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The 2020 assessment of NYDF Goal 9 reveals that while nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, only 40 percent has been disbursed. The report highlights a significant gap in funding for the implementation phase of REDD+ activities and notes that carbon markets have channeled USD 2.5 billion to forests over 20 years. While private sector demand for forest carbon offsets is rising among airlines and petroleum companies, current carbon prices remain too low to meet Paris Agreement objectives. Additionally, the report details various domestic compliance schemes in countries like Australia, Canada, and China that allow for forest carbon credits.

The 2020 assessment of Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) finds that global progress in forest governance remains slow, with weak legal frameworks and limited enforcement continuing to drive deforestation. While some countries have implemented positive measures—such as Indonesia's permanent Forest and Peatland Moratorium and the regional Pacto de Leticia in the Amazon—these are offset by deregulation in countries like Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. The report highlights a critical gap in land tenure, noting that only about half of the lands customarily held by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are legally recognized. Furthermore, violence against environmental defenders reached a record high in 2019, with 212 killings reported globally.

The report finds that international and domestic public finance for forests is significantly lower than the sector's climate mitigation potential. It highlights a gap where 'grey' finance for agriculture far outweighs 'green' finance for forest protection. Additionally, the document notes that most major financial institutions lack deforestation policies, and private investment in sustainable commodity production remains difficult to quantify and insufficient in scale.

The report finds that progress toward reducing deforestation from infrastructure, extractive industries, and basic-needs activities is slow. While some governments and companies have adopted policies and commitments, implementation is often weak, transparency is limited, and large-scale development projects continue to threaten intact forests. The report emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift toward alternative development pathways and the empowerment of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

The document is a Readiness support proposal submitted by UNEP to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for a project titled "Increasing the ambition of the NDCs and climate financing in the Central América." It targets five countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. The project aims to address gaps in regional coordination, institutional legal frameworks, and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems. Key objectives include designing market-based financial instruments to attract private sector investment, integrating NDCs with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and COVID-19 recovery plans, and establishing a regional digital platform for investment information. The total requested amount is USD 1,249,986.00 for an implementation period of 18 months.

The report examines the current state of compensation under investment treaties, highlighting a trend toward increasingly large awards driven by the use of forward-looking valuation methods like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). It identifies systemic issues, including discrepancies between invested amounts and awarded compensation, the complexity of valuation processes, and the disregard for contextual factors such as public interest or a state's ability to pay. The document reviews emerging treaty practices from Africa, India, and the EU and proposes four reform options: balancing rules, capping compensation at the amount invested, integrating gain-based considerations, or applying the host state's domestic law.

The document examines the current state of compensation in investment treaty disputes, highlighting a trend toward massive awards driven by the 'discounted cash flow' (DCF) method. It argues that current practices often diverge from international law and national legal standards, creating significant financial burdens for host states. The guide analyzes three main valuation categories—market-based, income-based, and asset-based—and evaluates emerging treaty practices from Africa, India, and the Netherlands. It concludes by proposing four reform options: balancing rules, limiting compensation to actual investment amounts, integrating host-state benefit analysis, and applying national laws.

The report examines the 'adaptation gap,' noting that annual costs for adaptation in developing countries could reach USD 500 billion by 2050, while current flows remain insufficient and skewed toward mitigation. It analyzes how MDBs are transitioning from stand-alone climate projects to a 'Paris alignment' paradigm where all development finance is climate-resilient. Key barriers identified include a lack of technical expertise in developing countries, the high upfront costs of climate-proofing (10-20% of finance), and the difficulty of attracting private sector investment due to a lack of immediate revenue streams. The document recommends increased technical assistance for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and the use of innovative blended finance instruments to catalyze private capital.

The policy brief examines the health diplomacy of the US and China during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on Africa and Latin America. It argues that while both powers used health aid to gain diplomatic ground, China committed more new resources and employed a multi-actor approach, whereas the US relied heavily on pre-existing frameworks like PEPFAR. The document also analyzes systemic impacts, such as the disruption of global supply chains and the rise of nationalism over multilateralism, and highlights the critical need for health equity and global cooperation to manage future public health crises.

The policy brief analyzes the socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities of Latin America exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that traditional economic reactivation measures risk perpetuating structural crises and instead proposes a 'just and resilient recovery' based on four principles: climate action, decent employment, social inclusion, and long-term financing. The document outlines four priorities for governments: applying the 'no-regression' principle to avoid environmental deregulation, ensuring short-term measures align with long-term sustainability, maximizing investment in strategic sustainable sectors (such as renewable energy and regenerative agriculture), and increasing systemic resilience through economic diversification and new progress indicators beyond GDP.

The report examines Indigenous community broadcasting in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, North America, Central America, South America, and Oceania. It finds that while community radio is generally recognized, specific legal status for Indigenous-led stations is rare, with only four of fifteen countries that recognize community radio also recognizing Indigenous community radio. The study identifies 609 Indigenous community radio stations globally, with Canada and Australia accounting for 42% of the total. Key findings highlight the role of these stations in language revitalization, land defense, and the transfer of traditional knowledge, while also noting significant threats including government repression, criminalization of unlicensed broadcasters, and financial instability.

