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The document examines how the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change concurrently degrade the readiness of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It highlights the financial and operational strain caused by severe weather, specifically citing the $3.6 billion in damages to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from Hurricane Florence. The author contends that the DoD should apply the same decisive adaptation strategies used to combat COVID-19 to mitigate long-term climate risks, such as recurrent flooding and wildfires, to ensure national security and deter adversaries.

The document analyzes the digital divide in Africa, exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns, focusing on socio-economic barriers, weak infrastructure, information access, and government-mandated internet shutdowns. It argues that while global and continental frameworks like the AU's Digital Transformation Strategy exist, a multi-stakeholder approach is required to improve affordability, infrastructure, and digital literacy while ending political internet blackouts.

The report advocates for the transformation of information and knowledge management (IKM) to support climate action, specifically targeting donors, knowledge professionals, and data scientists. While focused on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Europe, it proposes that its technological and methodological approaches are applicable globally across various sectors including mitigation and ecological conservation.

The document argues for bridging the gap between climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), noting that while both aim to reduce the impacts of extreme events and build resilience, they are currently hindered by fragmented policy communities, separate funding sources, and incompatible technical language. It advocates for better coherence between these fields to support a resilient green recovery in Europe following the coronavirus pandemic.

The report finds that the German government's proposed emission limits for coal power plants would lead to 26,000 attributable deaths and €73 billion in economic costs between 2022 and 2038. Implementing the best available techniques (BAT) for all plants would reduce deaths to 5,800 and costs to approximately €15.8 billion. The study also highlights significant mercury emissions under the government's plan, which would cause 1,100 deaths and 400,000 IQ points of neurological damage in children.

The document outlines a collaborative project involving the Stockholm Environment Institute, Skogforsk, Einride, and various forest industry stakeholders to identify viable fossil-free transport alternatives for Swedish forest biomass and products. It highlights that forest transport accounts for approximately 25% of heavy truck work on Swedish roads, often utilizing vehicles weighing 64 tons or more. The project focuses on assessing novel battery-electric HGVs against state-of-the-art biofuel solutions, such as HVO100 and liquified biogas (LBG), across three primary use cases: direct transport from forests to industry, trans-shipment logistics, and internal industrial site movements. The evaluation will consider technological fit, full implementation costs, and lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions to recommend solutions for future piloting and demonstration.

The author contends that the EU carbon market (ETS) fails to drive industrial decarbonisation because over 90% of industrial emissions are covered by free allowances, leading to stagnating emissions since 2012 and windfall profits for companies. To address this, the document proposes that the upcoming revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) should remove the explicit exclusion of greenhouse gases (Article 9.1), allowing carbon emission limits to be integrated into environmental permits based on 'best available technology' (BREFs).

The author contends that the European Green Deal lacks necessary provisions to address methane leakage from the oil and gas sector. While some European companies have committed to a "near-zero methane" future, the author argues that voluntary efforts are insufficient and that the EU should implement enforceable regulations and performance standards for both domestic operators and gas importers to drive global reductions.

Six European NGOs are urging the NGFS to push central banks to exclude fossil fuels from recovery plans and asset purchases to ensure a green recovery.

The report examines the potential of semi-industrialized, prefabricated retrofit packages to reduce the complexity, risk, and cost of zero-energy building upgrades. It specifically analyzes the Dutch model pioneered by Energiesprong, which has applied net-zero retrofit packages to approximately 5,000 multifamily units, and evaluates the availability of similar facade panel and mechanical system innovations in the US market to catalyze large-scale industrialized retrofits.

The Green Bond Treasurer Survey finds that while cheaper pricing is often cited as a primary driver, issuers actually value intangible benefits more, such as enhanced reputation, a broader investor base, and improved internal risk management. The survey reveals that 98% of respondents attracted new investors and 91% experienced deeper investor engagement. Most issuers (88%) plan to issue more green bonds, and 85% utilized Second Party Opinions (SPOs) to ensure integrity. The report emphasizes that the process of issuing a green bond often catalyzes internal sustainability commitments and the creation of sustainability committees.

China is the world's largest primary energy consumer and energy-related CO2 emitter. While the country is on track to meet most 2020 targets from its 13th Five-Year Plan, energy-related CO2 emissions continued to grow through 2018, surpassing 10 GtCO2. The report's 'Continuous Improvement Scenario' projects that primary energy consumption will peak in 2029 at 5,400 Mtce and CO2 emissions will peak in 2025 at 10,930 MtCO2, subsequently declining to 5,010 MtCO2 by 2050. This outlook assumes the maximum adoption of commercially available energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, leading to a power system where non-fossil sources generate 89% of electricity by 2050.

The document examines how COVID-19 exposes weaknesses in global institutions and threatens Africa through economic shocks, reduced development aid, and a retreat from multilateralism. It highlights the risk of increased trade protectionism and the potential for climate goals to be sidelined. The author advocates for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the creation of a continental climate finance fund, and a proactive African role in reforming global governance to mitigate these risks.

Reclaim Finance argues that Barclays' new fossil fuel policy is inadequate, citing weak exclusion thresholds for coal, flawed metrics for measuring coal exposure, and limited restrictions on oil and gas projects, particularly in the US and Argentina.

Reclaim Finance argues that Barclays' new fossil fuel policies are inadequate, citing the bank's use of revenue-based rather than capacity-based metrics for coal exclusion and its failure to ban hydraulic fracturing outside Europe and the UK.

The managing director of RMI's Beijing office describes the team's resilience during a 45-day office closure starting in late January 2020. The author emphasizes that the battle against the virus is winnable, noting that Beijing and other Chinese cities had no new local cases in the week prior to the letter's writing. The document highlights the importance of solidarity, patience, and maintaining commitment to a sustainable world during the crisis.

A group of European investors warns Fortum that its support for the Datteln 4 coal plant in Germany and Uniper's legal threats against the Dutch government are misaligned with the Paris Agreement and expose the company to significant market and litigation risks. The investors highlight that 79% of EU coal capacity is already loss-making and urge Fortum to commit to a net-zero emissions trajectory by 2050.

A coalition led by Earthjustice urges the California Air Resources Board to increase zero-emission (ZE) truck sales targets, arguing that initial proposals are insufficient to meet the state's 2045 carbon neutrality goals. Citing analysis from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the authors claim that without stronger mandates, carbon emissions from trucking would only drop by 18% by 2045. The letter proposes specific higher sales percentages for Class 7-8 tractors to meet drayage fleet goals by 2035 and calls for a 'work backwards' approach from 2040 fleet goals to eliminate internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales for urban delivery by 2033. The coalition asserts that technological advancements, falling battery costs, and corporate commitments from entities like Amazon and UPS make these higher targets feasible, shifting the primary barriers from technical or economic to logistical planning.

The document calls for an immediate end to financial support for fossil fuel expansion to meet the 1.5°C climate goal. It criticizes financial institutions for insufficient exclusion policies and highlights the danger of non-conventional hydrocarbons and the continued expansion plans of oil and gas majors.

The text asserts that the climate imperative requires a new system of governance and production, positioning political ecology as the framework to achieve this. It calls for Green parties to move beyond electoral niches and the middle class to build an inclusive narrative of social justice and non-material freedom. The author critiques 'green growth' and the European Green Deal as insufficient, advocating instead for a comprehensive industrial and geo-economic response rooted in European cooperation but distinct from current institutional agendas.