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The Energy Supply Financing Ratio (ESFR) compares a bank's financing of fossil fuels against its financing of sustainable alternatives, with a target ratio of 6:1 by 2030 based on IEA scenarios. Reclaim Finance warns that varying methodologies allow banks to present misleading ratios, often by excluding capital market activities or including fossil-fuel-related technologies like CCUS in 'low-carbon' scopes. While some North American and French banks have begun publishing these ratios, significant gaps in transparency and scope persist.

The Energy Supply Financing Ratio (ESFR) compares a bank's financing of fossil fuels against its financing of sustainable energy alternatives. Based on the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario, a ratio of 6:1 is required by 2030 to meet climate goals. However, Reclaim Finance finds that the 65 largest global banks averaged a ratio of only 0.42:1 between 2021 and 2024. The document warns that banks often use misleading methodologies—such as excluding capital markets activities or including fossil-fuel-linked technologies like CCUS in 'low-carbon' categories—to greenwash their climate strategies.

Reclaim Finance calls on European public reinsurers, specifically Flood Re (UK), CCS (Spain), and SACE (Italy), to follow the example of France's Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR) by committing to cease new investments in companies developing new oil and gas projects. The document asserts that financing fossil fuel expansion contradicts the mandate of these entities to preserve the insurability of climate risks, noting that a world warming by 3°C would render such risks untransferable to the insurance sector. It highlights that bonds make up between 70% and 97% of the financial asset portfolios of these public reinsurers, providing a significant lever for change. Furthermore, the author urges these actors to demand alignment from their asset managers and to integrate financial incentives or strict conditions into reinsurance contracts for insurance clients that continue to support fossil fuel development.

Global Witness reports that Mondelez has shifted from supporting the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to actively lobbying for its weakening and delay. The company has engaged with US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder, joined the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, and targeted conservative MEPs and government officials in France, Germany, Ireland, and Luxembourg. This lobbying occurs despite Mondelez's lack of transparency regarding its deforestation-free cocoa supply and its links to forest destruction in West Africa.

The policy brief examines the 'cross-chain' risks in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain, where delays in transport or storage infrastructure leave industrial emitters facing a 'double burden': the cost of capture equipment and continued EU ETS payments for uncaptured emissions. It contrasts the EU's current funding gaps with the UK's 'CCS business models' and suggests the EU utilize ETS revenues or the proposed Industrial Decarbonisation Bank to provide financial safeguards during infrastructure outages.

The document argues that financial choices are often overlooked in corporate decarbonization strategies despite the direct impact of bank deposits, asset managers, and insurers on the real economy. It encourages organizations to shift their funds toward financial institutions with robust climate commitments and identifies specific French institutions that limit their support for fossil fuel expansion.

The document analyzes the CSDDD's environmental scope, due diligence obligations, and enforcement mechanisms following the Omnibus I Directive amendments. It argues that the current scope is too narrow, particularly regarding downstream activities and climate transition plans, and recommends that Member States use their transposition discretion to strengthen environmental protections, ensure a comprehensive definition of environmental impacts, and establish robust civil liability and administrative enforcement regimes.

The document asserts that climate change is a systemic financial risk that threatens the global economy and the living conditions of beneficiaries, thereby making climate action an integral part of an asset owner's fiduciary duty. It advocates for a 'systemic approach' that prioritizes long-term stability over short-term gains, urging asset owners to halt capital allocation to fossil fuel expansion, engage aggressively with portfolio companies, influence asset managers, and advocate for ambitious public policies. The report highlights that current risk models often underestimate the potential for catastrophic economic losses, which could reach 50% of global GDP by the end of the century.

The report models a hypothetical national EPR framework in the U.S. to evaluate the economic benefits of harmonization over fragmented state-level policies. Key findings indicate that such a framework could reduce municipal waste management costs by 49%–53%, generate $111 billion in economic value added over 10 years, and significantly lower producer compliance costs. The analysis also highlights job creation in recycling infrastructure and innovation, particularly in the food and beverage sector, and examines the potential for improved domestic rPET markets and rural recycling access.

Recent European heatwaves have forced nuclear plants in France, Romania, and Hungary to reduce output or shut down due to high river temperatures and low water levels, which trigger environmental protections for aquatic ecosystems. While these disruptions are environmental operating constraints rather than safety failures, they highlight the need for climate-resilient design. Adaptation options include transitioning to indirect or dry cooling systems, utilizing deeper seawater for coastal plants, and deploying advanced reactors or small modular reactors that require less water. The document emphasizes that these challenges are shared by other thermal power plants and that future energy planning must incorporate projected climate conditions into siting and design.

The 2026 wildfire season has seen record-breaking burn areas, with roughly 579,000 square miles burned globally in the first four months. This trend is driven by a powerful El Niño, hydroclimate 'whiplash', and the expansion of fires into previously immune regions. These conditions have led to over 110 military deployments across 49 countries between January and July 2026, straining defense priorities and threatening critical infrastructure. The document analyzes different military response models—ranging from Spain's dedicated standing unit (UME) to Indonesia's integrated civilian-military approach—and recommends expanding collaborative models, investing in joint training, and building international interoperability to manage wildfires as a standing security challenge.

