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The report finds that Poland was responsible for 70% of methane leaks from Europe's operational coal mines in 2018. These emissions, totaling 659 kilotonnes, have a 20-year climate impact equivalent to 56.7 million tonnes of CO2, which exceeds the 2018 CO2 emissions of the Belchatów power plant. The analysis identifies two companies, JSW and PGG, as responsible for 90% of leaks from operational hard coal mines, with the Budryk deep mine identified as the largest emitter in Europe. The report recommends accelerating methane reduction plans, prioritizing the closure of methane-intensive mines, banning the release of captured methane, and integrating coal mine methane into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme by 2030.

The report highlights that Poland accounted for 70% of methane leaks from active coal mines in Europe in 2018. It argues that these emissions have a greater climate impact than the CO2 emissions from the Bełchatów Power Plant when using a 20-year warming horizon. The analysis identifies JSW and PGG as the dominant emitters, with the Budryk mine being the largest single source in Europe. The document recommends accelerating emission reduction plans, closing high-emitting mines, banning the release of captured methane, and integrating methane into the EU ETS by 2030.

The report investigates how transitioning to a closed-loop economy affects employment, concluding that circular economy proxy measures are generally more labour-intensive than fossil-fuel-related jobs and can decouple economic activity from greenhouse gas emissions.

The report examines the current state of compensation under investment treaties, highlighting a trend toward increasingly large awards driven by the use of forward-looking valuation methods like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). It identifies systemic issues, including discrepancies between invested amounts and awarded compensation, the complexity of valuation processes, and the disregard for contextual factors such as public interest or a state's ability to pay. The document reviews emerging treaty practices from Africa, India, and the EU and proposes four reform options: balancing rules, capping compensation at the amount invested, integrating gain-based considerations, or applying the host state's domestic law.

The document examines the current state of compensation in investment treaty disputes, highlighting a trend toward massive awards driven by the 'discounted cash flow' (DCF) method. It argues that current practices often diverge from international law and national legal standards, creating significant financial burdens for host states. The guide analyzes three main valuation categories—market-based, income-based, and asset-based—and evaluates emerging treaty practices from Africa, India, and the Netherlands. It concludes by proposing four reform options: balancing rules, limiting compensation to actual investment amounts, integrating host-state benefit analysis, and applying national laws.

G20 governments provided an annual average of $584 billion in support for fossil fuels from 2017 to 2019, with oil and gas production receiving the largest share. While overall support dropped by 9% compared to 2014–2016, this decline was inconsistent across countries and partly driven by lower oil prices. The report finds that state-owned enterprise (SOE) investment is the only support mechanism that increased overall, and that COVID-19 recovery packages have introduced at least $170 billion in new commitments to fossil fuel-intensive sectors, threatening to undo previous progress.

Reclaim Finance argues that the Trucost list used by the Fédération bancaire française (FBF) fails to capture the full coal value chain and omits major global coal actors, including large Chinese and Russian firms. The analysis highlights significant discrepancies in revenue estimations for companies like Glencore and Adani Enterprises compared to the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL), suggesting that Trucost's methodology may lead financial institutions to underestimate their exposure to coal and carbon-intensive activities.

Reclaim Finance compares the Trucost list used by the French Banking Federation with the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL), arguing that Trucost significantly underrepresents coal exposure. The analysis finds that Trucost misses critical coal infrastructure projects, major global coal companies, and hundreds of firms planning new coal capacity. Furthermore, the report highlights discrepancies in revenue estimations for companies like Glencore, Adani Enterprises, and Sasol, suggesting that Trucost's methodology may allow financial institutions to continue supporting high-emission entities despite their exclusion policies.

The report analyzes Russia's strategic return to Africa, driven by Western sanctions and falling oil prices. It focuses on Zimbabwe and Mozambique, highlighting a pattern of elite-directed cooperation centered on extractive industries, arms trade, and political support. While Russia's economic footprint is significantly smaller than China's, it leverages an 'anti-West narrative' and a high tolerance for corruption to secure access to natural resources and political loyalty, often utilizing proxy organizations for election monitoring and paramilitary groups for security.

The report identifies over 60 mitigation policies adopted between July 2019 and August 2020, noting the highest activity in the energy and transport sectors. It highlights a lack of explicitly 'green' COVID-19 recovery measures in most assessed countries, except for the EU and Republic of Korea. Additionally, it tracks the progress of NDCs and LTS, noting that only Vietnam has officially revised its NDC target among the group, while the EU and Japan have submitted net-zero long-term strategies.

