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A rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution finds that climate change made a June 2025 heatwave in southeast England approximately 2-4°C more intense, increasing the likelihood of such an event from once every 50 years to once every 5 years. The report highlights that early-season heatwaves are particularly dangerous due to a lack of human acclimatisation and that the UK's building stock, designed for heat retention, exacerbates indoor overheating. While the Heatwave Plan for England provides a foundation for response, the Climate Change Committee notes that heat-related policies remain fragmented and lack long-term targets.

The report examines how smarter grid strategies can unlock digital infrastructure investments, particularly for AI and data centres. It highlights that long grid connection queues in Europe are deterring developers, but suggests that phased connections, non-firm (flexible) agreements, and strategic siting in priority zones can significantly reduce wait times and infrastructure costs. The document emphasizes that data centres often underutilize their contracted capacity and can offer flexibility to the grid, which could potentially double available capacity if implemented.

The report argues that proactive grid planning is essential for Europe to meet its goal of tripling data centre capacity and capturing the economic benefits of AI. It highlights a shift in investment from traditional hubs (FLAP-D markets) to regions with lower grid congestion, such as the Nordics and Southern Europe. The analysis suggests that innovative connection agreements, data centre flexibility, and strategic spatial planning can significantly reduce connection wait times and infrastructure costs.

The report argues that while the EU aims to triple data centre capacity within five to seven years, grid congestion in traditional hubs like Dublin, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam is creating a primary barrier to growth. This is shifting investment toward markets with better grid preparedness, such as the Nordics and Belgium. Data centres are identified as unique grid challenges due to their large, localised, and continuous loads. Despite their economic benefits—including GDP growth and job creation—forecasts suggest the EU will likely only double its capacity by 2030, falling short of its target.

The paper argues that Colombia's previous price-based renewable energy auctions failed to consider socio-economic factors, leading to social conflict and project cancellations, particularly in La Guajira. It recommends two main pathways for the new framework: enhancing community engagement and benefit sharing for large-scale projects through stricter qualification requirements and multicriteria award mechanisms, and scaling up energy communities via a reserved auction quota (adhesion process) and a dedicated support agency to prevent 'community washing'.

In 2024, global coal power capacity increased by 18.8 GW, as 44.1 GW was commissioned and 25.2 GW retired. While the EU27 saw a fourfold increase in retirements and the UK completed its coal phaseout, global progress was offset by significant expansion in China and India. China commissioned 30.5 GW (70% of the global total) and saw 94.5 GW in new construction starts. India recorded its highest-ever level of new coal proposals at 38.4 GW. Conversely, coal proposals in OECD countries dropped from 142 in 2015 to five today, though retirements in these nations must triple to align with the Paris Agreement.

In 2024, global electricity generation reached new record highs for solar, wind, hydro, gas, and coal. Solar was the fastest-growing source, increasing by 474 TWh to reach a 6.9% share of the global mix, with China contributing 53% of this growth. Wind generation also hit a record of 2,494 TWh, though growth slowed due to weather conditions. Hydro rebounded to an all-time high of 4,416 TWh following 2023 droughts, largely driven by China. Nuclear generation grew by 2.5% to 2,768 TWh, but its global market share fell to a 45-year low of 9%. Gas and coal both reached record generation levels in 2024, though their shares of the global electricity mix declined to 22% and 34% respectively, as electricity demand grew faster than their production.

The report finds that the EU failed to meet its 2020 deadline to end overfishing, with over half of the assessed TACs for 2019 still exceeding scientific advice. It highlights a particular lack of consistency in following advice for data-limited stocks and identifies several Member States that actively pushed for unsustainable catch limits, while noting that all involved states benefited from TACs exceeding scientific recommendations.

The statement argues that large-scale forest biomass energy is not carbon neutral and actively harms the climate, biodiversity, and human rights. It claims that current carbon accounting erroneously labels biomass as zero-emission, which masks the actual greenhouse gas releases and encourages deforestation. The document further asserts that biomass energy extends the lifespan of coal plants and diverts investment from truly low-emission renewables like wind and solar. It calls on governments and financial institutions to stop the expansion of the biomass industry and eliminate related subsidies in favor of forest restoration.

Civil society organisations are protesting the handover of McDonald’s-branded ‘Mi Desk’ desks to Cape Town schools, facilitated by the Minister of Basic Education. The groups argue that such donations are not charity but junk food marketing targeting vulnerable children amidst a crisis of malnutrition and obesity. They contend that corporate philanthropy fills gaps created by state austerity and disinvestment, particularly in rural and working-class communities. The statement calls for the immediate recall of branded desks, the finalisation of regulations to restrict the marketing of harmful foods to children, and proper funding of education by the National Treasury to remove the need for corporate partnerships.

