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The 2019 Scorecard on Insurance, Coal and Climate Change reveals a growing trend of insurance companies exiting the coal sector. While 17 insurers have limited or ended cover for coal projects—controlling 9.5% of the primary insurance market and 46.4% of the reinsurance market—significant gaps remain. Most policies exclude new projects but continue to cover existing operations. Swiss Re and Zurich are identified as leaders in underwriting, while Legal & General leads in broader climate leadership. Conversely, many US and East Asian insurers are described as 'missing in action,' continuing to provide cover and investment for coal. The report argues that as insurance becomes harder to obtain, coal projects become less bankable, accelerating the industry's demise.

The document examines the UK carpet waste stream, asserting that the voluntary industry body Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) has engaged in greenwashing by relying on incineration and downcycling rather than carpet-to-carpet recycling. It highlights that while landfill diversion rose to 44% by 2018, the majority of this is achieved through incineration, which carries significant climate and health costs. The authors call for the UK government to implement mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to drive genuine circularity.

The document examines how the consumption of Argentine soy in Europe and other regions externalizes environmental and social costs to Argentina, complicating the achievement of SDGs. It highlights significant land-use change, GHG emissions, and mixed social impacts, while recommending bilateral cooperation between Argentina and the EU to mitigate these spillovers.

The document argues that while SADC countries face significant digital divides and infrastructure gaps, adopting 4IR technologies is essential for economic growth. It identifies key constraints as a lack of ICT infrastructure, policy agility, and digital skills, suggesting that spectrum and infrastructure sharing are vital for improving affordability and coverage.

The report argues that Kellogg's has prioritised short-term financial gains over public health in Mexico by reducing essential micronutrients in its cereals. It estimates that while the company saved approximately $85 million over five years, the resulting social cost to Mexico exceeds $250 million, meaning every dollar saved by the company destroys roughly three dollars in social value.

The briefing examines the UK carpet waste stream, criticizing the industry's reliance on incineration and downcycling under the guise of recycling. It argues that voluntary initiatives have failed and proposes a mandatory EPR framework to incentivize eco-design and closed-loop recycling.

The document advocates for enhancing public participation in climate policies by leveraging international legal instruments like the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement. It identifies specific entry points at COP-25—including Article 6 market mechanisms, the Lima Work Programme on Gender, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform—where procedural rights and safeguards for environmental defenders should be strengthened. It further suggests using the transparency framework's interactive dialogues to review how public participation improves national climate ambition.

The document highlights the success of Brazil's monitoring and enforcement strategy, specifically the DETER system, in reducing Amazon deforestation. It provides evidence that these measures avoided significant forest loss between 2007 and 2016 without harming agricultural productivity. The brief warns that proposed budget cuts to these systems could lead to a 45% increase in deforestation and urges the federal government to restore financial and institutional support.

The report finds that 72% of Americans believe global warming is happening, with 59% attributing it to human activities. While 66% express worry and 64% believe it affects U.S. weather, there is a significant gap in understanding the scientific consensus, with only 22% aware that over 90% of climate scientists agree on human-caused warming. Personal experience with climate effects is reported by 46% of respondents, and a majority perceive extreme weather as a risk to their local communities.

The November 2019 survey indicates that 72% of Americans believe global warming is happening, with 59% attributing it to human activities. While 66% express worry and 64% believe it affects U.S. weather, social engagement remains low, as 59% rarely or never discuss the topic with family and friends. There is a notable gap in understanding scientific consensus, with only 22% aware that over 90% of climate scientists agree on human-caused warming.

The document details Russia's high reliance on fossil fuels, which accounted for 90% of its total energy supply in 2017 and 23.6% of general government revenue. It highlights the dominance of state-owned enterprises like Gazprom and Rosneft, the government's strategy to expand exports to the Asia-Pacific region, and the significant fiscal gap created by the under-taxation of fossil fuel consumption. The report also examines various forms of production and consumption subsidies, as well as the role of the National Welfare Fund in managing windfall revenues.

