Global Scans · Standards · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Improving standards are likely to be driven more by business and technological improvement than governments in the future. The latter will be under severe pressure to cut bureaucracy, speed policy making and improve their nation's productivity performance.

• [New] The World Economic Forum's 2026 findings emphasize that AI-related vulnerabilities are among the fastest-growing risks, which implies that waiting for perfect standards is neither prudent nor practical. Stanford Tech Review
• [New] Recognised by the G7 and leading international organizations, including the IEA and international standards bodies, the Decarbonization Scale helps steelmakers demonstrate genuine decarbonization progress while avoiding competition for limited scrap supplies that could lead to carbon leakage. ResponsibleSteel
• [New] The UK supervisors have been explicit that AI will be overseen through existing frameworks rather than bespoke AI rules, with the PRA and FCA rolling supervisory expectations forward. Modulos
• [New] The Space Force will require significant additional manpower and specialized expertise to generate Space Control forces able to conduct sustained operations at a global scale. Defense News
• [New] A world of hardened chip blocs will find it harder to build shared safety standards, coordinate incident response, or align expectations for frontier-model behaviour. Educational Technology and Change Journal
• [New] So far, despite some efforts at the national and international level, such as the United States' Center for AI Standards and Innovation, regulation and policy around AI risks remain largely underdeveloped and left in the hands of the private sector. Brookings
• [New] Government-backed bodies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology are already finalizing post-quantum cryptography standards, a move that will trigger a multi-decade overhaul for nearly every industry. investing.com
• [New] The FDA might issue new rules on front-of-pack labeling, or the FTC could revise its Green Guides to crack down on new forms of greenwashing. GlobalVision
• [New] Development Impact: As global trade becomes more digital, data-driven, and rules-intensive, developing economies risk being left behind if they lack trusted digital infrastructure, interoperable standards, and the institutional capacity to navigate complex trade systems. NYU | DRI
• [New] For the transport sector, the CO2 emissions standards on cars and light commercial vehicles (including the full phase-out of ICE sales by 2035) is the main driver for increasing sales of battery-electric vehicles and a key step for getting on track for climate neutrality. Nature
• [New] The path to full GHG neutrality in the EU with a focus on 2040 targets, while adhering to realistic starting points and incorporating key current policies already in place such as the tightened CO2 emission standards driving road transport decarbonization, remains underexplored. Nature
• [New] Standards bodies including IEEE have begun formalizing haptic codec and latency specifications that will shape the next generation of cross-platform haptic interoperability. PatSnap
• [New] Quantum computers, once fully mature, will be able to break most of today's encryption - including RSA and ECC, the standards that protect your bank transactions, emails, and national security communications. allinonevibe
• [New] The European Commission is preparing to publish the EU Circular Economy Act (CEA) in 2026, setting out new rules that will directly affect packaging, recycling systems and the use of secondary raw materials across Europe. Yahoo Finance
• [New] SB 1282, the Battery Integration and Grid Reliability Act, will encourage the use of smart, managed EV charging and bidirectional EVs to support grid reliability, resilience, and affordability while also authorizing the California Energy Commission to set standards. The Climate Center
• [New] Germany supports a technology-neutral approach, which would still allow new combustion-engine cars to be registered after 2035 if they meet EU rules. Global Banking & Finance Review
• [New] By 2027, agentic systems will have to meet certain standards. / USA Barchart.com
• [New] If NASA's acoustic measurements demonstrate that the X-59's sonic thump falls within community-acceptable noise thresholds, the FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization could revise standards that have been frozen since the Concorde era. / USA TheDefenseWatch.com
• [New] China will further upgrade the green manufacturing level of PV modules, increase the use of recycled materials, improve waste assessment standards, and testing and inspection methods. Center for Strategic and International Studies
• [New] The Federal Communications Commission will vote on new rules to ensure integrity, security, and reciprocity in electronic device testing. Benton Foundation
• [New] The Commission would vote on an order to modernize its satellite spectrum-sharing rules - a change that could unlock more than $2 billion in economic benefits for the American people and up to seven-fold more capacity for space-based broadband services. Benton Foundation
• [New] Automation is expected to drive economic growth, increase productivity, and improve living standards around the world. DeepUseCase
• [New] In the United States, the FTC issued preliminary guidance in March warning that agentic systems making consumer-facing decisions must maintain explainability standards - a technically challenging requirement that has sent compliance teams scrambling. Verodate

Last updated: 23 April 2026