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Draft national targets put EU just short of REPowerEU
Analysis of draft NECPs indicates that while EU member states have significantly increased wind and solar targets since 2019, the current trajectory falls short of REPowerEU goals. Renewables are projected to generate 66% of EU electricity by 2030, missing the 72% target. The report highlights a lack of data transparency in the drafts, particularly regarding power system flexibility and post-2030 decarbonisation pathways.
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Document type: Research paper
Assessing the Impact of Voluntary Actions on the Grid
The document outlines a consensus framework for defining and measuring the impact of corporate voluntary actions on grid decarbonization, emphasizing that true impact is the difference in total emissions between a scenario where an action is taken and one where it is not. It highlights that total impact must account for both short-run power plant operations and long-run supply changes, while acknowledging that empirical verification of structural change remains difficult, leading to inherent uncertainty in impact estimates.
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Document type: Research paper
Modernizing GHG Accounting Rules and Climate Leadership Programs
The document examines the limitations of current GHG accounting, particularly the Scope 2 Market-Based method, which allows companies to claim zero emissions through annual matching of renewable energy certificates (RECs) without necessarily reducing actual grid emissions. The authors propose a dual approach: improving attributional accounting to require hourly and locational matching of carbon-free electricity (CFE) to consumption, and implementing consequential accounting to measure the actual marginal impact of company actions on the atmosphere. This framework aims to incentivize a diverse portfolio of CFE, including firm and dispatchable resources, rather than just low-cost variable renewables.
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Document type: Research paper
Modernizing GHG Accounting Rules and Climate Leadership Programs
The paper identifies three fundamental flaws in the current GHG Protocol Scope 2 Market-Based method: it fails to accurately measure emissions based on the timing and location of electricity use, it does not value firm CFE and balancing resources, and it does not prioritize actions that reduce real-world emissions. To address these, the authors propose five key improvements: implementing location-matching based on deliverability, adopting hourly time-matching, treating all forms of CFE (compliance, non-bypassable, and voluntary) equally, ensuring EACs are allocated to those who financially support them, and removing 'grid CFE' from inventories unless substantiated by EACs. The authors also suggest establishing a standardized 'Baseline' CFE score for utility service areas to better distinguish between required and voluntary procurement efforts.
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Document type: Research paper
A Vision for the EU Net-Zero Transition
The report argues that the EU is not on track to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate goals and must shift to an 'option-based' approach that integrates a broad range of low- and zero-carbon technologies. Key recommendations include scaling up carbon capture and storage (CCS), diversifying the energy mix with small modular reactors (SMRs), superhot rock geothermal, and fusion energy, and implementing a rigorous methane import standard. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive green industrial strategy, a dedicated climate fund to replace the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and international cooperation to set global clean-tech standards.
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Document type: Report
Nuclear power and net zero: too little, too late, too expensive
The author argues that the UK's 24 GW nuclear target by 2050 is unrealistic. Key barriers include the long lead times for nuclear projects (typically 15-20 years), the lack of mature, commercially available reactor technologies, and the difficulty of securing private investment for high-cost projects. The document highlights the failure of the EPR-1 design and the financial risks shifted to consumers under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model. It concludes that nuclear power is too slow and expensive to contribute meaningfully to the UK's electricity decarbonisation goals of 2030 or 2035.
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Document type: Research paper
EPH: yet another setback in ending its coal activities
Reclaim Finance asserts that EPH's commitment to exit coal by 2030 is a 'sleight of hand' because the company is transferring its coal assets to a new entity, EP Energy Transition, which is not bound by the phase-out date. The document further highlights EPH's role as the second-largest gas power developer in Europe, with over 4.7 GW in development, contradicting European decarbonization goals. It specifically urges Société Générale and its subsidiary Komercni Banka to cease financing EPH unless the company commits to a genuine coal exit by 2030 and halts new gas projects.
