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The report provides a detailed 'radiography' of how Brazilian states are implementing the 2012 Forest Code. It identifies the analysis and validation of the CAR as the primary bottleneck and notes that while some states like Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, and Pará have made significant progress, others remain severely delayed in regulating and operationalizing the PRA. The document also highlights the role of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) in developing technological tools to scale these processes.

The report provides a comprehensive 'radiography' of how Brazilian states are implementing the Forest Code. It identifies a significant gap between the high rates of CAR registration and the slow progress of CAR validation and PRA implementation. While some states in the North and Center-West regions are advanced, the Northeast region lags behind. The document highlights systemic barriers, including a lack of technical resources, poor quality of self-declared data, and a heavy dependence on the federal government's SICAR system. It also examines state-specific rules for restoring Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RL), noting wide variations in restoration deadlines and methodologies.

The report finds that non-agricultural sectors continue to pose a significant risk to global forests, acting as 'drivers of drivers' where infrastructure like roads enables further clearing. Despite the adoption of the 'mitigation hierarchy' and new sustainability certifications, political inertia and the demand for minerals—driven by both industrialization and the transition to low-carbon technologies—threaten intact forests in the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Indonesia. The document highlights a trend of 'protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement' (PADDD) to facilitate construction and notes that while biodiversity offsets are increasing, they often fail to reduce overall forest impacts.

The report assesses the potential for natural infrastructure to complement the Cantareira Water Supply System in São Paulo, Brazil. Using a Green-Gray Assessment, it finds that targeted reforestation of 4,000 hectares could reduce sediment pollution by 36%, yielding a 28% return on investment over 30 years by reducing water treatment and dredging costs. While forest restoration is likely to slightly increase dry season water flows through a 'sponge effect' and fog capture in cloud forests, the overall impact on annual water availability is estimated to be marginal. The document provides a roadmap for scaling these investments, suggesting blended finance models and improved landowner engagement to overcome risks and uncertainties.

This report by Friends of the Earth International documents systemic human rights and environmental violations by transnational corporations (TNCs) across eight Latin American and Caribbean countries. It highlights cases of corporate impunity, the use of investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms to challenge public health and environmental policies, and the violent suppression of territory defenders. The document advocates for a legally binding international treaty to hold TNCs accountable and the creation of an International Tribunal on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations.

The research finds that demand-side factors are the primary drivers of distributed solar PV adoption in Brazil, often outweighing the availability of solar resources. Analysis shows that municipalities with higher GDP, larger populations, and higher electricity tariffs have more PV units, while solar radiation only becomes a significant positive predictor when comparing municipalities within the same electricity distributor's concession area. The authors argue that current subsidy policies in the Northeast region artificially lower tariffs, hindering PV growth in areas with the highest solar potential. They conclude that climate mitigation policies must address demand-side frictions and tariff structures rather than focusing solely on natural resource availability.

The document advocates for a legally binding UN treaty to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) accountable for human rights and environmental abuses. It highlights the failure of voluntary corporate social responsibility codes and the misuse of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms to challenge public health and environmental laws. Through case studies in Latin America and Africa, it illustrates how TNCs operate with impunity due to gaps in national legal systems and the lack of extraterritorial obligations for home states.

The statement criticizes the impunity of transnational corporations, specifically Vale, BHP, and SAMARCO, following a catastrophic dam collapse on the Rio Doce watershed in Brazil. It highlights the failure of voluntary corporate social responsibility measures and calls on the UN to move beyond voluntary guidelines toward a legally binding treaty for corporate accountability.

Danone Brasil used the five-step Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR) methodology, in partnership with Instituto Ipê, to analyze its production plant in Poços de Caldas and its strawberry and milk supply chains. The process identified critical dependencies on freshwater, pollination, and soil quality, revealing risks such as declining pollinator populations and climate-driven crop losses. To mitigate these, Danone proposed strategies including improved water monitoring, sustainable pasture management, and reforestation to reduce heat stress in cattle and comply with the Brazilian Forest Code.

