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The author calls on energy ministers attending the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit to allocate global stimulus funds toward a sustainable recovery. The text advocates for the IEA's Sustainable Recovery Plan and specific policy targets, such as phasing out coal by 2040 and ending fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, while highlighting the potential for significant job creation and the growing corporate and public support for a green transition.

As of July 2020, 19 countries and the European Union have adopted net-zero targets. The document compares these targets across several dimensions: the coverage of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and domestic sectors, the target year for achievement, whether separate emissions reduction targets exist, the use of international GHG mitigation, and the legal status of the targets.

The authors contend that the EU suffers from diffuse accountability and a 'double deadlock' caused by a reliance on closed-door Franco-German agreements. They argue that Germany's role as a 'benevolent hegemon' is problematic because Berlin seeks to minimize costs and maximize control over debtor states while remaining reluctant to fully embrace its power. The text suggests that the only way to break this impasse is through 'transnational politics'—the creation of shifting alliances across national borders and the engagement of civil society—to replace the current 'constructive ambiguity' of European diplomacy.

The paper contends that South Africa's current policy of austerity is economically destructive and proposes a R1 trillion fiscal stimulus over three years. It argues that the country has the fiscal space for expansion because its debt levels are comparable to emerging market peers and its productive capacity is underutilised. Using input-output modelling, the authors estimate an average fiscal multiplier of 1.68, suggesting that a stimulus of 10% of GDP (approximately R500 billion) could generate over R800 billion in economic expansion and nearly 3.5 million jobs. The proposed stimulus is guided by ten principles, including targeting high-multiplier sectors, reducing inequality, and ensuring environmental sustainability through a 'Green New Deal'. Financing is proposed through progressive taxation, rebuilding the capacity of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), leveraging Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), and reforming monetary policy.

The document examines the climate impact of the European Central Bank's (ECB) asset purchase programs, specifically the Corporate Sector Purchase Programme (CSPP) and the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP). It highlights a significant lack of transparency regarding the value of held assets and argues that the ECB's 'market neutrality' principle results in a portfolio heavily weighted toward carbon-intensive sectors. The report identifies 38 fossil fuel companies in the ECB's portfolio, including 10 linked to coal and several majors like Shell, Total, and Eni. It concludes with recommendations for the ECB to exclude companies without 1.5°C-aligned exit plans and to adopt a 'brown taxonomy' to better target asset purchases.

The report analyzes the ECB's corporate asset purchase programs (CSPP and PEPP), finding that they provide significant financial support to companies active in coal, oil, and gas. It criticizes the ECB's lack of transparency regarding asset values and argues that the principle of 'market neutrality' creates an anti-climate bias by favoring carbon-intensive sectors. The author recommends that the ECB exclude fossil fuel companies without phase-out plans and align its monetary policy with the 1.5°C trajectory of the Paris Agreement.

The briefing argues that Covid-19 response policies for the fisheries sector should not merely provide financial relief but should be used to 'build back better' by integrating environmental and social goals. It introduces ten principles—including concurrent crisis response, efficiency, and conditionality—to evaluate support measures. The author advocates for income support over vessel-cost subsidies to avoid overcapacity and suggests that any support for fixed costs be conditional on environmental improvements, such as adopting low-impact gear. The document also warns against deregulation, such as increasing interannual quota flexibility, and calls for a long-term shift toward industry cost recovery for fisheries management.

The statement argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for governments to focus all resources on public health, specifically the procurement of medical supplies, vaccines, and medicines. It calls for the immediate suspension of trade and investment negotiations at the WTO, bilateral, and regional levels, asserting that such activities divert critical resources and personnel. The authors highlight that intellectual property rules under the WTO's TRIPS agreement and free trade agreements may obstruct the affordability and accessibility of life-saving supplies. The document demands the removal of all trade barriers and unilateral sanctions that hinder medical procurement and urges a fundamental rethink of trade rules that encourage monopolies and limit healthcare access.

Friends of the Earth International and a broad coalition of global endorsers call for an immediate cessation of trade and investment treaty negotiations. They argue that governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, lack the resources to engage in these negotiations while managing the COVID-19 health crisis. The statement demands that trade negotiators focus exclusively on removing obstacles, such as intellectual property rules and unilateral sanctions, that hinder access to affordable vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.

The author contends that the military-industrial complex operates with a level of impunity that allows it to bypass environmental regulations and the polluter-pays principle. While the military frames climate change as a 'threat multiplier' to justify budget increases, the document asserts that militarisation is fundamentally incompatible with a decarbonised economy. It calls for a 'manifesto for military degrowth,' including a moratorium on arms races and the suspension of energy-intensive 'force projection' to mitigate climatic disruption.

