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The report argues that as India expands solar and wind capacity, coal's role will shift from baseload provider to a flexible balancing resource, leading to lower plant load factors (PLFs) and higher effective costs. By FY 2031-32, coal-based electricity is projected to be roughly 25% costlier than in FY 2024-25. The analysis suggests that the ~35 GW of coal capacity currently under construction is sufficient for reliability, making further coal expansion uneconomical compared to firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) and storage options.

The South African Climate Finance Landscape 2025 reports an annual average of ZAR 188.3 billion in climate finance for 2022-2023, dominated by energy mitigation (74.1%). While flows have increased since previous tracking periods, they remain below the estimated ZAR 499 billion per year needed to meet NDC and net-zero targets. Adaptation finance is significantly lagging at 11.3% of total flows, and just transition-aligned investment remains modest at ZAR 16.0 billion annually. The landscape is characterized by a strong domestic financial sector, with nearly 60% of flows originating domestically, while international finance is primarily driven by public sources and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

The document examines the challenges European companies face in balancing sustainability and geopolitical resilience in critical raw material (CRM) supply chains. While firms are increasingly adopting sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices, they are hindered by limited supplier leverage, price competition, and import dependencies. The study concludes that current policy goals to reconcile these trade-offs are difficult to achieve in practice, suggesting a need for more coherent, cross-regional governance frameworks.

Reclaim Finance asserts that France is failing to lead a global coal exit ten years after the Paris Agreement. Despite domestic plans to close coal plants by 2027, major French banks like BNP Paribas and Société Générale continue to finance thermal and metallurgical coal projects internationally. The document also highlights the failure of the Coal Transition Accelerator (CTA) and other diplomatic efforts to create binding international standards for coal phase-out.

Türkiye aims for 120 GW of wind and solar capacity by 2035, but grid capacity limits and bureaucratic hurdles pose significant obstacles. The report suggests redirecting the $8.7 billion allocated for domestic coal subsidies toward grid modernisation and storage-integrated projects. Key strategies for increasing capacity include deploying rooftop solar (with a 120 GW potential), floating and hybrid solar at dammed hydroelectric plants, and utilizing a 33.1 GW stock of storage-integrated projects to maintain grid balance.

The briefing highlights a rising utility debt crisis in the US, where household debt grew to $23 billion by June 2025. It argues that targeted affordability programs—such as arrearage management plans, percentage-of-income payment plans, discount rates, and energy efficiency upgrades—benefit both vulnerable customers and the broader ratepayer base by reducing bad debt, collection costs, and service instability.

The document highlights the deployment of a cattle traceability program in Pará, Brazil, and a proposed traceability bill in Colombia to combat 'cattle laundering' and deforestation. It warns that the Amazon Soy Moratorium is under threat from a Brazilian anti-competition body ruling and discusses the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), for which Brazil has committed $1 billion, though the author argues $25 billion is needed to achieve necessary scale.

The IISD supports Manitoba's 'Path to Net Zero' plan as a framework for a low-carbon economy, praising the creation of a Climate Change Committee of Cabinet and the focus on Indigenous partnerships. However, the IISD emphasizes the need for detailed implementation plans and warns that carbon capture and storage (CCS) may be an expensive alternative to other emissions reduction opportunities.

The report identifies that while Brazil has immense biological potential, biodiversity-based biotechnology is constrained by a complex and fragmented regulatory environment. The Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework, particularly the SISGEN system and benefit-sharing rules, is described as a barrier to innovation that creates legal uncertainty and discourages investment. In the Amazon, these hurdles are compounded by infrastructure gaps and weak institutional coordination. The authors argue that the forthcoming National Bioeconomy Development Plan (PNDBIO) is a critical opportunity to explicitly integrate biodiversity-based biotechnology into Brazil's national strategy to unlock economic value and support conservation.

Spain has significantly lowered its wholesale electricity prices by decoupling them from volatile fossil fuel costs through the expansion of wind and solar capacity. In the first half of 2025, Spain's wholesale prices were 32% lower than the EU average, with the share of hours where prices were tied to gas costs dropping from 75% in 2019 to 19% in 2025. However, a blackout on April 28, 2025, led to a 'reinforced mode' of grid operation that increased reliance on gas for stability services. This resulted in the cost of grid balancing doubling in May 2025 and renewable curtailment tripling from 1.8% to 7.2% between May and July 2025. The report highlights a lag in investment in battery storage and grid-enhancing technologies, noting that Spain's 120 MW battery fleet is only the 13th largest in Europe despite being the 4th largest power market. To address this, Spain is implementing reforms, including adding eight synchronous compensators to the mainland grid and expanding its battery storage pipeline.

The report explores the potential of Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) to help California meet its 2045 CDR target of 75 MMT CO2e. By modeling seven scenarios based on cost and social acceptance, the analysis finds that BiCRS could potentially meet the entire target under high biomass availability estimates without competing with food production. The report highlights that while lower-cost pathways rely on established technologies like combustion with CCS, higher social acceptance pathways require advanced technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification. BiCRS is projected to generate significantly more bioenergy and jobs than the current direct air capture (DAC)-focused Scoping Plan.

