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The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) presents a critical overview of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), asserting that the technology overpromises on emission reductions while introducing significant safety risks and high costs. The document highlights the 'energy penalty'—the extra energy required to power capture equipment—and notes that most existing projects are used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which can increase overall emissions. It warns that a large-scale CCS buildout in the United States would require an unrealistic and dangerous expansion of pipeline infrastructure. Furthermore, the text argues that CCS is unnecessary for 'hard to abate' industrial sectors, where electrification and demand reduction are more viable, and critiques 'blue hydrogen' as a means to prolong fossil fuel dependence. The document concludes that global capture capacity is negligible compared to total emissions and that public subsidies, such as the US 45Q tax credit, inappropriately support the fossil fuel economy.

The document argues that financial service providers (FSPs) often avoid agricultural investments in developing countries due to perceived risks, but that VSSs can mitigate these risks by requiring sustainable practices and better governance. While VSSs show high coverage of legal compliance, soil and water conservation, and labour rights, they lack sufficient criteria regarding economic viability, transparency, and climate adaptation. The brief provides recommendations for FSPs, VSS providers, and governments to better align sustainability standards with financial requirements to close the investment gap.

The document explains that many critical minerals are not mined independently but are produced as co-products or by-products of 'host' metals. This 'companionality' creates inelastic supply chains where the availability of a critical metal depends on the economic viability of a different host metal. The paper highlights risks including high price volatility, under-reporting of reserves, and the loss of strategic minerals in tailings. It suggests that reprocessing waste dumps and improving regulatory frameworks for companion metals can help bridge the supply gap for the energy transition.

The document argues that financial service providers (FSPs) often avoid agricultural investments in developing countries due to perceived risks. It examines 12 Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and finds that while they provide high coverage for legal compliance, labor rights, and basic environmental conservation, they lack sufficient criteria regarding economic viability, transparency, and climate adaptation. The brief recommends that VSS incorporate more business-oriented criteria and that FSPs use these standards for ESG due diligence and structuring financial products to increase funding for sustainable farming.

The Plan Régional d’Adaptation au Changement Climatique 2024-2028 for the Plateau Central region of Burkina Faso identifies key climate risks, assesses sectoral vulnerabilities, and proposes 44 priority actions across three strategic axes. With an estimated cost of 5,669,080,000 FCFA, the plan focuses on improving the resilience of agriculture, water resources, livestock, environment, and health, while targeting the most vulnerable populations, including women, the elderly, and persons with reduced mobility.

The document examines the implications of India's discovery of 5.9 million tons of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that while it could bolster India's energy independence and EV goals, it risks exacerbating internal communal tensions and international conflict with Pakistan. It highlights environmental threats to the Chenab River watershed and suggests that the U.S. should promote global mining governance, technological alternatives like sodium-ion batteries, and demand-reduction policies to mitigate these risks.

The document examines the paradoxical future of the western United States, where warming temperatures are projected to cause both more severe droughts and a higher likelihood of catastrophic megafloods. It highlights that while the total number of atmospheric rivers may decrease, those that do occur will be more intense due to the atmosphere's increased capacity to hold water vapor. Furthermore, warming is shifting precipitation from snow to rain, leading to declining snowpack volumes in the Northern Hemisphere and the American Cordillera, which complicates water management and increases flood risks.

The document examines the unprecedented global outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, highlighting the virus's increasing ability to infect mammals and the risk of potential human-to-human transmission. It details the devastating ecological impact on bird populations and the economic toll on poultry farms, particularly in the United States. The authors argue that current biosecurity efforts are lagging and call for urgent improvements in vaccine development, the implementation of safer industrial farming practices—specifically regarding mink and pig farms—and the expansion of wild bird surveillance to prevent a future pandemic.

ClientEarth argues that EIOPA's reliance on historical data to assess transition risks is flawed because future decarbonization will be non-linear and more rapid than past trends. The organization advocates for a precautionary approach, specifically proposing a 100% capital requirement for companies engaged in 'New Fossil Fuel Activities' (exploration, expansion, or development). ClientEarth also warns that sustainability market indices and corporate emissions targets are often unreliable due to greenwashing and inadequate methodologies, urging EIOPA to include absolute emissions and scope 3 emissions in its risk assessments to avoid underrepresenting systemic financial risks.

