Search Climate Insights Directory

The report evaluates the fashion industry's transition to responsible viscose production, noting increased engagement from brands and some progress by producers toward EU Best Available Techniques (BAT) standards. While some European brands are leading in transparency and policy, many others—including several luxury and US-based brands—remain laggards. The document emphasizes that voluntary self-regulation is insufficient and calls for government legislation to ensure industry-wide compliance with environmental standards.

The document examines the soy value chain from Argentina to Europe, highlighting how environmental and social costs are externalized to the producer. It argues that achieving SDGs 12 and 17 requires consumption-based accounting and bilateral cooperation to manage these spillovers.

The German Green Party has experienced a significant rise in support, surpassing the Social Democrats (SPD) in the 2019 European elections and becoming a leading force in German politics. This momentum is attributed to the party's transition from an anti-establishment movement to a 'responsible political actor' capable of governing, as evidenced by its presence in nine regional governments. The party's success is further driven by the leadership of Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock, who have moved beyond internal ideological divides to embrace 'radical realism'—a strategy that bridges contradictions between economy and ecology. This shift coincides with a broader restructuring of the German political landscape, where traditional 'Volksparteien' (people's parties) like the CDU and SPD are losing influence as society becomes more individualised and climate change becomes a primary public concern.

Political scientist Félix Blanc argues that the EU lacks a unified security voice and remains overly dependent on the US, particularly regarding nuclear deterrence and military infrastructure. He contends that current initiatives like the European Defence Fund and the military mobility plan risk reinforcing this dependence rather than fostering strategic autonomy. Blanc proposes a Franco-German led initiative for nuclear disarmament and the creation of a new collective security architecture based on multilateralism and preventive disarmament to address threats from Russia, China, and regional instabilities.

The report analyzes 61 green bonds (USD 56.6bn) from H1 2019, finding that EUR green bonds generally outperformed vanilla equivalents in oversubscription and spread compression. While 53% of allocations went to self-declared green investors, two-thirds of the sample priced without a new issue premium, and 61% showed tighter spreads than comparable bonds 28 days after pricing. A sector spotlight reveals that half of EUR Utility bonds issued in Q2 2019 were green, significantly exceeding the global average for the sector.

The report argues that austerity—defined as fiscal policy aimed at solving debt and growth problems through spending cuts and regressive taxes—leads to economic deterioration, rising unemployment, and increased inequality. It highlights that South Africa is deepening its implementation of austerity despite moderate debt levels compared to international norms. The author contends that these policies undermine constitutionally enshrined rights to health and education and proposes a shift toward a stimulus-based fiscal plan focused on progressive taxation and structural transformation.

The research challenges the assumption that European far-right parties uniformly deny climate change, highlighting a spectrum of attitudes from explicit rejection to acceptance of science. While parties like Germany's AfD maintain strong climate denial, Austria's FPÖ and Italy's Lega have moved toward accepting climate change as a reality. However, these parties use the issue to promote 'climate nationalism', rejecting supranational governance and the Paris Agreement in favor of national sovereignty and border control.

The SAVi assessment evaluates four restoration scenarios for South-West Beira Lake in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It finds that upgrading wastewater treatment facilities is the most cost-effective intervention, as it addresses nutrient inflow and eutrophication. The most significant economic gains are achieved by combining wastewater upgrades with dredging, which is projected to increase surrounding property values by USD 43 million and recreational spending by USD 19.5 million between 2020 and 2025.

The author argues that the European media business model is broken due to falling advertising revenues, the rise of algorithmic polarisation, and opaque ownership structures. This has led to a decline in rigorous investigative journalism and the rise of 'fake news' and state-sponsored disinformation. The text suggests that current technical and legal fixes are insufficient and that governments must provide financial support, such as grants and subsidies, to ethical, fact-based journalism to protect democratic norms.

The text analyzes how contemporary European political discourse uses the opposition to Islam to mask a contradiction between 1960s liberal values and traditional Christian identity. It argues that populist movements use Christianity as a mere identity marker rather than a spiritual guide, which paradoxically accelerates the secularization of Europe. The author contends that both pro-European and leftist parties fail to adequately address the role of religion, leaving the definition of European identity to be dominated by populist rhetoric.

