Search Climate Insights Directory

The 2024 BRICS Summit is expected to focus on integrating new members and defining the role of 'partner countries' rather than further expansion. Key economic goals include increasing trade in local currencies to reduce dollar reliance and streamlining payments via the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative. The document highlights opportunities for coordination between BRICS, the G20, and the G7, particularly with Brazil and South Africa holding leadership roles in 2025. On climate, BRICS is expected to reaffirm support for the Paris Agreement and a just transition that allows for the continued use of fossil fuels for energy security, while potentially introducing a new framework for sustainable development and carbon market projects.

The document highlights a contradiction between the desire of French and European citizens to support the ecological transition and the reality that their savings are invested by financial institutions into fossil fuels. It identifies a lack of transparency and poor accessibility as the primary obstacles to sustainable saving.

The report finds that international development funding for clean air is chronically underfunded, representing only 1% of total international development funding in 2022. It highlights a heavy reliance on loans over grants, significant geographic disparities in funding distribution, and a concerning increase in funding for projects that prolong fossil fuel use.

The analysis finds that climate change made rainfall approximately 10% heavier in both the coastal and inland regions affected by Hurricane Helene and increased the likelihood of such rainfall totals by 40% and 70%, respectively. The study also indicates that climate change increased the number of storms with similar wind speeds by about 150% and made the record-hot sea surface temperatures over the storm's track 200-500 times more likely. While the storm was well-forecast, high death tolls occurred inland due to mountainous terrain, poor infrastructure, and a lack of experience with hurricanes.

The study finds that WACC in Africa's power sector remains high compared to global benchmarks, driven primarily by a cost of equity that is on average double the cost of debt. While WACC is projected to decrease from 18% to 13% by 2070, significant regional disparities persist, with Eastern Africa facing the highest costs and Northern Africa the lowest. The authors argue that using uniform cost of capital assumptions leads to underestimation bias in energy costs and misguides policy, particularly for capital-intensive clean energy projects.

The 2024 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard reveals that the energy portfolios of 21 analyzed private equity firms are responsible for 1.17 gigatons of annual CO2 equivalent emissions. As of July 2024, 66 percent of these portfolios remain invested in fossil fuels, primarily in upstream fossil fuels, LNG terminals, and coal plants. The report argues that these investments expose firms and their investors—including public sector pension funds—to significant financial risks such as asset stranding, citing the bankruptcy of at least 60 U.S. coal companies between 2012 and 2022. The firms are evaluated against standards including science-based targets, fossil fuel disclosure, energy transition plans, environmental justice, and lobbying transparency.

A group of NGOs, including Reclaim Finance and Friends of the Earth, is demanding an official investigation into reports of a massacre of civilians by Mozambican public security forces near TotalEnergies' premises in 2021. The NGOs highlight the company's financial and equipment ties to the Mozambican army and argue that financial institutions supporting the project must address these human rights risks.

A CIEL analysis finds that 118 planned or underway petrochemical projects in the US could add 153.8 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions annually, potentially increasing the sector's share of US greenhouse gas emissions from 5.2% to over 7%. The report highlights that ten megaprojects account for half of these potential emissions and that ammonia production is a significant growth area, with 95% of proposed US ammonia production derived from methane gas. Furthermore, the buildout is concentrated in already polluted areas like Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" and the Ohio River Valley, deepening environmental injustices.

The briefing examines how the AIIB uses capital market projects to leverage private finance while bypassing its own accountability mechanisms, specifically citing the Bayfront project as an example where investments enabled fossil gas projects and harmful renewable energy projects.

Reclaim Finance analyzed the decarbonization targets of 30 major banks, finding that most targets are overly complex, opaque, and fail to create a direct link between goal achievement and actual emission reductions. The analysis highlights that targets based on 'financed' or 'facilitated' emissions are often influenced by company valuation fluctuations rather than climate action. The report recommends that fossil fuel targets be based on reducing funding, high-emission sectors use physical intensity metrics, and absolute emission targets avoid value-based attribution factors.

Analysis by Climate Central indicates that June-August 2024 was the hottest season on record, with carbon pollution significantly increasing the frequency and intensity of risky heat days globally and in the U.S. Approximately 2 billion people worldwide experienced 30 or more risky heat days made at least three times more likely by climate change. In the U.S., the average person experienced 20 additional risky heat days, with the highest impacts concentrated in the South, Southeast, and Southwest, particularly in Florida and Puerto Rico.

