sustainable forestry to reduce impacts.

The briefing examines the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on global food security, noting that the two nations provide 12% of global calories. It highlights how port blockades and fertiliser export suspensions have driven up prices and hunger, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. The document warns that protectionist export bans by countries like India and Argentina are exacerbating the crisis, and argues that increasing cropland to compensate is problematic due to the associated fossil fuel and fertiliser requirements.

The report outlines a framework for a social taxonomy that classifies business activities based on their contribution to social well-being and governance. It establishes a system of minimum social safeguards as a mandatory threshold, followed by two Guiding Principles (GP1 for positive social impacts and GP2 for governance improvements). The taxonomy uses a color-coded performance scale (Red to Dark Green) to categorize companies and activities, providing illustrative examples across sectors such as construction, finance, and agriculture to guide investors and regulators in identifying socially sustainable investments.

The document examines the challenges African countries face in accessing sustainable finance for regional infrastructure, noting a significant financing deficit and a lack of bankable projects. It highlights the disparity between climate mitigation and adaptation finance, arguing that adaptation is more critical for Africa's vulnerability. The brief analyzes the ASEAN regional approach—specifically its sustainability taxonomies and the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility—as a model for Africa. It evaluates current AU initiatives, such as the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa and the Green Infrastructure Corridor for Intra-African Trade, and recommends integrating sustainability more deeply into AfCFTA protocols to attract investment and enhance climate resilience.

The report finds that while electricity demand in the 'ASEAN 5' (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam) grew by 22% from 2015 to 2021, clean energy only met 39% of this increase. Solar and wind generation remains low at 4% of the region's electricity supply, lagging behind China and India. Current national plans project solar and wind will reach 11% of the total supply by 2030, which the authors argue is insufficient to meet the 1.5-degree pathway or keep pace with rising demand, potentially leading to further reliance on coal.

The report analyzes 21 international taxonomies to provide a framework for a potential Canadian transition taxonomy, emphasizing the need for science-based thresholds to avoid greenwashing in a resource-dependent economy.

The ASEAN sustainable debt market experienced rapid growth in 2021, with GSS debt issuance reaching USD 24 billion and sustainability-linked instruments reaching USD 27.5 billion. Singapore remains the regional leader, while the green theme continues to be the most popular. The report highlights the emergence of the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance and the growth of local currency issuances, particularly in Singapore and Thailand.

The ASEAN+3 sustainable debt market reached USD 449 billion by Q3 2021, driven largely by the People's Republic of China, Japan, and Hong Kong, China. While green bonds remain dominant, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the issuance of social and sustainability-labeled instruments. Local currency (LCY) issuance represents 64% of the region's total sustainable debt, though this is unevenly distributed; Thailand has the highest LCY share at 98.5%, while Viet Nam and Indonesia rely heavily on foreign currencies. The report identifies barriers such as lack of market awareness, high transaction costs for small deals, and a shortage of bankable green projects. It recommends increasing sovereign GSS bond issuance, expanding the investor base through ETFs and indices, and establishing centralized sustainable finance platforms to improve project visibility.

The document addresses industry resistance to the proposed EU deforestation regulation, specifically the 'Geolocation Requirement' which mandates that operators collect latitude and longitude coordinates for all plots of land where covered products (cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soy, and wood) were produced. ClientEarth argues that traceability is indispensable for ensuring products are 'deforestation-free' and produced legally. It refutes claims that the regulation mandates specific supply chain models like 'identity preserved' or 'segregated' chains, clarifying that mixed-origin supply chains remain permissible as long as they are traceable. The briefing also contends that geolocation requirements will not necessarily exclude smallholders, noting that many in the cocoa and palm oil sectors already support transparency to improve their market position. Furthermore, it argues that compliance costs are likely to be negligible when implemented at scale and that voluntary certification schemes, while useful tools, cannot serve as automatic evidence of compliance due to documented shortcomings in governance and reliability.

The report finds that the global steel industry is not on track to meet IEA Net-zero 2050 targets, as the shift from carbon-intensive BF-BOF to cleaner EAF technology is too slow. Current capacity under construction is more heavily weighted toward BF-BOF than the existing operating fleet. Asia, particularly China and India, is the primary hotspot for new BF-BOF capacity. This trend creates a significant stranded asset risk estimated between 345 and 518 billion USD. Additionally, the report highlights that accounting for coal mine methane could increase the sector's reported emissions footprint by 27%.

