Search Climate Insights Directory

The report finds that European supermarkets generally exhibit low transparency and ambition regarding plastic reduction, often relying on voluntary commitments and recycling-focused strategies rather than systemic reuse. An analysis of 74 retailers reveals an average total score of only 13.1%, with significant disparities in performance between different countries where the same retail chains operate. The document highlights tactics used by retailers to delay legislative progress, such as lobbying against deposit return systems (DRS), and criticizes 'greenwashing' practices, including the mislabeling of single-use plastics as reusable.

The report finds that European supermarkets generally perform poorly in addressing the plastic crisis, with an average score of 13.1% across transparency, commitments, and policy support. While some UK and Irish retailers score higher, most companies lack basic data on their plastic footprints and prioritize recyclability over waste prevention. The analysis highlights a tendency toward 'greenwashing,' where retailers promote voluntary pledges or flawed collection schemes instead of systemic changes or supporting binding legislation.

The report finds that European supermarkets generally perform poorly in addressing the plastic crisis, with an average score of 13.1% across transparency, commitments, and policy support. While some UK and Irish chains score higher, most companies lack basic data on their plastic footprints and fail to implement systemic changes like reusable packaging. The analysis highlights a preference for voluntary commitments over binding regulations and warns against greenwashing practices, such as exporting flexible plastics to third countries like Turkey.

The report finds that European supermarkets generally exhibit low ambition and transparency regarding plastic pollution, with a global average score of only 13.1%. Most retailers prioritize recyclability over waste prevention and reuse, often relying on voluntary commitments and 'greenwashing' tactics rather than systemic changes. While some UK and Irish retailers score higher, there is significant inconsistency within international groups, and very few support binding government targets or comprehensive deposit return systems.

The report finds that European supermarkets generally perform poorly in managing plastic pollution, with a mean score of 13.1% across transparency, commitments, and policy support. While some UK and Irish chains like Aldi score higher, many others show minimal transparency and a preference for voluntary commitments over systemic changes like reuse and mandatory deposit systems. The analysis highlights instances of greenwashing, where plastic waste collected in stores was exported and illegally dumped in Turkey.

The report contends that fossil gas cannot be considered a transition fuel due to significant methane leakage and the need for rapid decarbonisation by 2030. It argues that the EU's Complementary Delegated Act threatens the credibility of the EU Taxonomy by allowing fossil gas as a transitional activity. The document advocates for a rapid shift to low-carbon hydrogen, prioritised for hard-to-abate sectors, and warns against 'gas blending' as an inefficient decarbonisation strategy. It recommends the use of additionality requirements for electrolysers to prevent them from cannibalising renewable energy growth and suggests various financial mechanisms, including Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) and green public procurement, to mobilise investment. The report also emphasizes the need for a Just Transition to protect workers and low-income households from the regressive effects of carbon pricing.

The briefing concludes that Shell's strategy is not on track to meet the 1.5°C climate goal, predicting the company will exceed its allocated carbon budget by 2034. Despite a net-zero ambition for 2050, the analysis finds that Shell's short-term plans rely on unrealistic offsets and continued investment in oil and gas expansion. The report highlights that Shell remains a top global hydrocarbon developer, with approximately 90% of its 2022 CAPEX allocated to fossil fuels, which contradicts the deep emission cuts required for 1.5°C alignment.

The document examines the link between resource-intensive lifestyles of the global rich and environmental degradation, noting that the world has been in 'global ecological overshoot' since 1970. It identifies housing, transport, and food as the primary drivers of lifestyle emissions and proposes a multi-pronged policy approach to shift societal norms. The authors emphasize that a 'just transition' is necessary to avoid marginalizing local communities and to prevent 'neo-consumerism' where green products simply replace unsustainable ones without reducing overall consumption.

The document argues for stronger international coordination to manage the environmental and social footprints of global supply chains, moving beyond voluntary commitments toward mandatory due diligence and standardized verification. It emphasizes the necessity of integrating 'decent work' into green economy policies to ensure a just transition, noting that environmental policies often lack social equity. Additionally, it addresses the dual nature of digitalization, which can enhance efficiency but also significantly increase energy consumption and emissions, calling for global governance on 'green artificial intelligence' and standardized environmental footprint methodologies.

The document proposes 'multifunctionality'—the simultaneous provision of multiple functions across natural and human traits—as a systemic approach to climate adaptation. It identifies roadblocks in current nature-based solutions (NbS), such as a lack of awareness regarding power relations, insufficient data on co-benefits and costs, and financing gaps. The authors advocate for 'hybrid solutions' that combine green, blue, and grey infrastructure and outline four leverage realms for action: defining beneficiaries, designing for interoperability, monitoring across scales, and governing for connectivity and justice.

