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The report examines the intersection of climate change and fiduciary duty for public pension fund trustees. It identifies four primary financial risks—physical impact, carbon asset, transition, and litigation—and argues that these risks necessitate the exercise of duties to inquire, monitor, diversify, and act impartially. The document suggests that failure to account for these risks may lead to lawsuits for breach of fiduciary duty, particularly regarding the interests of future beneficiaries. Recommended actions include modifying investment principles, divesting from climate-vulnerable assets, active shareholder engagement, and investing in clean energy.

The report analyzes national efforts to transition from carbon-intensive energy sources to sustainable alternatives by reforming fossil fuel subsidies and implementing innovative policy instruments.

The 2016 NYDF Progress Assessment indicates a complex trend where annual net forest loss is declining, but gross tree cover loss remains steady or increasing. While corporate commitments to deforestation-free supply chains are growing, particularly for palm oil and wood, cattle and soy remain under-addressed. Restoration pledges under the Bonn Challenge and UNFCCC have increased significantly, and the Paris Agreement has formally integrated land-use and REDD+ into global climate mitigation. However, financial disbursements for results-based payments lag behind pledges, and forest governance remains a critical challenge, evidenced by a record number of killings of land and environment defenders in 2015.

The letter argues that the owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline are complicit in human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples in Standing Rock, North Dakota, and asserts that corporate and financial entities have an affirmative duty to prevent such impacts.

The Cerrado, Brazil's second largest biome, is a biodiversity hotspot and critical carbon sink that has seen over half of its native vegetation cleared, primarily for soy and cattle production. While the Amazon has seen a decrease in deforestation, the Cerrado has faced increasing pressure, with deforestation rates surpassing the Amazon by 2011. The document highlights the biome's unique underground carbon storage and warns that climate mitigation policies favoring afforestation and fire suppression may inadvertently harm this fire-adapted ecosystem.

The study finds that Resolution 3,545, implemented in 2008, led to a substantial reduction in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, primarily by restricting access to rural credit for cattle ranching. Using a difference-in-differences approach and 2SLS estimation, the authors estimate that total deforested area from 2009 to 2011 was approximately 60% smaller than it would have been without the policy. The results indicate that cattle ranching is highly dependent on official credit and that credit constraints in the region lead to reduced expansion at the extensive margin. In contrast, crop-oriented municipalities showed no significant impact on deforestation, as crop production is less dependent on official rural credit and more focused on intensification.

The Union of Concerned Scientists evaluated several global beef buyers using a 100-point scorecard to measure their efforts to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. The assessment focused on five categories: ambition of commitments, time-bound implementation plans, compliance protocols, transparency, and traceability/verification. Results varied significantly, with Walmart achieving the highest score of 52, followed by McDonald's at 48 and Mars at 37. Several companies, including Burger King, Pizza Hut, Kroger, and Conagra, received a total score of 0, indicating a lack of documented commitments or practices meeting the scorecard's criteria.

The paper finds that climate actions across examined INDCs align with 154 of the 169 SDG targets, demonstrating significant potential for mutual benefits between climate and development agendas. While global alignment is high, the authors note that few countries explicitly referenced SDGs in their INDCs, often due to separate institutional oversight between environment and development ministries. Case studies of Colombia and Uganda show high goal-level alignment, though target-level alignment varies based on national priorities. The document advocates for a 'whole-of-government' approach to maximize resources and avoid implementation silos.

The report finds a significant lack of primary quantitative research on how fossil fuel subsidy reforms specifically affect women. It argues that while subsidies are generally regressive—benefiting wealthier households—their removal can disproportionately harm poor women due to their primary responsibility for domestic energy tasks and limited intra-household bargaining power. The document reviews the potential for mitigation measures, such as conditional cash transfers and targeted energy vouchers, and outlines a mixed-methods research plan for Bangladesh, India, and Nigeria to analyze impacts on women's welfare, productivity, and empowerment.

The report examines the Watershared model, which uses local negotiations and non-economic incentives to encourage upstream landowners to protect forests for the benefit of downstream water users. Unlike national PES schemes, Watershared relies on social norms and local consensus, allowing participation from those without formal land titles and reducing bureaucratic overhead. In Bolivia, the model expanded from six farmers in 2003 to 4,500 families conserving 210,000 hectares by 2016. The approach is presented as a tool for climate compatible development, integrating mitigation through forest protection and adaptation through secured water supplies.

