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Global Witness calls for the EU to use the Ecodesign Directive to phase out the sale of new gas boilers by 2029, arguing that raising energy-efficiency thresholds will promote heat pumps and energy independence while preventing long-term fossil fuel lock-in.

Derek Cabe describes the devastating impact of super-typhoons in the Philippines and advocates for legal accountability for major fossil fuel corporations. He highlights the findings of the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights, which linked carbon pollution to human rights violations, and calls for the protection of land and environmental defenders who face violence and 'red-tagging' while opposing coal-fired power plants.

Global Witness traced the journey of Russian oil from the port of Primorsk to the UK via India, highlighting the use of a 'shadow fleet' of aging tankers and a refining loophole that allows Russian crude to be imported into the UK as refined products. The report identifies the role of Gatik Ship Management and the St Kitts and Nevis ship registry in facilitating this trade, and notes that refineries in Vadinar and Jamnagar process Russian crude for re-export to Western markets, including purchases by Shell and BP.

A Global Witness investigation of ChatGPT, MetaAI, Grok, and Gemini found that these AI tools often fail to adequately reflect the complicity of fossil fuel companies in the climate crisis. The report identifies instances of 'greenwashing'—where AI provides uncritically positive narratives about oil and gas firms—and 'bothsidesism,' where the tools present the industry's climate claims as having equal weight to evidence of their contribution to climate change. The investigation highlights that some models draw data directly from company websites, potentially allowing firms to influence the AI's output.

Global Witness argues that the UK government should leverage the high profits of the oil and gas industry to fund climate loss and damage both globally and domestically. The briefing highlights that the oil industry made an average of £5 billion in annual profits from UK production over the last 30 years, while the UN Loss and Damage Fund remains severely underfunded, with initial pledges totaling only £504 million as of March 2024. The document proposes a 'Climate Damages Tax' (CDT) that would charge companies for every tonne of carbon from extracted fuels, potentially raising £20 billion in the UK over 10 years. This revenue would be split between the international fund and a 'domestic dividend' to support a worker-led North Sea transition, which is estimated to require an additional £1.9 billion per year until 2030.

The document argues that EVaaS—a bundled subscription model covering vehicles, charging infrastructure, and maintenance—can make electric vehicle (EV) adoption more attractive for South African fleet managers by removing high upfront capital costs. Using a theoretical case of 50 panel vans, it demonstrates that EVaaS is financially viable compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles if monthly subscriptions are priced at or below R16,000 per vehicle. It highlights a real-world application by Everlectric with Woolworths and DSV, noting significant operational cost reductions and CO2 savings, while identifying a lack of accurate residual value data from banks as a primary financial hurdle for EVaaS providers.

The document argues that urban agriculture (UA) provides a pathway to community resilience by improving food security, creating jobs, and reducing environmental impact. It highlights the transition of Nazeer Sonday from intensive hydroponic tomato farming to a regenerative polyculture system at Vegkop Polyculture Farm in Philippi. By implementing practices such as no-till, mulching, and crop rotation, the farm increased its soil organic content (SOC) from 0.5% to 2% and expanded its crop variety from one to approximately thirty. The case study emphasizes that regenerative practices mitigate economic risks, such as the 2008 spike in potassium nitrate fertiliser prices, and reduce dependence on costly synthetic inputs. It also notes the role of co-operatives and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in helping small-scale farmers access larger markets and ensure sustainable production.

The Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) is a free service delivered by GreenCape and initiated by the Western Cape Government. It employs an industrial symbiosis approach to match unused resources—including energy, water, and materials—from one company to another to create economic and environmental benefits. The programme specifically targets gaps faced by SMEs in implementing resource and energy efficiency, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions and landfill costs while increasing profits and innovation.

The document identifies that urban agriculture (UA) in Cape Town is often viewed only as a food security solution rather than a viable economic activity. It highlights that small urban farmers are frequently locked out of formal markets due to a lack of economies of scale, high investment requirements, and insufficient business management skills. To overcome these, the report suggests the use of formal co-operatives to aggregate produce, the adoption of specific food safety accreditations (such as SAGAP or GlobalGAP), and the development of local physical markets like agrihubs and farm stalls. It also emphasizes the role of online marketplaces and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture's Market Access Programme in bridging the gap between producers and off-takers.

The transition to renewable energy is expected to reduce dependencies on fossil fuel importers and lower energy prices, but it introduces new geopolitical challenges. The author argues that 'pipeline politics' will be replaced by 'grid politics', where control over interconnectors, hubs, and storage facilities becomes central. For Europe, while the transition offers a path away from reliance on Russia and the Gulf region, success depends on the EU's ability to manage internal divergences in national energy priorities and compete with Asia and the US in the clean tech market and for rare minerals.

