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The Union of Concerned Scientists and UCI Law propose a framework to safeguard federal science from political, ideological, and financial influences. The roadmap focuses on reforming political appointments, strengthening the peer-review process, ensuring the balance of federal advisory committees, and preserving the independence of Offices of Inspector General.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that safeguards for independent government science in the US have broken down, particularly under the Trump administration, leading to the suppression of research and retaliation against scientists. The report recommends that Congress codify scientific integrity (SI) policies into law and that agencies appoint non-political SI officials, implement transparent peer review, and establish safe whistleblower protections.

The document examines the legislative process of Brazil's new Concessions Law bill, highlighting gaps in environmental licensing, feasibility studies, and investor liability. It argues that the current draft maintains ambiguity regarding the Preliminary Environmental License and fails to mandate Technical, Economic and Environmental Feasibility Studies (EVTEA) before bidding. The authors recommend that sector regulations define licensing responsibilities to increase predictability, that EVTEA be a prerequisite for greenfield project bidding, and that provisions limiting investor environmental liability be removed to avoid judicial conflict and align with the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) opposes a supplemental proposed rule by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would restrict the use of scientific information not available to the public. CATF argues the rule is an 'unlawful abuse of Agency discretion' that jeopardizes the privacy of study participants and undermines the agency's mandate under statutes like the Clean Air Act. The organization specifically criticizes the expansion of the rule to cover all 'influential scientific information', asserting that environmental policy must be based on science rather than policy priorities.

The briefing analyzes the legislative report by Senator Irajá Abreu regarding MP 910/2019, which seeks to alter the legal framework for land regularization on federal public lands in Brazil. The authors argue that the report exacerbates the original MP's flaws by favoring medium and large landowners, reducing environmental oversight on illegally deforested areas, and maintaining a misalignment between land and environmental policies. Specifically, it highlights the expansion of self-declaration for land regularization up to 2,500 hectares and the removal of mandatory inspections for areas under environmental embargo. The document recommends the rejection of the report to prevent the legitimization of land grabbing and illegal deforestation.

The report argues that MP 910/2019 incentivizes illegal land grabbing and deforestation by expanding the spatial and temporal scope of land regularization and simplifying the process through self-declaration. It contends that these changes benefit large landowners over family farmers and indigenous peoples, while creating a misalignment between land and environmental policies.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that the Trump administration engaged in unprecedented attacks on science, including censorship and the sidelining of experts. The report proposes a blueprint for the next administration based on three principles: independent science, transparent decisionmaking, and scientific free speech. Key recommendations include codifying scientific integrity policies, reforming the federal advisory committee system, curbing conflicts of interest for political appointees, and expanding whistleblower protections. It also addresses broader democratic threats, such as 'dark money' in politics and voting rights restrictions, as interconnected issues affecting public health and safety.

The report examines climate change perceptions among regular viewers and listeners of CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, the Weather Channel, and national nightly network news. It finds significant divergence in beliefs regarding human-caused global warming, particularly within the Fox News audience, while noting a general desire for more information across most news audiences.

The report finds that while Americans are concerned about the impact of plastics on marine life and water quality, they often feel unable to avoid plastic packaging or believe their individual actions are insignificant. There is strong public support for producer responsibility, with businesses ranked as the most responsible party for reducing plastic waste and the entity that should pay for recycling infrastructure. While there is broad support for positive regulations like credits and refund programs, Americans are more divided on taxes and fees.

Following a strong performance in the 2019 European elections, Europe Écologie-Les Verts (EELV) faces the challenge of converting this success into long-term electoral stability. The author notes that French green parties historically perform better in European elections than in national ones. To break this cycle, the document suggests EELV should leverage its 'ownership' of ecological issues, appeal to a diverse and volatile electorate—including young voters and former supporters of Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Mélenchon—and shift from internal focus to a strategic ambition for power.

