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Race to the Top for Climate: Building a cooperative agenda for a globally inter-operable EU-US clean economy transition
The report argues that the EU and US should move away from a combative competitive race toward a cooperative agenda for industrial decarbonisation. It suggests a 'softer' path to alignment that prioritises short-term 'carrots' like cleantech incentives and long-term 'sticks' like harmonised standards, rather than attempting to reconcile contentious issues like carbon pricing. The study advocates expanding cooperation beyond hydrogen and carbon capture to include circular economy solutions and electrification, using a policy mix approach that categorises tools by supply push, price signals, demand pull, and systemic enablers.
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Document type: Report
Navigating Partnerships: Analysing EU-Africa Industrial Policy Relations
The paper examines the evolution of EU-Africa relations from the 1975 Lome Convention to the 2020 Comprehensive Strategy with Africa, highlighting a persistent gap between the African Union's goals for industrialisation and the EU's focus on trade and aid. It argues that the EU's preference for market-led growth and its interest in securing raw materials have led to the marginalisation of industrial policy, technology transfer, and skills development in their partnerships. Despite new initiatives like the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs, the author notes that foreign direct investment remains concentrated in extractive sectors rather than manufacturing.
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Document type: Research paper
Reimagining Global Economic Governance: African and Global Perspectives
The document details a conference focused on the marginalization of Africa within the global economic system, specifically regarding the legacy of structural adjustment and the current lack of representative governance in international financial institutions. It identifies critical barriers to African development, including inflated risk premiums that cost the continent over $74 billion annually and the failure of the Global North to deliver over $1 trillion in promised climate financing. The report proposes a tiered reform agenda: short-term priorities include debt cancellation and increased access to Special Drawing Rights; medium-term goals focus on improving credit ratings through better data and combating illicit financial flows; and long-term goals aim for greater representation in the IMF and World Bank. Additionally, it explores the potential for Africa to leverage its natural capital and critical minerals for the energy transition, while cautioning against new dependencies on China as the world shifts toward a multipolar order.
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Document type: Report
Joint Statement by 300+ Civil Society Organisations
A coalition of over 300 civil society and animal welfare organisations opposes the European Commission's proposal to downgrade the protection status of wolves in the EU. The signatories argue that there is no scientific basis for such a change, as wolf populations remain vulnerable in many regions and culling is not proven to reduce livestock depredation. They call for the maintenance of strict protections under the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive, while advocating for increased investment in non-lethal prevention measures, improved compensation schemes, and science-based public awareness campaigns.
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Document type: Statement
Tekstiili ringlussevõtu tehnoloogiate uuring ja analüüs
The study finds that Estonia lacks the capacity to recycle textile waste, meaning even separately collected materials currently end up in landfills or incinerators. It estimates annual consumption of new clothing and home textiles at approximately 16,200 tonnes, noting that actual consumption may be 10–20% higher due to foreign purchases. To address these gaps, the report recommends establishing sorting capabilities, funding innovative recycling technologies, and implementing an extended producer responsibility system.
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Document type: Report
Ember’s four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner
Ember proposes four key actions for the EU Energy Commissioner: a "Smart Electrification" Action Plan to shift subsidies toward clean technologies, a "Future Grids" Task Force to implement existing grid policies, a joint DG ENER-DG AGRI strategy for agri-PV to align energy and agricultural policies, and a transition to open energy data and system models to improve transparency and investment decisions.
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Document type: Statement
The EU’s Grid Policy Framework
Ember's briefing evaluates the EU's current grid policy framework, which includes the Grid Action Plan and revised Electricity Market Design. While identifying over 80 action points for implementation, the analysis highlights risks regarding the lack of target dates for many Commission-led actions and underutilised funding for Distribution System Operators (DSOs). To address these gaps, Ember recommends establishing a "Future Grids" Task Force for coordination, a one-stop-shop to simplify access to financing, and a Technical Toolbox to accelerate the digitalisation of distribution grids.
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Document type: Briefing
Four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner
Ember proposes four primary initiatives for the EU Energy Commissioner: the creation of a "Future Grids" Task Force to coordinate grid policy and finance, a transition to open energy data and open-source system models, a joint DG ENER and DG AGRI strategy for agri-PV, and a "Smart Electrification" Action Plan to promote energy storage and demand-side flexibility.
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Document type: Briefing
Fashions' Plastic Paralysis
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.
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Document type: Executive summary
Green Iron Corridors: Transforming the Steel Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future
The document argues for a shift in steel production to reduce the sector's 11% contribution to global CO2 emissions, particularly as demand is projected to rise by 12% to 36% by 2050. It suggests 'green iron corridors'—where ironmaking occurs in areas with abundant iron ore and renewable energy, and steelmaking occurs in demand centers—to achieve cost and energy savings. The report estimates that restructuring half of primary steelmaking to use green iron could save over $25 billion annually for the top 10 importers, and fast-tracking corridors to the EU and Asia could abate approximately 30 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030.
