Structured research · Climate & transition

Keep the observed apart from the modeled. What is physically happening, who is exposed, and what actually works at scale.

Climate work splits into two questions that coverage runs together: what is physically happening and who is exposed, and whether a proposed intervention works at scale. This is research for the risk analyst, the transition investor and the reporter that keeps them apart — the observed record and its attribution on one side, deployment evidence and processing-concentration risk on the other, with every projection attributed to whoever produced it and under what scenario.

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August 7, 2026ClimatePublished

Will EPR laws close the textile recycling gap?

The strongest case against making clothing brands pay for textile recycling is France: after 18 years of per-garment fees, about 32% of textiles are collected against a legally mandated 60% target.

What came back
  • Destroying unsold clothing became illegal for large companies in Europe on 19 July 2026, aimed at the estimated 250,000-600,000 tonnes burned or landfilled each year — the strongest argument in the law's favour.
  • Supporters and skeptics both accept that clothing-sorting machines now identify fibers with over 95% accuracy; they part ways on whether producer fees fund recycling capacity or mostly admin and collection.

Real climate research from the public library, shown as it was published. The stamps and the sources are the product.

Who comes here

The questions climate research is built to answer.

Each one is a question a specialist actually brings, and each is answered by a scan this domain carries — not a generic report with the name swapped in.

Physical-risk analyst

What has the observed record established about this phenomenon, and who is exposed to it now?

Answered byPhenomenon
Transition investor

Has this solution been deployed at scale, or has it been modeled, piloted and pledged?

Climate-policy researcher

Which instrument is doing the work here, and what does it actually require of whom?

Answered byRegulatory Map
Climate reporter

Where does the processing chain for this material concentrate, and what breaks if it stops?

Answered bySupply Chain
How it holds up

What a climate scan rests on.

Every judgment carries a grade for how it is actually known, every figure carries who reported it, and the structured record below is read on every scan before the model writes a word.

What grounds itNASA EONET’s live natural-event feed, scoped to the subject’s hazard type; NOAA’s Mauna Loa CO2 record; World Bank emissions and renewable-share indicators for a named country; National Weather Service alerts where a US place is in play; Open-Meteo observations; Semantic Scholar’s citation record on a phenomenon, so an attribution claim can point at a named study; UN Comtrade for processing concentration — plus the assessments, filings and the specialist climate press through live search, tiered toward World Weather Attribution, NSIDC, Carbon Brief, the policy institutes and the wire services.
Attributed, every projectionA projected figure names who produced it and under what scenario. Deployment evidence is what has been built and run, not what has been modeled or pledged, and a pledge is recorded as a pledge.
What it will not doNo solution graded on its pitch, and no phenomenon dramatised past its record. Readiness means evidence of deployment at scale; exposure means people and assets that can be named.
Every claim comes back stamped
VERIFIED GROUNDED PARTIAL CONTESTED GAP
Live search is steered toward
carbonbrief.orgclimatechangenews.comcleanenergywire.orgclimateanalytics.orgclimatepolicyinitiative.orginsideclimatenews.orgreuters.combbc.combbc.co.uktheguardian.comnytimes.comwashingtonpost.com

53 first-tier sources for climate, and 28 blocked outright. Search results are one input; every figure is graded on where it came from, not on being found. How the grades work →

How FLOW reads it

Sized for climate, in climate’s own terms.

Scale here is systemic weight — the populations, the assets and the supply chains a connection reaches — and Complexity is how uncertain the attribution, the technology or the policy path still is.

ABackground Signal

Small systemic impact, easy to understand. Contained within a single sector or region.

BActionable Signal

Meaningful systemic impact and the adaptation pathway is clear. Existing frameworks apply.

CComplex Transition

Meaningful stakes with real uncertainty. The dynamics may be non-linear, adaptation pathways unclear, or the tradeoffs span across sectors and timescales.

DSystemic Priority

Very high stakes at multi-sector or global scale. Cascading effects, irreversible thresholds, or global consequences make this one of the most important connections, regardless of complexity.

SPlanetary Inflection Point

No precedent. A fundamental shift in the Earth system that existing frameworks may not cover.

Rule 1 · FLOW C cannot exist at planetary scale

When systemic impact grows to planetary or multi-system scale, FLOW C reclassifies to FLOW D immediately. The priority shifts from 'analyze carefully' to 'mobilize response.'

Rule 2 · Systemic impact alone drives FLOW D

Planetary-scale systemic impact means FLOW D regardless of complexity. A straightforward situation requiring multi-national coordination is FLOW D, not FLOW A.

Rule 3 · When debating D vs S — use D

FLOW S requires conditions that fall entirely outside existing climate science and adaptation frameworks — max 1-2 per analysis. The test: do existing models and response mechanisms apply at all?

One vocabulary across every domain — a FLOW D here reads at the same weight as a FLOW D in any other — so the classification travels, and so does your judgment. The framework in full →

The catalog · Climate

74 scans, grouped by the move you’re making.

