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Hydrogen for Decarbonization: A Realistic Assessment
The paper argues that low-carbon hydrogen should be reserved for 'no-regrets' industrial applications—such as refining, ammonia, methanol, and steel production—rather than residential heating or light-duty vehicles, due to high energy costs and physical transport challenges.
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Document type: Research paper
24/7 carbon-free energy: How Europe can and must secure clean electricity around the clock
The policy brief advocates for a transition to 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) in Europe, asserting that variable renewable energy alone cannot maintain grid reliability. It proposes a three-pronged approach: commercialising 'clean firm' technologies (such as next-generation nuclear, CCS, and geothermal), reforming electricity market designs to move beyond short-term marginal cost pricing toward hybrid markets that reward capacity, and updating the GHG Protocol's Scope 2 accounting from annual to hourly tracking to incentivise the procurement of dispatchable carbon-free power.
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Document type: Policy brief
Written Testimony
The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) argues that low-carbon hydrogen is essential for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors like heavy industry and long-haul transport. In Pennsylvania, the MACH2 and ARCH2 hubs represent diverse production strategies—renewable/nuclear and natural gas reforming, respectively. CATF emphasizes that for hydrogen to be truly climate-beneficial, electrolytic production must follow 'three pillars' of additionality, geography-matching, and temporal-matching, while fossil-based production requires high carbon capture rates and minimized methane leaks. The document highlights Pennsylvania's significant geologic storage potential for carbon capture but notes a lack of public subsurface data. It recommends greater transparency, inter-hub coordination, and deeper community engagement to maximize the program's climate and social benefits.
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Document type: Statement
52nd Pacific Island Forum Leaders’ Meeting mentioned fossil fuels. Let’s assess the Good, the Bad, the Ugly.
The briefing analyzes the communique from the 52nd Pacific Island Forum Leaders’ Meeting, noting the historic mention of a "Fossil Fuel Free Pacific" while criticizing qualifiers that weaken the commitment. It highlights the use of terms like "aspire" and "in our energy systems" as loopholes that allow countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand, to avoid committing to a phase-out of fossil fuel production. The document also criticizes Australia for using climate resilience funding and resettlement offers for Tuvalu to mask its continued support for fossil fuel companies and its pursuit of carbon dioxide dumping legislation.
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Document type: Briefing
The Production Gap
The 2023 Production Gap Report reveals that governments plan to produce approximately 110% more fossil fuels by 2030 than is consistent with the 1.5°C temperature limit. Specifically, projections indicate 460% more coal, 29% more oil, and 82% more gas in 2030 compared to the 1.5°C pathway. The report notes that while major producers have pledged net-zero emissions, none have committed to production reductions aligned with the 1.5°C goal. To mitigate risks, the report recommends a near total phase-out of coal by 2040 and a three-quarters reduction in oil and gas production by 2050 from 2020 levels.
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Document type: Report
Perceptions of clean energy technologies in Europe
The report details a survey of 6,021 respondents across Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the UK regarding clean energy technologies. Key findings indicate that while advanced nuclear energy has the highest awareness and broad support, superhot rock geothermal energy has the lowest awareness. Support for CCS and SHR is influenced by how the technologies are framed, and while low-carbon hydrogen is generally supported, there is uncertainty regarding its application sectors.
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Document type: Report
Direct Air Capture
The document examines the risks and inefficiencies of direct air capture (DAC), focusing on Oxy's Stratos project in Texas. It argues that DAC is used as a 'smokescreen' to prolong fossil fuel extraction through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and to capture public subsidies. The briefing highlights that DAC's projected global capacity is insignificant compared to total emissions and that its resource requirements—including water and toxic chemicals—pose environmental risks. It further critiques the influence of oil executives on COP28 leadership and the use of flawed carbon credits to justify continued pollution.
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Document type: Briefing
Fossil gas in taxonomies: what lies beneath
The report argues that fugitive methane emissions significantly increase the lifecycle emissions of fossil gas, making it comparable to coal and oil in climate impact. It examines global sustainable finance taxonomies, noting that while most exclude hydrocarbons, some include fossil gas under strict conditions. Specifically, it analyzes the EU Taxonomy, concluding that its rigorous carbon intensity thresholds and lifecycle emission requirements make new gas-powered plants economically unviable compared to renewable energy alternatives.
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Document type: Report
EUROPEAN UNION CHEMICAL SECTOR TRANSITION POLICY BRIEF
The EU chemicals sector faces a critical investment window until 2030, requiring over EUR1tn by 2050 to achieve net zero. The document argues that decarbonisation must address scope 3 emissions—which account for 60% to 80% of total emissions—through demand reduction, circularity, and alternative feedstocks. Key policy recommendations include expanding the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to include polymers and organic chemicals, implementing Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) for low-carbon hydrogen, and strengthening the EU Taxonomy to better incentivise low-carbon basic chemicals production.
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Document type: Policy brief
The bare necessities: essential principles to design sensible carbon removal policies
The document argues that current carbon dioxide removal (CDR) policies often encourage 'mitigation deterrence' by treating removals as equivalent to emission reductions. It reviews various mechanisms—including emissions trading systems, tax credits, and voluntary markets—and concludes that most fail to ensure environmental integrity or permanence. The authors propose a 'blueprint' for sensible policy that strictly separates emission reduction targets from removal targets, mandates robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), and prioritizes the 'Do No Significant Harm' principle. It suggests that funding for CDR should come from carbon pricing revenues or dedicated procurement schemes rather than offsetting mechanisms.
