Search Climate Insights Directory

The survey reveals high levels of concern regarding air and water quality, particularly among Hispanic and Black communities. While there is strong support for the clean energy transition and interest in related careers, significant barriers exist, including lack of education, financial insecurity, and low awareness of job opportunities. Trust in government is low, while trust in scientists and family is high.

The document establishes a consensus across multiple energy models, including the IEA NZE and IPCC pathways, that no new oil and gas fields should be developed to meet the 1.5 target. It argues that oil and gas production must decline by at least 65% by 2050 from 2020 levels. The brief asserts that the energy crisis in Europe caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine does not justify new fossil fuel production, as existing capacity and demand reduction can meet needs. It highlights a significant investment gap in renewables, noting that annual solar and wind investments must reach USD 830 billion by 2030 to bridge a USD 450 billion annual gap. Finally, it recommends that financial institutions cease financing new oil and gas projects and push for the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies.

The report asserts that the Canadian oil and gas sector is ill-prepared for an inevitable drop in global demand, which is being accelerated by climate action and shifts in energy markets. It argues that 'business as usual' is no longer viable and recommends that the federal government implement a four-part strategy: strengthening climate policies and the Sustainable Jobs Action Plan, supporting subnational and Indigenous economic diversification, aligning fiscal policy by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, and exploring federal tools to end production expansion.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) advocates for several reforms to California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to address a decline in credit prices and prevent the program from becoming a regressive burden on low-income drivers. Key recommendations include capping lipid-based biofuels, phasing out credits for 'avoided methane emissions' from out-of-state manure lagoons, and excluding carbon capture used for enhanced oil recovery. UCS also calls for redirecting EV credit value to support overburdened populations and requiring strict community engagement for hydrogen projects in refinery areas.

The report outlines a diversification framework for Indian Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) to mitigate financial risks associated with fossil fuel dependency. It details a two-step process involving qualitative and quantitative analyses (SWOT, Porter’s diamond, MCDA, and growth share matrix) to identify and prioritize new business segments. The document applies this logic to Coal India Limited, Indian Railways, and NTPC Limited, highlighting their current efforts in renewable energy, electric mobility, and carbon capture to align with India's net-zero goals.

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has failed to meet Congressional goals for cellulosic biofuels, instead remaining dominated by land-intensive corn ethanol. The current structure lacks incentives for producers to reduce carbon intensity beyond fixed thresholds and fails to prioritize fuels for sectors like aviation that are difficult to electrify. The Clean Air Task Force recommends incorporating carbon intensity scores, limiting conventional biofuel volumes, and directing bioenergy toward hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

The Climate Action Tracker finds that the world's largest fossil fuel producers have not committed to ending new investments in oil and gas, and many governments continue to provide fossil fuel subsidies. The briefing argues that COP28 must prioritize a phase-out of oil and gas production and set an ambitious global renewable energy target exceeding 1 TW of added capacity per year, while avoiding distractions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and co-firing technologies.

The paper analyzes 156 peer-reviewed research papers on energy transition modeling in Africa, finding that most studies focus on energy mix and emissions pathways while neglecting socio-economic development and advanced low-carbon technologies.

WRI Indonesia collaborated with local partners and government bodies to map 300,000 hectares of customary forests in Papua, resulting in the issuance of six customary forest certificates in Jayapura Regency to protect Indigenous land rights and biodiversity.

Japan possesses vast offshore wind resources, with a technical potential exceeding 9,000 TWh/year, far surpassing its projected 2050 electricity demand. While current deployment is low, the government has set targets of 10 GW by 2030 and 45 GW by 2040. The document highlights that floating offshore wind is critical for Japan due to its deep coastal waters and could position the country as a global industry leader. Economic benefits include reduced dependency on imported fossil fuels, with a 30 GW target by 2030 potentially avoiding USD 27.8 billion in gas costs at 2022 prices. However, achieving these targets is hindered by lengthy environmental permitting processes and a fragmented electricity grid divided by different technical standards (50 Hz and 60 Hz).