The report identifies peatland protection as an 'emergency brake' climate solution due to the high carbon density of these ecosystems, which store approximately 600 Gt of carbon. It estimates that protecting one hectare of peatland avoids between 0.92 and 13.47 t CO‚-eq/ha/yr, with the highest impact in tropical and subtropical regions. The net cost is estimated at US$1.5/ha/yr, or $0.25/t CO‚-eq avoided. While approximately 22% of global peatlands are in protected areas (PAs), the report suggests an achievable protection range of 70–90% of remaining undrained peatlands, which could reduce emissions by 1.3–1.7 Gt CO‚-eq/yr. The analysis emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous peoples' lands, which contain an additional 186 Mha of peatlands, and advocates for secure land tenure and community-led governance to ensure permanence and avoid leakage.

The North Sea is the world's largest offshore wind basin, with 30 GW of capacity across 101 operational wind farms. While the region leads in deployment, the report highlights that supply chain challenges and fragmented regulatory frameworks hinder further progress. It advocates for the standardisation of component sizes and the deployment of hybrid offshore assets to create a more secure, meshed grid. Additionally, the report emphasizes that the North Sea's potential as a 'green power plant' for Europe depends on the electrification of non-power sectors, as half of Europe's industrial energy consumption is located in North Sea bordering countries. Finally, it notes that offshore wind is helping stabilise electricity prices through Contracts-for-Difference (CfD) mechanisms, with recent projects delivering competitive strike prices compared to average European day-ahead power prices.

The report analyzes 215 cases of GenAI use in 2024 elections across 50 countries, finding that 80% of these countries experienced GenAI-related incidents. The majority of these cases (90%) involved content creation, such as deepfake audio and video, and 69% were classified as harmful to the electoral process. A significant portion of the content (46%) had untraceable origins, while 20% was attributed to foreign actors, all of whom were found to be acting with harmful intent. The document advocates for increased transparency, disclosure mandates for AI-generated political content, and improved detection mechanisms to protect democratic integrity.

The document argues that the GWP* metric allows major methane polluters to claim climate neutrality or "no additional warming" by merely stabilising emissions rather than eliminating them. It details how this approach is being embedded into the policies of New Zealand and Ireland, promoted by industry lobbies in Germany and the UK, and pushed by researchers and trade bodies in Brazil ahead of COP30. The author contends that government-linked research bodies are providing a "veneer of scientific legitimacy" to these industry-driven narratives to weaken national and international climate ambitions.

The document explores the intersection of culture, politics, and ecology, highlighting how neoliberalism, far-right nationalism, and generative AI threaten artistic freedom and worker security. It advocates for 'green cultural policymaking' that prioritises accessibility, rural inclusion, and the protection of creators. Through various case studies—including Spain's Cultural Rights Plan, the impact of AI on indigenous knowledge, and the use of culture as resistance in Ukraine—it argues that arts and culture should be viewed as essential social infrastructure rather than mere drivers of GDP growth.

The report analyzes 215 recorded GenAI incidents across 50 countries during 2024 elections, finding that 80% of these countries experienced such incidents. GenAI was primarily used for synthetic content production, with 69% of cases deemed harmful to electoral integrity. Attribution is a significant challenge, as 46% of sources remained unknown, while political candidates and foreign actors accounted for 25% and 20% of incidents, respectively.

The report finds that 80% of countries with competitive national elections in 2024 experienced GenAI-related incidents, with 69% of these incidents having a harmful impact. The majority of GenAI use focused on content creation (90%), and nearly half of the incidents (46%) had unknown sources. While some positive uses for civic engagement were noted, the document emphasizes the risks of disinformation and foreign interference, calling for mandatory disclosure standards and improved detection mechanisms.

The report analyzes 215 incidents of generative AI use across 50 countries that held competitive national elections in 2024. It finds that GenAI was present in 80% of these countries, primarily used for creating synthetic content such as deepfake audio and video. A significant majority (69%) of these incidents were categorized as harmful to the electoral process, with 20% attributed to foreign actors, all of whom demonstrated harmful intent. The document emphasizes the challenge of anonymity, as 46% of incidents had unidentifiable authors, and recommends mandatory disclosure norms and improved detection methods to protect democratic integrity.

The report analyzes 215 incidents of GenAI use in 2024 elections across 50 countries, finding that 80% of these countries experienced GenAI-related incidents. The vast majority of use (90%) focused on content creation, and 69% of incidents were classified as harmful. A significant portion of GenAI content (46%) remains unattributed, while 20% is linked to foreign actors, all of whom were found to have harmful intentions. The document advocates for mandatory disclosure and transparency standards to protect electoral processes.

The report analyzes 215 incidents of GenAI use in 2024 elections, finding that 80% of countries with competitive elections experienced such incidents. The majority of these cases involved content creation (90%) and were deemed harmful to the electoral process (69%). A significant portion of the sources remain unknown (46%), while political candidates (25%) and foreign actors (20%) are the primary identified sources. The document recommends transparency standards and disclosure requirements to protect electoral integrity.