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Russia's climate policy is characterized by a 'hydrocarbon culture' that prioritizes fossil fuel exports over mitigation. While the country has implemented domestic regulations and a pilot emissions trading scheme, there is uncertainty regarding actual greenhouse gas emission reductions. Russia intends to meet its 2060 carbon neutrality target by recalculating forest carbon absorption to offset emissions. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions have severed climate diplomacy with the West, exacerbating Russian climate obstructionism.

The UK is the second largest oil and gas producer and third largest methane emitter from such operations in Europe. While upstream emissions fell by 29 percent between 2020 and 2022, venting and flaring still accounted for 71 percent of sectoral emissions in 2022. The document highlights that official reporting may underestimate offshore emissions by up to five times. To maintain international leadership and comply with EU regulations—which will require importers to report on methane control this year and meet intensity thresholds by 2030—the UK should adopt a regulation based on prescriptive rules (such as quarterly leak detection and repair), performance standards for emissions intensity, economic incentives, and robust monitoring and verification systems.

The report argues that the UK must implement mandatory methane regulations to maintain international leadership and comply with EU import requirements. It recommends a layered approach combining prescriptive measures (such as quarterly leak detection and repair), a phased transition to OGMP 2.0 Level 5 measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV), and the establishment of an emissions intensity standard for both domestic and imported fossil fuels.

The document outlines a new energy security framework for Central and Eastern Europe, emphasizing the transition to clean energy to reduce vulnerabilities associated with fossil fuel imports and geopolitical instability. It advocates for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, the establishment of a grid security framework to counter hybrid warfare, and the expansion of the EU single energy market through harmonized permitting and increased interconnectivity. Additionally, it calls for the EU to adopt an incentive-based investment approach, similar to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, to maintain global competitiveness and avoid reliance on non-EU financing.

The document outlines a new energy security framework for Central and Eastern Europe, emphasizing the transition from fossil fuel imports to clean energy to mitigate geopolitical risks. It calls for the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, the creation of a grid security framework to counter hybrid warfare, and the expansion of the EU single energy market through harmonized permitting and increased interconnector investment. Additionally, it advocates for an incentive-based investment approach similar to the US Inflation Reduction Act to maintain European competitiveness and prevent reliance on non-EU financing.

The document examines the ecological insecurity caused by military occupations, noting that hostile authorities often engage in the deliberate destruction of ecosystems and exploitation of natural resources. It analyzes the limitations of the 1907 Hague Regulations in the context of the modern 'triple planetary crisis' and provides examples of environmental damage in Georgia, Kuwait, Palestine, and Timor-Leste. The author proposes legal remedies through the International Criminal Court and the ICJ, as well as policy interventions such as environmental risk assessments and citizen science monitoring to enhance ecosystem resilience.

The author critiques a suggestion by the Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education that peace research is a subset of defense research, arguing that peace research must remain a distinct field focused on peace as a public good. The text highlights a decline in the visibility and credibility of the peace movement in the 2020s and warns against the uncritically accepted militarization of public discourse in Norway. The author urges peace researchers to actively participate in public dialogue to define structural peace and steer governance, drawing inspiration from post-Soviet civil society activists who continue to advocate for peace despite high personal costs.

The document analyzes the legal requirements of Article 9 of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), which mandates the restoration of at least 25,000km of free-flowing rivers in the EU by 2030. It details the process for creating barrier inventories, prioritizing the removal of obsolete structures, and ensuring these actions align with other EU frameworks like the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Habitats Directive. The briefing emphasizes the need for longitudinal, lateral, and vertical connectivity and warns against using the Renewable Energy Directive to justify the retention of obsolete barriers.

The document explores the ideological battle over the concept of 'freedom,' contrasting the right-wing's individualistic, consumer-driven 'freedom from constraint' with a proposed 'Green freedom' based on interdependence and ecological limits. It analyzes how this struggle manifests across various domains: the gig economy's algorithmic management, the impact of immersive technologies (XR) on cognitive autonomy, the targeting of gender studies by illiberal regimes, and the need for 'comprehensive security' in the Baltic states that integrates social welfare with military defense. The text argues that for the Green movement to succeed, it must move beyond technical expertise and reclaim freedom as a collective, emancipatory value that decouples wellbeing from economic growth.

