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Key developments
World Bank retires climate co-benefits targets
In a June 29 statement, the World Bank Group said it will extend its Climate Change Action Plan but retire the 45% climate co-benefits target and the 35% target in the plan. The bank said the Independent Evaluation Group will evaluate CCAP performance at the Board’s request, while future tracking will rely on scorecard indicators for net greenhouse gas emissions and beneficiaries with enhanced resilience to climate risks.
Why it matters
The move shifts a major climate-finance institution away from input-based climate spending targets toward outcome metrics, with implications for how development banks define and account for climate impact.
Sources & driving stories
WORLD BANK GROUP
World Bank Group coverageFrench court orders TotalEnergies Scope 3 plan
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law reports that on June 25 the Paris Judicial Court ordered TotalEnergies to supplement its Duty of Vigilance plan within six months to include Scope 3 emissions from use of its oil and gas products. The court found the company’s plan incomplete because it covered Scope 1 and 2 emissions but excluded Scope 3, while declining to mandate broader emissions cuts or a specific 1.5°C pathway.
Why it matters
The ruling strengthens pressure on fossil-fuel companies to address downstream emissions in corporate climate-risk governance, even without ordering direct production cuts.
Sources & driving stories
SABIN CENTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE LAW
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law coverageOʻahu report favors solar over power plants
Civil Beat’s Stewart Yerton reports that a University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization report released Monday finds solar photovoltaic projects paired with battery storage are the lowest-cost path for Oʻahu’s electricity system. The report by Michael Roberts, Ethan Hartley, and Matthias Fripp says Oʻahu does not need a new fuel-burning power plant and estimates $3.4 billion in customer savings from 2027 to 2050 if solar soft costs fall toward mainland U.S. levels. Hawaiian Electric disputed the pricing assumptions, saying the study understates labor, shipping, land, steel, concrete, and equipment costs in Hawaiʻi.
Why it matters
The findings directly challenge utility and developer interest in new fuel-burning capacity as Hawaiʻi works toward 100% renewable electricity.
Sources & driving stories
CIVIL BEAT · Stewart Yerton
Civil Beat coverageUNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI SYSTEM NEWS
University of Hawaiʻi System News coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Mining abuse allegations rose sharply
Mongabay reports that the Business and Human Rights Centre’s Transition Mineral Tracker recorded 329 abuse allegations in 2025 across 299 mining operations, up from 156 the prior year, as demand grows for copper, cobalt, lithium, and other transition minerals.
WORTH NOTING
Kashmir lakes keep shrinking
AP reports that an Indian government assessment found 315 of Jammu and Kashmir’s 697 natural lakes have disappeared and 203 have shrunk since 1967, with warming, erratic rainfall, sewage, sediment, and encroachment threatening Dal and Wular lakes.
WORTH NOTING
Plastics treaty talks resumed
Climate Home News’ Matteo Civillini reports that governments restarted informal UN plastics treaty talks in Nairobi, with campaigners warning that limits on plastic production may be left out before a planned March 2027 negotiating round.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will outcome metrics replace climate-finance targets credibly?
The World Bank’s move away from co-benefits targets will depend on whether its greenhouse-gas and resilience indicators provide transparent, comparable evidence of real-world impact.
OPEN QUESTION
Can Oʻahu lower solar soft costs fast enough?
UHERO’s projected $3.4 billion savings depends on permitting, interconnection, land-use, and project-cost reforms that Hawaiian Electric says may not reflect Hawaiʻi’s underlying cost structure.