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A joint letter from European and Irish civil society organisations requests that Ireland, during its EU Presidency, advocate for an EU-wide tax on fossil fuel profits at the September 18-19, 2026, ECOFIN meeting. The authors argue that colossal industry profits, including €82 billion in post-tax profits from EU operations in 2023, should be taxed to fund the energy transition, support households, and provide international climate finance. They propose that the European Commission monitor profit margins, analyze national tax best practices, explore tax designs based on the 2022 Solidarity Contribution and models in Norway and the UK, and implement mechanisms to prevent profit shifting, such as unitary taxation of consolidated global profits.

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 report finds that record-breaking sea surface temperatures in July 2026 across European coasts were driven by human-induced climate change, with some regions experiencing warming that substantially exceeds global averages. These extreme temperatures have triggered marine heatwaves, species range shifts, and increased risks to human health and coastal infrastructure. The analysis indicates that such events would have been virtually impossible in a pre-industrial climate and will continue to intensify as global warming progresses.

The letter argues that current EU biomethane policies, such as REPowerEU and REDIII, create structural incentives to maintain industrial livestock production by relying on manure as a feedstock. The authors claim this contradicts European Green Deal goals, which may require a 10-15% reduction in livestock production. They highlight risks to rural communities, including increased heavy goods vehicle traffic on narrow roads, water pollution, and methane leaks. The signatories call for an independent EU-wide impact assessment, a restriction of biomethane to hard-to-electrify industrial sectors using unavoidable waste, and a prioritisation of energy efficiency and agroecology.

The report finds that military climate strategies across 26 nations are largely unambitious, with most emissions uncovered by targets and progress relying on civilian grid decarbonisation or reduced activity rather than military technological innovation. While some success was seen in stationary base emissions in neutral countries like Ireland and Switzerland, core mobile emissions and supply-chain emissions remain largely unaddressed and are likely to rise due to increased global military spending.

The Clean Air Task Force recommends that the EU increase its 2029 public procurement mandates for low-carbon steel to 50% and low-carbon concrete and mortar to 10%. It argues that the current IAA proposal is insufficient to drive investment and suggests expanding mandates to 100% by 2040. The report also proposes extending these requirements to private construction projects over 1000 m2 and private automotive fleets by 2032, while broadening the scope to include low-carbon plastics and fertilisers.

Europe is facing a significant demographic shift characterized by declining working-age populations and increasing old-age dependency, which is expected to create tighter labour markets and labour shortages by 2050. While this trend may stunt GDP growth and complicate investment, it provides an opportunity for trade unions to increase worker bargaining power and revitalize their membership, particularly by organizing the expanding care sector.

In 2025, global coal capacity increased by 3.5% while production fell by 0.6%, as new plants are increasingly built for backup reliability rather than primary generation. This trend is most prominent in China and India, where renewables are meeting most new demand. While the number of countries developing coal projects fell to 32, political interventions in the US and energy security concerns in the EU have delayed planned closures. The EU continues a terminal decline in coal, with solar and wind producing more energy than all fossil fuels combined for the first time in 2025.

The report argues that the TotalEnergies-EPH joint venture (TTEP) locks Europe into fossil gas dependency, increases energy bill volatility through LNG imports, and relies on public subsidies that should be redirected toward clean energy. It highlights that the venture's 12.5 GW gas capacity will produce emissions comparable to entire countries like Ireland or Denmark over five years, while challenging the companies' claims that such assets are necessary for grid flexibility.

The report identifies a recurring 'implementation gap' where adaptation policies increasingly use the language of systemic risk—interconnected hazards, cascading impacts, and deep uncertainty—but continue to operate through hazard- and sector-based routines. Through comparative analysis of the EU, ASEAN, and the US, it finds that mandates, funding, and monitoring systems remain fragmented, often ignoring policy trade-offs and distributional inequities. It concludes by proposing a framework based on systemic risk framing, policy interlinkages, and deep uncertainty management to help decision-makers stress-test investments and avoid maladaptation.

The report provides a detailed analysis of the power sectors of seven major countries and regions in 2025, which collectively represent 72% of global electricity demand. Key trends include China's unprecedented solar growth and first absolute decline in power sector emissions since 2015, the US seeing wind and solar overtake nuclear power for the first time, and the EU's wind and solar generation exceeding fossil generation. India saw renewable growth double its demand increase, while Brazil maintained one of the cleanest systems globally with 87% renewable generation. Conversely, Russia and Japan continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, with Russia's wind and solar remaining marginal at less than 1% of its mix.

