Search Climate Insights Directory

The authors contend that climate change acts as a 'destabilizing force' and 'threat multiplier' that fundamentally shapes geopolitical risks, affecting U.S. interests regarding China, Russia, and other global threats. They highlight how environmental degradation drives military activity in the Arctic and allows China to gain influence in the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the text notes that climate-related disasters and heat extremes directly undermine U.S. military readiness by damaging installations and limiting training. The authors suggest that while the U.S. must remain vigilant against adversaries, climate and biodiversity cooperation could serve as a pillar for diplomatic engagement.

Reclaim Finance criticizes Crédit Agricole for maintaining significant financial ties to the fossil fuel industry despite claiming to be a 'green bank'. The organization highlights that the bank provided $64 billion to fossil fuels between 2016 and 2020 and remains a top supporter of TotalEnergies. The text specifically calls for the bank to expand its Arctic exclusion zones, exit non-conventional hydrocarbons by 2030, and align the investment policies of its asset manager, Amundi, with its climate goals.

Reclaim Finance asserts that TotalEnergies' corporate strategy is incompatible with climate science, specifically citing plans to increase gas production by over 30% by 2030 and expand operations in the Arctic and East Africa. The document highlights that between 2016 and 2020, over 30 commercial banks provided $40.6 billion to the company, with major contributors including Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, and several French banks. It calls for financial institutions to end support for fossil fuel developers and adopt a 'no new oil and gas' principle, citing La Banque Postale as a precedent for ending support for companies developing new oil and gas projects.

The document traces the path from the 1972 Stockholm Conference to the 2017 entry into force of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. It highlights the role of activism and scientific evidence in driving global action and details the treaty's mechanisms for phasing out mercury-added products and regulating artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). The brief also explains that the discrete nature of mercury's industrial sources and a stronger scientific consensus on its global threat allowed it to move toward a binding treaty, whereas lead and cadmium remain managed through voluntary partnerships and regional agreements.

The document explains that the 1.5-degree-C target, established under the 2015 Paris Agreement, is a critical threshold to limit cataclysmic climate impacts. While the Earth has already warmed by 1.2 degrees C since the Industrial Revolution, reaching the 1.5-degree-C limit requires cutting global carbon emissions in half by 2030 and achieving net-zero by 2050. This necessitates a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels—specifically leaving 90% of coal and 60% of oil and gas reserves in the ground—and ending deforestation. The guide warns that the world has already experienced temporary breaches of this threshold and faces a 66% chance of doing so for at least one year between now and 2027. It advises journalists to communicate both the current impacts of 1.2 degrees C and the available solutions to avoid public paralysis while emphasizing that every fraction of a degree of warming increases global risk.

The statement critiques the French financial sector's response to the climate crisis, highlighting a divide between institutions adopting strict exclusion policies for oil and gas expansion and those maintaining the status quo. It specifically condemns the French Ministry of Economy and Finance for avoiding strict regulatory frameworks and calls on major entities like AXA to stop insuring new fossil fuel projects.

Reclaim Finance criticizes the French financial center for continuing to fund the expansion of fossil fuels despite scientific warnings. While a few institutions like La Banque Postale, MAIF, and Ircantec have committed to exiting oil, gas, and unconventional hydrocarbons by 2030, the document claims most French banks and insurers, including AXA, remain supportive of the industry. It specifically highlights TotalEnergies' plans to increase gas production by 35% by 2030 and calls on the French government to implement a mandatory regulatory framework to end fossil fuel financing.

The Center for Climate Integrity presents evidence that Chevron and its predecessors were aware of the catastrophic effects of fossil fuels as early as 1980 but funded campaigns to discredit climate science and sow public uncertainty. The document highlights a contradiction between Chevron's public claims of leadership in clean energy and its actual investment patterns, noting that only 0.2 percent of annual capital expenditure was spent on low-carbon energy between 2010 and 2018. Additionally, it points to patents filed by Chevron and Texaco in 1974 for drilling equipment designed for warming Arctic conditions, suggesting the company prepared for the physical impacts of climate change while publicly denying them.

The report consists of several independent briefers analyzing how climate change acts as a threat multiplier across various domains. Key analyses include the evolution of 'environmental terrorism' from a tactical to a strategic threat, the need to integrate peacebuilding with climate adaptation in fragile regions like the Sahel, and the shifting geopolitics of energy security as the world transitions to renewables. It also assesses specific vulnerabilities of U.S. Space Force infrastructure to sea-level rise and wildfires, the role of digital Earth observation technologies in anticipatory intelligence, and the gendered impacts of climate-induced resource scarcity. Regional case studies focus on the Arctic's changing geopolitical landscape and the influence of media reporting on climate-induced farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria.

