Paula Pinto Zambrano

Paula joined Climate & Company in August 2022 as an International Policy Analyst and leads the company’s Project Management efforts. She is responsible for developing and implementing an online project management structure to enhance collaboration and efficiency across teams. Her work focuses on Sustainable Finance and Sustainable Land Use, contributing to policy, finance, and corporate sustainability initiatives. She has actively participated in Climate and Biodiversity COPs and has been a panelist at numerous international conferences.

Paula holds a master’s degree in Environmental Governance from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and a bachelor’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Social Thought from Bard College Berlin. During her studies, she spent exchange semesters in Rio de Janeiro and Hong Kong and gained experience working with organizations such as the Water Integrity Network, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Women4Biodiversity, and Plan International.

Beyond her professional work, Paula is passionate about languages and Latin American politics. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, playing tennis and padel, discovering new board games, and spending time with friends and family.

Latest released papers

4th Finance Briefing: Blended finance for smallholder farmers: Enabling sustainable and deforestation-free agricultural practices

March 12, 2025 - Access to financial resources is essential for promoting deforestation-free supply chains and enhancing transparency. Small-scale farmers, in particular, need support to implement sustainable land use practices and to adopt new technologies that national and international markets require, like traceability systems. Barriers such as high investment risks, operational costs, and insufficient or non-existent collateral limit their ability to adopt key sustainability practices. Blended finance, which combines public/philanthropic and private capital, can help bridge this gap. By facilitating smallholders' access to finance, blended finance can support the adoption of sustainable and deforestation-free agricultural practices. The 4th SAFE Finance Briefing highlights explores the…

1st Finance Briefing: Why Sustainable Finance is Key to Promoting Deforestation-free Supply Chains

December 19, 2024 - Sustainable finance is key to promoting deforestation-free supply chains for two crucial reasons.Sustainable finance is key to promoting deforestation-free supply chains for two crucial reasons. Firstly, it facilitates access to financial resources essential for sustainable land use practices and technologies (e.g. monitoring, traceability systems, etc.), vital for small farmers reliant on borrowed or external capital. Secondly, financial institutions actively assess their support’s potential deforestation impact, choosing to withdraw funding or refraining from commitment if there’s a risk, thus redirecting capital to sustainable economic activities. Access to finance for producers who would like to produce sustainably is one dimension. The other dimension is financial institutions actively assessing if their financial support could lead…

Fostering Inclusive and Successfull Implementation of Sustainable Global Supply Chains: A call for Collaborative Action Within the G20 | T20 – Think Tank Engagement Group – G20 Brazil’s Presidency 2024

November 6, 2024 - This policy brief presents a collaborative analysis by European and Brazilian civil society organizations on recent advancements and recommendations for fostering inclusive, sustainable supply chains.This policy brief presents a collaborative analysis by European and Brazilian civil society organizations on recent advancements and recommendations for fostering inclusive, sustainable supply chains. It emphasizes the urgent need to align global supply chain regulations, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), with inclusivity for smallholders and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing regions. The policy brief outlines three essential recommendations aimed at enhancing sustainable practices across international supply chains. Key Takeaways Promoting Cooperation Across Stakeholders: Effective supply chain sustainability demands cooperative leadership among upstream and downstream actors at political, regulatory, and civil society levels. Enhanced collaboration can…

Strengthening International Cooperation for Impactful Disclosures on Nature and Biodiversity

May 28, 2024 - Our recently published technical note, “Strengthening International Cooperation for Impactful Disclosures on Nature and Biodiversity” zooms in on current sustainability disclosure developments and the state of play regarding biodiversity and nature. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), recently named as “The Biodiversity Plan: For Life on Earth”, is a critical agreement in global conservation, finalised after extensive consultations and ratified at COP 15. It supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and builds on past strategic plans of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The GBF aims for harmony between human activities and nature by 2050, with four major goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. Among these, Target 15 “Businesses Assess, Disclose and Reduce Biodiversity-Related Risks and Negative Impacts” urges financial and non-financial institutions to address biodiversity-related risks and…

A next step for biodiversity disclosure: building on the GBF and existing tools and measures

December 16, 2022 - Part of a paper series published by Expertise France, Climate & Company has written a position paper about biodiveristy disclosure in the context of the CBD COP15Part of a paper series published by Expertise France, Climate & Company has written a position paper about biodiversity disclosure in the context of the CBD COP15. The policy paper first argues how corporate disclosure can play a critical role in the protection of biodiversity around the world. Then, it lays out the existing work on disclosure regulation and initiatives, and explains what first steps corporation and financial institutions around the world have already taken. Lastly, it explains why the Global Biodiversity Framework under discussion at COP15 should build on existing disclosure work. In doing so it can create a…