The report proposes the minerals-energy-food (MEF) complex as an evolution of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus. It argues that the WEF nexus fails to account for the global trade of commodities, the critical role of minerals in the energy transition, and the systemic power asymmetries between resource-rich low-income countries and wealthy consuming nations. The MEF complex integrates three commodity clusters (minerals, energy, food), three local mediating factors (water, land, labour), and five higher-order global factors (global governance, trade, supply chains, geopolitics, and climate change). Using examples from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, and Ukraine, the authors demonstrate how these components interact to create cascading risks and unequal exchange. The report concludes with a research and policy agenda focused on data transparency, risk ownership, governance mapping, and inclusive participation.

The report benchmarks Ukraine's green transition readiness across 12 sectors, emphasizing that post-war reconstruction offers a strategic opportunity to implement sustainable development and 'build back better' principles. It identifies high-level governance, green skills development, and integrated land use planning as critical priorities for the next 3 to 5 years to ensure national resilience and alignment with EU membership requirements.

The document evaluates the BMZ's Feminist Development Policy (FDP), noting progress in institutional training and specific projects in Rwanda and Tunisia, while critiquing the lack of concrete anti-colonial strategies and contradictions between feminist rhetoric and Germany's arms exports.

Operation Overload is a high-volume Russian influence campaign that impersonates over 80 organisations, including media outlets and universities, to sow division in democratic nations. In early 2025, it targeted 10 countries—primarily Germany, France, and Ukraine—using AI-cloned voices and forged logos to spread narratives against Ukraine and destabilise domestic politics. While most content had limited organic reach, one video claiming USAID paid celebrities to visit Ukraine garnered over 4.2 million views. The operation relies on bot networks and commercial services to amplify its content and frequently tags research organisations to distract them with debunking requests.

The Council on Strategic Risks warns that proposed efforts by the Trump Administration to eliminate or restructure FEMA pose a grave risk to US national security. The author contends that FEMA is essential for protecting American lives, preventing foreign and domestic exploitation during disasters, and supporting military readiness. The document highlights recent cuts to staff and the elimination of the Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program as detrimental, suggesting that the agency requires modernization and investment rather than dismantling.

The report evaluates Moldova's progress toward climate neutrality by 2050, identifying 'Some Progress' in most sectors but 'Little Progress' in zero pollution. Key challenges include heavy reliance on energy imports, outdated building stock, linear waste management, and a significant financing gap, while enablers include EU accession aspirations and international donor support.

The report finds that while a majority of Armenians recognize the impacts of climate change—particularly on health—and support renewable energy, actual personal engagement in environmental activities remains low at 22%. Public trust in environmental action is highest for educational institutions and lowest for the private sector and NGOs. Significant barriers to participation include a lack of time, financial costs, and indifference.

The report finds that while a majority of Ukrainians acknowledge the personal impacts of climate change and support renewable energy development, significant barriers such as financial costs and a perceived lack of common practice hinder individual engagement. Public trust in environmental action is highest for volunteers and youth activists, while the central government is viewed as moderately important but less efficient. Energy security is a major concern, with a strong preference for solar and wind power to reduce foreign dependence.

The report evaluates Ukraine's green transition readiness, identifying 'Significant Progress' in climate change and energy, 'Some Progress' in clean industry, buildings, transport, agriculture, biodiversity, and finance, and 'Little Progress' in zero-pollution, just transition, digitalization, and research and innovation. It emphasizes the need for high-level coordination, a national sustainable finance taxonomy, and the integration of 'build back better' principles into post-war reconstruction to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The document examines the Trump administration's efforts to secure critical minerals and reduce dependence on China, focusing on proposed deals in Ukraine and the DRC. It argues that these 'minerals-for-security' arrangements face significant feasibility hurdles and risk mirroring neocolonial patterns. The author recommends that African nations adopt 'strategic neutrality' and focus on domestic value addition to maximize their agency in the global energy transition.

The briefing assesses the energy transition of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) region, noting that while some countries have reduced gas demand and integrated grids, Russian gas imports rose in 2024 for several members. It warns that planned expansions of LNG and pipeline capacity by 2030 risk creating stranded assets due to declining demand. The author recommends that the 10th Three Seas Summit focus on a 2027 Russian gas phase-out, the creation of a 'Transmission Highway' for clean power, and the development of regional energy hubs.