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The briefing assesses the critical role of the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) in U.S. national security, highlighting its success in developing medical countermeasures for threats like Ebola and swine flu. Despite these capabilities, the authors report a decade-long decline in CBDP funding, which continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. The document recommends doubling the budget to $2 billion in the short term and increasing it to $6.5–$7 billion annually in subsequent years. It advocates for a shift toward 'rapid response platforms,' including nucleic-acid based therapeutics and metagenomic sequencing, while calling for clarified mission authorities to allow CBDP to respond to natural pandemics.

The briefing argues that the Leaders Summit on Climate should be used to secure a 50% emissions reduction target from the US by 2030, align the 2030 targets of major economies like China and Japan with net-zero trajectories, increase climate finance for developing nations while ending public coal funding, and ensure COVID-19 recovery packages prioritize green infrastructure over fossil fuels.

The document identifies an "unspoken consensus" among the UK, EU, and US that transitioning to zero-carbon power by the 2030s is essential for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. It analyzes official pathways, noting a shared commitment to rapidly phasing out coal and reducing fossil gas, while dramatically scaling up wind and solar power. The briefing highlights a "credibility gap" in other OECD nations, such as Japan and South Korea, which have net-zero targets but lack corresponding coal phase-out commitments.

In 2020, global coal power capacity grew by 12.5 GW for the first time since 2015, driven primarily by China, which accounted for 76% of new commissions. While the US and EU saw record retirements, China's new capacity of 38.4 GW offset these gains. Meanwhile, South and Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, significantly reduced their planned coal pipelines due to financing difficulties and the falling cost of renewables. The report concludes that current global trajectories remain far from the IPCC 1.5C pathway, which would require the cancellation or retirement of an additional 1,350 GW by 2030.

In 2020, a significant increase in coal plant development in China offset a global retreat from coal, leading to the first increase in global coal capacity since 2015. While China commissioned 38.4 GW of new capacity, the rest of the world saw a decline of 17.2 GW, driven by record retirements in the U.S. and EU27. South and Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Vietnam, announced plans to cut up to 62 GW of planned coal power due to falling renewable costs and financing difficulties. Despite these regional shifts, the report finds that global coal capacity remains far above the levels required to meet the IPCC 1.5 degree pathway, with an estimated 1,350 GW needing to be cancelled or retired.

In 2020, global coal-fired power capacity increased by 12.5 GW, driven primarily by China, which operated 38.4 GW of new capacity. This offset record closures in the US (11.3 GW) and EU27 (10.1 GW). While China's development grew as an economic stimulus during the pandemic, other Asian nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines announced plans to cancel up to 62 GW of planned projects due to falling renewable costs and financing difficulties. The report concludes that current global trajectories remain far from the 1.5°C warming limit, with approximately 1,350 GW of capacity needing to be cancelled or closed to meet IPCC targets.

In 2020, global coal capacity increased by 12.5 GW, driven by China's addition of 38.4 GW, which offset 37.8 GW of closures globally, primarily in the US and EU. While China saw a surge in new plans and construction as economic stimulus, other regions—particularly South and Southeast Asia—experienced significant project cancellations due to funding difficulties and the rise of renewables. The report highlights a widening gap between current global trajectories and the IPCC 1.5°C pathway, noting that substantial further closures are required to meet climate goals.

The report highlights a global divergence in coal power: while the US, EU, and parts of Asia are seeing record retirements and project cancellations, China's significant increase in new capacity in 2020 led to a net global growth of 12.5 GW. The document argues that current national trajectories remain far from the IPCC 1.5°C pathway, which would require the cancellation or retirement of 1,350 GW of capacity.

The report highlights a global divergence in coal power: while most of the world saw record closures and project cancellations, China experienced a significant boom in new capacity, offsetting global declines. In 2020, China's new coal capacity reached 38.4 GW, accounting for 76% of the global total. Conversely, the US and EU27 led in closures, with 11.3 GW and 10.1 GW retired respectively. In South and Southeast Asia, countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh announced plans to cut up to 62 GW of planned coal capacity due to funding difficulties and the falling cost of renewables. The report also notes that global coal capacity is far exceeding the levels required to meet the IPCC's 1.5°C warming limit, with a projected 2,400 GW by 2030 compared to the required 1,100 GW.