The document outlines a readiness project implemented by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to support 13 accredited and applicant Direct Access Entities (DAEs) within the International Development Finance Club (IDFC). The project aims to remove barriers to GCF accreditation and funding by providing technical assistance for fiduciary, environmental, social, and gender policies, and by developing climate finance tools for risk and impact assessment. Key deliverables include an IDFC-GCF Toolkit, a joint DAE-IDFC Work Program, and the development of multi-country concept notes focusing on climate-resilient recovery post-COVID-19, specifically targeting MSMEs and vulnerable populations in sectors like renewable energy and sustainable land use.

The GCF's interim ESS and ESMS are deemed 'not fit for purpose' as they rely on IFC standards that focus on risk mitigation ('do no harm') rather than the GCF's mandate to generate positive climate and social value ('do good'). The evaluation identifies critical gaps in human rights, gender equity, and stakeholder engagement. Operationally, the accreditation process is criticized as a 'desk review exercise' that fails to verify actual implementation capacity, particularly for direct access entities (DAEs). Monitoring is severely limited, relying on AE self-reporting via annual performance reports (APRs) without an operationalized monitoring and accountability framework (MAF). Additionally, the REDD+ pilot programme is found to be inconsistent with the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ due to additional safeguard requirements and a binary 'pass/fail' assessment approach.

The document examines the precautionary principle, a legal guide suggesting that a lack of full scientific certainty should not justify postponing measures to prevent serious environmental damage. It traces the principle's origins from Sweden's 1969 Environmental Protection Act to its inclusion in the 1992 Rio Declaration and the UNFCCC. The brief discusses the principle's controversial nature, specifically the reversal of the burden of proof, and provides examples of its application in GMO moratoriums and nuclear power closures, while noting the tension between environmental caution and economic development.

The document analyzes the crisis facing Eskom, South Africa's state-owned energy monopoly, attributing it to a combination of historical reliance on the 'minerals-energy complex', financial mismanagement, and costly, corruption-mired power station projects. It evaluates the proposal to 'unbundle' the utility into generation, transmission, and distribution entities, drawing on cautionary examples from Kenya and Uganda. The paper argues for a 'Just Transition' that protects workers and communities while transitioning to renewables, suggesting the use of international climate finance or public pension funds to alleviate Eskom's unsustainable debt.

The document explores the precautionary principle as a guide for decision-makers to protect the environment and public health despite scientific uncertainty. It traces the principle's origins from Swedish national law and the 1972 Stockholm Conference to its formalization in the 1992 Rio Declaration and integration into the EU's Maastricht Treaty. The text highlights the principle's role in addressing climate change and biodiversity, while noting the ongoing tension between environmental precaution and economic development.

Ghost gear is identified as the most lethal form of marine plastic debris, contributing between 500,000 and 1 million tonnes of plastic to the oceans annually. It causes indiscriminate 'ghost fishing' that threatens endangered species, damages critical habitats, and creates economic losses for fisheries and other maritime sectors. While various international frameworks like UNCLOS and MARPOL exist, the report describes them as fragmented and ineffective. WWF advocates for a combination of preventive measures (gear marking, circular design), mitigation (biodegradable materials), and curative actions (retrieval programs), culminating in the call for a new UN treaty on marine plastic pollution.

The report argues that the Amazon is approaching a systemic tipping point of ecological and economic collapse due to a 'deforestation economy' that benefits a small elite. It proposes a shift toward an inclusive green economy based on standing forests, utilizing a 'bioeconomy' model that supports micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and indigenous knowledge. To facilitate this, the Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (FAS) and the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) have launched the Amazon Green Economy Hub in Manaus to coordinate policy reform, investment, and sustainable value chains.

The report details the impact of the Emergency Amazon Fire Fund, which raised nearly $2 million in the US for fire response and recovery. It highlights the severity of the 2019 fire season, where the total burned area reached at least 21,621 square miles, and notes that 2020 saw a 28% increase in fires in the Brazilian Amazon during July compared to the previous year. WWF's interventions include donating 700 fire-fighting tools to the State of Amazonas Fire Department, supporting community-led wildfire prevention in Colombia's Chiribiquete National Park, and establishing an emergency program in Bolivia. The document argues that fires are driven by deforestation—fueled by land speculation, infrastructure development, and market demand—and are exacerbated by climate change. Long-term goals focus on securing 210 million acres of the biome through Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) and strengthening Indigenous land rights.

The report examines how MSMEs are integrated into regional and multilateral trade frameworks, noting a trend toward more sophisticated but often non-binding 'goodwill' provisions in newer 'next-generation' agreements. It highlights specific areas of support such as trade facilitation, public procurement, and e-commerce, while noting a persistent gap in the explicit integration of gender-specific MSME support.