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Document type: Statement
A Sustainable Asset Valuation of a Net-Zero Transport Strategy in Indonesia
The report evaluates three primary net-zero transport scenarios for Indonesia: investment in public transport (Scenario 1), 100% private vehicle electrification powered by renewable energy (Scenario 2), and a mixed approach (Scenario 3). Using the SAVi methodology, the analysis finds that Scenario 3 delivers the highest cumulative discounted net benefit of IDR 6,926.03 trillion (USD 450.1 billion) by 2050. While Scenario 2 offers the most attractive benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.97 due to lower infrastructure costs, Scenario 3 provides the greatest overall societal value by combining 'avoid, shift, and improve' strategies. The report emphasizes that achieving net-zero in transport is inextricably linked to the decarbonization of the electricity supply, as sensitivity analyses show that the current energy mix significantly reduces net benefits.
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Document type: Report
CHINA-US HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE April 25th – 26th 2024, Beijing, China
The April 2024 China-US High-Level Dialogue in Beijing served as a venue for experts to discuss decarbonization strategies and identify collaboration opportunities despite challenging national-level relations. Key discussions focused on the differing sources of methane emissions, the scaling of CCUS and renewable energy, and the need for interoperable standards in trade and corporate disclosure. Both nations emphasized the importance of subnational cooperation and the role of the Sunnylands Statement in guiding joint efforts toward COP 29 and COP 30.
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Document type: Report
WRI’s U.S. ENERGY OUTCOMES 2024
In 2024, WRI supported over 150 U.S. cities and counties in accelerating clean energy deployment and helped over 60 cities claim more than $12 million in tax credits via the Inflation Reduction Act's elective pay mechanism. The organization advanced next-generation geothermal technologies, launched a database of 50 community benefits frameworks for transmission projects, and supported the deployment of electric school buses (ESBs) through initiatives like the RVXDS project in California. WRI also focused on reforming power markets and grids, providing technical assistance to the PJM Cities and Communities Coalition and researching interregional transmission procurement.
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Document type: Report
Landscape of Climate-Aligned Investment in Indonesia's Financial Sector
Indonesia requires approximately USD 285 billion in climate-aligned investment to meet its Enhanced NDC, but current funding is insufficient. The government budget covers 34% of this need, while the financial sector (public and private) contributes 15%. Between 2015 and 2021, public and private financial institutions provided roughly equal amounts of climate-aligned investment, totaling USD 41.7 billion. Private investment is notably low, with only 3% of total private investment being climate-aligned, and much of this concentrated in land use. In the power sector, 58% of the USD 35.6 billion invested went to renewables, with a significant drop in coal finance since 2016. Future investment trends are expected to be driven by government policy signals such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM).
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Document type: Report
Pulling the plug on fossils in power
The briefing evaluates 16 countries against 1.5°C-aligned power sector benchmarks, finding that no assessed country is fully on track. It argues for a global phase-out of coal and fossil gas by 2040, noting that while some countries are making progress on coal, there is a critical lack of explicit fossil gas phase-out plans and insufficient renewable energy acceleration globally.
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Document type: Briefing
Calibrating US Tax Credits for Grid-Connected Hydrogen Production: A Recommendation, a Flexibility, and a Red Line
RMI argues that the US Department of the Treasury must carefully calibrate the 45V production tax credit (PTC) for grid-connected hydrogen to avoid increasing emissions from a fossil-fuel-dominated grid. The organization proposes a two-stage regulatory framework: providing flexibility for 'first movers' to reduce initial costs and complexity, followed by a transition on January 1, 2028, to strict, emissions-accurate, and forward-looking standards to ensure the hydrogen economy aligns with national climate objectives.
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Document type: Statement
Data Transparency for Asia’s Power Sector Decarbonisation
The document argues that high-quality, open power sector data is essential for the coal-to-clean electricity transition in Asia, a region containing 80% of global coal generation. It details a research methodology used to evaluate data transparency in 39 economies across East, Southeast, South, Central, and West Asia, as well as Oceania, by assessing 74 data sources against criteria such as time and geographical granularity, publishing lag, and ease of access.