The briefing argues that the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) has failed to trigger a meaningful global coal exit due to significant loopholes in its declaration and a lack of monitoring. It highlights that many financial institution members continue to invest in coal, and co-chairs Canada and the UK are not leading by example, with Canada developing new coal mines. The document calls for a reform of the PPCA to align with climate science, requiring an immediate stop to new coal projects and a full sector exit by 2030 in OECD/European countries and 2040 globally.

The Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) finds that the GCF's accreditation function is overburdened by contradictory goals and lacks a formal strategy, leading to protracted processing times and a project portfolio heavily skewed toward international entities. While the GCF prioritizes direct access, many direct access entities (DAEs) struggle with capacity and have not successfully accessed funds. The report recommends strengthening the governance of the Accreditation Committee and Panel, establishing clear business standards for processing, and implementing a project-specific assessment approach (PSAA) to improve efficiency.

The report finds strong evidence of a 'greenium' (pricing at a lower yield than vanilla equivalents) for 79% of the sampled green bonds in H2 2020. It highlights the success of Germany's twin bond structure and the emergence of the automotive sector as a source of green bonds, while noting that 56% of these bonds were allocated to dedicated green or ESG investors.

The document examines how autonomous vehicles (AVs) could either reduce or increase greenhouse gas emissions depending on whether they are deployed as shared, electric mass transit or as private, single-occupancy vehicles. While AVs offer potential efficiency gains through 'platooning' and reduced vehicle weight, they risk increasing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and urban sprawl. The brief highlights the necessity of integrating AVs into multimodal urban systems and reviews current testing and regulatory efforts in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

The Green Central Banking Scorecard evaluates G20 monetary and prudential authorities across four categories: Research and Advocacy, Monetary Policy, Financial Policy, and Leading by Example. The findings reveal a significant gap between rhetoric and action, with most institutions scoring high in research but failing to implement high-impact policies that restrict financial flows to fossil fuels. China, Brazil, and France are the top-ranked countries, though no G20 institution has implemented a 'high impact' policy as defined by the report's criteria.

Ghana is pursuing a nuclear power programme to address chronic electricity shortages and support industrialisation, aiming for a plant by 2030. While the country has made significant progress in establishing a regulatory framework and converting its research reactor from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium, it still faces challenges in funding, stakeholder involvement, and the completion of a national strategy. The report also highlights Ghana's extensive use of nuclear technology in medicine, agriculture, and research.

The document argues that wood forensic science—a suite of identification technologies—can reveal the true species and origin of timber, exposing the fraud and corruption that facilitate illegal logging. While these tools can support law enforcement and due diligence in consumer and producer countries, their effectiveness depends on political will, institutional capacity, and the expansion of global reference data sets.

The World Resources Institute recommends that the US target a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. This target is presented as achievable through an "All-in" strategy combining federal and local action, with the power sector providing over 60% of the necessary reductions. The briefing asserts that this transition would create millions of jobs, with renewable energy investments generating more than twice the jobs of fossil fuel spending. Furthermore, it argues that such a target is essential for the US to regain international credibility and inspire other major emitters ahead of COP26.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative and Vivid Economics analyzes the 'greenness' of COVID-19 recovery stimulus packages in five Asian countries—India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea—using the Greenness of Stimulus Index (GSI). The study finds that most of these nations are not sufficiently incorporating climate considerations into their fiscal responses, with 'dirty' stimulus often outweighing green measures.

The Council on Strategic Risks argues that the U.S. Department of Defense's Global Posture Review should prioritize biological threat readiness by enhancing ally cooperation, deploying rapid disease detection on naval assets, and establishing forward-deployed medical materiel stocks. It suggests utilizing OCONUS bases for pathogen surveillance and medical countermeasure manufacturing to improve resilience and deter adversaries from developing biological weapons.

The analysis finds that most COVID-19 stimulus packages in the five studied Asian countries lack sufficient climate considerations, with 'dirty' stimulus often outweighing green measures. South Korea is the best performer due to its Green New Deal, while the Philippines and Singapore showed no quantified commitment to green outcomes. The report recommends increasing the size of green stimulus, implementing green conditionalities for bailouts, and expanding support for green R&D and tax reductions.