
WEEK 2 BEGINS
Welcome to Week 2. Progress on negotiations during the first week was slow, and there is significant work ahead to bridge political differences. Whether the drive exists to tackle some of the difficult challenges ahead remains to be seen. There are significantly diverging views on a number of key items, and a wide range of proposed elements. On the nature front, we’re looking forward to Biodiversity Day on Wednesday to gather signals for linking the COP outcome to calls for a global deal for nature at the upcoming biodiversity summit.
Day 6 Round Up
- Brazilian Restoration. A group formed by Itaú, Marfrig, Rabobank, Santander, Suzano and Vale announced the creation of a company exclusively dedicated to the activities of restoration of degraded areas and conservation of forests in Brazil. Called Biomas, the company will have an initial contribution of R$ 120 million — R$ 20 million from each of the six partners. The idea is that it will be maintained in the following years through the sale of carbon credits, and to protect and restore 4 million hectares.
- USAID Joins 1t.org. As part of USAID’s Climate Strategy and in alignment with the 1t.org global goal to conserve, restore, and grow one trillion trees by 2030, the Agency announced that it is joining the 1t.org US chapter and pledged to support the conservation, restoration, or management of 100 million hectares of forests with a climate change mitigation benefit this decade.
- Farmers First Cluster. The Soft Commodities Forum (SCF), composed of six major agribusinesses – ADM, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO International, Louis Dreyfus Company and Viterra – is at the forefront of mobilizing partnerships that identify, invest in and scale solutions to eliminate deforestation and land conversion from soy production, and incentivize sustainable land use in Brazil and beyond. To administer and direct funds in the most strategic way, the SCF has created the Farmer First Clusters Initiative to provide a combination of solutions to address soy-driven deforestation and conversion in four key Cerrado landscapes: Western Mato Grosso, Southern Maranhão, Western Bahia, and Tocantins. Through this endeavor, SCF members will collectively invest USD $7.2 million to establish a financial model providing soy producers with adequate incentives to halt deforestation and conversion in municipalities where the risk of conversion is high.
- Water for Women. The Water for Women Fund, a five-year inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program on track to reach three million people across Asia Pacific by the end of 2022, will be extended for two years. The Australian government will invest a further $36 million to support climate-resilient, inclusive and sustainable WASH services and systems, and safeguard water security in our region.
Additional Round-Up and Thought Leadership
- The Nature Conservancy Recaps US Midterm Elections That Boosted NBS
In 2022, voters in 14 US states considered ballot measures that secured public funding and forward-looking policies to protect people and nature. As of the latest vote counts, 17 measures passed or are leading, totaling more than $7 billion for conservation. - Stolen Amazon: the roots of environmental crime in five countries
This report from InSight Crime and the Igarapé Institute uncovers the motivators of environmental crime in the Amazon rainforest within the borders of Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, and Suriname, home to 20 percent of the Amazon Basin. They have collectively lost 10 million hectares of forest over the last two decades – an area equivalent to that of Portugal. - Environmental Defense Fund Highlights the Role of Indigenous Communities In Achieving Success for NBS
Environmental Defense Fund kicks off a new video series “For the Forest, For the Future” that highlights why Indigenous Peoples must be included in the international climate table. The first two videos are now live and can be viewed here and here. They also share a blog recapping the major forest-related announcements during week one of COP27. - VCMI and We Mean Business Join Forces
Through a new partnership, VCMI and the We Mean Business Coalition will deepen engagement and feedback from companies in the VCMI process. WMB will support companies to follow VCMI’s Claims Code, helping to ensure carbon market investments strengthen – rather than undermine – global action towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.Powerful op-eds (in case you missed them):
- Need To Meet Company Net Zero Goals? Be Sure To Choose The Right Tool
Mark Moroge, Forbes
EDF’s Vice President for Natural Climate Solutions, Mark Moroge, in which he cautions buyers against purchasing REDD.plus units to meet their climate commitments, as they lack important safeguards for integrity. - Protecting forests is even more powerful in the climate fight than we thought
Frances Seymour & Michael Wolosin, MarketWatch
Forests can deliver an estimated 1/3 of annual mitigation needed to keep global warming to 1.5 °C, the target set at the pivotal Paris meetings in 2015. But forests are even more powerful than we previously thought. - This could be the answer to tackling the climate crisis
Boris Johnson & Ivan Duque, The Independent
In sawing down our ancient forests we are cutting our own throats. It is time to review our legislation so that these crimes face proper sanctions.
NBS IN THE NEWS
- European green finance is paying for deforestation in Indonesia: the case of Michelin
Voxeurop, 9 November - Replace animal farms with micro-organism tanks, say campaigners
The Guardian, 12 November - There’s one big subject our leaders at Cop27 won’t touch: livestock farming [Commentary]
The Guardian, 9 November - Lawyers Press International Court to Investigate a ‘Network’ Committing Crimes Against Humanity in Brazil’s Amazon
Inside Climate News, 9 November - Debt-for-Nature Swaps Are Drawing Attention, Carbon Credits Play A Role
Carbon Credits, 9 November - Private alliance creates company for reforestation and preservation at scale in Brazil
Reset Capital, 12 November - U.S. Embrace of ‘Climate-Smart’ Agriculture at COP27 Faces Scrutiny
DeSomg Blog, 11 November - Need To Meet Company Net Zero Goals? Be Sure To Choose The Right Tool
Environmental Defense Fund, 11 November - Dying lands: Farmers fight to save the ‘skin of the Earth’
Reuters, 12 November - Carbon market players exasperated over prospect of Article 6.4 grievance mechanism, as parties “far apart” on issues
Carbon Pulse, 12 November - Ghana, Switzerland authorise first emissions transfer under Paris Agreement
Carbon Pulse, 12 November - Korean govt agency reveals raft of agreements as it ramps up forest carbon plans
Carbon Pulse, 12 November - EU ‘moving the goal posts’ with new timber requirement, Indonesia says
Mongabay, 10 November - Amid conflict and chaos, a reforestation project surges ahead in Haiti
Mongabay, 10 November - Bolivian protected areas hit hard by forest fires
Mongabay, 10 November - Protecting the peatlands and woodlands in Angola’s ‘source of life’
Mongabay, 11 November - Mycorrhizal fungi, nature’s ‘wood wide web,’ get a $3m conservation boost
Mongabay, 11 November - In final days before Bolsonaro’s defeat, deforestation boomed in Brazil
Mongabay, 11 November - Breaking free from photosynthesis: Will high-tech foods save nature?
Mongabay, 11 November - COP27: Food Day Finally Arrives as Sector Faces Crisis
Bloomberg, 12 November - Analysis: The next Amazon? Congo Basin faces rising deforestation threat
Reuters, 11 November - Dying lands: Farmers fight to save the ‘skin of the Earth’
Reuters, 12 November - Analysis: At COP27, Brazil bets on Lula to reclaim forest leadership
Reuters, 12 November - Food firms’ plans for 1.5C climate target fall short, say campaigners
The Guardian, 12 November