The report details the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' (IACtHR) Advisory Opinion 32/25, which recognizes the right to a healthy climate as an autonomous and justiciable right. It establishes that States have binding obligations to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate impacts, and provide integral reparations. The Court introduces a high standard of 'enhanced due diligence' for climate action and recognizes Nature as a subject of rights. It also outlines specific protections for vulnerable groups, including Indigenous Peoples, LGBTIQ+ persons, persons with disabilities, and future generations, while emphasizing the necessity of environmental democracy through access to information, public participation, and the protection of environmental defenders.

The report examines the decarbonisation of Brazil's cement and steel sectors, highlighting the role of low-carbon hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and green finance in achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Methane abatement is critical for near-term climate action, requiring a 45% reduction in global emissions by 2030. The report highlights that the energy sector has the highest technical abatement potential, while agriculture is dominated by behavioural change opportunities. It identifies five national sector archetypes—China's coal, India's smallholder agriculture, Brazil's livestock, Indonesia's waste, and O&G exporters—to provide scalable policy lessons. Significant financing gaps exist, with only USD 13.7bn tracked in 2021/22 against an estimated annual need of USD 48bn. The report advocates for methane-specific targets in NDCs, the use of satellite monitoring to close data gaps, and the implementation of import standards and carbon pricing to drive global supply chain reductions.

The report examines agriphotovoltaics (AgriPV) as a solution to land-use conflicts between solar energy and agriculture in India. It identifies significant technical potential, ranging from 3,156 GW to 13,803 GW, but notes that adoption is hindered by high capital costs, rigid land-use laws, and a lack of a formal regulatory definition. The study models feed-in tariffs between INR 3.67/kWh and INR 5.49/kWh, concluding that AgriPV is economically viable and offers lower levelized tariffs than non-DRE grid-connected projects. Key recommendations include mandating AgriPV under Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO), defining it as a distinct renewable energy source, and adopting cost-plus tariff frameworks that account for elevated structures and farmer lease payments.

Climate finance for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) surpassed USD 1 trillion in 2023, with 80% mobilized domestically. Mitigation finance dominates, accounting for 92% of flows (USD 979 billion), while adaptation finance reached USD 48 billion. China is the primary driver, providing 64% of total EMDE flows. Significant gaps remain, with annual mitigation needs estimated at USD 3.86 trillion. The report recommends strengthening domestic enabling environments, improving the quality of international finance, and increasing data transparency to scale investment.

The report argues that standard top-down cost estimation methods for energy transitions often overlook socio-spatial factors and marginalized groups. It proposes a new framework that identifies specific losses (recognitional justice), determines preventative and transformative spending (restorative justice), assigns cost burdens (distributive justice), and ensures stakeholder consensus (procedural justice). Using the planned early retirement of the Cirebon 1 coal-fired power plant as a case study, the report demonstrates how to map direct, indirect, and induced impacts across individuals, companies, and governments to more accurately calculate the financial requirements of a just transition.

The report examines 'coal transition credits' (CTCs) as a mechanism to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia. While proponents suggest CTCs can unlock private finance for early retirement and just transition measures, a survey of 10 experts reveals widespread skepticism. Key concerns include the risk of carbon leakage, where retired capacity is replaced by other fossil fuels, and the difficulty of establishing conservative baselines to prove additionality. Experts warn that CTCs could create perverse incentives, rewarding polluters and encouraging the delay of retirements to maximize credit issuance. Furthermore, the report highlights structural barriers in Southeast Asia, such as young coal plant fleets and rigid power purchase agreements, and notes that current methodologies, including Verra's VM0052, may have loopholes regarding 'captive' coal plants. The findings suggest that without rigorous guardrails and a focus on public finance, CTCs risk being a tool for greenwashing rather than a driver of genuine climate impact.

The report examines 'coal transition credits' (CTC)—carbon credits generated by retiring coal plants early and replacing them with renewables—as a way to fund the energy transition in Southeast Asia. Based on a survey of 10 experts, the document finds deep skepticism regarding the instrument's effectiveness. Key concerns include 'carbon leakage' (where retired capacity is replaced by other fossil fuels), the subjectivity of baseline scenarios leading to over-issuance, and the risk of 'greenwashing' or rewarding polluters. Experts highlight that only 2 out of 10 view CTCs as effective, warning that without strict safeguards, these credits could undermine genuine decarbonization and fail to provide a 'just transition' for affected workers and communities.

The report analyzes the role of nominee companies—middlemen that hold shares in name only—in masking the identities of investors in Australian coal, oil, and gas projects. It finds that these structures obscure approximately 18% of Australia's national fossil fuel CO2 emissions and are predominantly operated by major global banks. The document highlights a lack of regulatory requirements for nominee disclosure in Australia, which allows investors, including some superannuation funds, to maintain stakes in high-emitting assets while avoiding public scrutiny.