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Document type: Research paper
Decades of Systematic Obstructionism: Saudi Arabia's Role in Slowing Progress in UN Climate Negotiations
The document argues that Saudi Arabia has spent three decades using procedural and substantive tactics to undermine UN climate negotiations and the IPCC scientific process. It details how Riyadh leverages consensus-based decision-making, raises opportunistic procedural objections, and contests climate science to delay the transition away from fossil fuels. The authors conclude by recommending structural changes to UN voting rules and increased transparency to combat such obstructionism.
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Document type: Research paper
MAINTAINING A RELIABLE GRID UNDER EPA’S PROPOSED 111 RULES RESTRICTING POWER PLANT EMISSIONS
The report asserts that the EPA's proposed rules for coal and gas power plants are technically feasible and will not threaten resource adequacy or operational reliability. It synthesizes six industry-standard studies showing that the U.S. grid can remain stable even if all unabated coal is retired by 2035. The authors argue that reliability risks are institutional rather than technical, stemming from slow interconnection processes and inadequate transmission planning. To manage the transition, the report recommends adopting 'connect-and-manage' interconnection processes, deploying grid-enhancing technologies, and proactively planning transmission for coal retirements.
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Document type: Report
SMOKE AND MIRRORS: THE TERMS “UNABATED” FOSSIL FUELS AND “INEFFICIENT” SUBSIDIES ARE A TACTIC TO DELAY A JUST TRANSITION FROM COAL, OIL AND GAS
The document contends that qualifiers such as "unabated" and "inefficient" in climate policies allow the fossil fuel industry to maintain production and profits despite the 1.5C goal. It asserts that there is no globally agreed definition for "unabated" fossil fuels and that carbon capture and storage (CCS) remains unproven at scale. Similarly, the term "inefficient" regarding subsidies is viewed as vague, contributing to a surge in fossil fuel subsidies to over 7 trillion USD in 2022. The briefing calls for unambiguous language focusing on the absolute decline of both production and emissions to align with the Paris Agreement.
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Document type: Briefing
Ne tombons pas dans le piège de l'hydrogène
The document critiques the global hydrogen industry, asserting that most production relies on fossil fuels and that even 'green' hydrogen is inefficient and risks perpetuating neocolonial extractivism. It argues that hydrogen serves as a distraction from necessary climate action and a tool for the gas industry to justify new infrastructure. The author calls for the elimination of fossil-fuel-based hydrogen and a transition to community-owned renewable energy and agroecology.
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Document type: Statement
No nos dejemos engañar por el frenesí por el hidrógeno
Friends of the Earth International positions hydrogen as a dangerous distraction from real climate action, asserting that most production relies on fossil fuels and that even 'green' hydrogen is inefficient and risks perpetuating neocolonial extractivism. The document critiques various 'colors' of hydrogen, warns against carbon capture and storage (CCS) as an unproven patch, and calls for a systemic shift toward energy sovereignty and community-led renewables instead of industrial hydrogen projects.
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Document type: Statement
Don’t fall for the hydrogen hype
The document critiques the promotion of hydrogen as a clean energy alternative, asserting that the vast majority of global production relies on fossil fuels. It categorizes different 'colors' of hydrogen, arguing that grey, blue, black/brown, and turquoise versions perpetuate fossil fuel dependency, while green hydrogen is inefficient and risks replicating neocolonial extractivism. The paper highlights the high water and energy requirements of electrolysis and the unproven nature of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). It concludes that hydrogen serves as a distraction from deep systemic change and recommends a coordinated phase-out of fossil fuels and a transition to community-owned renewable energy.
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Document type: Statement
List of resources on false climate solutions
The document is a curated list of resources published between 2005 and 2023 that challenge the validity and ethics of various climate mitigation strategies. It categorizes these resources into reports and briefings, blogs, articles, press releases, and other media. The listed materials focus on the perceived dangers of carbon markets, geoengineering, and corporate-led 'net zero' strategies, often framing them as 'false solutions' that may facilitate continued fossil fuel use or result in 'green colonialism'.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Production Gap Report 2023
The 2023 Production Gap Report finds that governments plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 consistent with a 1.5°C warming limit. While many major producers have pledged net-zero emissions, most continue to expand production, with global coal production projected to increase until 2030 and oil and gas until at least 2050. The report argues for a managed, equitable phase-out of all fossil fuels, noting that reliance on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is risky due to technical uncertainties and a poor track record of pilot project success.
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Document type: Report
The Proposed Foreign Pollution Fee Act
The Foreign Pollution Fee Act proposes ad valorem charges on imports across 15 broad categories, including steel, aluminum, and solar panels, based on their greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity relative to U.S. production. The author argues the Act is administratively complex and serves as a protectionist tool, noting that it lacks credits for carbon prices paid in exporting countries and imposes onerous requirements for foreign producers to prove lower emissions. While it offers special treatment for low-income countries through International Partnership Agreements (IPAs), the author contends the bill's primary focus is on restricting imports from China and Russia rather than environmental protection.
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Document type: Briefing
Energy transition ambitions of four national oil and gas companies in South America
The report examines Ecopetrol, Petrobras, YPF, and EP Petroecuador, finding that while some have stated ambitions for unrelated diversification, these efforts are not a priority compared to decarbonizing existing fossil fuel operations. The authors argue that these NOGCs face significant institutional, financial, and technical barriers that limit their capacity to transition away from their core hydrocarbon businesses.
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Document type: Report