President João Lourenço has made progress in opening political space and fighting corruption since taking office in 2017, but these gains are offset by a severe economic crisis and the politicisation of the military. While the anti-corruption drive has targeted the former Dos Santos elite, it is accused of lacking transparency and being used for political punishment. Angola faces a deepening recession, with oil production declining and public debt reaching 90% of GDP, leading to austerity measures that increase social tension and poverty. The report highlights risks including potential social convulsion in urban centres, low morale in the armed forces, and ongoing factionalism within the ruling MPLA party.

The document argues that the energy transition requires a participatory governance approach to ensure public acceptance and the effective integration of prosumers and energy communities. It advocates for the full implementation of the Aarhus Convention and Maastricht Recommendations, highlighting that current public consultation processes, such as those for National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), have often been ineffective. The brief provides a detailed framework for future consultations, including specific timelines and the recognition of prosumers as a distinct stakeholder group.

The Finnish Greens have seen steady growth in support, contributing to a political environment where traditional parties no longer hold a majority. Finnish politics has shifted from an economic left-right divide toward a 'GAL-TAN' axis (Green, Alternative, and Libertarian versus Traditionalist, Authoritarian, and Nationalist), with the Greens advocating for climate action and the right-wing populist Finns Party opposing it. This polarisation makes forming coalition governments more difficult, requiring the inclusion of younger parties or broad-based cooperation. The author argues that the Greens must successfully implement large-scale Green New Deal policies to counter the rise of the populist right and prevent the adoption of 'watered-down solutions'.

The 2020 Global Electricity Review reports a record 3% fall in global coal-fired electricity generation and a 2% drop in power sector CO2 emissions in 2019. While coal collapsed in the EU and US, generation rose in China, which now accounts for over 50% of global coal generation. Wind and solar generation grew by 15%, providing 8% of the world's electricity. However, the report argues that these declines are largely due to one-off factors and that current progress is insufficient to meet the IPCC's 1.5°C scenario, which would require coal generation to collapse by 11% annually until 2030.

The report finds that the EU ETS region is increasingly importing electricity from non-EU neighbors with high carbon intensities, effectively importing emissions and creating 'offshore carbon havens'. In 2019, the EU ETS region imported 26 million tonnes of CO2, with a net import of 20 million tonnes. The authors argue that the disparity in carbon pricing gives a competitive advantage to high-carbon generators in countries like Turkey, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans. To combat this, the report recommends a border carbon adjustment (BCA) on gross electricity imports to protect the integrity of EU climate policy and incentivize decarbonization in neighboring states. It also warns that planned increases in interconnection capacity (31% by 2030) and new coal power projects (up to 57GW) in connected non-EU countries will exacerbate the problem.

The report investigates the potential for a new on-tax financing model (EuroPACE) to drive deep energy efficiency retrofits in European residential buildings. It identifies significant market failures, such as long payback periods and knowledge gaps, that hinder private investment. Through analysis of four target countries and three successful case studies (Energiesprong, Oktave, and KfW), the document highlights that success depends on low-cost, long-term financing and the ability to aggregate demand. It projects a total lending potential for EuroPACE of nearly €4bn over ten years across the four primary countries, provided that penetration and renovation rates increase.

The report concludes that the US model of ABS securitisation for PACE loans is not directly applicable to Europe due to regulatory differences, a lack of historical performance data for 'Simple, Transparent and Standardised' (STS) treatment, and diverse national legal frameworks. Instead, it recommends localised solutions such as covered bonds, residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and aggregation platforms. The document provides a global market analysis of green bonds for low-carbon buildings and outlines standardisation principles for energy efficiency loans to attract institutional capital.

The document assesses the progress of transposing the RED II and Electricity Directives in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain as of September 2020. It finds that while most countries have focused on legal definitions, they have largely neglected the 'enabling framework' and the mandatory assessment of barriers and potentials required by EU law. The brief argues that simple 'copy-paste' transposition of EU definitions is insufficient and recommends a holistic approach that includes public consultation, political engagement, and specific support for vulnerable households and local authorities to ensure the success of energy communities.

The 'science oath for the climate' is a pledge signed by nearly 600 scientists and engineers to act against catastrophic climate disruption. Signatories commit to communicating scientific evidence without compromise, resisting political or economic pragmatism when discussing the 1.5°C and 2°C Paris Agreement targets, and reducing their own carbon emissions. The document includes a comprehensive list of signatories from various global academic and professional institutions.

The project aims to shift the global paradigm from viewing ocean production and protection as mutually exclusive to a 'produce, protect, and prosper' model. It focuses on three primary technical outputs: a landmark report by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, six 'Blue Papers' on specific themes like ocean plastics and finance, and a beta version of 'Ocean Watch,' an online monitoring platform. The project targets the adoption of these recommendations by at least 8 countries and 5 businesses. It is implemented by the World Resources Institute with UNEP as the implementing agency, utilizing a total project cost of $11,028,000, including $1,980,000 from the GEF Trust Fund and $9,048,000 in co-financing.