The report details the outcomes of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) programs, specifically the Cooperative Research Networks (CRN II), Small Grants Program for Human Dimensions (SGP-HD), and an IDRC-funded project on the Río de la Plata basin. Key findings highlight the vulnerability of Andean cloud forests, the impact of land-use changes on hydrology in the Río de la Plata basin, and the increasing frequency of hurricanes in the Caribbean. The document emphasizes the 'value added' by integrating social and economic sciences (Human Dimensions) to bridge the gap between scientific research and policy implementation, citing specific influences on forest protection laws in Brazil and glacier protection legislation in Argentina.

The TRopi-dRy research network is establishing a knowledge base on the ecology, diversity, and socio-economic drivers of tropical dry forests (TdFs) in the Americas. Initial findings include the creation of the first-ever map of TdFs in the Americas, which provides a legal basis for conservation monitoring in Costa Rica. Phenology monitoring indicates divergent productivity trends: dry forests are becoming more productive near the equator, with increases noted in Brazil and decreases in Bolivia, while dry seasons are lengthening further north and south.

A group of Brazilian and international organizations opposes the approval of Plantar S.A.'s CDM project, "Cultivated Biomass as a Renewable Source of Energy for Pig Iron Production". The authors argue that the project lacks additionality because the company has already been planting eucalyptus since 2000 and that the operations cause significant environmental degradation and social injustices, including the displacement of indigenous and peasant communities.

The document critiques the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for promoting large-scale biofuel monocultures as a 'clean energy' solution. It argues that these projects, particularly in Brazil and Colombia, lead to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and rural displacement while failing to provide significant greenhouse gas reductions. The report calls for a shift toward small-scale, decentralized energy systems that support local food security and rural development.

The document examines how information and communication technology (ICT) can be harnessed for sustainable development while warning of negative environmental impacts and the need for policy coherence.

Bureau Veritas UK Limited provided a pre-issuance limited assurance report for Faro Energy Holdings UK Ltd.'s 2018 Brazilian Solar Bond, concluding that the issuance process conforms with the Climate Bonds Standard 2.1 and Sector Criteria for Solar version 2.1.

The BDMG Regenerative Agriculture Fund is a blended finance instrument designed to overcome barriers to the adoption of regenerative agriculture (RA) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It employs a tri-partite structure consisting of a credit guarantee fund to reduce collateral requirements, a technical assistance fund to bridge knowledge gaps, and a production support fund to buffer temporary income losses during the transition. The instrument specifically targets coffee, cattle, soybean, and corn producers, with a gender-equity focus providing higher guarantee coverage for women. The fund is currently moving from a design phase, supported by the FiCS Innovation Lab and Climate Policy Initiative, into a pilot implementation phase targeting an annual credit portfolio of BRL 10 million.

The report alleges that Brookfield Asset Management oversaw the deforestation of approximately 9,000 hectares of the Brazilian Cerrado between 2012 and 2021 across eight farms, subsequently selling these assets in a 'slash and sell' strategy. It further details a case where a Brookfield-controlled firm was fined R$800,000 for slave labour offences at Fazenda Colorado and an attempt to evict the Kayabí Indigenous community from ancestral lands in the Amazon via the company Agropecuaria Vale do Ximari. The document highlights a contradiction between these actions and the public roles of Brookfield Chair Mark Carney, a co-founder of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), and the firm's ESG policies. It argues that voluntary initiatives like GFANZ are insufficient and calls for mandatory government legislation on environmental and human rights due diligence for the financial sector.

The ARCA Project aims to protect the Caatinga biome in Northeast Brazil by expanding and improving the management of the National System of Protected Areas (SNUC) and conserving endangered species. The project is funded by a $9,880,000 GEF grant and is executed by FUNBIO. It focuses on nine existing protected areas across Bahia, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Paraíba, targeting a minimum of 4,581,821 hectares. The framework outlines rigorous safeguards to protect Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Peoples, and Local Communities (IP/TP&LC), including a commitment to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the development of Livelihood Restoration Plans (LRPs) to mitigate economic impacts from resource access restrictions. The project also includes a Gender Action Plan to address systemic inequalities and risks of gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH).