Dr. Sofia Helena Zanella Carra

Sofia is from Brazil and joined Climate & Company as a Junior Analyst in March 2023, and became a fully-fledged Analyst in October 2023. She holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, and has a background in Engineering and Environmental Sciences, with experience working in the public and private sectors in the area of sustainability in Brazil. Sofia is a member of the board of the Brazilian Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment and participates in a number of discussion groups on Sustainable Finance in Brazil.

At Climate & Company, Sofia has worked on projects focused on sustainable finance for deforestation rate supply chains, sustainable land use, biodiversity and climate finance. She currently coordinates the G20: Sustainable Finance for Nature and People project and co-leads the GIZ SAFE project on sustainable finance for sustainable supply chains.

In her spare time, Sofia enjoys practising yoga, reading, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Latest released papers

Publication

5th Finance Briefing: Brewing Solutions: Financial Pathways for EUDR-Compliant Coffee & Collaborative Action

May 12, 2025 - Access to financial resources is crucial for promoting deforestation-free coffee supply chains and enhancing transparency. Smallholder coffee farmers, in particular, need support to implement sustainable land use practices and adopt new technologies required by national and international markets, such as traceability systems. Barriers such as high upfront costs, limited access to credit, and high investment risks limit their ability to adopt key sustainability practices. Innovative financial solutions, including grants, blended finance, and microfinance, can help bridge this gap. By facilitating smallholders’ access to finance, these mechanisms can support the adoption of sustainable and deforestation-free agricultural practices. The 5th SAFE Finance…

Publication

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…

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2nd Finance Briefing: Sustainable Finance Taxonomies

December 19, 2024 - Discover its core concepts, key users, applications for promoting deforestation-free supply chains, practical examples of how it can support smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups.This edition of the Finance Briefing brings you insightful information on sustainable finance taxonomy (SF taxonomies). Discover its core concepts, key users, applications for promoting deforestation-free supply chains, practical examples of how it can support smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups (LCs – Local Communities), and the latest developments in SAFE countries. SF Taxonomies are classification systems that provide a clear and consistent framework and help identify which economic activities make a substantial contribution and/or do no harm to climate-related, environmental and social objectives. Through defining this common language of what is “sustainable,” “green” or “social,” the common purpose of SF…

Publication

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

- 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…

Publication

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…

Publication

CBAM: Challenges and Opportunities: A Case Study of the Brazilian Fertiliser Sector | T20 – Think Tank Engagement Group – G20 Brazil’s Presidency 2024

October 17, 2024 - This T20 Brasil Policy Brief outlines key recommendations for action by the G20 group - finance and sherpa tracks - to increase climate-ambitious and positive distributional impacts of CBAM. It was elaborated in collaboration with gFIS – grupo Finanças e Investimentos Sustentáveis and ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung.Carbon pricing is one of the most effective instruments available to guide economies toward low-emission trajectories. Despite the increased introduction of this instrument, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasises that carbon pricing poses several risks for carbon-intensive sectors. These risks are especially material for countries that do not yet have carbon pricing instruments in place. In this context, the implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which started its first phase in October 2023, is a key initiative to observe. It covers the emission-intensive sectors of cement, aluminium, fertilisers, power energy production, iron and steel, and is designed…

Publication

Increasing Coherence Between Disclosure Standards and Frameworks on Biodiversity in G20 Countries | ThinkTwenty (T20) Brasil 2024 – Official Engagement Group of G20

September 19, 2024 - This T20 Policy Brief presents targeted recommendations to increase the coherence between biodiversity frameworks and standards, whilst keeping ambition levels high. The issue is extremely important for the effective transformation of the economic system and business models towards a greener, more inclusive economy and an equitable, nature-positive world. Our recommendations stem from comprehensive overview of the state of disclosure for nature and biodiversity in the G20 countries.The recent adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) marked a significant milestone for halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Its action Target 15 addresses transnational companies and financial institutions, encouraging them to monitor, assess, and disclose biodiversity risks, dependencies, and impacts. As biodiversity disclosure frameworks and standards evolve, harmonization becomes paramount. The users of disclosure information seek to systematically assess and incorporate risks and impacts into their decision-making. To do this, they need reliable and comparable data, but substantial inconsistencies and ambition gaps between disclosure standards and frameworks hinder comprehensive understanding and action on firms’ sustainability performance. Further, firms…

Publication

Integrating Biodiversity and Social Inclusion into the G20 Sustainable Finance Taxonomies | ThinkTwenty (T20) Brasil 2024 – Official Engagement Group of G20

- We are thrilled to announce the publication of the T20 Brasil Policy Brief “Integrating Biodiversity and Social Inclusion into G20 Sustainable Finance Taxonomies” which provides recommendations to G20 officials involved in the Sherpa and Finance tracks.In recent years, sustainable finance taxonomies have become a priority on many national and global policy agendas due to their great potential to direct finance flows to climate-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and inclusive economic activities. Taxonomies play an integral role in creating a common classification language that helps identify sustainable investments, foster greater standardisation, and enhance market transparency. Most of the 40 developing and adopted taxonomies around the world focus on climate change objectives, but only 12 of them consider nature loss. As over half of the world’s GDP – $44 trillion – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and…

Publication

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…

Publication

Bridging sustainable finance and sustainable land use initiatives to reduce deforestation: An overview of EU and Brazilian legislation

November 28, 2022 - This technical briefing highlights sustainable finance and sustainable land-use regulations in Brazil and the EU and aims to support regulatory cooperation between the two.Supporting regulatory cooperation on anti-deforestation between Brazil and the European Union Land use change contributes to 23% of global emissions and leads to high biodiversity loss. Deforestation is a major threat to both. Sustainable finance is about “shifting the trillions” from unsustainable towards sustainable economic activities. Therefore, cooperation on anti-deforestation regulation between Brazil and the EU needs to be fostered. To illustrate this, in this policy brief we address the following questions: How can the sustainable finance toolbox support transformation in the land-use sector? What are the EU's plans to halt deforestation caused through its supply chains? And what regulations…

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Dr. Sofia Helena Zanella Carra

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Latest released papers

5th Finance Briefing: Brewing Solutions: Financial Pathways for EUDR-Compliant Coffee & Collaborative Action

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

2nd Finance Briefing: Sustainable Finance Taxonomies

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

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

CBAM: Challenges and Opportunities: A Case Study of the Brazilian Fertiliser Sector | T20 – Think Tank Engagement Group – G20 Brazil’s Presidency 2024

Increasing Coherence Between Disclosure Standards and Frameworks on Biodiversity in G20 Countries | ThinkTwenty (T20) Brasil 2024 – Official Engagement Group of G20

Integrating Biodiversity and Social Inclusion into the G20 Sustainable Finance Taxonomies | ThinkTwenty (T20) Brasil 2024 – Official Engagement Group of G20

Strengthening International Cooperation for Impactful Disclosures on Nature and Biodiversity

Bridging sustainable finance and sustainable land use initiatives to reduce deforestation: An overview of EU and Brazilian legislation

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