The paper argues that developing countries lack the financial sector capacity to fund the scale of investment required for low-carbon transitions. It distinguishes between 'commercially viable technologies' that need scaled-up investment and 'financially underserved technologies' that require de-risking. Proposed solutions include the creation of a Global Clean Investment Risk Mitigation Mechanism (GCI-RMM), the implementation of sustainable taxonomies and corporate disclosures, and the use of carbon pricing. The authors emphasize that multilateral cooperation is essential to harmonize these regulations and increase grant-based concessional finance to catalyze private investment.

The report analyzes the vulnerability of ASEAN economies to climate transition risks, highlighting a significant reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation. It finds that carbon-intensive sectors represent approximately 25% of corporate bond issuance in the region, with a substantial portion of loans and bonds facing refinancing risks by 2030. The authors argue that current industrial classification systems are inadequate for identifying these risks and recommend that ASEAN central banks develop comprehensive 'green' and 'brown' taxonomies to enhance climate risk disclosures and manage potential asset stranding.

The report examines the security implications of climate change in the South and East China Seas, focusing on the interplay between regional political cohesion and food prices. It presents four scenarios—ranging from high cooperation and low prices to high fragmentation and food insecurity—to illustrate potential risks, including social unrest, the failure of governance, and increased Chinese maritime aggression. The analysis emphasizes that climate change acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing geopolitical tensions and socio-economic inequalities in Southeast and East Asia.

The report examines the marginalization of agricultural biodiversity within the CBD and argues that industrial agriculture is a primary driver of biodiversity loss. It contrasts the 'peasant food web' with the 'agro-industrial chain,' highlighting the superior ecological and social outcomes of small-scale farming. The document criticizes 'false solutions' such as carbon offsets, sustainable intensification, and Nature-based Solutions (NbS), which it claims mask corporate interests. It calls for the new Global Biodiversity Framework to explicitly promote agroecology, protect the rights of indigenous peoples and small-scale farmers, and phase out industrial agricultural practices and harmful subsidies.

The report analyzes how climate change acts as a 'threat multiplier' in Asia, compounding existing social, political, and economic vulnerabilities to exacerbate conflict and drive migration. Focusing on Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, it examines how environmental stressors like droughts and floods intersect with ethnic discrimination and political instability. It highlights the specific vulnerabilities of displaced populations, such as the Rohingya and Afghans, who often reside in hazard-prone urban slums or camps. The document argues that national and regional policies frequently omit the climate-conflict-migration nexus and recommends that humanitarian agencies and policy-makers integrate these linkages to build long-term resilience and support safe, regular migration.

The WWF-US Corporate Partnership Report for FY2021 outlines the organization's strategic approach to private sector engagement, categorizing partnerships into sustainable business practices, communications and awareness, philanthropy, and employee engagement. The report lists numerous corporate partners across various budget tiers, highlighting specific collaborations on issues such as plastic waste, deforestation, and climate targets. In FY21, income from these corporate partnerships accounted for 3% of the WWF-US office's total income.

The report examines the global trend of establishing green taxonomies to define sustainable economic activities and reduce 'greenwashing'. It details three primary methodology types: whitelist-based, technical screening criteria-based, and principle-based. A significant portion of the document compares the EU's six-objective framework with China's three-objective system, highlighting the 'Common Ground Taxonomy' as a tool to improve interoperability between the two markets. The report concludes that while taxonomies are essential for product development and risk management, challenges remain regarding data quality and the need to incorporate transition guidelines for high-emission industries.

The report examines the rise of green taxonomies as classification systems to identify sustainable economic activities and reduce greenwashing. It identifies three primary development approaches: whitelist-based, technical screening criteria (TSC) based, and principle-based. A central focus is the alignment between the EU and China taxonomies via the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) and the Common Ground Taxonomy (CGT), which aims to facilitate cross-border green capital flows. The document details how these taxonomies are implemented by regulators for mandatory disclosure and by financial intermediaries for product development and risk management.