The Young Digital Leaders 2019 report evaluates a digital citizenship education (DCE) programme implemented in Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania. The initiative, supported by Google.org, aimed to empower students aged 1116, upskill teachers, and equip parents to foster positive online engagement. Evaluation data shows significant gains in participants' understanding of digital concepts like echo chambers and filter bubbles, though the report notes that short-term workshops are less effective at changing long-term attitudes and behaviours than teacher-led, slower-paced delivery. The report recommends that the European Commission adopt the Council of Europe's definition of digital citizenship and that national governments embed DCE into school curricula across multiple subjects.

The document examines the soy value chain from Argentina to Europe, highlighting how environmental and social costs are externalized to the producer. It argues that achieving SDGs 12 and 17 requires consumption-based accounting and bilateral cooperation to manage these spillovers.

Albania is highly vulnerable to extreme weather, particularly floods and droughts, despite having 100 per cent renewable power generation. To address this, the government established the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Climate Change in 2014 and developed a National Adaptation Plan (NAP), making it the only Balkan country to do so. With support from the NAP Global Network and GIZ, Albania has integrated adaptation into its National Strategy on Climate Change (approved July 2, 2019) and is working on urban resilience through 'Action 12', which requires an estimated USD 50 million in funding for municipal adaptation plans.

The briefing identifies four primary technical approaches to achieve net-zero industrial emissions by 2050: efficient material use, high-quality recirculation using renewable energy, new production processes, and carbon capture and use/storage (CCUS). It argues that the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors—including oil, mining, shipbuilding, steel, chemicals, and machinery—is essential for Europe to meet its climate goals. To facilitate this, the document recommends that policymakers provide strategic clarity on hydrogen and biomass, unlock investment, implement carbon pricing to create market demand, and align infrastructure plans with the transition.

The report evaluates the environmental impact of 25,787 electric vehicles in Santander Consumer Bank's Norwegian portfolio as of July 2019. It calculates that these vehicles avoid 28,600 tons of direct CO2 emissions annually compared to a fossil-fuel baseline, while generating 13,600 tons of indirect emissions from electricity production, resulting in a net reduction of 15,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The report argues that the production of fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) for aquaculture is precipitating the collapse of fish populations and threatening food security in regions like India, Vietnam, and Gambia. It maps supply chains linking unsustainable and often illegal fishing practices to major European retailers and global aquafeed companies, while critiquing the Marine Ingredients Organisation (IFFO) for providing a 'smoke screen' of sustainability through its certifications. The document recommends a transition away from wild-caught fish in aquafeeds toward sustainable alternatives and the cultivation of species that do not require FMFO.

The report analyzes 61 green bonds (USD 56.6bn) from H1 2019, finding that EUR green bonds generally outperformed vanilla equivalents in oversubscription and spread compression. While 53% of allocations went to self-declared green investors, two-thirds of the sample priced without a new issue premium, and 61% showed tighter spreads than comparable bonds 28 days after pricing. A sector spotlight reveals that half of EUR Utility bonds issued in Q2 2019 were green, significantly exceeding the global average for the sector.

The report analyzes how the AKP government has shifted Turkish foreign policy toward a more proactive, ideologically driven approach that leverages historical, cultural, and religious ties to expand regional influence. It examines the role of institutions like the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and the Diyanet in managing these relations. Through case studies in Bulgaria, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Cyprus, and Palestine, the document illustrates how this 'kin-state' politics often leads to the instrumentalization of religion, the exportation of domestic political conflicts, and tensions with host countries, while sometimes being perceived by the target communities as paternalistic or colonizing.

The guide outlines five strategies for implementing 'green meetings' in Asia, focusing on overcoming cultural barriers where offering less can be seen as 'poor'. Key recommendations include engaging leadership early, reforming travel cultures to reduce flights, supporting local communities through sustainable tourism, eliminating single-use plastics and disposables, and using digital tools like event apps to reduce printing and encourage participation.