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The Institute for Economic Justice argues that South Africa must implement bold, decisive economic stimulus measures focused on four objectives: supporting households and communities, protecting workers, sustaining businesses, and managing the economy for long-term transformation. The authors advocate for universal income transfers, emergency paid sick pay, conditional business relief, and a 'Green New Deal' to ensure a more equitable and sustainable recovery. They emphasize that financing these measures should avoid austerity-driven reprioritization and instead rely on solidarity taxation and increased borrowing.

The author advocates for integrating urban forests into Canada's national tree-planting goals, highlighting their role in carbon sequestration, heat reduction, and flood mitigation. The text emphasizes that urban tree success depends on biological diversity, connectivity, and long-term maintenance rather than just the number of trees planted.

The report argues that natural gas is not a viable 'bridge' fuel but rather a risk to climate stability and shareholder value. It highlights that new gas infrastructure is increasingly incompatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal and faces significant economic threats from the falling costs of renewables and storage. The document details how utilities face 'stranded asset' risks, regulatory pressure from state and city decarbonization mandates, and customer defection to community choice aggregations and corporate clean energy contracts. It suggests that 'steel for fuel' strategies—replacing fossil fuel generation with capital investment in renewables—offer a more sustainable financial model. The report concludes by urging investors to demand better disclosure on emissions and transition plans and to support policies like performance-based regulation and securitization to facilitate a just and rapid energy transition.

The document examines sub-national pooled financing mechanisms (SPFMs) as a tool for South African municipalities to access cost-effective private capital for infrastructure. While SPFMs have successfully mobilized billions in developed and emerging economies, they have not yet been implemented in Africa. In South Africa, the author identifies a mature bond market and appetite for municipal finance, but notes significant barriers including deteriorating municipal financial health, a lack of technical capacity, and limiting regulations from the National Treasury. The brief argues that the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) holds a near-monopoly on municipal lending and should lead de-risking efforts to catalyze a vibrant local government debt market.

Civil society organizations have urged the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to extend the Phase 1 consultation deadline for its Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) review from February 28 to the end of March 2020. The CSOs argue that the current timeframe is too short to provide informed inputs based on field data and that the bank has failed to clarify its theoretical approach and methodology for the review. Additionally, they note that a scheduled workshop on March 9, 2020, organized by the German government, should be allowed to inform the consultation process.

The document examines the use of gypsum, an industrial by-product from phosphorus fertilizer extraction, to mitigate nutrient pollution in the Baltic Sea. Pilot projects in Finland, including Project SAVE and research in the River Vantaanjoki basin, indicate that gypsum improves soil structure and reduces phosphorus losses to waterways by approximately 50%. While the practice is recommended for coastal drainage areas, researchers caution against its use in lake drainage basins or groundwater recharge areas due to the risk of sulfate loading and subsequent eutrophication. Large-scale application across Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland could potentially achieve 10% of the phosphorus reductions targeted by the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.

The document outlines how the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) integrates climate change into its monitoring of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It details the Committee's use of General Comments, Joint Statements, and State reporting procedures to hold States accountable for climate-related impacts on rights such as health, food, and water. Key findings emphasize that States must implement emissions cuts reflecting the "highest possible ambition," regulate private actors to prevent climate harm, and ensure that high-income States provide climate finance to developing nations beyond existing official development assistance. The briefing also analyzes trends in the Committee's Concluding Observations from 2008 to 2019, noting a higher frequency of climate-related recommendations for developed countries and a strong focus on mitigation, adaptation, and international cooperation.

The 2020 Drawdown Report argues that the world can reach the Drawdown point by the mid-2040s if existing climate solutions are deployed with high ambition. The analysis categorizes 76 solutions into three primary areas: reducing emissions sources (electricity, food/agriculture, industry, transport, and buildings), strengthening natural carbon sinks (terrestrial, coastal, and oceanic), and improving society through health and education. The report emphasizes that these solutions are interconnected and that the net operational savings significantly outweigh the implementation costs, with estimated savings of 95.1–145.5 trillion USD against implementation costs of 22.5–28.4 trillion USD.

The report identifies 76 climate solutions categorized into reducing emission sources, reinforcing carbon sinks, and improving social equity. It argues that the world can reach the Drawdown point by the mid-2040s if existing solutions are scaled rapidly, noting that the net operational savings of these solutions outweigh implementation costs by four to five times. Key high-impact solutions include reducing food waste, improving health and education, and transitioning to renewable energy like wind and solar. The document emphasizes that these solutions are interconnected and require 'accelerators' such as policy changes and capital shifts to achieve the necessary scale and speed.

