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As of the end of 2025, the Climate Bonds Initiative recorded a cumulative aligned GSS+ debt volume of USD6.8tn, with annual aligned volume reaching USD1.0tn for the third consecutive year. Green bonds remain the dominant label, accounting for 64% of 2025 aligned volume (USD653.5bn), while sustainability bonds reached a record annual volume of USD217.3bn. Europe leads globally in both annual and cumulative aligned volume, though the USA remains the largest single country source of cumulative aligned volume at USD887.4bn. The report also highlights the launch of the Climate Bonds Resilience Taxonomy (CBRT) to address the funding gap for climate adaptation and resilience, exemplified by the world's first CBRT-certified resilience bond issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

ClientEarth argues that the MSFD has failed to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by its 2020 deadline and proposes a revision that turns GES into a binding 'obligation of result'. The response calls for clear, quantifiable EU-wide thresholds, the introduction of interim targets, and a strict non-deterioration obligation. It emphasizes the need for policy coherence between the MSFD and the proposed Ocean Act, as well as the alignment of fisheries management and climate obligations with marine protection. Furthermore, it advocates for dedicated funding streams and the introduction of robust compliance mechanisms, including access to justice, dissuasive penalties, and a right to compensation for damages resulting from breaches of the directive.

The ICJ's 2025 Advisory Opinion establishes that states have binding legal obligations to protect the climate system, which includes phasing out fossil fuel production and subsidies. This finding challenges the legal basis for many investor-state claims, as it undermines the 'legitimate expectations' of investors in carbon-intensive industries and provides states with stronger defenses against claims of fair and equitable treatment (FET) violations. The brief argues that the prospect of ISDS can cause 'regulatory chill,' deterring necessary climate action. It recommends that states reform investment treaties through sector-based carve-outs, restrict forward-looking damages based on projected fossil fuel revenues, and coordinate withdrawals from outdated agreements like the Energy Charter Treaty.

The report examines a diverse array of transition mechanisms, including Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), national sectoral processes in countries like Germany and Chile, and first-mover alliances such as the Powering Past Coal Alliance. It highlights the necessity of national ownership, structured social dialogue, and blended finance to overcome political gridlock and ensure a just transition. The analysis reveals significant gaps in international support, particularly a shortfall in grants and concessional finance for Global South countries and a lack of coordinated global guidance for designing transition roadmaps.

The document outlines a structured approach to the global transition away from fossil fuels (TAFF), emphasizing that current production and consumption plans are misaligned with 1.5°C pathways. It proposes that effective TAFF roadmaps must be anchored in science, justice, and national ownership, while integrating elements such as subsidy reform, economic diversification, and decommissioning. The guide highlights the necessity of international coordination between producer and consumer countries to manage systemic risks, reform global finance, and ensure a just and orderly transition.

Between September 1 and December 18, 2025, 22,158 lobbyist entries were recorded at the European Parliament, with private interests accounting for 59% of visits. The report highlights a pervasive presence of American lobbyists (95% presence rate) and fossil fuel representatives (87.5% presence rate), who utilized direct access and professional consultancies to influence the Omnibus I law. A case study on ExxonMobil reveals the company spent between €1.3 million and €1.7 million on consultancies alone in 2025 to target climate legislation. The analysis concludes that this lobbying effort, supported by a right-wing/far-right parliamentary majority, successfully secured the removal of climate transition plans from the legislation.

Between September 1 and December 18, 2025, the European Parliament recorded 22,158 lobbyist entries, with private interests accounting for 59% of these visits. The report highlights a disproportionate presence of US-based lobbyists and fossil fuel interests, who were present 87.5% of the time during the studied period. This influence was particularly concentrated around the negotiation of the Omnibus I law, which modified the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The analysis reveals that fossil fuel lobbyists often entered the Parliament without declared appointments to engage in informal interactions. A case study of ExxonMobil demonstrates a complex lobbying chain involving direct visits, professional consultancies, and trade associations, totaling over 650 entries in four months to push for the removal of climate transition plans.

The global pipeline for wind and utility-scale solar projects grew by 11% in 2025, reaching 4.9 TW. While China and India lead in construction and prospective capacity, G7 nations show stagnant growth in their pipelines, creating a gap in meeting the COP28 goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy chokepoint through which approximately 20% of the world's oil and LNG flows. Japan, South Korea, India, and China are the most exposed, collectively accounting for 75% of oil and 59% of LNG flows through the route. Japan is identified as the most at-risk country due to its extreme reliance on imported fossil fuels. A blockade could trigger global price surges, potentially pushing oil to USD 130 or even USD 300 per barrel. The document suggests that transitioning to renewables and electrification, as seen in Europe's response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, is essential to mitigate these geopolitical risks.