The document argues that increasing transparency in agricultural supply chains is a critical pre-condition for improving governance and reducing deforestation in Amazonia. It introduces a 'middle-ground' modelling approach that links specific production jurisdictions (municipalities or departments) to downstream actors, allowing for the identification of risk exposure and the formation of public-private coalitions to manage production landscapes sustainably.

The report argues that sustainable timber markets are essential for preserving global economic activity and securing the long-term supply of raw materials for UK businesses. It highlights that forests contribute approximately US$17.6 trillion to the global economy, with timber and paper making up 16% of international soft commodity trade. The document warns that legal and sustainable timber supplies from several key source countries are at risk of depletion, while global demand is rising due to expanding Asian economies and the biomass energy industry. For UK businesses, the report identifies commercial benefits including regulatory advantages under the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), easier access to finance, enhanced brand value, and improved workforce engagement. It also examines the UK domestic timber industry, noting that while it contributes ~£21.0 billion in GVA, domestic softwood supply is threatened by a long-term decline in new planting.

The report investigates how gender relations influence vulnerability to climate risks and the ability to adapt in urban settings, specifically focusing on the People’s Plans into Practice (PPP) project in Kisumu, Kenya. It explores the meaning of gender-sensitive approaches in this context, their impact on empowerment, and the associated constraints and opportunities for achieving climate compatible development outcomes.

The document argues that gender-sensitive approaches lead to more sustainable climate and development outcomes by recognizing different needs and addressing power imbalances. It notes that while international frameworks are improving, women's views and leadership are often excluded, and they are frequently viewed only as victims. Based on case studies from Peru, India, and Kenya, the guide emphasizes that gender inequalities exacerbate vulnerability to urban risks and that promoting gender equality must be an explicit goal from the start of any project.

The brief examines gender-sensitive approaches to climate compatible development in urban Peru, specifically focusing on Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Networks (GRIDES). It finds that while women's leadership in these networks leads to implicit gender approaches in local government proposals, a lack of explicit understanding of gender results in a failure to include concrete measures for tackling gender inequality.

The report finds that the CIF provides a unique, programmatic approach to climate finance that differs from the project-by-project model of the GCF. It has been the largest source of external concessional finance for Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), particularly in high-risk technologies like geothermal and concentrated solar power. The authors recommend keeping the CIF operational to maintain momentum and bridge investment gaps, suggesting it work complementarily with the GCF.

The policy brief argues that G20 countries should accelerate the phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by adopting a clear timetable, increasing transparency through peer reviews, and ensuring targeted support for the poor. It highlights the success of voluntary peer review processes in APEC and the G20, and notes a growing international consensus—including commitments from G-7 countries to phase out such subsidies by 2025—to align fiscal policies with climate objectives.

The Living Amazon Report 2016 provides a comprehensive overview of the Amazon biome, highlighting its immense biodiversity and critical role in global climate and hydrological regulation. It identifies primary threats including large-scale agriculture, cattle ranching, hydropower dams, and extractive industries, while advocating for a coordinated, biome-wide conservation approach. The report emphasizes the importance of protected areas and indigenous territories, which currently cover over 50% of the biome, and recommends strategies for enhancing climate resilience and securing water connectivity.

The report examines how gender relations influence vulnerability to climate risks in urban Kisumu, Kenya. Using the People’s Plans into Practice (PPP) project (2008–2013) as a case study, it finds that while gender-sensitive programming—such as participatory design of water and sanitation facilities—can improve outcomes and empower women, deep-seated cultural biases and structural barriers like male-dominated land ownership persist. The study argues that for climate compatible development to be effective, it must move beyond 'gender-blind' or 'gender-aware' approaches toward 'gender-transformative' strategies that address the root causes of vulnerability and are supported by coordinated county-level policies.

The document argues that gender-sensitive approaches are essential for the sustainability and impact of climate resilience efforts in urban India, noting that urban vulnerabilities differ significantly from rural ones due to complex social dimensions of caste, class, and gender.