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The briefing reveals that German financial institutions continue to pour billions into LNG expansion despite climate pledges. Between 2021 and 2023, nine German banks provided US$7.6 billion in financing, with Deutsche Bank and LBBW accounting for 65% of this total. Additionally, eight German investors held US$5.8 billion in assets of top LNG developers as of May 2024, led by Allianz and Deutsche Bank/DWS. The report highlights a significant gap between these institutions' net-zero commitments and their actual financial activities, noting that Deutsche Bank's financing to LNG expansion rose by 35% between 2021 and 2023. Reclaim Finance argues that this infrastructure locks in long-term fossil fuel dependence and risks creating stranded assets, especially in Europe where gas consumption is declining.

The report examines the role of Italian financial institutions in funding the global expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG). It finds that between 2021 and 2023, 12 Italian banks provided US$6 billion to the top 150 LNG developers, with Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit accounting for over 85% of this total. The document highlights a gap between these banks' net-zero pledges and their continued financing of LNG projects, including support for Eni and Enel. It warns that this support risks creating stranded assets and locking in long-term fossil fuel reliance, particularly in Europe where gas consumption is declining.

The report finds that Japanese financial institutions are among the world's largest supporters of LNG expansion, providing billions in financing despite public commitments to carbon neutrality. It highlights a significant gap between these climate pledges and actual financial flows, particularly from four major banks and the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). The document argues that this support locks in long-term fossil fuel dependence and risks creating stranded assets, especially in Europe and South Korea where gas demand is declining.

The report details how 18 South Korean investment banking institutions provided US$7.4 billion to LNG expansion between 2021 and 2023. It specifically highlights DB Financial, Kyobo Life Insurance, and KDB Financial Group as the primary contributors, accounting for 44% of this total. The document argues that this support fuels a climate disaster by locking in long-term fossil fuel dependence and increasing the risk of stranded assets, particularly through the financing of the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS).

The report finds that US financial institutions are primary drivers of global LNG expansion, providing billions in financing and investments despite climate pledges. Between 2021 and 2023, 85 US banks provided US$51.2 billion to LNG expansion, with six major banks accounting for 80% of this total. US investors held US$179.6 billion in assets of top LNG developers as of May 2024. The document highlights a significant gap between these institutions' net-zero commitments and their actual policies, which lack restrictions on LNG. It warns that new LNG infrastructure risks creating stranded assets, particularly in Europe, and contributes to substantial greenhouse gas emissions, including high levels of methane leakage from US shale gas fields.

The report finds that French financial institutions are among the top global supporters of LNG expansion, with four banks providing nearly all of the US$14 billion in financing between 2021 and 2023. It highlights a significant gap between these institutions' net-zero pledges and their continued funding of LNG export and import terminals, including support for TotalEnergies. The document argues that current sector policies are insufficient due to loopholes regarding corporate financing and import terminals, and calls for a comprehensive end to financial services for new LNG projects.

The document outlines how overfishing undermines food security, livelihoods, and spiritual practices, while contributing to climate change and human rights abuses. It advocates for stronger international fisheries management, the elimination of harmful subsidies, and the expansion of marine protected areas.

The document examines the governance gaps surrounding solar radiation modification (SRM), warning that the current dominance of Global North institutions and private entities creates a risk of unilateral deployment. It advocates for the UNFCCC to formally engage with SRM to democratize decision-making and prevent the exacerbation of global inequalities.

Non-CO2 emissions account for approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are frequently overlooked in NDCs, which often lack gas-specific quantitative targets. While some countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Japan provide good practice examples of quantitative targets, major emitters including China, Russia, India, and Brazil generally only include non-CO2 gases as part of overall GHG targets. China, whose current NDC covers only CO2 despite non-CO2 gases making up 18% of its national emissions, has indicated it will include these gases in its updated NDC. The brief argues that the 2025 NDC update cycle is a critical opportunity for major emitters, particularly China, to adopt sector-specific targets and align with international initiatives like the Global Methane Pledge and the Kigali Amendment to maintain the 1.5°C warming limit.

The briefing highlights a significant funding gap in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where current climate finance flows represent only 0.5% of regional GDP, far below the 3.7% to 4.9% estimated by ECLAC to meet Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). While developed nations eventually met the USD 100 billion annual pledge in 2022, the LAC region's share of international finance (17% between 2016-2020) consists largely of loans (81%), exacerbating regional debt. Financing is heavily concentrated in Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia, with a strong preference for mitigation over adaptation projects.

The document outlines the structure of climate negotiations at COP29, listing various negotiating blocs such as the G77+China, EU, and AOSIS, while providing a glossary of terms and a calendar of thematic focus areas.

