In a world of higher electricity demand growth, clean electricity is stepping up to the challenge. Spearheaded by exponential solar expansion, clean power is set to grow faster than demand, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation. 2024 both clarified and consolidated the shape of the global …
This topic guide looks at climate change governance and the political economy of climate policy development and implementation at the national scale. It aims to help donor agency staff better support country partners in implementing adaptive, equitable, effective and coherent policy. The report highlights national-level challenges. Intended for both climate …
A new bill currently before the Brazilian Congress will create far greater flexibility regarding existing rules for environmental permits. The new bill if it is passed will reduce social participation and weaken access to public information at a time when environmental protections are needed more than ever. The bill proposes …
Companies that want to buy Brazilian timber without contributing to illegal deforestation have a new tool to help them ensure stolen wood does not appear in their supply chains - a digital platform tracing the origins of wood, environmentalists said. The Responsible Timber Exchange created by conservation group BVRio draws …
In Brazil, more than one woman out of two may be postponing pregnancy in response to the Zika outbreak, researchers have said. With 1,845 cases of congenital Zika syndrome confirmed in babies up to July 2016, the country has been deeply affected by the epidemic, and many women are worried …
This paper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) examines two financing models for better infrastructure development in emerging economies. The paper compares the more centralized, development bank driven infrastructure investment model in Brazil with the decentralized model in India. The case study analyses the potential benefits and challenges of the …
Brazil has made significant progress in reducing deforestation in recent years while increasing agriculture production. Full implementation of the Forest Code will be the central element in achieving Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. However, Brazil should aim for more ambitious targets for avoided deforestation than simply …
In 2016 the World Water Week (WWW) brought together leading experts from around the world to discuss and share the latest experiences on planning urban sanitation in two sessions convened by WaterAid, UNDP-SIWI Water Governance Facility, GIZ, SuSanA, and the World Bank. This policy brief synthesises the key lessons and …
Financing clean energy infrastructure was high on the agenda at the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in Goa last month. But recent research has found that the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – face a USD 51 billion annual funding shortfall to meet projected demand for new …
An online tool now allows timber traders to verify the sustainability of their purchases from important tropical timber countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. More than ever before, global consumers are demanding products made from responsibly sourced timber, and importers are increasingly being asked to account for where their timber …
An oil spill was detected on November 13th on the Teles Pires River, a tributary of the Tapajós River, in a remote part of the Brazilian Amazon. The spill occurred near the under-construction São Manoel hydropower dam. The spill’s cause or extent is as yet unknown. Roughly 320 indigenous people …
Cattle ranching in Brazil is a key driver of deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Brazilian government plans to reduce national GHG emissions by at least 36%, partly by reducing emissions in the livestock sector through strategies such as intensification, pasture improvement, and rotational grazing. Surveyed 40 cattle ranchers …
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List classifies species according to their risk of extinction, informing global to local conservation decisions. Unfortunately, important geospatial data do not explicitly or efficiently enter this process. Rapid growth in the availability of remotely sensed observations provides fine-scale data on elevation …
Two South American metropolises are enlisting bacterium-infected mosquitoes to fight Zika. The effort is the world’s biggest test yet of an unconventional but promising approach to quell mosquito-borne diseases. Original Source
Mayaro virus has been associated with small outbreaks in northern South America. We isolated this virus from a child with acute febrile illness in rural Haiti, confirming its role as a cause of mosquitoborne illness in the Caribbean region. The clinical presentation can mimic that of chikungunya, dengue, and Zika …
Social learning approaches can catalyse knowledge co-creation and action, so have the potential to help solve complex ‘wicked’ problems such as climate change and food insecurity. This working paper synthesises evidence from five diverse initiatives employing social learning approaches in response to such problems using the Climate Change and Social …
Social learning approaches can catalyse knowledge co-creation and action, so have the potential to help solve complex ‘wicked’ problems such as climate change and food insecurity. This working paper synthesises evidence from five diverse initiatives employing social learning approaches in response to such problems using the Climate Change and Social …
Sustainable biofuels have an important role to play in Africa’s development. Sugarcane bioethanol is currently the most cost-effective commercial biofuel and has the highest energy balance. The bioethanol industry, like sugar production, has matured in technological terms. Yet processes could be optimised and productivity further improved, with more efficient use …
Anthropogenic aerosols are a key factor governing Earth’s climate, and play a central role in human-caused climate change. However, because of aerosols’ complex physical, optical, and dynamical properties, aerosols are one of the most uncertain aspects of climate modeling. Fortunately, aerosol measurement networks over the past few decades have led …
A new report offers evidence that the modest investments needed to secure land rights for indigenous communities will generate billions in returns—economically, socially and environmentally—for local communities and the world’s changing climate. The report, Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights, quantifies for the first …
