Search Climate Insights Directory
54 results
Optimizing Water Retention to Reduce Algal Blooms in Canadian Lakes
The report examines how natural infrastructure, such as wetlands and small naturalized dams, can be optimized to improve water quality in the Canadian Prairies. Using data from the De Salaberry project (2019-2023), the authors demonstrate that hydraulic retention time is the primary driver of phosphorus reduction. They argue that standard design practices, which prioritize flood mitigation, often overlook quantifiable water quality benefits. The document recommends integrating dynamic treatment models into planning to target phosphorus hotspots and optimize outlet structures to increase the time water remains stored before release.
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Document type: Executive summary
How governments can help Canadian households electrify cleaner and more cost-stable energy
The report argues that electrifying household energy use—specifically through electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, and electric appliances—is the most cost-effective path for Canada to reach net zero emissions. While electricity prices have remained more stable than volatile fossil fuel prices, the transition requires government intervention to overcome upfront costs and infrastructure gaps. Modelling suggests that by 2050, electricity could meet 73% to 91% of residential heating loads and over 96% of total vehicle kilometers travelled. To support this, the report recommends policies to increase consumer uptake and a massive build-out of clean electricity generation, which may need to double or triple by 2050.
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Document type: Report
Powering Wellbeing: Rethinking Electricity Planning Beyond GDP in Southeast Asia
The report argues that electricity planning in Southeast Asia, specifically in Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand, and the Philippines, is overly focused on GDP and industrial growth, which masks a "well-being gap" in essential services. Using the Decent Living Standards framework, it estimates a sufficiency floor of 620–1,270 kWh per capita per year, finding that while aggregate generation often meets this threshold, poor allocation and affordability prevent basic needs from being met.
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Document type: Report
Canada aims to fix industrial carbon pricing: how to make it work
The Canadian Climate Institute asserts that Canada's industrial carbon pricing is currently a "hodgepodge of rules" that fails to drive significant investment in low-carbon projects. While the federal government is reviewing its minimum national standards (the federal benchmark), the Institute finds the current proposal insufficient to deliver intended emissions outcomes. To fix this, the Institute recommends ensuring a minimum effective carbon credit price of $130 per tonne by 2030, implementing non-negotiable conditions such as increasing emissions performance standards and price floors/ceilings, and mandating transparent, credible data disclosure on emitter compliance and actual prices paid.
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Document type: Statement
Wind and Solar benchmarks for a 1.5ºC world
To align with a 1.5°C pathway, the EU must increase wind and solar generation by a factor of 2 to 2.5 by 2030, reaching 1,618–1,861 TWh. This requires adding nearly 700 GW of new capacity (580 GW solar, 120 GW wind) by 2030. While current wind rollout is broadly consistent with these benchmarks, solar deployment is lagging, with a projected capacity gap of almost 160 GW by 2030. The report argues that fossil fuels must exit the EU power sector by 2035, with wind and solar providing 86% of electricity generation by 2050.
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Document type: Report
Thailand’s 2037 power sector targets
Thailand's draft revised power development plan (RPDP) targets a 51% renewable energy share by 2037, up from a previous target of 36%. Despite plans to phase out up to 8 GW of fossil fuel capacity by 2037, the RPDP still includes 6.3 GW of new gas capacity. The report warns that increasing reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG)—which is projected to reach 60% of the gas mix by 2035—exposes Thailand to price volatility and geopolitical risks, as evidenced by a 141% surge in the import bill between 2021 and 2022. The document suggests that Thailand could be more aggressive in transitioning away from fossils to avoid economic vulnerability and stranded assets.
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Document type: Report
From Ambition to Realisation: A Vision for Germany’s Decarbonisation
The report advocates for a technology-inclusive energy strategy for Germany to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. It argues that relying solely on weather-dependent renewables leads to higher system costs, price volatility, and infrastructure bottlenecks. The author proposes an 'options-based portfolio' including nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS), clean hydrogen, fusion, and superhot rock geothermal energy. Key recommendations include restarting nuclear plants, prioritising clean hydrogen for hard-to-abate industrial sectors, and implementing the EU Methane Regulation to reduce potent greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Report
Scaling copepod grazing in a coastal upwelling system: the importance of community size structure for phytoplankton C flux
The study demonstrates that copepod grazing is a size-dependent process where communities dominated by small-sized species significantly increase the efficiency of carbon transfer from phytoplankton compared to communities dominated by larger species.
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Document type: Research paper
A low-biomass clean power system for the UK is achievable
Ember modelling indicates that the UK can reduce biomass power generation by 55% to just 2% of total electricity generation by 2030 without compromising grid stability. This low-biomass pathway involves reducing biomass capacity by 2 GW—retaining only the equivalent of one unit at Drax—and replacing the lost generation primarily through increased power imports (6.9 TWh) and a slight increase in gas use (2.9 TWh). The report highlights that biomass power is significantly more expensive than gas or wind, costing £138/MWh under a Contract for Difference, and poses energy security risks due to its total reliance on imports, as Drax consumed 5.8 million tonnes of non-UK wood biomass in 2023. Despite the reduction in biomass, the UK would remain a net exporter of electricity, totaling 60 TWh annually.
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Document type: Research paper
Framework for decentralized energy and enhanced resilience on islands
The document introduces a framework to transition island states from vulnerable centralized grids to resilient decentralized renewable energy systems. Using Cuba as a test case, it demonstrates how identifying 'disruption hotspots' and applying context-specific modelling can maintain power supply during extreme weather events, though it notes that such resilience often requires higher upfront capital investments.