The document critiques the Coal Replacement Bonus and the South Bonus introduced in Germany's Coal Phase-out Law, arguing that they overcompensate gas-based CHP plants, risk creating a carbon lock-in effect, and may delay the phase-out of hard coal by offering more attractive financial incentives than closure auctions.

The Council on Strategic Risks argues that the United States must adopt an integrated, whole-of-government approach to confront existential security threats. The authors propose the creation of a dedicated White House Strategy on Confronting Strategic Security Risks and specific National Security Presidential Directives to coordinate the Pentagon, intelligence community, and diplomatic agencies. Key recommendations include establishing a comprehensive Climate Security Strategy, creating a rapid response system for biological outbreaks, and reshaping nuclear doctrine to move away from destabilizing 'low yield' weapons and toward renewed arms control agreements.

The document examines Egypt's long-term nuclear ambitions, culminating in the current Dabaa nuclear power plant project. It argues that the project is framed as a 'national prestige' mega-project under President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi, characterized by 'technological fetishism' and a lack of public transparency. The author highlights the project's funding via a $25 billion Russian loan and expresses concerns regarding safety, the management of spent fuel, and the exclusion of public consultation in the decision-making process.

The report asserts that 'business as usual' is an unsustainable strategy for industrial sectors, as over 40 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions originate from energy-intensive industries. It warns that failure to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 threatens the global economy with supply chain disruptions and value destruction for major commodities. The author argues that achieving a 1.5°C pathway requires not only technological shifts—such as the adoption of hydrogen and carbon capture—but also a reduction in the demand for materials like steel, cement, and plastic. The text emphasizes that an orderly transition is preferable to disruptive 'black swan' events and notes a shifting balance of market power away from fossil fuel industries toward climate-aligned corporations.

The document details how climate indicators from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS)—including precipitation, temperature, and evaporation—are integrated into the SAVi Irrigation model. It provides a literature review on the impacts of temperature and precipitation on crop yields and water requirements, establishes the methodology for calculating net and total irrigation requirements, and presents simulation results for Johannesburg under the IPSL RCP8.5 scenario, projecting a 23% increase in net irrigation requirements by 2090-2100.

The document analyzes Egypt's long-term pursuit of nuclear energy, framing the current Dabaa project as a 'techno-nationalist' mega-project under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. It highlights the lack of transparency in the selection of ROSATOM as a partner, the financial burden of a $25 billion loan, and the government's tendency to prioritize national prestige over public consultation and safety transparency.

The proposal requests USD 254,007 over 24 months to support the R2E2 Fund's aspiration to become a GCF-accredited entity. The project focuses on two main outcomes: strengthening the fund's institutional capacity to meet GCF Fiduciary Standards—including the design of Environmental, Social and Gender guidelines—and developing a robust pipeline of climate finance projects. Proposed project ideas include financing solar energy and energy efficiency upgrades for households and micro-businesses in vulnerable communities, as well as infrastructure for electric vehicles and energy storage. The implementation will be managed by a dedicated Project Implementation Unit (PIU) within the R2E2 Fund and overseen by a Project Steering Committee chaired by the Deputy Minister of Environment of Armenia.

The author contends that the existence of specific nuclear capabilities leads to the creation of contingency plans that can easily be executed, potentially bypassing political restraint. Citing the short interval between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the text argues that technical capabilities and the routine work of war planners shape the conditions for nuclear use more than high-level policy. The author advocates for moving away from nuclear weapon types that are perceived as 'usable' or prone to miscalculation.

The global green bond market saw a 26% year-on-year decline in issuance volume during H1 2020, totaling USD 91.6 billion, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While green issuance slowed, there was a surge in 'pandemic' labeled debt (approximately USD 75 billion) and social/sustainability bonds (USD 94.4 billion). Developed markets dominated the landscape, contributing 82% of issuance, with the US and France leading. Government-backed entities and non-financial corporates were the most prominent issuer types, and energy remained the most popular use of proceeds category at 34%.

ClientEarth urges the European Commission to implement strict, mandatory regulations on methane emissions across the fossil fuel and agriculture sectors. The organization argues that the EU, as the world's largest importer of fossil gas, has the commercial power to mandate low-emission supply chains. Key recommendations include expanding the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to cover methane, introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for methane-emitting imports, and reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to end subsidies for intensive livestock production. ClientEarth also highlights the health risks of indoor gas appliances and the need to counter industry misinformation by replacing the term 'natural gas' with 'fossil gas'.