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The document introduces investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) as a mechanism allowing foreign investors to bring claims against host states before international tribunals. It highlights that the mining sector is one of the most frequent targets of such claims, which can result in large monetary awards and delay regulatory reforms. The brief details how consent for ISDS is established through investment treaties, domestic laws, and contracts, and notes a growing trend of claims linked to the demand for critical minerals. It concludes with recommendations for governments to manage ISDS risks through inter-agency coordination, thorough documentation, and legal coherence.

Zambia, the world's 10th-largest copper producer, seeks to diversify its economy by moving beyond raw mineral exports. While the country has strong midstream capacity, refining and downstream manufacturing remain limited. The report identifies critical bottlenecks, most notably unreliable electricity and high logistics costs, and recommends a phased strategy: first scaling smelting and refining to capture immediate revenue, then building the infrastructure and skills necessary for high-value manufacturing. It emphasizes that Zambia's low-carbon energy mix is a strategic advantage for attracting global buyers seeking sustainable copper.

The report analyzes the role of Indian state governments in localizing the EV and battery supply chain, arguing that while central policies provide strategic direction, states control critical levers like land, power, and regulatory clearances. It finds that net localization for high-cost components like batteries and motors remains below 20%. The study categorizes 14 states into 'leading', 'aspirational', 'emerging', and 'differentiated' based on their policy strength and manufacturing competitiveness. Key recommendations include shifting toward indirect equity investment models to de-risk upstream battery production, establishing a design-linked incentive for R&D, and introducing phased zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandates to create demand certainty.

The report analyzes 23 regulatory instruments from various countries to identify common features of greenwashing policy, such as the use of consumer protection laws, the role of non-binding guidance, and the necessity of scientific substantiation. It highlights a gap between high-level regulatory principles and the practical ability of smaller producers to provide verifiable data, suggesting that voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can bridge this gap if regulators establish clear recognition criteria.

The report argues that LAUSD has significantly increased its reliance on private vendors under Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, with a high concentration of contracts going to venture capital and private equity-backed firms. It highlights risks including lack of oversight, potential data privacy violations, and the prioritization of profit over student outcomes, citing specific examples like the failed AllHere AI chatbot and the consolidation of edtech by Veritas Capital.

The report examines the growing influence of private equity in Michigan, where 10% of the private sector workforce is employed by private equity-controlled companies. It details how leveraged buyouts and aggressive cost-cutting strategies have led to increased bankruptcy rates, labor disputes, and reduced quality in essential services. Specific case studies highlight staffing shortages and poor rankings at Apollo-owned hospitals, rent spikes in Blackstone-owned student housing, and safety violations and child labor at Hearthside Food Solutions. The document also notes that Michigan has the second-highest number of private equity-owned manufactured home parks in the U.S., often characterized by predatory rent increases and neglected maintenance. Finally, it calls for the Michigan State Treasury and Retirement System to adopt responsible workforce and property management standards to protect public investments and residents.

The report examines the growth of private equity (PE) in the autism therapy sector, highlighting a pattern of aggressive acquisitions and debt-driven management. It argues that PE-backed providers often prioritize profit over patient care by using standardized treatment plans, pressuring parents for more therapy hours, and engaging in fraudulent billing. State audits in Massachusetts, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Colorado reveal millions of dollars in improper Medicaid payments and inadequate staffing. The document concludes with policy recommendations, including facility-level licensure and rules to ensure a high percentage of Medicaid payments go directly to care worker compensation.

Between 2021 and 2024, 24 major European banks provided US$41.9 billion to companies developing new gas plants, with 63% of this funding coming from seven banks in France and the UK. The report contends that gas power is not a 'transition fuel' but a source of severe air pollution, price volatility, and long-term greenhouse gas emissions lock-in. It highlights that 78% of this financing is directed toward OECD and European countries, where power sectors are expected to be carbon neutral by 2035. The document concludes that banks must immediately end financial services to gas power expansion to align with a 1.5°C warming limit.

The document highlights the economic and environmental benefits of transitioning US households from electric resistance heating to heat pumps, noting potential annual national savings of nearly $20 billion and a significant reduction in peak electricity demand.

The briefing argues that the ADB's financial intermediary (FI) lending, specifically its $95 million equity investment in Clifford Capital, creates a transparency loophole that allows continued support for fossil gas projects. It highlights that while the ADB claims to 'ring-fence' its funds, Clifford Capital continues to finance oil and gas projects globally and in Asia. The document provides case studies of the Tangguh LNG project in Indonesia and the Bhola-2 gas power plant in Bangladesh to illustrate the environmental and social harms resulting from such investments, including mangrove destruction and forced land acquisition. It concludes that the ADB's reliance on outdated 2009 policies for these investments avoids the stricter requirements of the 2025 Environmental and Social Framework.