Turkey experienced record growth in wind and solar energy capacity in 2025, with combined new installations reaching 6.5 GW and total installed capacity for both sources hitting approximately 40 GW. Solar electricity generation doubled between 2023 and 2025, rising from 18.4 TWh to 37.3 TWh. While Turkey leads in its immediate region, its overall renewable energy share of electricity production (43% in 2025) remains below the European Union average of 48%.

In 2025, wind and solar energy reached a record 22% of Türkiye's electricity generation, though coal remained the largest source at 34%. While the country has a massive 33 GW battery project pipeline that exceeds any single EU nation, it still trails European averages for renewable energy share. Persistent drought has significantly reduced hydroelectric output, increasing reliance on natural gas imports by an estimated $1.8 billion annually. A new purchase guarantee for domestic coal plants starting in 2026 may further increase coal generation, potentially contradicting the country's 2035 target of 120 GW of wind and solar capacity.

Analysis by Zero Carbon Analytics indicates that consecutive climate extremes in the UK—including the 2022 drought, the 2023/2024 wet winter, and the 2025 drought—have repeatedly driven up farmgate lamb prices. The 2023/2024 wet winter had the most significant impact, increasing prices by an estimated 25%. For the 2.6 million UK households that regularly purchase lamb, these events added up to GBP 168 to their grocery bills. The report highlights a 'climate premium' on traditional Easter lamb roasts since 2023, with price increases ranging from 7% to 21%. The findings suggest that while biological grass systems show some recovery, the market buffer of hay stocks has been progressively depleted, increasing the sensitivity of prices to new climate shocks.

Ember's analysis reveals a significant gap between planned renewable energy expansion and available grid capacity in Europe, with at least 120 GW of projects at risk. While some distribution grids can support household electrification, transmission bottlenecks threaten large-scale wind and solar projects, particularly in countries like Austria, Bulgaria, and Poland. The report advocates for 'non-wire solutions' and administrative reforms to unlock capacity and ensure energy security.

The document examines Ireland's climate strategy, highlighting a systemic over-reliance on carbon dioxide removals (CDR) and afforestation to bridge gaps in emission reductions. It identifies significant delivery risks for industrial removals like BECCS, which may not be operational until the mid-2030s, and notes that afforestation targets are consistently missed. The report criticizes the lack of transparency regarding residual emissions and the potential for 'temperature neutrality' goals to lower overall climate ambition.

The report finds that European governments are increasingly integrating carbon dioxide removals (CDR) into their climate strategies, often as a substitute for deep emission reductions. Analysis of the European Commission and six countries reveals a pattern of 'overreliance,' characterized by fragmented planning, a lack of feasibility assessments for engineered removals, and land-sink projections that ignore climate risks or contradict existing forestry policies. The report warns that betting on uncertain future technologies and unstable land sinks risks delaying essential decarbonization and undermining climate targets.

The report examines the tension between domestic data governance—driven by privacy, security, and industrial policy—and international trade rules. It argues that while data flows are essential for the global economy, the current legal architecture often reinforces structural asymmetries, where developing nations export raw data but import high-value services. The author analyzes the shift from WTO-led rules to preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and digital economy agreements (DEAs), highlighting the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol as a development-oriented model. The report concludes that developing countries must move beyond the binary of 'free flow vs. localization' toward calibrated, regional strategies that link trade commitments to implementation capacity and technology transfer.

The document details an Iranian-linked information operation, Storm-2035, that deployed four X accounts impersonating Northern Irish residents between August 2024 and February 2026. These accounts used AI-generated content and 'hashtag hijacking' to promote Irish reunification and narratives supportive of the Iranian regime and Palestine. Despite low engagement, the operation demonstrates Ireland's vulnerability to foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), particularly as it prepares for the EU presidency in 2026.

The policy brief advocates for a farmer-centric approach to reducing livestock methane emissions within the EU, emphasizing that productivity improvements can create synergies between climate goals and rural development. It highlights that livestock account for approximately 66% of EU agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, with enteric fermentation being the primary source. The author proposes a combination of technical solutions—such as improved feed, genetic selection, and smarter manure management—and policy levers, including the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive and the optimization of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reward methane performance.