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The document highlights a commitment by the Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR) in June 2026 to cease new investments in companies developing new oil and gas projects. It argues that this is a necessary preventive measure to avoid financing the drivers of global warming, which in turn increases the climate risks these entities underwrite. Reclaim Finance calls on other European public-private schemes—specifically Flood Re (UK), Consorcio de Compensacion de Seguros (CCS, Spain), and SACE (Italy)—to adopt similar investment policies and use their leverage with asset managers and insurance clients to combat fossil fuel expansion.

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.

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.

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 report analyzes four decarbonization pathways for California's cement sector, all incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS) to address process emissions. Pathways involving limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) and alternative fuels (woody biomass or engineered municipal solid waste) demonstrate the lowest lifetime carbon abatement costs, around $100 per metric ton of CO2. In contrast, full electrification combined with CCS is the most expensive at $479 per metric ton. While all pathways significantly reduce emissions relative to a baseline, the report highlights that energy costs are the primary driver of lifetime expenses. Qualitatively, the transition to these technologies is expected to provide net air quality benefits by reducing SO2 and particulate matter, although amine-based CCS may slightly increase VOC emissions.

The briefing reports that a majority of citizens in several EU member states support requiring heavy industry to pay for CO2 emissions and favor investing carbon revenues into industrial decarbonisation over the continuation of free allowances. It highlights a contrast between public opinion and lobbying efforts by industry giants and certain member states to weaken EU ETS rules.

The June 2026 heatwave in Western Europe is the most severe ever recorded for the region, with temperatures 5–12°C above seasonal averages. Analysis shows that such an event would have been virtually impossible in 1976 and significantly rarer in 2003, indicating that extreme heat is increasing rapidly due to global warming. The event caused widespread disruption to transport, energy systems, and health services, with 45% of European cities breaking indoor Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) thresholds.

The report argues that clean flexibility solutions are ready to scale across the EU to replace fossil-based grid balancing. It projects a fourfold increase in battery capacity by 2030, which would allow batteries to deliver over 80% of the power that all EU gas plants combined can generate in a single hour. Additionally, the report highlights the role of smart EV charging and heat pumps in absorbing surplus renewable generation and reducing peak demand, provided that regulatory barriers are removed and smart meter rollout is accelerated.

The EU battery fleet is projected to grow fourfold from 37 GW in 2025 to 178 GW by 2030, significantly reducing the need for gas-based backup. By 2030, utility-scale batteries could provide short-term flexibility at 20% lower cost than new gas peakers. Additionally, the report highlights the role of demand flexibility: by 2030, 50% of electric vehicles (EVs) could use smart charging to absorb 7% of peak wind and solar generation, and 15% of heat pump demand could be shifted to high-renewable periods, reducing peak demand by 3%. The report recommends that policymakers avoid overbuilding gas capacity, set ambitious non-fossil flexibility targets by January 2027, and accelerate smart meter rollout to enable these technologies.

SKF Group has fully electrified the heating and cooling systems at its Massa factory in Italy, replacing gas-fired boilers with reversible heat pumps. This transition, integrated with a digital monitoring system, has reduced operational energy demand and lowered costs, despite high electricity prices in Italy. The factory sources 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, utilizing a virtual power purchase agreement for a solar plant in Spain and Guarantees of Origin. This project is part of a broader SKF Group strategy that has seen similar electrification and decarbonization efforts across eleven other global factories.

Spain's strategic investment in wind and solar power has significantly reduced the influence of gas on electricity prices, keeping power costs among the lowest in the EU during the 2026 energy crisis. While high gas prices caused spikes in other European markets like Italy, Spanish consumers benefited from a decoupling effect that saved a typical household approximately €10 per month. The report also highlights policy responses following the April 2025 Iberian blackout, including reforms to battery storage and grid management, and temporary tax cuts to encourage electrification and reduce fossil fuel import dependency.

The report proposes a tripartite contracting model for Europe, where a state-backed intermediary connects clean energy suppliers and industrial consumers. This mechanism aims to solve structural barriers in bilateral Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), such as creditworthiness requirements for SMEs and the mismatch between variable renewable generation and industrial baseload demand. By pooling diverse technologies—including renewables, storage, and clean firm capacity—the intermediary can offer 24/7 clean power products and absorb counterparty risk. The document outlines an implementation roadmap involving the European Commission and Member States, emphasizing the need for harmonized Guarantees of Origin, improved two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfDs) design, and integrated grid planning.

