N4C Weekly Brief: Apr 17 – 23

FEATURED NEWS

Companies and Carbon Credits: From Anecdote to Evidence [Commentary]
Ecosystem Marketplace, Lucy Almond, 24 April 

Ecosystem Marketplace carries an article from Nature4Climate’s Chair Lucy Almond highlighting recent evidence that clarifies how companies currently are using carbon credits and what role carbon credits should play and why the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) board’s recent announcement that high-integrity carbon credits will be allowed to count toward some Scope 3 emissions. The announcement has generated significant debate amongst stakeholders on the role of voluntary carbon markets in corporate climate action. Reuters shares a commentary that comes out in support of the SBTi board’s announcement due to the clarity it provides the private sector on how to pursue greater climate action.  Financial Times reports that advisors to former US climate envoy John Kerry engaged the SBTi for several years on the issue of incorporating carbon credits into science-based corporate climate targets for Scope 3 emissions. SBTi releases a statement from its CEO in response to the heated discussions the announcement sparked, emphasizing that SBTi standards have not changed since the announcement from the board and highlights a draft paper from the organization on how carbon credits can be used within the standards it sets will be available for comment in July 2024. Reuters shares that the US government is establishing its own guidelines for the use of carbon credits inside and outside of government to build confidence in the market and ensure credits reflect real emissions cuts.

As donors dither, Indigenous funds seek to decolonise green finance  
Climate Home News, Laurie Goering, 17 April

Climate Home News reports on the creation of new Indigenous-led funds to finance conservation and establishing land rights in a push to boost the flow of money to frontline communities and shift away from what some see as an outdated colonial-style model driven by donors in the Global North. Mongabay shares a new study that constitutes the largest global effort by Indigenous peoples and local communities to compile and categorize local observations of climate change and its impacts. Mongabay also reports from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues where a new report lays out the mechanisms by which Indigenous peoples around the world are increasingly facing criminalization and violations of their rights with impunity. Mongabay digs into the lack of progress on policies and voluntary private sector commitments to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples. Folha de S.Paulo shares a letter from Brazilian Indigenous leaders during the nation’s Free Camp Indigenous protests demanding that the government take urgent measures to ensure the protection and strengthening of the rights of native peoples, mainly concerning territory demarcation. Reuters reports that in Brazil plans to drill for more oil extraction in the Amazon region is hitting growing resistance from Indigenous groups and government agencies. Associated Press covers a declaration from Indigenous leaders across 35 nations criticizing the fact that they are too rarely consulted about mining that takes place on or near their lands, an issue that has become more acute with increased demand for minerals needed in the transition to a cleaner energy system. Mongabay shares that Indigenous activists in Indonesia have initiated legal proceedings against the government for its failure to pass a long-awaited bill on Indigenous rights.

Biden administration moves to make conservation an equal to industry on US lands
The Hill, Matthew Brown, 19 April

Associated Press covers a new rule for public land management in the U.S. that’s meant to put conservation on a more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties. Officials pushed past strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors to adopt the proposal. Republican members of Congress said in response that they will seek to invalidate it. The Washington Post reports that the Biden administration is set to block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat. E&E News reports the U.S Forest Service has scrapped a decade-old proposal to drill for oil and gas in a national forest in California. The Nature Conservancy celebrates the Biden Administration’s new America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge where the NGO will serve as a partner to reconnect, restore and protect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of rivers and streams by 2030. E&E News covers the fallout in the EU that has recently delayed ratifying the EU Nature Restoration Law despite the legislation receiving approval from the EU Parliament.

How to boost Brazil’s agriculture sector and protect the Cerrado [Commentary]
Reuters, Thales De Paula, 15 April

Reuters carries a commentary from the World Economic Forum’s Thales De Paula on cooperation with the private sector in Latin America, highlighting the Forum’s recent analysis on pathways to continue Brazil’s economic growth while preserving the critical Cerrado biome. Valor International covers a report by Orbitas that finds climate action could drive some soy producers in Brazil to face a 60 percent chance of seeing profits decrease unless they invest in sustainability and efficiency improvements. Mongabay reports that deforestation alerts has hit a five year low. However, Mongabay also shares data that fires across Amazon rainforest nations hit a record high in the first quarter of 2024.