The research evaluates the impact of AI on the detectability of SSBNs, finding that AI enhancements are most effective in shallow waters (0-200 ft). This creates asymmetric strategic risks: the US enjoys a geographic advantage with direct deep-water access, while Russia and China's reliance on 'bastion' strategies is reinforced by AI's ability to secure shallow perimeters. The UK and France are identified as particularly vulnerable during the transit phase from port to deep ocean. While AI improves the 'Search' and 'Classify' phases of the detection chain, the authors conclude that fundamental physics and the cost asymmetry between seeking and hiding prevent the realization of 'transparent oceans,' though the perception of such a shift could destabilize nuclear strategic stability.

Reclaim Finance criticizes the Council of the European Union for proposing that "transition" funds under the SFDR be available to oil and gas companies, provided they meet a 20% EU Taxonomy capex threshold and set Scope 1 and 2 targets. The author contends this position, influenced by lobbying from entities like TotalEnergies and the French government, ignores Scope 3 emissions and allows continued fossil fuel expansion. The document calls on the European Parliament to exclude companies developing new oil and gas projects from such funds to ensure the credibility of sustainable finance.

Reclaim Finance criticizes the EU Council's June 2026 position on the SFDR, which would allow fossil fuel developers to access "transition" funds based on a 20% capex alignment with the EU taxonomy and scope 1 and 2 decarbonization targets. The author contends this approach, influenced by oil and gas lobbying—specifically TotalEnergies and the French government—ignores scope 3 emissions and risks legitimizing greenwashing. The document calls on the European Parliament to exclude companies developing new oil and gas projects from such funds during its September 2026 deliberations.

The We Mean Business Coalition outlines ten policy principles to help governments accelerate clean electrification by providing clear strategic direction, financial incentives, infrastructure investment, and regulatory standards. The framework emphasizes that while pathways vary by national context, governments must address system-wide barriers—such as grid connection delays and fossil fuel subsidies—to unlock large-scale business investment and enhance energy security.

The report analyzes the July 2026 wildfires in France and Spain, finding that anthropogenic warming significantly increased the probability and intensity of the fire-conducive weather. In central Spain, similar conditions are now at least 20 times more likely than in a pre-industrial climate, while in southwest France, they are at least twice as likely. The study highlights a 'weather whiplash' pattern where above-average winter rainfall promoted biomass growth, followed by extreme heatwaves and drought that dried fuels. The impact was exacerbated by high human exposure due to population growth in the wildland-urban interface and the presence of flammable maritime pine monocultures in France. The fires caused severe air quality degradation, with PM2.5 levels in Bordeaux exceeding 'fair' thresholds by a factor of 20, leading to the first-ever distribution of the French strategic national reserve of FFP2 masks during an ambient pollution episode.

The European summer of 2026 has been marked by exceptional heat and widespread dryness, leading to severe agricultural and hydrological impacts. Analysis shows that while precipitation trends vary by region, human-induced climate change has significantly increased the likelihood and intensity of drought by driving higher potential evapotranspiration (PET). In the western region, soil drought is estimated to be 5 times more likely than in a climate 1.4°C cooler, while in the eastern region, it is about 11 times more probable. The study highlights a compound crisis where rainfall deficits that previously would not have caused drought now do so because of shifted thresholds driven by warming.

The policy brief argues that the proposed €100 billion Industrial Decarbonisation Bank (IDB) must move beyond fragmented grants to a coordinated system of carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs), project development support, and shared infrastructure funding. It highlights a significant delivery gap in existing EU programs, noting that only 16 of 208 Innovation Fund grant agreements had entered operation by June 2025. To resolve this, the author recommends technology-neutral auctions with sector-specific caps, two-way CCfD settlements referenced to EU ETS prices, and the sequencing of infrastructure delivery to align with industrial final investment decisions (FID).

QuotaClimat has issued 17 recommendations to the French government to ensure the upcoming national plan on environmental and climate information effectively tackles disinformation. These proposals focus on monitoring media coverage, protecting environmental spokespeople, funding research, and strengthening regulatory frameworks like the Digital Services Act and the roles of VIGINUM and Arcom. The initiative follows France's commitment to the Global Declaration for Climate Information Integrity at COP30 and recommendations from the High Council for the Climate 2025 report.

The document reports that non-fossil sources reached a record 46.2% of the global electricity mix in April, with wind and solar accounting for 21.3%. It discusses how the instability of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the fragility of fossil fuel supply chains, prompting countries like China, Poland, and the Philippines to accelerate electrification and renewable energy adoption. Despite this, global fossil fuel subsidies are expected to exceed USD 1 trillion this year, and major energy firms like Shell and BP are pivoting back toward traditional oil and gas models. The text also notes the climate risks evidenced by record heatwaves in Europe and record global carbon emissions in 2025.