The Drawdown Review 2020 argues that the world can reach Drawdown by the mid-2040s to mid-2060s by scaling existing technologies and practices. The framework categorizes solutions into reducing emission sources, supporting carbon sinks, and improving society. The report emphasizes that the financial benefits of these solutions, with operational savings exceeding implementation costs four to five times over, outweigh the costs of action.

The report examines the technical, legal, and strategic landscape of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), arguing that current technology is often ineffective and hindered by outdated legal frameworks. It assesses specific risks to Norwegian infrastructure, such as airports and oil platforms, and explores how Norway can leverage EU and NATO initiatives to enhance its capabilities while avoiding the over-securitization of civilian airspace.

The 'science oath for the climate' is a pledge signed by nearly 600 scientists and engineers to act against catastrophic climate disruption. Signatories commit to communicating scientific evidence without compromise, resisting political or economic pragmatism when discussing the 1.5°C and 2°C Paris Agreement targets, and reducing their own carbon emissions. The document includes a comprehensive list of signatories from various global academic and professional institutions.

The report analyzes how shifting from current diets to planet-based diets—which prioritize plant-based foods over animal-source foods—can mitigate biodiversity loss, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower premature mortality globally. It identifies five strategic actions: reversing biodiversity loss, living within a global carbon budget for food, feeding humanity on existing cropland, achieving negative emissions, and optimizing crop yields. While global trends show clear benefits, the report emphasizes that impacts vary by country; for instance, some undernourished nations may see increased land-use pressure if dietary improvements are not coupled with sustainable production and reduced waste. The document concludes with policy recommendations for national governments to integrate sustainable diets into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and update National Dietary Guidelines (NDGs).

The document highlights the critical risk that unsustainable groundwater abstraction poses to Cape Town's water resilience and ecosystems, particularly following a severe drought between 2015 and 2019. It details a citizen science pilot project revealing a high number of unregistered boreholes in areas like Newlands and Epping. To address these gaps, the Table Mountain Water Source Partnership was formed in 2020 to integrate government, private sector, and community efforts in monitoring groundwater levels and quality.

The document argues that current oil and gas expansion plans are incompatible with Paris Agreement goals, as emissions from existing fields alone would likely exceed the 1.5°C limit. It highlights a projected USD 1.4 trillion investment in new extraction between 2020 and 2024, primarily in North America, and calls for a managed phase-out of fossil fuels supported by government bans on new licenses and a shift toward renewable energy.

The report evaluates fixed, volumetric, and capacity-based distribution network tariffs against the EU's Electricity Regulation. It argues that high fixed charges and non-dynamic contracted capacity charges may hinder the transition to a decentralised energy system by discouraging flexibility and demand response. The author suggests that volumetric time-of-use charges and critical peak capacity charges are most likely to meet the CEP's requirements for cost-reflectivity and the fostering of innovation and flexibility.

A group of NGOs supports the EU's proposal to restrict lead stabilisers in PVC but argues that the current draft is insufficiently protective. They specifically oppose higher lead concentration limits for recycled PVC, claiming such derogations are based on flawed end-of-life assumptions and contradict the EU's circular economy goals. The NGOs advocate for a total phase-out of lead in PVC, regardless of its function or whether the material is virgin or recycled, citing the non-threshold neurotoxicity of lead.

A coalition of environmental and health NGOs calls on the European Commission to establish a long-term chemicals regulatory framework for 2030. The document argues that current EU legislation, including REACH, has significant compliance gaps and fails to protect vulnerable populations from hazardous substances like endocrine disruptors and nanomaterials. The authors propose a 'non-toxic circular economy' that eliminates 'toxic recycling' through full chemical disclosure and stricter standards for recycled materials. Key demands include the phase-out of the most dangerous chemical groups, the creation of an industry-funded independent safety testing system, and the reorganization of Commission governance to give DG Environment full responsibility for chemical pollution policies.

The document presents a series of recommendations from a coalition of NGOs to strengthen the EU Fisheries Control System. Key priorities include the mandatory implementation of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) to ensure compliance with the Landing Obligation, extending tracking and reporting requirements to small-scale vessels, and improving the traceability of seafood products. The NGOs also call for the establishment of an EU Fisheries Control Data Centre to address data gaps and the introduction of transparency requirements, such as making audit reports and sanction data public. Additionally, the document advocates for a strengthened mandate for the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the digitalization of the EU IUU Regulation's catch certification system.

The document provides statistical annexes detailing the frequency and magnitude of Member State requests for Total Allowable Catches (TACs) that exceeded scientific advice between 2017 and 2019. It tracks metrics for France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, focusing on the number of comparisons where TACs were greater than advice and the average percentage by which they exceeded that advice.