The report highlights that G20 fossil fuel reserves contain over a trillion tons of CO2 equivalent, which would exceed the 2ºC carbon budget if fully extracted. It notes that emissions from G20 fossil fuel extraction nearly doubled between the 1992 Rio Summit and 2020. Despite this, the document argues that G20 economies have become less dependent on fossil fuel rents over the last three decades, making them better equipped to transition. It specifically identifies the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany, and Italy as being best placed to transition first and fastest.

The November 2024 update reveals a three-year stagnation in global warming projections, with current policies setting the world on a path toward 2.7°C of warming by 2100. While renewable energy and electric vehicle deployment have seen record growth, these gains are offset by all-time high fossil fuel subsidies and increased funding for fossil fuel projects. The report warns that without a substantial increase in the ambition of 2030 and 2035 targets, the 1.5°C limit will likely be breached in the early 2030s, leading to a multidecadal overshoot.

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is planning an estimated US$123.6 billion in new LNG infrastructure, primarily concentrated in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Mexico has the world's third-largest planned LNG export buildout at 73.6 mtpa, largely intended to export U.S. gas from the Permian Basin. Argentina is proposing the 30 mtpa Argentina GNL Terminal to export gas from the Vaca Muerta shale basin, a project described as a "carbon bomb." Brazil is pursuing the world's fourth-largest LNG import expansion at 36.5 mtpa to reduce reliance on Bolivian gas and mitigate hydropower instability during droughts. These developments risk creating stranded assets and locking the region into gas dependence, contradicting IEA recommendations that the LNG trade peak this decade to limit warming to 1.5“. The report argues that the region's abundant renewable resources offer a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuel volatility.

The document links the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, droughts, and floods in Argentina to human-caused climate change, specifically highlighting the role of fossil fuel emissions. It notes that while Argentina has a 2050 net-zero target, the government continues to prioritize oil and gas production, particularly in the Vaca Muerta fields, and provides significantly more investment to 'dirty energy' than to renewables. The briefing also identifies a lack of transparent emissions data for individual firms and notes that lobbying by fossil fuel companies has secured production-friendly policies.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are being integrated into climate strategies across Latin America and the Caribbean to address biodiversity loss and climate change. While they offer significant economic and ecological potential—such as protecting coastal resilience and sequestering carbon—they cannot replace the need for deep emissions reductions from fossil fuels. The document warns that vague definitions of NbS can lead to 'greenwashing' by polluting corporations and risk the displacement of Indigenous and local communities through land grabs and monoculture plantations. For NbS to be sustainable, the author argues they must be based on local knowledge, ensure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), and be supported by diverse financing mechanisms beyond voluntary safeguards.

The document explores the 'climate-crime nexus,' detailing how environmental stresses drive rural petty crime, urban violence, drug use, gender-based violence, hate crimes, trafficking, and white-collar crime. It highlights how climate-induced economic collapse and extreme heat increase desperation and aggression, while the green transition creates new opportunities for organized crime and corruption.

The project utilizes paleotempestology—analyzing sediment cores from lagoons, stalagmite isotopic records, tree rings, and corals—to reconstruct past tropical cyclone activity. Key findings indicate that higher sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic correlate with increased hurricane activity, with notable peaks during the Medieval Warm Period (AD 900-1100) and since 1980. The research also identifies an inverse phase relationship in hurricane landfalls between Central America, the Eastern Caribbean, and the US East Coast, suggesting that the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and tropical anticyclones are critical drivers of coastal risk. Additionally, the study expanded its scope to the Pacific coast of Mexico, identifying an extreme event in Baja California Sur approximately 500 years ago.

The project utilizes paleotempestology—analyzing coastal lagoon sediments, stalagmites, tree-rings, and corals—to reconstruct past hurricane activity in the Caribbean and Mexico. Key findings link increased hurricane activity to warmer sea surface temperatures and specific climate patterns like the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The research identifies peaks in activity during the Medieval period (AD 900-1100) and since 1980, while also noting an anti-phase relationship in landfall activity between Central America and the eastern Caribbean/U.S. East coast. Additionally, the study assesses coastal vulnerability in the U.S., noting millions of people live in low-elevation areas.

The project examines hydroclimate variability in the American cordillera, specifically in western Canada, Mexico, the Altiplano, and Southern South America. Using tree-ring data, glacier studies, and streamflow records, the research analyzes the relationships between precipitation, runoff, and climatic drivers like ENSO and PDO over the last 300 years. Key outputs include long-term drought and precipitation reconstructions for central Mexico and the Bolivian Altiplano, as well as snowpack and river reconstructions for the Southern Andes.