24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact GUIDEBOOK

The 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, coordinated by Sustainable Energy for All on behalf of UN-Energy, promotes a global effort to ensure every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption is met with carbon-free sources every hour of every day. The guidebook outlines five core principles: time-matched procurement, local procurement, technology-inclusivity, enabling new generation, and maximizing system impact. It details technical enablers such as Granular Certificates (GCs) for hourly tracking, smart metering, and 24/7 CFE Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The document also highlights the role of green hydrogen as a storage solution and provides implementation roadmaps for energy buyers, governments, and suppliers, while emphasizing equity considerations for the Global South.

• The 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) framework is defined by five core principles: time-matched procurement (matching hourly consumption with generation), local procurement (purchasing from local/regional grids), technology-inclusivity (using all zero-carbon technologies), enabling new generation (supporting additional CFE to align with the Paris Agreement), and maximizing system impact (addressing the dirtiest hours of consumption).
• Hourly matching is presented as a more credible alternative to annual matching, which can lead to overestimations of clean energy claims because it ignores the variable generation profiles of solar and wind power.
• Granular Certificates (GCs) are emerging tools that allow for the certification of clean energy production at an hourly level, providing a closer correlation between certificates and the real-world availability of carbon-free energy compared to traditional monthly or annual certificates.
• The Compact adopts a technology-inclusive approach that excludes unabated fossil fuels but allows for various definitions of 'carbon-free' among signatories, including nuclear, geothermal, hydropower, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
• Green hydrogen (GH2) is identified as a critical storage option and energy carrier for decarbonizing heavy industries and balancing grids, utilizing a 'Three Pillar' reporting framework (temporality, deliverability, and incrementality) that aligns with 24/7 CFE principles.
• Several governments have already initiated regulations supporting hourly matching; for example, the US Inflation Reduction Act's 45V tax credit requires hourly matching for hydrogen production from 2030, and the EU's clean hydrogen standards require hourly matched PPAs starting in 2030.
• To ensure a just transition, particularly in the Global South, the document advocates for equity dimensions including recognition, procedural, distributive, and restorative justice, suggesting targeted revenue support and the prioritization of projects that enable equitable access.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (n.d.). 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact GUIDEBOOK. https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/Z8FMxp7c43Q3gWJp_24_7CFEGuidebook.pdf

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact GUIDEBOOK. n.d. https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/Z8FMxp7c43Q3gWJp_24_7CFEGuidebook.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact GUIDEBOOK |url=https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/Z8FMxp7c43Q3gWJp_24_7CFEGuidebook.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforallnd247, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact GUIDEBOOK}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, url = {https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/Z8FMxp7c43Q3gWJp_24_7CFEGuidebook.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }