Daily Digest for

The Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres led the Virtual Summit on Climate Ambition focusing on the upcoming COP30, to be held in Brazil in November 2025.

• The summit included leaders from major economies and vulnerable countries emphasizing the urgency to avoid climate tipping points.
• Brazil presented its NDC goals targeting a 59% to 67% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 across all economic sectors.
• Brazil and the UN plan a global ethical balance initiative engaging youth, religious leaders, scientists, and indigenous peoples towards a new environmental pact.
• Brazil aims for the operationalization of the Tropical Forest Forever Fund by COP30 to financially reward forest preservation in developing countries.
• Calls made for developed countries to double adaptation financing to at least US$40 billion annually and mobilize US$1.3 trillion yearly for developing nations’ climate transition by 2035.
  The outcomes set the stage for concrete implementation-focused negotiations at COP30 with significant financial commitments and inclusive climate action agendas.

MIT engineers have developed a technique to grow and peel ultrathin electronic “skins” for new electronic devices.

• Demonstrated fabrication of the thinnest pyroelectric membrane yet (10 nanometers thick), highly sensitive to heat and far-infrared radiation.
• The film enables lighter, portable far-IR sensing devices without the bulky cooling required by current technology.
• Potential applications include night-vision eyewear, autonomous driving in fog, environmental sensing, and semiconductor chip monitoring.
• The new lift-off technique can be generalized to other semiconductor films, potentially including those without lead.
  This advancement paves the way for lighter, more sensitive infrared sensors with broad environmental and technological applications.

Project Promissa is a collaboration between the Bank for International Settlements’ Innovation Hub, the Swiss National Bank, and the World Bank focused on tokenising promissory notes for multilateral development banks.

• Developed a proof-of-concept (PoC) platform using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to replace paper-based promissory notes.
• The DLT platform aims to automate lifecycle processes of the notes from issuance to payment and archiving, reducing manual processes and costs.
• Participants included multiple countries and observers like the International Monetary Fund, with a final report confirming technical feasibility.
• The project supports transparency, trust, and scale in development finance but requires more work for full operationalization.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides advisory support to Growthfund, Greece’s National Investment Fund, to enhance climate resilience of key Greek ports.

• Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (CRVAs) will be conducted for the ports of Volos, Alexandroupoli, and Patras.
• The advisory includes baseline climate data analysis, risk assessment, and financial impact estimation related to climate change hazards like coastal flooding and extreme weather.
• The initiative supports the ports’ adaptation to climate change and aligns with EU climate policies such as the European Commission’s Technical Guidance on Climate Proofing Infrastructure.
• The collaboration reflects EIB’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure investments and builds on Growthfund’s strategic planning for public infrastructure climate resilience.
  This partnership aims to concretely address climate risks to vital port infrastructure, ensuring economic and environmental sustainability.

Brazil and Chile deepen economic and infrastructure cooperation highlighted at the Brazil-Chile Business Forum.

• Trade relations between Brazil and Chile are strong, with a US$ 2.7 billion commerce exchange in the first quarter of 2025, and Brazil maintaining a trade surplus of US$ 350 million.
• Thirteen bilateral agreements signed covering diverse sectors: justice, security, defense, science and technology (including AI), culture, fishing, agriculture, and livestock.
• The Bioceanic Corridor (Rotas de Integração Sul-Americana) is a key infrastructure project linking Brazilian and Chilean ports via Paraguay and Argentina, aiming to be completed by 2026.
• Brazil hosts the largest stock of Chilean external investments globally, while Chile is a crucial commercial partner, valued above European countries such as England and France.
  President Lula and President Boric emphasize sovereign interests, security for investors, and collaboration to enhance regional integration and economic development.