The report analyzes the European Central Bank's (ECB) corporate asset purchases during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically under the Corporate Sector Purchase Program (CSPP) and the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP). It finds that the ECB increased its holdings of bonds from five oil and gas majors—Shell, TotalEnergies, Repsol, Eni, and OMV—between April 2020 and September 2021. The author argues that these companies' investment plans are incompatible with 1.5C or 2C warming limits, as they continue to expand fossil fuel production and invest in liquified natural gas (LNG) and unconventional sources. The report criticizes the ECB's July 2021 climate roadmap for being 'dangerously imprecise' and for delaying the implementation of climate criteria for asset purchases until 2023. It concludes that the ECB must immediately exclude fossil fuel developers from its corporate purchases and collateral framework to avoid supporting 'stranded' assets and systemic climate risk.

The document reports a rapid decline in Arctic sea ice, noting that the 15 lowest sea ice extents in the 42-year satellite record have all occurred in the last 15 years. It highlights the loss of multiyear ice and unprecedented melting events on the Greenland ice sheet in 2021. These changes are linked to global temperature rises and are projected to result in an effectively ice-free Arctic summer minimum at least once before 2050. The report details how this loss accelerates global warming via reduced reflectivity, disrupts jetstream-driven weather patterns, opens new shipping routes, and threatens the livelihoods of Indigenous communities.

The briefing details advancements in extreme event attribution, updated temperature datasets, and refined climate sensitivity models. It highlights the shrinking carbon budget for the 1.5°C target, the risks of climate tipping points, and the critical role of non-CO2 greenhouse gases like methane. Additionally, it discusses the scientific requirements for net-zero targets and the limitations of carbon dioxide removal and geoengineering.

The document traces the evolution of climate change within U.S. National Security Strategies from 1991 to 2017, noting a shift from viewing it as a distant foreign threat to an urgent domestic and global security risk. It argues that while the Department of Defense has led in addressing these risks, congressional funding for military installation resilience remains insufficient. The authors recommend that the next NSS expand its scope beyond the energy sector to include 'ecological security'—addressing biodiversity loss and ocean health—and incorporate non-linear planetary thresholds and sophisticated environmental monitoring to better forecast systemic risks.

The authors introduce a conceptual framework to address the gap in climate studies that typically focus on impacts within a single geographical region. The framework distinguishes between an initial impact caused by a climate trigger and the subsequent downstream consequences and adaptation responses that propagate through 'impact transmission' and 'response transmission' systems. By accounting for different climate triggers, impact categories, and socio-economic contexts, the framework aims to identify causal relationships and support climate risk management. The authors demonstrate the framework's utility by applying it to the 2011 Thailand floods and projected Arctic sea ice decline.

The author contends that Total's climate strategy is incompatible with the IEA's net-zero scenario, as the company continues to expand oil and gas production while allocating only a small fraction of investment to renewables. The text highlights a contradiction among major investors—including AXA, BNP Paribas, and Amundi—who claim climate commitments but voted in favor of Total's plan to protect short-term dividends.

Reclaim Finance criticizes Total's climate plan and the shareholders who supported it, arguing that the plan ignores IEA guidelines by continuing investment in new oil and gas projects. The author highlights a contradiction where investors, including AXA and BNP Paribas, support the plan despite their own carbon neutrality commitments, suggesting that short-term dividends are prioritized over the energy transition.

The report analyzes the security implications of rapid warming in the Arctic, focusing on the destabilizing effects of sea ice loss and permafrost thaw. It argues that these environmental changes, combined with an influx of commercial shipping and resource extraction, exacerbate tensions between major powers like Russia, the US, and China. The document highlights specific risks, including the degradation of military infrastructure in Alaska, the potential release of ancient pathogens, and the increased likelihood of military accidents in a region with limited security-focused diplomatic forums.

Reclaim Finance condemns the outcome of Total's general assembly, where over 90% of voting shareholders approved a climate plan that prioritizes hydrocarbon expansion over renewable energy. The statement highlights the contradiction between the public climate commitments of major investors like AXA, BNP Paribas, and Amundi and their support for Total's strategy, which allocates 80% of capital expenditure to oil and gas by 2030.

Reclaim Finance criticizes BNP Paribas for continuing to finance the expansion of oil and gas despite a pledge to reduce its exposure by 10% between 2020 and 2025. The organization argues that this target is inadequate given the climate emergency and is undermined by the bank's previous funding surges and the exclusion of equity and bond issuances from the commitment. Furthermore, the document highlights that BNP Paribas remains a top financier for majors like Shell, BP, Eni, and Total, contributing to the growth of high-risk sectors such as oil sands, shale gas, and Arctic drilling.

Reclaim Finance criticizes Société Générale for maintaining high levels of fossil fuel financing despite public pledges to exit coal and reduce oil and gas exposure. The document highlights the bank's continued support for Arctic extraction, shale gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as its use of semantic loopholes to fund coal-heavy entities like EPH.