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Document type: Report
Trade and Climate in the WTO: What Can We Learn from Preferential Trade Agreements
The document examines how preferential trade agreements (PTAs) can be designed to accelerate the green transition and influence WTO policy. It identifies three key areas for climate-focused provisions—fossil fuel subsidies, environmental goods and services, and investment protections—while noting that many current PTA provisions remain vague. The authors recommend focusing on win-win solutions, increasing non-state actor participation, boosting capacity building for low- and middle-income countries, improving impact assessments, and strengthening enforcement mechanisms. Finally, it suggests that PTAs can act as testing grounds for innovative rules that can later be multilateralized through WTO initiatives like the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD).
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Document type: Briefing
Prospects for development and integration of African battery value chains
The document analyzes the potential for African nations to move beyond the "pit to port" model of mineral extraction by building integrated battery mineral value chains. It highlights Africa's significant reserves of cobalt, manganese, graphite, and vanadium, and examines the macroeconomic shift from fossil fuel revenues to transition mineral revenues. The paper identifies Morocco as a leader in integrating automotive assembly with battery material production and discusses the potential for South Africa to act as a regional integrator. It concludes that while a continent-wide strategy is unlikely, sub-regional strategies and national policy instruments—such as strategic non-alignment and targeted industrial policies for e-mobility—can help African countries capture more value from their mineral endowments.
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Document type: Research paper
El fracaso del sistema multilateral actual
The statement claims that global governance is currently dominated by transnational corporations and a few powerful nations, leading to the marginalization of the Global South and the failure to address climate change and inequality. It criticizes the upcoming Summit of the Future as likely to maintain the neoliberal status quo and demands the abolition of the UN Security Council veto, the restructuring of financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank, and the reform of trade and intellectual property regimes to support the Global South.
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Document type: Statement
L’échec du système multilatéral actuel
Friends of the Earth International, alongside other organizations, asserts that global governance is currently paralyzed by geopolitical tensions and the influence of transnational corporations, which marginalizes the Global South and fails to solve existential crises. The statement criticizes the upcoming UN 'Summit of the Future' as likely to maintain the neoliberal status quo and proposes a new framework based on equity between nations, the removal of veto powers in the UN Security Council, and the prioritization of civil society over corporate interests.
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Document type: Statement
The Failure of the Current Multilateral System
The statement contends that global governance is dominated by corporate interests and a few powerful nations, marginalizing the Global South and failing to solve crises like climate change. It criticizes the upcoming Summit of the Future as a likely exercise in maintaining the neoliberal status quo. The authors advocate for a democratic global government that abolishes the UN Security Council veto, restructures the IMF and World Bank, reforms trade and intellectual property regimes to support the Global South, and establishes accountable data and AI governance.
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Document type: Statement
2024 ou l'année de la procrastination : la BCE doit accélérer sur le climat
The European Central Bank (ECB) is criticized for making limited progress on climate action in 2024, specifically regarding its collateral framework, despite the increasing urgency of the climate crisis.
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Document type: Statement
2024: or the Year of Procrastination – the ECB needs to accelerate on climate
The ECB is criticized for limited progress on climate action in 2024, with the author arguing that current efforts are insufficient. While noting some advances in nature inclusion and fossil fuel exclusions in non-monetary portfolios, the document highlights missed opportunities in monetary policy and the abandonment of greening measures for the collateral framework. It calls for transparent sanctions against banks failing climate risk assessments, the adoption of robust transition plans, the exclusion of fossil fuel assets from collateral, and the consideration of dual interest rates in the upcoming 2025 monetary policy strategy review.
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Document type: Statement
Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2025
The document argues that the EU has failed its legal deadline to end overfishing by 2020 and calls for 2025 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) to be set well below scientific advice to build ecosystem resilience against climate change. It specifically recommends stricter management for the Western Mediterranean, depleted stocks with zero-catch advice, and deep-sea species, while urging the full implementation of the Landing Obligation through remote electronic monitoring.
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Document type: Statement
NGOs call on you to set sustainable, ecosystem-based fishing opportunities for 2025
A group of NGOs is calling on the EU and UK to adopt precautionary, ecosystem-based fishing limits for 2025. They argue that current practices often exceed scientific advice, undermining biodiversity and climate resilience. The letter demands catch limits well below single-stock advice, full implementation of the western Mediterranean multiannual plan, and increased transparency in negotiations.
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Document type: Statement
Setting Sustainable, Ecosystem-based Fishing Limits For 2025
A coalition of environmental organisations calls on the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to adopt precautionary, ecosystem-based catch limits for 2025. The authors argue that current scientific advice often fails to account for ecosystem integrity and that setting limits at or above this advice undermines marine biodiversity and climate resilience. They specifically recommend setting limits below International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advice for forage fish and abundant stocks in mixed fisheries, eliminating bycatch, and increasing transparency in negotiations with the EU.
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Document type: Statement