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Sustainalytics conducted a pre-issuance verification of KBC Group's green bond between April and May 2018. The verification confirms that the bond's intended use of proceeds—financing onshore and offshore wind, onshore solar, and energy-efficient residential mortgages—aligns with the Climate Bonds Standard Version 2.1. The report details specific projects in Flanders, Wallonia, and the North Sea, and confirms KBC's internal processes for tracking proceeds and reporting.

The document analyzes the role of Statoil in Norway's economic development, highlighting how the state-owned enterprise was used to acquire technological expertise, manage multinational oil companies, and develop a high value-added domestic supply industry. It details the institutional evolution of Statoil, including the separation of regulatory and operational powers and the eventual transition to a publicly traded company, as a means to avoid oil-dependency and maximize state rent.

A joint statement from five NGOs urging EU Fisheries Ministers to set 2018 fishing quotas (TACs) within scientific limits to meet the 2020 legal deadline for maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The recommendations focus on adhering to scientific advice, correctly implementing the landing obligation, and increasing the transparency of the TAC-setting process.

The briefing urges the Council to set Total Allowable Catches (TACs) within scientifically advised levels to meet the 2020 deadline for Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). It specifically calls for the removal of bycatch footnotes that exceed scientific advice, the introduction of measures for stocks without TACs—including adding European eel to the prohibited species list—and increased transparency in the decision-making process to address mismatches between management areas and scientific stock assessment units.

The document presents a series of TAC recommendations for 2018 for selected fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic and North Sea. The NGOs argue for limits that align with scientific advice from ICES, often recommending lower catches than the European Commission's proposals to prevent overexploitation, particularly for stocks not meeting Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) objectives.

The report finds that while the Netherlands rapidly integrated EU fisheries control requirements into national law, practical implementation is undermined by resource shortages and low sanctions. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has seen a decrease in staff and funding, and the report notes a potential conflict of interest due to the NVWA's dual role as an inspection and certification authority. Furthermore, sanctions applied by courts are often not deterrent, with repeat offences and the capture of endangered species like the European eel frequently resulting only in community service. Between 2012 and 2014, only 16 penalty points were attributed, suggesting the penalty point system is not widely applied in practice.

The document argues that the TCMF Proposal contains wording and targets that may conflict with and weaken the protections of the Nature Directives and the MSFD. It recommends aligning the TCMF's objectives with the requirement to maintain or restore 'favourable conservation status', clarifying the distinction between 'incidental' and 'deliberate' bycatch based on CJEU case law, and ensuring that bycatch and habitat targets are measurable and consistent with existing Union and international standards.

The document analyzes the impact of 'fast depreciation' and 'uplift' tax provisions on the profitability of over 700 licensed but non-producing oil and gas fields in Norway. It finds that these measures significantly increase the internal rate of return (IRR) for investors, making many fields economic that would otherwise be abandoned. At an oil price of USD 50 per barrel, the analysis suggests 95% of new oil investment depends on these supports, which could lead to an additional 8 billion barrels of production and 2.9 billion metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The document identifies significant gaps in how the European Commission and other stakeholders report on fish stocks and TACs, noting that current methods often fail to track management progress toward MSY and rely on incomplete data. It recommends that the Commission's Article 50 report include direct comparisons between TACs and scientific advice, cover all harvested species regardless of data availability, and explicitly report on biomass levels alongside fishing mortality. The briefing also highlights the need for standardized labeling and clearer methodology across various reports to avoid ambiguous or misleading conclusions about whether stocks are 'fished sustainably'.

The document argues that mismatches between management units (TACs) and scientific advice units (ICES) make it difficult to monitor whether fishing levels comply with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Analysis of 112 comparisons shows that only about 28% are directly comparable, while the majority suffer from area or species mismatches that require additional, non-public data to resolve.

The document examines how the transition from regulating landings to regulating catches under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) landing obligation complicates the monitoring of TACs. It highlights that 'top-up' calculations—adding previously discarded amounts to landings advice—are hindered by missing scientific data on discards, a lack of transparency regarding the European Commission's methodology, and the absence of official records for proposed top-up quantities. The author argues that without accessible data on fleet-segment discards and clear methodology, civil society cannot verify if TACs align with scientific advice or the MSY objective.