The report outlines the results of a cross-sectoral workshop that analyzed climate security scenarios for Sweden. It identifies key drivers of risk, such as the strength of democratic institutions and domestic resilience, and proposes four potential future scenarios ranging from 'Utopia' to 'Panic'. The findings emphasize that governance, trust, and the integration of climate data into the 'Total Defense' program are as critical as physical infrastructure for maintaining national security in the face of climate-driven threats.

The report analyzes the link between misogyny and violent extremist ideologies, arguing that OGBV serves as an ideological gateway to radicalization. It evaluates the failures of current platform community guidelines and algorithmic systems in addressing gendered violence and proposes a 'Safety and Privacy by Design' approach, improved API access for researchers, and standardized transparency reporting to combat these systemic risks.

The report examines online gender-based violence (OGBV) as part of a continuum of violence that links misogyny to various extremist ideologies, including far-right and Islamist extremism. It argues that platforms often exacerbate these risks through engagement-based algorithmic ranking and inadequate content moderation. To counter this, the author recommends that platforms provide vetted researchers with API access, implement gender-disaggregated transparency reporting, adopt victim-survivor-centred 'Safety by Design' principles, and enhance cross-platform cooperation to track perpetrators and coordinated harassment campaigns.

The Chilling Prospects 2023 analysis identifies 1.12 billion people at high risk of lacking cooling access, primarily the rural and urban poor. While high-risk populations decreased slightly by 20.4 million since 2022, the lower-middle-income group at medium risk grew to 2.9 billion people. The report highlights significant gender disparities, with women overrepresented in high-risk groups, and identifies 'Critical 9' countries—including India, China, and Nigeria—where the most pronounced risks exist.

The document warns that the estimated $8 trillion needed for nature by 2050 creates significant corruption risks that can divert resources from climate mitigation and adaptation. It cites a study from Bangladesh where 35% of climate adaptation infrastructure funds were diverted. To counter this, the document advocates for strengthening climate finance integrity, increasing decision-making transparency, and preventing illicit financial flows.

The document examines the critical safety risks at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, highlighting the dangers of power failures, cooling system instability, and military attacks. It details how the loss of electricity could lead to core meltdowns similar to Fukushima and Chernobyl, and analyzes the catastrophic potential of a nuclear weapon strike on the site. The paper also notes the continued reliance of the US and France on Russian nuclear fuel despite the conflict.

The document examines how emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs)—including AI, cyber weapons, hypersonic missiles, and social media—undermine traditional nuclear deterrence by disrupting information flows, compressing decision timeframes, and transforming decision contexts. It argues that these technologies exacerbate human cognitive biases, such as automation bias and confirmation bias, which can lead to unintended nuclear escalation. To mitigate these risks, the authors propose a multidimensional strategy combining policy regulations on social media, technical tools like blockchain authentication and explainable AI, and traditional arms control measures such as 'no first use' declarations and the elimination of dual-capable delivery systems.

The document analyzes a planned US$245 billion expansion of gas infrastructure in Africa, highlighting a significant imbalance where investment in LNG export terminals and pipelines far outweighs investment in domestic power generation. It warns that these projects, often driven by Europe's short-term energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, risk becoming stranded assets while failing to address low electricity access in countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

The analysis examines the risks associated with cooling access for rural and urban poor populations, projecting that 1.22 billion people could remain at high risk by 2030 without intervention. It highlights that achieving goals for poverty eradication and energy access could protect nearly half a billion people in high-impact countries, while emphasizing the need for sustainable, energy-efficient cooling to prevent a surge in greenhouse gas emissions as demand grows.

The report identifies high-risk trade flows and species—specifically squid, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and swordfish—that expose the Spanish seafood industry to IUU fishing and labour abuses. While Spain is noted for its effective implementation of the EU IUU Regulation, the authors argue that government controls are insufficient to eliminate risk. They recommend that seafood businesses adopt voluntary due diligence tools, such as PAS 1550:2017, to ensure supply chain transparency and the protection of human rights.

The report identifies high-risk trade flows and specific species—squid, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and swordfish—that are vulnerable to IUU fishing and associated human rights abuses in the Spanish market. It argues that while Spain effectively implements EU IUU regulations, industry-led due diligence, such as the PAS 1550:2017 specification, is necessary to close remaining gaps.