The MAP-FIRE project focuses on the 'MAP region' (Madre de Dios in Peru, Acre in Brazil, and Pando in Bolivia) to address increasing vulnerability to droughts and wildfires. The project found that drought-induced fire emissions are often excluded from national carbon inventories and that gross emissions from wildfires can exceed 50% of primary forest deforestation during drought years. In Acre, Brazil, economic losses from forest fires between 2008 and 2012 were estimated at US$ 307.46 ± 85.41 million, representing 9.07 ± 2.46% of the state's GDP. To mitigate these risks, the project co-developed monitoring platforms for fire occurrence and air quality, which have since influenced the installation of air quality sensor networks across all Brazilian Amazonian states and informed a new project in the Pantanal region. The initiative also produced 10 technical reports and 34 collaborative events to integrate fire risk knowledge into school curricula and decision-making processes.

The MAP-FIRE project focuses on the 'MAP region' (Madre de Dios, Acre, and Pando) to address the increasing risk of extensive forest fires in the Amazon. The project has quantified the socio-environmental impacts of fire, developed near-real-time monitoring platforms for fire and air quality, and produced technical reports to assist decision-makers. Key findings highlight that drought-induced fire emissions are often omitted from national carbon inventories and that forest fires caused significant economic losses in Acre, Brazil, between 2008 and 2012.

The document identifies the IAI Directorate and members of its Science-Policy and Scientific Advisory Committees attending UNFCCC COP28. The delegation includes experts in climate and health, science diplomacy, adaptation for rural and indigenous communities, carbon emissions, and marine governance.

The document lists the IAI delegation and advisory committee members attending COP28, detailing their professional focuses and areas of expertise. Key personnel include Executive Director Anna Stewart Ibarra, Science Director Edwin Castellanos, and Deputy Executive Director Marcella Ohira, alongside advisory members specializing in climate policy, ecosystem services, regional climate scenarios, and marine ecology.

The author examines how the African clothing sector can transition from a linear to a circular model to align with Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12. It identifies three primary opportunities: promoting sustainable inputs like regenerative cotton and plant-based alternatives, greening the manufacturing process to gain a competitive advantage, and transforming the influx of second-hand clothing into a value-added recycling industry. The text emphasizes that without a proactive policy roadmap, African nations risk missing economic upgrades and failing to meet upcoming EU ecodesign regulations.

The research uses a welfare model based on consumer surplus to analyze how energy price hikes under a Kyoto Protocol scenario disproportionately affect low-income households in Canada. Through simulations in Alberta and Ontario, the authors find that while high-income groups reduce energy consumption the most, low-income groups suffer the greatest loss in welfare. The paper proposes an income-differentiated pricing system and carbon-reduction tax rebates for high-income groups as mechanisms to ensure equity and protect the basic energy needs of the poor.

The report analyzes the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of China's role as a global leader in seafood production and processing. It identifies critical challenges including illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, resource depletion of high-value species, and the environmental impact of intensive aquaculture. Through case studies of tilapia, cod, and live reef food fish, the document highlights the need for improved traceability systems, alignment with international certification standards (such as MSC and BAP), and a transition toward low-carbon, eco-friendly production to maintain market access in the EU and US.

The document reports on the status of MDG 7 targets, highlighting a mix of progress and decline. While 98% of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out and protected areas increased by 8.3% to 14% between 1990 and 2012, global CO2 emissions rose from 21,550 to 31,387 million tonnes/year. Water stress affects 30% of the global population, and 29% of 600 monitored marine fish stocks were exploited beyond safe biological limits in 2009. In terms of human settlements, 863 million people live in slums, with 70% of the population in Africa still residing in slums.

The document details the use of the SAVi methodology to evaluate the 4.1 km Rabat bypass road in Morocco, including the Mohammed VI bridge. By simulating six different scenarios—ranging from budget cuts in maintenance to climate change-induced road damage—the analysis demonstrates how integrating external factors like carbon costs, accident costs, and time savings alters the project's financial outlook. The results indicate that when these external factors are included, the project's integrated cost-benefit analysis shows net losses across all scenarios, suggesting it is not a robust investment.

The SAVi assessment of a proposed Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) system in Dwarka, New Delhi, demonstrates that while the project may show negative conventional financial results, the integration of social and environmental externalities creates a strong positive business case. Across three demand scenarios, the system is projected to generate significant net benefits, with discounted net benefits over 20 years ranging from INR 3.14 billion to INR 4.82 billion. The largest benefits are derived from time saved, increased retail revenues, and higher property values, which outweigh the primary negative externality of increased cyclist exposure to air pollution.