The document argues that a lack of transparency and data mismatches hinder the ability of stakeholders to verify if EU fish quotas align with scientific advice and the legal requirements of the Common Fisheries Policy. It specifically highlights issues with spatial mismatches between management and advice units, the opacity of the Council of Ministers' decision-making, and the complexities introduced by the landing obligation's 'top-up' calculations. The author recommends that the European Commission publish its matching methodologies, create a centralised database for TACs shared with third countries, and improve the reporting of progress towards MSY.

The document examines the TCMF Proposal's provisions for 'innovative fishing gears', specifically focusing on pulse trawling. ClientEarth argues that Article 24 of the proposal lacks a clear definition of 'innovative' and an adequate burden of proof. It recommends that any gear designated as innovative must be proven to have lower negative impacts on marine ecosystems than conventional methods, based on independent evaluations by the STECF. Using pulse trawling as a case study, the briefing highlights significant knowledge gaps regarding its impact on benthic communities and non-target species, and warns against its use in Natura 2000 sites without meeting the Habitats Directive's integrity tests.

ClientEarth critiques the European Commission's 2017 fishing opportunity proposals, asserting that using FMSY point values as targets rather than limits fails to meet the legal requirement to maintain fish populations 'above' levels capable of producing MSY. The organization highlights a decline in stocks within safe biological limits between 2013 and 2014 and criticizes the Commission's Article 50 report for being misleading and lacking data on biomass levels. Furthermore, ClientEarth warns that quota top-ups for the landing obligation could increase fishing mortality if not strictly based on validated discard data. The response calls for clearer quantitative criteria for socio-economic derogations and a more transparent, comprehensive reporting framework for the landing obligation.

The document discusses a legal dispute between the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the European Union over whether multiannual fisheries plans require co-decision. It highlights a Court ruling that such plans involve policy choices and must therefore be adopted by both the Parliament and the Council under Article 43(2) TFEU, rather than by the Council alone under Article 43(3) TFEU.

The report examines the legal requirements of the CFP Basic Regulation regarding Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). It argues that to achieve the objective of restoring and maintaining stocks above MSY levels, fishing mortality rates must be set below FMSY, treating FMSY as a limit rather than a target. The document identifies failures in the 2015 TAC Regulation and the Baltic Sea multiannual plan proposal, and recommends that all EU fisheries management, financial aid, and international negotiations be strictly aligned with the 2015/2020 FMSY requirement.

A coalition of international environmental organizations is calling on Norway to halt plans to dump 330 million tons of toxic mining waste into Førdefjord and Repparfjord. The group argues that such actions threaten marine biodiversity, including IUCN red listed species and Atlantic salmon, and jeopardize the seafood and tourism industries. They highlight that the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Directorate of Fisheries, and the Institute of Marine Research oppose the plans for Førdefjord.

A group of international environmental organizations is calling for an end to the practice of dumping mining waste in Norwegian fjords, specifically citing plans to release 300 million tonnes of waste into Førdefjord and 30 million tonnes into Repparfjord. The statement argues that these actions threaten marine biodiversity, including endangered species and Atlantic salmon, as well as the seafood and tourism industries. The authors highlight that the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Directorate of Fisheries, and the Institute of Marine Research oppose the plans for Førdefjord.

The report examines the 'peace potential' of oil and gas resources, analyzing how joint development, revenue sharing, and infrastructure projects like pipelines can either mitigate or fuel conflict. It contrasts successful cooperation, such as the Saudi-Kuwaiti Partitioned Neutral Zone and Turkey-Iraqi Kurdish relations, with failures in the Caucasus and disputes in the South China Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. The study also addresses the role of international environmental law and the climate impact of transitioning from coal to natural gas.

The research paper assesses the economic viability of CCS technologies in the UK, specifically comparing CO2-EOR paired with DSF storage against standalone DSF storage. Using a stochastic model calibrated with UK futures market data for electricity, oil, and carbon allowances, the authors find that only the EOR-paired option is potentially profitable, provided long-term oil prices remain high. The study highlights that current carbon prices are insufficient to incentivize standalone CCS and that the option to delay investment increases the required 'trigger price' for oil to make immediate investment optimal.