7 ways in, then the rest of the catalog organised as the Climate workbench organises it — establish the background, map the argument, work the record, analyse the connections, decide what to do. Every one comes back graded, sourced and exportable.

Start here

The 7 ways in
Climate ImpactRead a climate event across affected systems
AskGet a direct answer to any climate question
PhenomenonProfile a phenomenon, oscillation, or system
Solution / InterventionProfile a climate solution, technology, or intervention
Why It ChangedWhy a measured series actually moved
Market ResearchSize a climate market — real demand vs announced
Climate SearchSearch climate publications and literature

Discover

1 scan
Climate DebateScientist, policymaker, and advocate chatter

Explore

7 scans
InnovateGrounded ideas for a problem
ScenarioProject a climate scenario forward
Uncertainty MapWhere the science is unsettled — and why
Response OptionsMap response options with tradeoffs
CompareCompare two policies, regions, or approaches
Risk LandscapeMap a risk landscape around a region or sector
Event AnaloguesFind historical climate events that parallel this

Fundamentals

15 scans
ChronologyTrace how a climate story developed
Follow the MoneyFollow the money in climate action
Funding MapWho funds the transition — programs and awards
Climate LitigationClimate suits — parties, forums, and rulings
Key PlayersProfile the key actors on a climate issue
Who's On ItWho is on the fire line, and who is paying
How It WorksExplain how a climate system works
Climate TrajectoryThe measured arc of a transition trend
Climate HorizonPre-deployment signals, early anomalies
Solution ReadinessClaims vs measured results, pilot to scale
Venture Stress-TestYour venture vs MRV and bankability records
Falsification PlanThe cheapest tests that could kill the hypothesis
Climate ConvergenceWhere two transition streams actually meet
Science PulseMeasured results, graded by reception
By the NumbersKey climate figures, sourced and dated

Debate

5 scans
PositionsMap who supports or opposes a climate policy
Poll CheckClimate opinion polling — pollster named, dated
The ArgumentsThe case for and against a solution
Myths & MisconceptionsCommon climate myths, corrected
Consensus CheckWhat models and markets expect — and the spread

Cases

7 scans
SceneReconstruct one pivotal moment, in the room
VoicesReal quotes, exactly sourced
Primary DocumentsThe record verbatim — IPCC, NDCs, rules, rulings
Budget AnatomyA climate budget dissected — enacted vs proposed
Case StudyA real climate case, worked through
PlaybookThe actionable steps, from analysis
Decision ReviewWas the intervention or investment call right?

Profiles

11 scans
Stakeholder ProfileDeep profile of a nation, institution, or ecosystem
PersonProfile a scientist, policymaker, or activist
ProfileStrengths, pros/cons, or roads/barriers for a choice
Track RecordClimate pledges vs. measured delivery
Why They Did ItWhat a pledge or project move was for
Method StudyA practice as practiced, evidence-graded
Literature ReviewWhat the science says, disputes reported
Options AppraisalInterventions scored on the measured record
Fact GridA data table with methods and vintages
Read GridApproach read from what has been built
Document BreakdownA report in hand, claims checked vs the record

Connections

3 scans
System MapMap supply chains, policy and ecological links
RelationshipHow two climate actors or systems relate
SynthesisCombine multiple analyses into one assessment

Markets

9 scans
Buyer ResearchWho buys clean tech and what actually closes
Supply ChainTrace minerals to megawatts, mine to deployment
Transport & RoutesRead freight routes, their emissions and exposure
Carrier DossierWho carries it, and what they actually own to abate
Transition WorkforceThe workforce the transition actually needs
Regulatory MapMandates, credits, permits — the real perimeter
Deal FlowClimate deals as documented — funding to M&A
Pricing ReadCarbon and clean-tech prices — posted, dated
Partnership MapClimate coalitions and JVs — documented only

Act

7 scans
What You NeedWhat you need to hit an objective
Competitor WeaknessesWhere a competitor is exposed
Risk CascadeCascading climate risks across linked systems
Action PlanBuild an adaptation or mitigation plan
Climate WatchDefine climate indicators and thresholds to monitor
Catalyst CalendarDated milestones: COPs, NDC deadlines, rulings
BriefingCompile a decision-ready climate briefing

Investigate

1 scan
InquiryVerified deep research on any climate question

Tools

1 scan
FrameworksApply frameworks (SWOT, Red Team, etc.)

Don’t know which one you need? The Router reads a plain question and picks one; the Planner takes a goal and designs a linked sequence. Every completed scan opens onto its own follow-ups — ask it a question, re-check what has changed, red-team its judgments, or push a signal onto your watchboard.

What leaves with you
Citations · BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSONPDF · print-grade, branded coverPublic link · read-only, revocableMarkdown · for Slack, Notion, emailAudio · to a personal podcast feedSummary deck · ready to post

And the Studio turns a set of climate scans into a planned, researched, edited report or book. Every format →

Observed on one side, modeled on the other.

Open the climate workbench with a phenomenon, a solution, a material or a policy. What comes back keeps the two apart.

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