The report finds that June through August 2024 was Earth's hottest season on record, with human-induced climate change significantly increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat worldwide. Using the Climate Shift Index (CSI), the analysis shows that one in four people experienced temperatures made at least three times more likely by climate change every day of the season. Global exposure peaked on August 13, 2024, affecting 4.1 billion people. The average person experienced 17 additional 'risky heat days' (temperatures above the 90th percentile) due to climate change. Over 2 billion people experienced 30 or more such days, with extreme concentrations in the Caribbean, Western Asia, Micronesia, Northern Africa, and Southern Europe. Additionally, 72 countries experienced their hottest June-August period since 1970, and 180 Northern Hemisphere cities faced dangerous extreme heat waves that were, on average, 21 times more likely due to human-caused warming.

The report finds that synthetic fibres account for 69% of textile production and are projected to reach 73% by 2030. An evaluation of 50 major brands reveals a trend of increasing corporate secrecy, with 54% failing to respond fully to the survey. Most brands (45 out of 50) are categorized as 'trailing behind' or in the 'red zone' due to high synthetic usage and low transparency. The report highlights that brands use tactics similar to the fossil fuel industry, such as citing a 'need for more research' to delay action and using industry initiatives like The Microfibre Consortium (TMC) as a cover for inaction. Furthermore, the report criticizes the reliance on recycled polyester from plastic bottles as a 'false solution' that does not address microplastic pollution. Finally, it notes weak industry support for upcoming EU legislation and the global plastic pollution treaty, suggesting a preference for maintaining the status quo of the fast fashion model.

Civil society organisations have written to AIIB President Jin Liqun to express concern over the bank's limited engagement with external stakeholders. The group argues that the AIIB's current internal focus overemphasizes project benefits and underplays risks. They propose several critical discussion topics for the 2024 Annual Meeting, including the bank's fossil fuel divestment, Paris Agreement alignment, and the development of a Gender Action Plan. The letter also highlights logistical barriers for participants in Uzbekistan, including visa difficulties and the risks associated with the country's closed civic space.

The author contends that the rise of far-right parties, such as Germany's AfD, is partly a reaction to climate policies that lack social equity. To combat this, the text advocates for a 'post-growth' framework and the implementation of community-led energy solutions that prioritize human well-being over profit. It calls for developed nations to accelerate emission cuts and for the EU to shift fossil fuel subsidies toward carbon-free heating to ensure a just transition.

The report finds that most major fashion brands are increasing their reliance on synthetic fibres while using 'smoke screen' tactics—such as voluntary industry initiatives and shifting responsibility to consumers—to avoid meaningful regulation and reduction of plastic pollution.

The report finds that global fashion brands are increasing their dependence on synthetic fibres to sustain the 'fast fashion' business model while using 'distraction and delay' tactics to avoid meaningful action on microplastic pollution. Despite scientific evidence linking microplastics to severe health risks, most brands lack transparency, with 54% of surveyed companies failing to respond fully to the inquiry. The study highlights that recycled polyester from plastic bottles is an ineffective solution that does not address microplastic leakage. Furthermore, the industry shows minimal support for binding legislation, such as the EU's textile strategies, preferring weak voluntary initiatives.

Climate change is exacerbating air pollution through increased wildfires, ground-level ozone, and longer allergy seasons, posing severe health risks to children. Children are uniquely vulnerable due to their developing organs and higher breathing rates. The document highlights that 2°C of global warming could increase childhood asthma cases by 4% and notes that wildfire smoke is ten times more harmful to the respiratory health of children aged five or younger than other PM2.5 sources. Recommendations include minimizing outdoor exposure during high-pollution events, using HEPA filters, and transitioning away from fossil fuels to improve air quality.

The study finds that climate change increased rainfall intensity in Taiwan and Hunan province and contributed to a 7% increase in maximum wind speeds for similar storms in the Western North Pacific basin. While sea surface temperatures as hot as those observed during Typhoon Gaemi were "almost impossible without climate change", the analysis did not identify a significant trend for rainfall in the northern Philippines. The report highlights that existing urban plans and flood infrastructure are unable to withstand climate-driven extreme floods, particularly in areas of unplanned urban development like Metro Manila.

The report finds that while CETP signatories have significantly reduced international public finance for fossil fuels, they have failed to scale up clean energy investment at a comparable rate.