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The document advocates for the introduction of wealth taxes in South Africa to combat inequality and fund socioeconomic rights. It challenges the notion that wealth taxes harm growth, arguing instead that redirecting wealth toward public spending can stimulate demand and investment. The brief recommends a combination of Financial Transaction Taxes (FTTs), increased dividend taxes, and a progressive net wealth tax, citing successful international examples from countries like France, Argentina, and Colombia.

The report documents a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes, book bans, and restrictive legislation in Western countries, noting a convergence of extremist ideologies. It highlights how tech platforms exacerbate these harms through the rollback of protections, the overmoderation of LGBTQ+ content via AI and safety legislation, and the rise of coordinated harassment campaigns like 'transvestigation'.

The document explores how sunlight reflection methods (SRM), such as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB), interact with global security. While SRM could mitigate climate-driven security risks by lowering temperatures, it may introduce new tensions regarding its use and outcomes. The briefing distinguishes SRM from cloud seeding, noting that while the latter has a history of weaponisation (e.g., Operation Popeye), SAI and MCB are too imprecise for direct weapon use but could still be used for general disruption. It argues that large-scale deployment would be difficult to hide due to detectable infrastructure and atmospheric effects. Two hypothetical scenarios are presented: one involving military tensions in the Arctic over an SAI programme and another involving accusations of drought in South Asia. The authors recommend building trust, transparency, and using scenario gaming to manage these security challenges.

In 2025, Türkiye became Europe's fourth-largest market for new battery electric vehicles (BEVs), with sales reaching approximately 190,000 units. This growth saw the BEV share of new car sales rise to 17%, matching the European Union average for the first time. Despite this momentum, BEVs represent only 2.1% of all registered cars in Türkiye, and gasoline consumption increased by 16% in the first 11 months of 2025. The report highlights that while domestic production and tax-compatible models drove growth, high overall tax burdens and exchange rate fluctuations remain challenges to further reducing energy imports.

The author advocates for a ban on fossil fuel advertising in Norway to protect public health and support climate policy, noting that over 50 cities globally have already adopted such measures. The text argues that advertising normalizes fossil fuel use and that public health and environmental interests outweigh commercial advertising rights, as demonstrated in legal cases in The Hague.

The High Seas Treaty, formally the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ agreement), enters into force on January 17, 2026. It establishes a global framework to protect biodiversity in international waters, which cover roughly two-thirds of the ocean and previously lacked comprehensive governance. The treaty is built on four pillars: area-based management tools (including marine protected areas), rules for sharing benefits from marine genetic resources, capacity building and technology transfer for low-income countries, and standardized environmental impact assessments for activities like marine carbon dioxide removal. While it does not replace Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) for setting quotas, it aims to influence fisheries through ecosystem-based management. As of January 15, 2026, 83 parties have ratified the agreement. Implementation now depends on the BBNJ Preparatory Commission and the first Conference of Parties (BBNJ COP) to finalize governing structures, financial mechanisms, and operational logistics.

A briefing by the New Weather Institute reporting on public opinion across seven countries, showing widespread concern for snow loss due to global warming and strong support for banning fossil fuel advertising in winter sports and the Winter Olympics.

The Living Planet Report 2026 documents a 73% average decline in monitored vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2022. It identifies the energy, food, and financial systems as the primary drivers of this loss. The report introduces a framework of 'positive tipping points'—thresholds where beneficial change becomes self-amplifying—to accelerate the transition to a nature-positive economy. While the energy sector is already in an 'accelerating phase,' the food and finance sectors remain in the 'enabling phase.' The report emphasizes that achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets by 2030 requires coordinated global action, subsidy reform, and the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in governance.

The report identifies Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and China as the fastest adopters of electric vehicles by sales share. It highlights China's dominance in both total volume (11.3 million sales in 2024) and market share (48%), while noting Norway's lead in share (92%). The analysis emphasizes that rapid uptake is driven by government incentives, investment in charging infrastructure, and the availability of affordable models. It also notes a trend of 'leapfrogging' in developing nations like Ethiopia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, fueled by affordable Chinese imports.

The report provides an extensive archive of advertisements from ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, and Chevron, organized into appendices that highlight deceptive themes such as overstating greenhouse gas reductions, exaggerating renewable energy commitments, shifting responsibility to consumers, and promoting natural gas, carbon capture, hydrogen, and algae biofuels as viable climate solutions.

The report finds that while OECD pension funds have significantly increased their climate target-setting and risk management since 2020, their portfolios remain heavily exposed to fossil fuel expansion. Pension funds often outperform other financial institutions in areas like policy engagement and emissions disclosure once climate goals are embedded in their governance. The analysis highlights that robust regulatory frameworks in countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK drive higher adoption of targets, and suggests that the relationship between asset owners and asset managers is a critical lever for driving decarbonization.

