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The global iron and steel industry faces a 'coal lock-in crisis' as blast furnace (BF) capacity continues to expand despite decarbonization targets. While electric arc furnace (EAF) and direct reduced iron (DRI) capacities are growing, the transition is slowed by massive legacy assets in China and aggressive new coal-based developments in India. Green hydrogen remains a critical but underutilized bottleneck, with only 2% of operating DRI capacity using it as a primary reductant. The report highlights a significant gap between announced net-zero goals and actual industrial investment, particularly regarding the relining of existing blast furnaces.

Turkey needs to commission 8 GW of new wind and solar capacity annually to meet its 2035 goals, requiring an estimated $28 billion in additional grid investment. The report identifies critical bottlenecks in grid connection capacity, particularly for unlicensed and storage-based projects, and suggests accelerating permitting through the 2025 "super permit" legislation. It recommends diversifying energy sources via floating solar and offshore wind, leveraging hybrid solar installations at hydroelectric plants to mitigate drought risks, and increasing regional interconnection capacity to enhance grid flexibility. Additionally, it argues that the $8.7 billion purchase guarantee for domestic coal plants contradicts renewable goals and complicates system management.

Ember's analysis reveals a significant gap between planned renewable energy expansion and available grid capacity in Europe, with at least 120 GW of projects at risk. While some distribution grids can support household electrification, transmission bottlenecks threaten large-scale wind and solar projects, particularly in countries like Austria, Bulgaria, and Poland. The report advocates for 'non-wire solutions' and administrative reforms to unlock capacity and ensure energy security.

China experienced a record surge in coal power commissioning and project proposals in 2025, despite a decline in actual coal power generation and the rapid growth of clean energy and storage. The report highlights a growing gap between investment decisions and system realities, noting that new capacity is dominated by large, inflexible units designed for baseload operation. This trend risks creating stranded assets and structural barriers to decarbonisation. The authors argue that the 15th Five-Year Plan must end net coal capacity growth and shift coal's role from a primary energy source to a flexible, residual support system to meet 2030 climate targets.

The global pipeline for wind and utility-scale solar reached 4.9 TW in 2025, an 11% increase, though growth has slowed compared to 2024. China dominates the landscape, with over 1.6 TW of operating capacity and 1.5 TW in its prospective pipeline. In contrast, G7 countries account for only 11% of prospective capacity additions, with their pipeline remaining largely stagnant at approximately 520 GW since 2023. Distributed solar represents about 42% of global solar capacity but remains highly concentrated in a few countries, with China leading at 489 GW. The report concludes that current pipelines are insufficient to meet the COP28 goal of tripling renewable energy by 2030, with a projected deficit of 1 TW for wind and 1.6 TW for utility-scale solar.

In 2025, EU wholesale electricity prices rose in 21 countries, driven by spikes during peak gas-use hours. Grid-scale battery capacity in the EU exceeded 10 GW in 2025, more than double the 4 GW recorded in 2023. A pipeline of projects in Germany, Poland, and Italy could push capacity beyond 40 GW, potentially displacing costly gas generation and reducing the waste of curtailed wind and solar power.

The report examines the state of nature-related financial disclosures in South Africa, noting that while awareness is growing, formal adoption of the TNFD framework remains low. It advocates for the LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare) methodology as a practical tool for companies to identify their dependencies on nature and manage associated financial and operational risks. The document highlights specific applications for the mining and agriculture sectors and emphasizes the need for technical capacity building and cross-sector collaboration to transition toward a nature-positive economy.

India is generally on track to meet its NEP 2032 capacity mix, with solar, hydro, and coal well-positioned to reach targets. However, onshore wind additions must accelerate, and nuclear capacity is likely to fall short due to long lead times and a limited near-term pipeline. Battery and pumped hydro storage are expanding rapidly to support renewables integration.

China is advancing a 1.3 TW pipeline of utility-scale solar and wind projects, with operating capacity reaching 1.4 TW by 2025. The country has become a global leader in offshore wind, growing its capacity to 42.7 GW by March 2025. While offshore wind is being used to decarbonize coastal industries and produce green hydrogen, the sector faces challenges from the 2021 phaseout of national subsidies and competition from ongoing coal and gas developments. The report suggests adopting hybrid auction mechanisms and centralized marine spatial planning to ensure sustainable growth.

As of May 2025, China's operational solar and wind capacity reached 1.4 billion kW, surpassing fossil fuel capacity for the first time in Q1 2025. The country leads globally in planned and under-construction projects, with over 1.3 billion kW in the pipeline. While offshore wind represents only 9% of total wind capacity, China accounts for 49% of global cumulative offshore installations as of March 2025. The document highlights the role of coastal provinces like Jiangsu and Guangdong in driving this growth and suggests transitioning from local to national-level policies and adopting international bidding models to ensure long-term stability and technical innovation.

