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Four days before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) puts forward its special report on 1.5°C, NGOs have released a new list of the world’s top 120 coal plant developers. “Building new coal plants is an assault on the Paris climate goals,” says Heffa Schuecking, director of the German environment NGO Urgewald. “Our list names the top companies investors and banks need to shun if they are committed to limiting our planet’s temperature rise.”

Vladimir Slivyak, one of Russia's most prominent environmentalists and winner of the Right Livelihood Award, has been classified as a “foreign agent” by the Russian Ministry of Justice. The reason given by the Russian authorities is that he spread “false information” about Russia's armed forces in the war in Ukraine. 

•    Wintershall Dea’s IPO delayed for undetermined amount of time
•    Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs in talks for IPO
•    Wintershall engaged in controversial fossil business activities

Today, Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) released its first coal policy.[1] While implementing a coal policy was an important first step for the asset manager, the policy does not meet the standards needed for effective coal exclusion.

This week, festivities in Kemerovo, Russia, celebrate the 300th birthday of Kuzbass as a mining region. Meanwhile, most of the residents have nothing to cheer about. Kuzbass is a pollution hot spot. Tom River, where the first coal deposit was found 1721, is the most polluted water body in the area. “Black Sky” events, and with it black snow, are getting more common every year. Under those conditions it is no surprise that Kuzbass is a region with high cancer rates and is leading the country in infectious diseases.

Today, the World Bank Group released its new Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) for 2021-2025.

The CCAP represents a colossal failure to end the Bank’s long-standing support for fossil fuels.

The Bank has also rejected requests from civil society and World Bank shareholders for a public consultation on a full draft of the plan. The World Bank’s press release notes the Bank, “will regularly update its Board on the implementation of the Action Plan,” without providing further details of what aspects of the plan it will report on.