The report evaluates CCUS as a primary decarbonization lever for India's steel sector, specifically targeting the emission-intensive BF-BOF route. It identifies single-point pre-combustion capture with gas conditioning as the most cost-effective technical approach, with a net CO2 abatement cost of USD 5560/tCO2. The study maps seven steel clusters in Eastern India and finds significant geological storage potential, primarily in deep saline aquifers (estimated at 62 Gt). To overcome high capital costs, the report proposes novel financing instruments like Partial Deep Discount Carbon STRIPS (PDDCS) bonds and the establishment of a Carbon Capture Finance Corporation (CCFC). It concludes that a breakeven carbon price of approximately INR 2,099 (USD 25)/tCO2 is necessary for project financial viability in a mature market.

The report finds that while OECD pension funds are increasing their climate target-setting and internal governance, their portfolios remain heavily exposed to expansionist fossil fuels. Progress is strongly linked to national regulatory environments, with the Netherlands, Denmark, and the UK leading. A critical lever for future impact is the governance of the asset owner–asset manager relationship, where leading funds are moving toward more active mandates, stricter stewardship oversight, and in some cases, the internalization of asset management to ensure alignment with net-zero goals.

The document argues that wealth taxation is an appropriate tool for redistribution in South Africa due to extreme inequality, where the richest 0.01% owned 15% of wealth in 2017. It examines three primary instruments: Financial Transaction Taxes (FTTs), dividend taxes, and net wealth taxes. International evidence from France shows that increasing dividend taxes from 15.5% to 46% led to a 15% increase in investment. Net wealth taxes in countries like Argentina, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, and Colombia have raised between 0.2% and 1.5% of GDP. The brief highlights administrative challenges for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) but notes the existence of a High Wealth Individual Unit as evidence of feasibility. It recommends a combination of moderate net wealth taxes, increased dividend taxes, and the introduction of an FTT, supported by tighter capital controls and international cooperation via the UN Framework Convention on International Taxation and Cooperation.

The WWF-SASSI Consumer Seafood Guide is a reference tool that categorizes seafood into three sustainability levels: Green (Best Choice), Orange (Think Twice), and Red (Don't Buy). It emphasizes that sustainability depends on the species, the method of capture or farming, and the geographic origin of the seafood. The guide provides specific examples of sustainable and unsustainable seafood, such as MSC-certified SA trawled hake (Green) and various 'No Sale' species that are illegal to sell in South Africa.

The report examines the sociological impact of fossil fuel company sponsorship in Norwegian coastal towns, using Harstad as a case study. It argues that by providing 'gifts' such as the Arctic Race of Norway or celebrations for the Johan Castberg oil field, companies like Equinor establish a cycle of reciprocity that frames climate critics as ungrateful or disloyal, thereby fostering a culture of self-censorship and maintaining public support for continued oil exploration.

In 2025, Europe transitioned toward commercial-scale CCS deployment, marked by the first fully operational value chain at Norway's Brevik cement plant. While ten projects reached final investment decisions (FID) between December 2024 and October 2025—adding approximately 4 Mt CO2/year of capture and 14 Mt CO2/year of storage capacity—deployment remains far below the trajectories needed for 2040 and 2050 climate targets. Progress is heavily reliant on blended finance and corporate carbon dioxide removal (CDR) offtake agreements, particularly with Microsoft. Geographically, CCS is expanding from Northern European hubs into Southern and Central & Eastern Europe, with new projects in Spain, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Policy advancements include the Net-Zero Industry Act's 2030 injection target and Germany's 2025 legislation classifying CO2 transport and storage as projects of overriding public interest.

The report argues that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is undermining national energy security and economic competitiveness by canceling billions in congressionally mandated funding for clean energy and industrial innovation. It details the loss of approximately $23 billion in federal funding across 648 projects, affecting sectors such as carbon capture, hydrogen, and grid resiliency. The document highlights that these cuts risk wasting previous federal R&D investments, destroying local jobs, and ceding technological leadership to global competitors like China and Canada.

The document examines the tension between Africa's potential as a clean energy leader and the restrictive nature of unilateral trade instruments like the EU's CBAM. While Africa possesses significant renewable energy potential and 30% of global critical mineral reserves, the paper argues that CBAM could reduce collective GDP by 0.91% (approximately USD 25 billion) and limit fiscal space for green R&D. It suggests that African nations leverage their strategic mineral advantages, utilize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to eliminate 97% of internal tariffs, and push for more structured discussions on trade restrictions within the UNFCCC and WTO.

The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) has launched with an initial $5 billion to reward countries and Indigenous communities for forest protection, with a long-term goal of reaching $125 billion to generate $4 billion in annual funding. Additionally, the Forest and Land Tenure Pledge secured $1.8 billion from four governments and various foundations to support Indigenous land protection. In Indonesia, the government committed to quadrupling the recognition of Indigenous lands to 1.4 million hectares of customary forests. Despite these gains, the document notes that nature receives less than 3% of total climate finance, despite representing 37% of the climate solution.