The report provides a comprehensive 'radiography' of how Brazilian states are implementing the Forest Code. It identifies a significant gap between the high rates of CAR registration and the slow progress of CAR validation and PRA implementation. While some states in the North and Center-West regions are advanced, the Northeast region lags behind. The document highlights systemic barriers, including a lack of technical resources, poor quality of self-declared data, and a heavy dependence on the federal government's SICAR system. It also examines state-specific rules for restoring Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RL), noting wide variations in restoration deadlines and methodologies.

Following the 2019 European elections, Europe Écologie Les Verts (EELV) emerged as a significant independent force in France, securing 13.5% of the vote. The author argues that the party's success was driven by its refusal to merge into a united left-wing list and the influence of widespread climate protests. The text contrasts the Greens' approach with 'neo-populism'—seen in the Rassemblement National (RN) and La France Insoumise (LFI)—which the author claims is ill-suited for democratic self-organisation. The document concludes that a modern French left must be built around political ecology, integrating social justice with a responsibility toward nature and future generations.

The report reveals a pattern of funding, investments, and corporate memberships linking leading UK professional engineering and science organisations to the fossil fuel and arms sectors. It highlights a lack of transparency in financial disclosures and the promotion of these industries to schoolchildren without discussing associated ethical issues. The authors recommend that PESOs implement ethical investment policies, end corporate branding in education, and disclose all corporate payments over £1,000.

The research challenges the assumption that European far-right parties uniformly deny climate change, highlighting a spectrum of attitudes from explicit rejection to acceptance of science. While parties like Germany's AfD maintain strong climate denial, Austria's FPÖ and Italy's Lega have moved toward accepting climate change as a reality. However, these parties use the issue to promote 'climate nationalism', rejecting supranational governance and the Paris Agreement in favor of national sovereignty and border control.

The 2019 assessment of Goal 10 finds that global progress in forest governance remains slow, with illegality continuing to drive deforestation. While some countries like Indonesia have improved policy efforts, others have weakened protections through legislative amendments. The report highlights a critical gap between formal laws and their implementation, particularly regarding the land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), who manage significant carbon stores but face high levels of violence and criminalization. Demand-side measures in the EU and France are strengthening, but private sector commitments to eliminate deforestation are largely not on track for 2020 targets.

The authors contend that the EU is paralyzed by institutional inertia, the dominance of the Council, and the influence of vested interests. They critique Emmanuel Macron's reliance on a Franco-German bilateral engine, arguing that it ignores the reality of transnational politics and the effectiveness of coalitions like the Visegrád Group. The text suggests that breaking the deadlock requires leveraging the European Parliament, forming offensive and defensive coalitions, and using strategic unilateral action or the blocking of trade deals to force systemic change.

The document analyzes how public outcry driven by health-focused communication strategies in India and China led to government action against air pollution. It highlights the role of medical professionals, data transparency, and creative arts in mobilizing civil society. The brief argues that Indonesia, which continues to expand coal power despite high rates of non-communicable diseases, can benefit from similar approaches to pressure its government to shift toward renewable energy.

The document examines Provisional Measure 867/2018, which aims to extend the deadline for entry into the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) under Brazil's Law 12,651/2012 (the new Forest Code). While the author supports the deadline extension to protect small producers and traditional communities, they warn that 35 proposed amendments to the measure could undermine the Forest Code by altering rules on Legal Reserves and forest offsets, potentially reintroducing provisions already rejected by the Supreme Court in 2018. The brief recommends that the National Congress approve the original version of the measure and reject all amendments to avoid legal uncertainty and the interruption of state-level PRAs.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the Trump administration systematically attacked scientific integrity through censorship, the dismissal of advisory panels, and the suppression of research. The document details specific harms in air pollution policy and climate change communication, while providing a roadmap for the 116th Congress to implement legislative and oversight checks to restore science-based policymaking.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the Trump administration censored federal scientists by restricting communications, creating a chilling environment, and limiting conference attendance. It recommends that Congress investigate these actions, expand the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, and pass the Scientific Integrity Act to protect science-based policymaking.