As of February 2022, the EU planned a 24.9% increase in gas import capacity to 160.2 bcm/y, costing an estimated €26.4 billion. This includes 16 pipelines under construction and 62 proposed projects, alongside several LNG terminal expansions. The report states these plans conflict with EU gas reduction requirements, the IEA Net Zero by 2050 scenario, and IPCC warnings regarding methane emissions.

Reclaim Finance criticizes RWE for maintaining a coal phase-out target of 2038, which it claims is eight years behind scientific recommendations. The organization highlights RWE's role as one of Europe's largest CO2 emitters, its reliance on fossil gas as a bridge fuel, and its efforts to obtain €2.6 billion in compensation from the German government. It specifically calls on major shareholders, including Crédit Agricole/Amundi, Société Générale, and BNP Paribas, to use the upcoming AGM to sanction the company's lack of a coherent transition strategy.

The report concludes that the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is incompatible with EU law because it allows international tribunals to interpret EU law and undermines the regulatory autonomy of EU institutions. While the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has already ruled that intra-EU arbitration under the ECT is illegal (Komstroy), the report argues that extra-EU arbitration also poses significant risks. It highlights that the ECT lacks the procedural and substantive safeguards found in modern agreements like CETA. The authors suggest that the most effective remedy is a combination of withdrawal from the ECT, inter-se modification to eliminate the sunset clause between withdrawing parties, and interpretative declarations to prevent investors from circumventing these measures by relocating their seats outside the EU.

The European transport sector requires a fundamental shift to support a green Europe by 2049. Current transport systems contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and noise, impacting both human health and biodiversity. Proposed solutions include widespread electrification, automation, and shared mobility to reduce resource consumption and urban congestion. A vision for 2049 involves a multimodal system where public transport, cycling, and walking dominate urban areas, while electric bikes and sustainable liquid fuels (such as advanced biofuels or e-fuels) serve rural and long-distance needs. Achieving this requires strategic urban planning, pricing reforms—such as road pricing to replace fuel taxes—and EU policies that accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vehicles and renewable energy.

The paper explores 'buen vivir' (living well), an indigenous-rooted concept from South America that prioritizes harmony between humans and nature over economic growth. It examines the tension between this biocentric approach and European 'green' strategies like the European Green Deal, which the authors argue remain tied to economic growth and productivity. While official adoption in EU-Latin America relations has been limited since a 2015 resolution, the document highlights a growing trend of local European initiatives—such as granting legal rights to nature in Spain and the Netherlands—that align with the principles of buen vivir.

Analysis by Carbon Limits for Clean Air Task Force indicates that the public funding per tonne of CO2 avoided for recent carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Norway and the Netherlands is comparable to, or lower than, the average funding spent by EU schemes for onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar power since 2012.

The policy brief contends that Germany cannot achieve climate neutrality by 2045 without carbon management technologies, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture (DAC), and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). It highlights that current industrial emissions reductions are insufficient and that a lack of CO2 transport infrastructure and storage sites within Germany necessitates a strategy to connect to regional hubs in Northern Europe. The document further argues that carbon management is essential for decarbonizing the hydrogen economy—specifically through the use of blue hydrogen—and for producing the low-carbon industrial materials required for the renewable energy transition.

The document highlights the dependency of the European wind industry on steel, noting that turbines consist of at least 70% steel. It argues that while wind energy is critical for the EU's energy transition, the steel production process remains highly carbon-intensive, emitting 1.85 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel in 2020. Using the example of Dirostahl in Remscheid, the brief illustrates the technical and financial barriers to switching from fossil gas to hydrogen or carbon capture and storage (CCS), specifically citing a potential price increase of 700 to 800 Euro per tonne of steel if switching to renewable hydrogen. It calls for the development of hydrogen and CO2 pipeline infrastructure and the implementation of policy tools like Carbon Contracts for Difference to maintain industrial competitiveness during the transition.

The report synthesizes scientific evidence on the wide-ranging health impacts of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), emphasizing its disproportionate effect on marginalized populations and its role in exacerbating COVID-19. It advocates for decisive policy, legislative, and regulatory interventions to reduce emissions and protect public health.

Climate Central's analysis of 150 U.S. weather stations shows that 90% experienced an increase in hourly rainfall intensity between 1970 and 2021, with an overall average increase of 13%. This trend is linked to the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, where warmer air holds more moisture, increasing the frequency and intensity of heavy downpours. Such extremes contribute significantly to flash flood risks, accounting for approximately one-third of U.S. flood damages ($73 billion) from 1988 to 2017. Future projections suggest that U.S. flash floods could intensify by 8% by 2100 under high-emission scenarios, with the Southwest and central U.S. identified as high-risk areas.