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Document type: Policy brief
Escenarios costeros en el Caribe (CCS): un análisis integrado de las conexiones tierra-costa para guiar el uso sustentable y la protección de los ecosistemas costeros
The project analyzes the connection between inland watersheds and coastal ecosystems in several Caribbean island nations. It utilizes hydrological modeling of 84 catchments to assess how land-cover, soil, and human activities—such as urban wastewater discharge in Puerto Rico and deforestation in the Dominican Republic—affect water quality and coastal resources.
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Document type: Executive summary
Drivers to Coal Phase-Down in India: Part 1 - Battery Cost Declines
The report analyzes the relationship between battery cost declines and the feasibility of phasing down coal in India. It identifies three stages of coal phase-down: slowing growth, plateauing, and absolute decline. Using a least-cost optimized (LCO) model, it finds that while solar can meet up to 83% of daytime demand by 2032, storage is the primary bottleneck for non-solar hours. To limit coal capacity additions to the National Electricity Plan (NEP) levels of 260 GW, BESS costs must decline by 15% annually. If costs fall by 7% annually, coal generation may plateau, but new capacity will still be needed. The report emphasizes that BESS costs must drop to approximately Rs 6 million/MWh (a >50% reduction from current levels) to potentially eliminate the need for new coal additions.
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Document type: Report
Modelling alternative transport transition pathways and investment needs in India in the Transport Transition Pathway Explorer (TTPE)
The analysis indicates that India's current transport trajectory is not aligned with a Paris-aligned just transition. While baseline and least-cost pathways fail to meet decarbonisation goals, transition pathways focusing on shifting demand to public modes, specifically electrified rail, show promise for reducing emissions and costs. Achieving net-zero targets between 2050 and 2070 would require annual public investments of approximately USD 164 billion (2020 USD) from 2023 to 2030, primarily for electrified rail and bus infrastructure. Such a transition is projected to foster economic growth, create jobs in the electric vehicle industry, and reduce reliance on crude oil imports.
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Document type: Research paper
Cutting the bills: UK households profit from clean power
The report argues that delivering existing clean power commitments would allow the UK to produce 98% of its electricity from clean sources by 2030, saving the average household £300 per year and reducing total household costs by £8.7 billion. It contrasts a 'Delivering commitments' scenario with a 'Falling short' scenario, noting that the latter would increase reliance on volatile fossil gas imports and result in the UK remaining a net importer of electricity. While grid investment would increase network costs, these are outweighed by a significant drop in wholesale electricity prices. The report identifies critical barriers to this transition, including slow permitting processes, grid connection delays, and unsuccessful renewable auction rounds, particularly for offshore wind.
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Document type: Report
Pathway for 1.5C
The report asserts that Europe can transition to a clean electricity system by 2035 without additional costs beyond stated plans or compromising energy security. It highlights that wind and solar power are the primary technologies available to displace fossil fuels and reduce reliance on imported energy. While the UK, Germany, and the G7 have set targets for decarbonised power by 2035, the document notes a lack of a unified signal from the EU and Europe, calling for increased investment and the removal of infrastructure barriers.
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Document type: Report
Model answers: Studies reveal EU must revamp Emissions Trading System to live within its carbon budget
The briefing asserts that the EU's current 55% emissions reduction target for 2030 is insufficient and that the proposed reforms to the EU ETS will fail to meet even their own targets. Based on research from Climact and the Öko Institute, the document advocates for a 65% overall reduction target by 2030 and an EU ETS target of at least 70%. To achieve this, it proposes a 'three-stage rocket' approach: a one-off reduction of 350 million allowances, increasing the Linear Reduction Factor to 4.4%, and revising Market Stability Reserve thresholds downward to zero by 2030.
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Document type: Briefing
Geological Hydrogen Storage Finland
Researchers used the LEAP-NEMO modelling toolkit to evaluate geological hydrogen storage in Finland as a solution for the intermittent nature of wind power and summer over-generation from solar power. The analysis indicates that implementing hydrogen storage could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the reliance on fossil fuel-based power, and the necessity for electricity imports.
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Document type: Research paper
Stepping on the Gas
The report contends that Poland's proposed expansion of electricity-only gas plants is out of step with climate modelling and faces significant regulatory and financial risks from EU policies. It highlights that the EU's 'Fit for 55' package, the EU Methane Strategy, and the EU taxonomy could increase operational costs, restrict funding from the Modernisation Fund, and block financing for projects that do not meet strict emissions criteria. Modelling suggests Poland could meet electricity demand with a maximum gas capacity of 6 GW between 2025 and 2030, far less than currently planned, risking a lock-in of gas dependency beyond 2050.
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Document type: Report
The South African Risk Mitigation Power Producers Procurement Programme (RM4P): A techno-economic evaluation of the underlying design of the request for proposals (RFP) and the resultant impact on the outcomes of the RM4P
The report argues that the RM4P procurement process was designed for gas projects, imposing restrictions that increased renewable energy bid tariffs by over 50% and made gas-dominated projects appear erroneously cost-competitive. Modelling suggests that a technology-agnostic, system-integrated approach could halve tariffs, saving Eskom R8 billion annually (R160 billion over the PPA term) while eliminating the 4 million tonnes of annual CO2 emissions produced by the current preferred bidders, 90% of which come from three Karpowership projects.
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Document type: Report
Assessing transition pathways to low-carbon electricity generation in Kenya: a hybrid approach using backcasting, socio-technical scenarios and energy system modelling
The study evaluates six electricity generation scenarios for Kenya (2010-2040), finding that the 'Full Renewables' (FRE) and 'UN Agenda 2030 SDGs' (SDGs 2) scenarios offer the highest greenhouse gas abatement and lowest health impacts at the lowest costs. Under the SDGs and AU scenarios, GHG emissions are projected to be 99.7% and 97.6% lower, respectively, than the Vision 2030+Least Cost Power Development Plan (VLCPDP).
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Document type: Research paper