The share of gas in the global power mix fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, dropping from 23.9% in 2020 to 21.8%. While absolute global gas generation has not yet peaked, its growth rate slowed from 2.9% (2016-2020) to 1.6% (2021-2025) as solar and wind met approximately 68% of global electricity demand growth over the last five years. By 2025, 61 out of 124 gas-generating economies had passed their historical gas generation peaks. In the G7, renewable power (2,544 TWh) nearly equaled gas power (2,577 TWh) in 2025. Conversely, gas remains central to the power sectors of the US and Canada, and continues to support demand in parts of North and West Africa.

The IEU report for February to May 2026 outlines the progress of several independent evaluations, including those on gender, the Project Preparation Facility, and the private sector. It highlights the ongoing Third Performance Review (TPR) and the LORTA impact evaluation programme, which supports 23 evaluations. The Unit also reports on its strategic engagement with other multilateral climate funds, the use of AI in evaluation synthesis, and its budget expenditure, which stood at 19% (USD 1.5 million) of the annual budget as of 30 April 2026.

The document asserts that climate disinformation in Europe is an industrialised threat that distorts public debate, delays clean energy investment, and weakens crisis response. It highlights a failure in regulatory enforcement across the EU and UK, noting that while instruments like the Digital Services Act exist, they are unevenly applied. The authors advocate for limiting algorithmic amplification of misleading content and increasing media scrutiny to protect the conditions necessary for collective climate action.

The article examines the global and European trend of restricting social media access for minors, highlighting legislative actions in Australia, France, and Spain. It contrasts the view that age bans are necessary public health measures to protect vulnerable adolescent brains from addictive algorithms with the argument that such bans punish children rather than platforms and may hinder digital participation. Experts suggest that focusing on harmful design features—such as infinite scroll and personalized recommendations—via frameworks like the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) is a more effective solution than blanket prohibitions.

The EU petrochemical industry, a €635 billion sector employing 1.2 million people, is facing a deep structural crisis characterized by ageing assets, high energy costs, and intensifying global competition. The industry is physically organized around approximately 150 chemical parks, with the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Rhine-Ruhr corridor serving as the world's densest concentration of production. However, the EU's global market share in chemical sales fell from 21% in 2009 to 13% in 2024, while China now accounts for 46% of global sales. The sector is experiencing a 'closure wave' of steam crackers—the central units for producing ethylene, propylene, butadiene, and aromatics—due to their 1970s-era scale and high carbon exposure under the EU ETS. Between 2022 and 2025, the industry lost approximately 37 Mt of production capacity, and investment CAPEX dropped from €7.6 billion in 2022 to €1.5 billion in 2025. The report highlights acute vulnerabilities in the supply of primary 'building block' molecules, noting that the EU produces less than 10% of global primary petrochemical capacity and is increasingly dependent on imports for molecules like methanol, where domestic production covers less than 15% of consumption.

The report provides a detailed breakdown of aligned GSS+ debt volumes, issuer types, and geographic trends for Q1 2026, highlighting the continued dominance of green bonds and the European market.

The report argues that many planned coal plants in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are candidates for reconsideration due to declining costs of solar and battery storage, evolving grid needs, and the risk of long-term financial lock-in. It introduces a five-indicator framework—fuel source, initiation date, sunk costs, designed grid role, and evolution of grid needs—to prioritize plants for reevaluation. RMI's analysis suggests that solar paired with battery energy storage systems (BESS) is increasingly cost-competitive with new ultra-supercritical coal, potentially offering a more affordable and flexible alternative for modernizing grids.

Germany possesses a strong pipeline of grid-scale and residential battery projects, but current policy frameworks and the preferential treatment of gas in upcoming capacity auctions risk slowing deployment. The report highlights that operationalizing the existing battery pipeline could have significantly reduced wind and solar curtailment and associated costs in 2025. It calls for a regulatory shift to treat batteries as a first-order solution for grid stability and flexibility.