The report examines the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) 95 million USD equity investment in Clifford Capital, a Singapore-based financial intermediary. It argues that ADB's use of financial intermediaries (FIs) creates a transparency gap that allows continued support for fossil gas projects, contradicting the bank's stated goals of Paris Agreement alignment. The document highlights specific projects in Indonesia and Bangladesh as examples of environmental and social harm resulting from such investments and calls for a phased exit from fossil gas funding.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach for scientists to navigate the risks associated with public engagement, particularly in contexts of democratic backsliding. It provides a quantitative risk assessment tool based on demographics, history, and institutional factors, and offers specific guidance on digital hygiene, managing public records under FOIA and state laws, and preparing for harassment. The guide emphasizes the importance of maintaining a distinction between personal and professional roles and building support networks to safeguard researchers who challenge government failures in science-based policymaking.

WWF's report explores using market forces to manage invasive species, specifically focusing on the development of a framework to evaluate the ecological and business viability of such efforts. It highlights a proof-of-concept project involving the processing of invasive carp for pet food via the company IGNIZA, which utilizes a former limestone mine to reduce energy costs. The report provides detailed ecological and business checklists to prevent unintended consequences, such as incentivizing the spread of invasive species, and applies these to case studies of invasive carp and black locust trees.

The report details how the EU's strategy to diversify energy supplies has led to an increased reliance on US LNG, which is expected to reach up to 80% of European imports by 2030. This demand fuels infrastructure expansion in the US Gulf Coast and Permian Basin, resulting in ecosystem destruction, hazardous living conditions for residents, and significant methane emissions. The text highlights the role of Italian entities, including the bank Intesa Sanpaolo and energy companies like Eni and Edison, in financing and purchasing this gas, while noting legal disputes over delivery obligations and the environmental 'sacrifice zones' created by relentless extraction.

The document details an Iranian-linked information operation, Storm-2035, that deployed four X accounts impersonating Northern Irish residents between August 2024 and February 2026. These accounts used AI-generated content and 'hashtag hijacking' to promote Irish reunification and narratives supportive of the Iranian regime and Palestine. Despite low engagement, the operation demonstrates Ireland's vulnerability to foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), particularly as it prepares for the EU presidency in 2026.

The document analyzes the use of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) to finance the plugging of orphaned oil and gas wells in North America to reduce methane emissions. It evaluates four existing methodologies (ACR, BCarbon, CarbonPath, and OCP), noting that while these projects offer strong additionality and significant co-benefits, they face challenges regarding emissions quantification and long-term permanence due to a lack of empirical data on orphaned well behavior. The report provides a risk framework for buyers and developers, highlighting the tension between industry expertise in producing wells and the uncertainty of non-producing, abandoned wellbores.

Carbon Market Watch asserts that CORSIA is a "phantom scheme" due to patchy enforcement and reliance on low-quality offsets. The author highlights that US airlines, including United, Delta, and American Airlines, are unlikely to pay for their emissions under CORSIA, especially under the Trump administration. Consequently, the document urges the EU to expand the EU ETS to all departing EEA flights to generate revenue for transport decarbonisation and ensure airlines are held accountable for their carbon pollution.

The document argues that AI has entered its '1911 Moment,' shifting from experimental curiosity to real-world military and diplomatic application. It defines the spectrum of AI capabilities from Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) to theoretical Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) and details current deployments of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and AI-driven decision support in conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere. The authors contrast the 'normal technology' view of AI with the 'exceptional technology' view, noting that the choice between these frameworks dictates whether policy should focus on governing deployment or controlling the models themselves. Finally, it highlights the use of 'compute diplomacy' and AI chip export controls as modern instruments of economic statecraft.

Analysis of the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) reveals that oil and gas fields now take significantly longer to come online than in the 1960–1980 period, with 2025 startups averaging 15.1 years. This increase is driven by the depletion of easily accessible fields, forcing companies to target technically challenging 'hard-to-recover' reserves, such as ultra-high pressure '20K technology' fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and remote Arctic projects in Russia. Additional delays stem from reservoir compositions (e.g., sour gas), ecological risks in protected areas, and more stringent environmental regulations, such as the UK's 2025 guidance on scope three emissions. The report argues that these long lead times increase the risk of creating stranded assets and locking in production that contradicts global climate targets to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The document argues that Africa's economic underperformance is linked to a failure to maximize globalization and a heavy reliance on primary exports. It forecasts that full implementation of the AfCFTA would increase Africa's share of world exports to 4.4% and raise GDP per capita to US$6,602 by 2043, compared to 3.5% of exports and US$6,197 GDP per capita under a 'Current Path' scenario. Additionally, the AfCFTA is identified as a tool to reduce African countries' exposure to the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by diversifying export markets.