The report finds that German lignite plants became significantly unprofitable in the first half of 2019, with the entire fleet losing €664 million. Old units (pre-1990) were hardest hit, with gross profits falling 62% to €188 million. The analysis suggests that 24/7 baseload operation is no longer economic and predicts a €1.8 billion loss for old units between 2020 and 2022. Consequently, the author recommends that the German government push for faster closures, reject excessive compensation claims, and implement a minimum carbon price to prevent future profitability.

In the first half of 2019, EU coal generation fell by 19%, driven by the growth of wind and solar power, a shift toward fossil gas due to rising carbon prices, and specific plant closures. Germany experienced the largest absolute decline, while eastern European countries saw smaller reductions due to slower renewable energy deployment. The report argues that while carbon pricing has made coal less profitable, further declines require accelerated plant closures and increased investment in clean energy and grid infrastructure to ensure a full transition.

The report examines the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, describing it as a "parallel justice system" that privileges wealthy investors and multinational corporations over public interests. Through ten case studies across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the document illustrates how ISDS is used to challenge environmental protections, public health measures, and land rights. It specifically criticizes the European Union's efforts to institutionalize the system through the Investment Court System (ICS) and a proposed Multilateral Investment Court, arguing these reforms do not address the fundamental imbalance of power. The report concludes that ISDS creates a "regulatory chill," where governments avoid passing progressive laws to avoid multi-billion dollar lawsuits, and calls for the complete dismantling of these "VIP courts."

The authors contend that the EU is paralyzed by institutional inertia, the dominance of the Council, and the influence of vested interests. They critique Emmanuel Macron's reliance on a Franco-German bilateral engine, arguing that it ignores the reality of transnational politics and the effectiveness of coalitions like the Visegrád Group. The text suggests that breaking the deadlock requires leveraging the European Parliament, forming offensive and defensive coalitions, and using strategic unilateral action or the blocking of trade deals to force systemic change.

The document argues that public spending in the post-2020 EMFF must align with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically opposing subsidies for fleet renewal and modernisation which the authors claim increase fishing capacity and undermine marine biodiversity.

The report examines the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, detailing ten case studies where corporations used international arbitration to challenge national laws and court rulings related to environmental protection, public health, and indigenous rights. It argues that ISDS creates a 'regulatory chill' where governments avoid passing public interest laws to avoid astronomical fines. The document specifically critiques the European Union's proposed Investment Court System (ICS) and Multilateral Investment Court, claiming these reforms only address procedural issues while maintaining the substantive imbalance that privileges investors over sovereign states and human rights.

The report examines the systemic injustices of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime, using ten case studies to demonstrate how corporations use international arbitration to bypass domestic courts and challenge public interest laws. It highlights the 'regulatory chill' effect, where the threat of multi-billion dollar lawsuits deters governments from implementing climate, health, and environmental protections. The document specifically criticises the European Union's proposed reforms, arguing that the Investment Court System (ICS) and the Multilateral Investment Court maintain the same substantive investor privileges that allow corporations to claim compensation for lost future profits and ignore human rights obligations.

Sustainalytics concludes that the Assicurazioni Generali Green Bond Framework is credible, impactful, and aligns with the Green Bond Principles 2018. The framework targets six eligible categories: green buildings, renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, sustainable water management, and recycling, re-use & waste management. Generali has established a Green Bond Committee to oversee asset selection and commits to annual reporting on both allocation and impact. The report also notes Generali's broader sustainability targets, including increasing green sector investments by EUR 3.5 billion by 2020 and reducing internal GHG emissions by 20% by 2020.

The document analyzes the tension between two competing sets of European values: 1960s liberal values (such as LGBT rights and feminism) and traditional Christian identity. It argues that populist movements use a 'concocted vision of the past' to frame Islam as culturally incompatible with Europe, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that they have embraced the very liberal values that traditional Christianity rejects. This paradox, combined with laws banning religious symbols to target Islam, results in the further dechristianisation of Europe, turning faith into mere 'folklore'.

The document outlines the legal requirements for public participation in the development of national long-term strategies (LTS) for greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2050. It asserts that the EU Governance Regulation (GR) is insufficiently clear and may not fully comply with the Aarhus Convention, which mandates early public involvement when all options are open. ClientEarth provides a consolidated procedure for compliant participation, including open access to all interested parties, active dissemination of relevant documents, and specific timeframes for consultation. The briefing notes that previous strategies submitted under the Paris Agreement are insufficient to meet current GR requirements and urges that public participation for the 2020 deadline should have commenced by September 2019.