The report assesses Europe's theoretical CO2 storage capacity, estimating it between 262 and 1520 GtCO2, and matches this against industrial and non-industrial CCS demand scenarios for 2035 and 2050. It compares 'Export' scenarios (limited key basins) with 'Domestic' scenarios (widespread storage), finding that while Europe has sufficient long-term theoretical capacity, current announced projects are insufficient for 2035 demand. The analysis highlights that widespread domestic storage could halve transport CAPEX costs compared to export-heavy models, though certain regions like Northern Italy, the German North Sea, and Switzerland may face capacity constraints under high-demand scenarios.

The document outlines 12 key policy interventions to accelerate the transition of hard-to-abate sectors, categorised into simplifying pathways, steering risk and opportunity, derisking green investments, and facilitating essential resource flows.

The report argues that current global crises—including climate change, biodiversity loss, and extreme inequality—are symptoms of a systemic failure driven by neoliberal capitalism and corporate power. It proposes five interconnected 'pathways' for systemic change: gender justice, a transition to democratically controlled renewable energy, food sovereignty through agroecology, community forest management, and a redistributive economy that prioritizes people and the planet over profit. The document emphasizes the need to dismantle the patriarchy, challenge corporate impunity through binding international treaties, and support the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities to manage their territories.

The Steel GHG Emissions Reporting Guidance establishes a framework for product-level emissions accounting in the steel sector. It mandates reporting based on a fixed system boundary and the use of primary data to ensure comparability and transparency. A key feature is the 'sliding-scale' approach, which benchmarks emissions intensity against 1.5°C trajectories while accounting for the different carbon intensities of ore-based versus scrap-based production. The guidance also defines criteria for labeling abatement technologies and provides detailed procedures for calculating emissions from exported products, by-products, and fugitive methane.

The report evaluates three flood risk reduction scenarios in Thessaly, Greece: nature-based infrastructure (NBI), hybrid infrastructure, and grey infrastructure. Using the SAVi methodology, it finds that NBI—consisting of riparian forest and floodplain restoration—offers the highest benefit-to-cost ratio (2.9) over 25 years. Notably, the carbon storage value of NBI (EUR 12.8 million) exceeds the total implementation costs for both NBI (EUR 6.8 million) and hybrid options (EUR 9.3 million).

Reclaim Finance argues that the proposed ISR label framework lacks sufficient guarantees for investors and requires stronger sectoral exclusions, particularly for unconventional fossil fuels and coal. The organization calls for the label to mandate alignment with a 1.5°C warming scenario, the use of specific scientific benchmarks for transition plans, and increased transparency in shareholder engagement and voting policies.

The Clean Air Task Force asserts that while the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) strengthens the EU's manufacturing capabilities for net-zero technologies, the slow pace of infrastructure deployment—such as power lines and pipelines—could become a "fatal bottleneck." The authors propose three primary adaptations of NZIA policies for infrastructure: integrating clean energy infrastructure into spatial planning and mapping, implementing upper limits on permitting timelines for non-renewable net-zero technologies like advanced nuclear, and establishing "one-stop shop" administrative agencies to streamline permitting processes, citing Denmark as a potential model.

The report evaluates the restoration of the Mallorquín Swamp in Barranquilla, Colombia, using a sustainable asset valuation (SAVi) approach. It finds that nature-based infrastructure (NBI) provides greater societal value and better climate adaptation benefits at a lower cost than grey infrastructure alternatives, particularly when combined with investments in ecotourism.

The document advocates for a diverse energy mix that includes 'clean firm power'—non-weather-dependent zero-carbon sources—to complement wind, solar, and battery storage. It argues that relying solely on variable renewables would lead to excessive costs, land use, and infrastructure requirements, while a diversified approach could significantly reduce the time and cost of the energy transition.

The report evaluates the potential for offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the US mid-Atlantic to compensate for limited onshore capacity. Using the SimCCS modeling toolset, the study identifies 199 facilities across 15 industry sectors with a total of 31.47 Mt of annual capturable CO2. It finds that while offshore storage capacity is vast—estimated at 621,221 MtCO2 across 125 candidate sites—the costs are significantly higher than onshore benchmarks, ranging from 95.5 to 147.9 $/tCO2. This cost disparity is primarily driven by offshore pipeline installation and storage expenses. The analysis suggests that capturing the full 31.47 MtCO2 would require a 7,789 km branched pipeline network and that emission prices between $95.5 and $103.5 per tonne could incentivize initial capture efforts.