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Document type: Report
Asia Data Transparency Report 2023
The Asia Data Transparency Report 2023 finds that over half of the surveyed Asian economies have poor or insufficient power sector data transparency, affecting the electricity needs of 684 million people. While high-income economies generally score better, some lower-middle income nations like India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are demonstrating good practice. The report emphasizes that granular, real-time, and open-access data is essential for grid optimization and evidence-based policymaking to meet decarbonisation targets. It highlights a successful public-private partnership in India between NITI Aayog and the Vasudha Foundation and provides nine practical recommendations for improving data governance, including the use of machine-readable formats and unique identifiers.
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Document type: Report
ReNew2030: An Audacious Project Accelerating Renewable Energy for a Climate Secure Future
ReNew2030 is a coalition of philanthropic and civil society organisations aiming to scale global wind and solar capacity fivefold by 2030 to align with the 1.5°C warming limit. Funded via The Audacious Project, the initiative focuses on renewables financing, energy transition equity, and corporate mobilisation. The coalition includes regional climate foundations from Africa, China, the US, Europe, Mexico, and Brazil, and is hosted by The European Climate Foundation.
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Document type: Press release
MAKING ‘24/7 CARBON-FREE ENERGY’ A REALITY
The 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (24/7 CFE) Compact, launched in September 2021 at the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy, aims to eliminate reliance on fossil fuels by moving beyond annual renewable energy matching to hourly, real-time matching of demand and carbon-free supply. Coordinated by SEforALL with support from Google, the Compact has grown to over 120 signatories, including governments, private companies, and academic institutions. The initiative supports a technology-inclusive approach, prioritizing storage, demand-side management, and the development of Granular Certificates to drive investment. Current and future efforts include a global study on policy and regulatory reforms to empower consumers and a working group exploring the role of green hydrogen in achieving 24/7 CFE.
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Document type: Case study
Clean Electricity Regulations - Public Update
Clean Energy Canada and the Canadian Climate Institute advocate for the rapid finalization of the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) to provide investment certainty for non-emitting generation. They support a flexible performance standard and an emissions pooling approach but warn against excessive flexibility that could incentivize the continued use of natural gas as a baseload resource. The authors recommend a performance standard of no more than 60 tonnes of CO2 per GWh and oppose extending the End of Prescribed Life (EoPL) beyond 20 years to avoid stranded assets and prolonged emissions.
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Document type: Statement
Comments on the White House Council on Environmental Quality Implementing Instructions for Executive Order 14057 Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability
The Clean Air Task Force, The NorthBridge Group, and Green Strategies, Inc. argue that current greenhouse gas accounting rules are outdated and fail to incentivize the diverse portfolio of carbon-free energy (CFE) resources needed for full grid decarbonization by 2035. They recommend adopting a 'bottom-up' book and claim approach for energy attribute certificates (EACs) to prevent double counting and suggest a 'Carbon Facts' label to track both attributional emissions (associated with electricity use) and consequential avoided emissions (actual carbon reductions). The authors specifically urge CEQ to define the 50% hourly match goal by 2030 as either a minimum of 50% CFE in every hour or a high annual average of at least 80% hourly time-matching to ensure the development of firm CFE and storage resources.
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Document type: Statement
Cryptocurrency’s Energy Consumption Problem
The briefing highlights the significant energy consumption and emissions of Bitcoin, noting its annual consumption of 127 TWh and US emissions of 25 to 50 million tons of CO2. It discusses the transition of Ethereum to proof-of-stake as a successful model for reducing energy use by over 99.9 percent and advocates for Bitcoin to move away from proof-of-work to mitigate both emissions and e-waste. RMI details its contributions through the Crypto Climate Accord and the development of the RE Emissions Score to ensure renewable energy procurement is 'additional' rather than drawing from existing capacity. The document concludes that while RMI is ending its direct engagement with the crypto industry, it will focus on the broader goal of decarbonizing the global energy grid.
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Document type: Briefing