China is advancing a 1.3 TW pipeline of utility-scale solar and wind projects, with operating capacity reaching 1.4 TW by 2025. While solar and onshore wind are expanding rapidly, particularly in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, offshore wind has emerged as a global powerhouse, accounting for 50% of global capacity. However, the offshore sector faces challenges from the 2021 phaseout of national subsidies and competition from planned coal and gas capacity in coastal provinces. The document argues for a transition from provincial development to a coordinated national policy framework incorporating hybrid auction mechanisms and robust spatial planning.

The report highlights a critical shortage of grid connection capacity in Türkiye, where 65% of unlicensed project applications (7.5 GW) were rejected between February 2024 and April 2025 due to regional constraints. Globally, 1.65 TW of wind, solar, and hydroelectric capacity is awaiting connection approval as of July 2024. The document identifies high investment costs, inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and cautious technical planning assumptions as primary drivers of these bottlenecks. It also notes procedural delays in Europe, where wind farm connection permits can take up to 9 years, and suggests that improving data transparency and tightening application criteria—as seen in France, Greece, and Romania—could accelerate the energy transition.

The report finds that while electric arc furnace (EAF) capacity is growing, the global steel industry is not on track for 2030 net-zero goals due to continued investment in coal-based blast furnaces, particularly in India and China. India has emerged as the largest developer of steel capacity, though most of its plans remain in the announcement stage and are heavily carbon-intensive. The report also highlights the strategic importance of iron ore producers like Australia and Brazil in enabling the transition to direct reduced iron (DRI) production.

The proposal seeks €2,773,855 over 36 months to develop Bolivia's first National Adaptation Plan (NAP) targeting 2035. It addresses critical barriers including weak institutional capacity, poor intersectoral coordination, and insufficient scientific evidence for adaptation. The project focuses on four priority sectors: water, forests and biodiversity, agriculture and rural development, and human health, with education as a cross-cutting theme. Key objectives include establishing a monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system, catalyzing private sector investment, and creating a pipeline of bankable adaptation projects. Implementation will be led by the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT) and the Ministry of Development Planning (MPD), with GIZ as the delivery partner.

The Mediterranean region's renewable power capacity is projected to double from 315 GW in 2023 to 626 GW by 2030, primarily driven by solar and wind. However, this trajectory falls 374 GW short of the TeraMed Initiative's 1 TW goal. To bridge this gap, the region would need to install an additional 54 GW of wind and solar annually beyond current plans, totaling 98 GW per year, which significantly exceeds the historical maximum annual deployment of 45 GW.

The document is a Readiness and Preparatory Support proposal for the Islamic Republic of Iran, requesting USD 3,000,000 over 36 months to establish a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process. The project aims to address critical gaps in policy frameworks, inter-sectoral coordination, and technical capacity for vulnerability and risk assessments (VRA). It focuses on five priority sectors: water, agriculture, energy, health, and disaster risk management (DRM). The proposal outlines a theory of change involving the creation of sectoral plans, the development of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, and the formulation of two integrated concept notes for future GCF funding. Implementation will be led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the Delivery Partner, with support from UNDP and WHO for specific sectors.

The briefing highlights the bipartisan support and technological advancements, particularly in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), that are driving geothermal growth in the U.S. It notes that 1.16 GW of capacity is expected by 2028 and that the Trump administration's policies, including permitting exclusions and support from Energy Secretary Chris Wright, favor the sector. However, the author argues that geothermal cannot replace wind and solar, which are necessary to meet a projected 128 GW increase in demand by 2030.

In 2024, global prospective utility-scale solar and wind capacity grew by over 20% to 4.4 TW, though this remains only half of the 9 TW required to meet COP28's tripling renewables goal. While at least 240 GW of capacity became operational in 2024, project completion rates vary significantly: 76% in G7 countries, 55% in China, and 52% in other non-G7 countries. China leads in both operating capacity (at least 891 GW) and prospective projects, planning over two-thirds of all future utility-scale solar and wind projects. Conversely, G7 countries hold 45% of global GDP but are building only 10% of planned projects.

India achieved a record 34.7 GW of power capacity additions in 2024, driven largely by solar PV. However, the report finds that replicating this record annual deployment would leave India short of its 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030. To close this gap, annual wind and solar additions must grow by approximately 15% year-on-year, effectively doubling current record levels by the end of the decade. While renewables are on track to overtake operating coal capacity in total volume within two years, fossil fuels still contributed over two-thirds of the increase in power generation in 2024.

Türkiye's solar capacity doubled between July 2022 and the end of 2024, reaching 19.6 GW and surpassing its 2025 target of 18 GW ahead of schedule. This growth was largely driven by unlicensed plants for self-consumption. Combined solar and wind generation avoided $15 billion in natural gas imports over two years. While solar is accelerating, wind energy growth has slowed, with 2024 capacity reaching 12.5 GW, missing its 13.3 GW target. The report highlights a significant pipeline of 33 GW in pre-licensed storage-integrated projects, far exceeding official targets, and suggests that Türkiye should update its NDC and National Energy Plan to reflect these trends and the revised 2035 targets.