Snack giant PepsiCo sourced palm oil from razed Indigenous land
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Mongabay and Ojo Público, Elisângela Mendonça, Aramís Castro and Andrew Wasley, 18 April

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Mongabay and Ojo Público report that US food and drink giant PepsiCo has been linked through its supply chain to Amazon deforestation and the invasion of Indigenous lands in Peru. For at least three years, PepsiCo’s Peruvian suppliers have been sourcing palm oil from deforested territory claimed by the Shipibo-Konibo people in Ucayali, eastern Peru. France 24 covers how Indonesia’s growing desire for biofuels is spurring deforestation for greater palm oil production. The Grocer shares the results of WWF’s sustainable palm oil rankings where grocery chains and other companies are evaluated for their palm oil procurement policies.

SPOTLIGHT – Join the 24 Hour NCS Summit

Join the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the NCS Procurement Hub for the first 24 Hour NCS Summit! Across 24 hours, join experts and practitioners around the world so businesses across all major time zones can learn what natural climate solutions are, how they address the climate and nature crises and contribute to social development, and how to select credits from projects that make a real difference.

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Senator Chris Coons announces committee passage of his bipartisan legislation with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to create a U.S. Foundation for International Conservation.

GARP shares global study of nature-related financial risk management across financial firms. Surveying a total of 48 firms, GARP’s new report offers a snapshot of current risk management practices across the financial services industry, while helping firms prioritize areas to improve upon along their nature risk journey.

Land & Carbon Lab updates their Spatial Production Allocation Model (SPAM), which produces globally consistent maps of crop areas and yields that are pivotal for understanding how crop types and their production vary both within and between countries.

Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) partners with with The Capitals Coalition to develop a training course on the Natural Capital Protocol Principles and Framework. The course will delve into critical areas such as biodiversity, air quality, greenhouse gases, water, and land.

UNEP FI launches a Risk Centre to provide members with the solutions they need to tackle sustainability risks in an integrated fashion, helping them enhance their capabilities for risk assessment and disclosure.

Frontiers calls for new research on nature-based solutions exploring and analyzing their potential for climate change adaptation.

Grist calls for submissions to its Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors short story contest, which asks writers to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to our world.

American Climate Corps calls for applicants interested in natural resource preservation and conservation. The position provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve natural resources.

Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) launches the AFi e-learning platform, a free online training platform designed for companies to learn how to achieve sustainable supply chains for forestry and agricultural commodities.

MSCI publishes its periodic report on progress by the world’s listed companies toward curbing climate change risk, finding that there are 29 months until listed companies deplete the emissions budget for limiting global temperature rise this century to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

IETA shares a handbook providing a synthesis of methods and safeguards on the crediting of reductions and removals involving the geological storage of carbon dioxide.

SBTN launches a corporate pilot with four companies, drafting guidance for the first science-based targets covering seafood value chains.

Finance for Biodiversity releases a paper outlining key actions governments can take to align financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The Iris Project calls for applications to the Iris Prize 2024, aimed at young people with an idea or an established project protecting or restoring nature in their local community.

Meta and World Resources Institute launch a global map of tree canopy height at a 1-meter resolution, allowing the detection of single trees at a global scale. All canopy height data and artificial intelligence models are free and publicly available.

CASE STUDY

N4C is compiling an index of NBS case studies, together with an interactive map, to highlight action on the ground. Each week, we will be choosing a case study to present, to help give concrete examples of work being done to bring NBS theory into practic

Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) is home to more than 950 wild species and to the Indigenous Bunong people, whose unique culture and beliefs are inseparable from the forest in which they live. KSWS plays a vital role in the preservation of the region’s important and vulnerable wildlife. It supports the sustainable development of local communities, most notably through securing communities legal title to their traditional lands, and through REDD+ funding to community-chosen and community-led development projects.

LEARN MORE

NUMBER OF THE WEEK – 14 MtCO2e/yr

The annual carbon dioxide emissions that could be avoided by the United States if it meets its potential to avoid forest conversion by 2050.  See more details on the potential for natural climate solutions in N4C’s naturebase.

GOOD NEWS

Brazil boosts protection of Amazon mangroves with new reserves in Pará state

The state of Pará has created two new conservation areas along the Amazonian coastline, placing almost all of its mangroves under federal protection. The two reserves mean that an additional 74,700 hectares (184,600 acres) have been included in the largest and most conserved continuous belt of mangroves on the planet. The process to create the reserves took more than 13 years and faced several setbacks; the final outcome has been celebrated by environmentalists as a victory for local communities and biodiversity. The new extractive reserves allow resident populations to engage in traditional and sustainable extractive practices such as fishing and hunting, while keeping out big businesses, such as commercial aquaculture or logging.

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