The document critiques the current Ghana-Germany relationship as being over-specialised in skills diffusion (TVET) and SME support, which it deems structurally irrelevant to Ghana's ambitious 24-Hour Economy (24HE) initiative. It contrasts this with the early post-colonial era (1950s-1970s) when the partnership focused on industrial diplomacy, plant construction, and technology transfer. The author argues that Ghana's current needs—industrial corridors, logistics synchronisation, and capacity maximisation—require a 'vanguardist' model where industrial spearheads are built first to create the demand for skills, rather than the current 'platform-first' approach of training before industrial uptake. The paper proposes a 'Ghana-Germany Youth Employment & Value-Chain Compact' to target 200,000 youth placements across five priority value chains over three years, integrating German strengths in automation, standards, and energy systems with Ghanaian industrial goals.

The document argues that fossil fuel companies use sports sponsorship and advertising to gain social license and normalize polluting consumption, which hinders climate policy. It calls for Norway to implement a ban on fossil fuel advertising, similar to restrictions on tobacco and alcohol, noting that a Klimakultur poll across seven countries shows majority support for such bans in winter sports due to concerns over snow loss.

The report defines clean firm generation as dispatchable, low-emission electricity sources that do not rely on weather, including nuclear fission, fusion, geothermal, and carbon-capture-enabled fossil or bioenergy. It argues that integrating these technologies can significantly lower the total amount of wind, solar, and storage capacity needed, thereby reducing land use, critical mineral requirements, and overall system costs. The authors identify a 'missing middle' or 'valley of death' in financing for these capital-intensive projects and propose a multi-layered policy approach—combining RD&D, direct procurement, and technology-neutral targets—to achieve systemic bankability.

The briefing asserts that authoritarian regimes, specifically Russia, China, and Iran, are using hybrid warfare to undermine trust in democratic institutions and divide liberal societies. It argues that current government responses are too siloed and reactive, failing to deliver results. To counter this, the author proposes three strategic pillars: establishing a comprehensive counter-hybrid doctrine that includes asymmetric and offensive capabilities, reorganizing government structures to enable holistic coordination and multi-stakeholder coalitions, and prioritizing strategic communications to outcompete authoritarian narratives both domestically and internationally.

A joint statement by industrial, research, and civil society organisations urging the European Commission to broaden the scope and ambition of the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act to better stimulate demand for low-carbon industrial products in Europe.

A satellite-based analysis by Ember reveals that Polish coal mines were the most frequent fossil fuel methane super-emitters in the EU in 2025. Despite a ban on routine venting from drainage systems that took effect in January 2025 under the EU Methane Regulation, five Polish drainage systems were observed venting methane. The report highlights a critical gap in enforcement, noting that Poland has not established the required national penalty framework. Coking coal mines were responsible for the vast majority of super-emitter events, and the analysis suggests that captured drainage methane could have provided significant heating energy for Polish households.

China is repositioning its coal fleet to serve as a regulatory and security resource to manage the variability of its growing renewable energy sector. This transition is driven by a critical need for short-term flexibility, with the IEA estimating that these needs will be three times higher in 2030 than in 2022. To achieve this, the Chinese government has implemented a series of Five-Year Plans and policies, including a target to retrofit "above 200 GW" of coal capacity for flexibility between 2021 and 2025. Technical efforts focus on lowering minimum loads (ML) to 25-40% of rated capacity and decoupling heat and electricity generation in combined heat and power (CHP) units. Financial mechanisms supporting this shift include a coal capacity pricing mechanism introduced in 2024 and the use of infrastructure real estate investment trusts (REITs) for eligible plants.

The report highlights that 'next generation geothermal' technologies, such as Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), have expanded the geographic viability of geothermal power beyond volcanic regions. In the EU, approximately 43 GW of capacity could be developed at costs below 100 €/MWh, potentially generating 301 TWh of electricity annually. While Europe has a strong historical foundation in geothermal energy, the report warns that the EU risks losing its leadership to the US and Canada due to slow permitting and a lack of coordinated policy frameworks. It also notes geothermal's potential to meet the rising energy demands of AI data centres and its ability to provide firm, low-carbon power and mineral recovery, such as lithium.

The report documents a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes, book bans, and restrictive legislation in Western countries, noting a convergence of extremist ideologies. It highlights how tech platforms exacerbate these harms through the rollback of protections, the overmoderation of LGBTQ+ content via AI and safety legislation, and the rise of coordinated harassment campaigns like 'transvestigation'.

ClientEarth argues that the proposed Ocean Act must move from 'paper commitments to real practice' by becoming a legally binding Regulation rather than a Directive. The organization advocates for the achievement of 'Good Environmental Status' (GES) under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) as the overarching objective, which would prioritize environmental thresholds over socio-economic goals. Key recommendations include establishing a legally binding target for 30% of EU seas as effectively managed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030, banning bottom trawling in MPAs, and phasing out harmful fisheries subsidies. ClientEarth also proposes 'Ocean Mainstreaming' to integrate marine protection across all EU sectoral policies and calls for stronger enforcement mechanisms, including access to justice and infringement proceedings, to close the existing implementation gap.

The report argues that European security of supply planning and clean procurement policies have been uncoordinated, often resulting in capacity mechanisms that favor fossil fuels and contracts that distort short-term market signals. It proposes a shift toward 'market-aligned' contracting—such as index REC structures—and co-optimized multi-product markets that separately value energy, capacity, and clean attributes to attract clean investment without sacrificing operational efficiency.