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The proposed Donlin Gold Mine in Southwest Alaska, described as the world's largest pure gold mine, faces significant opposition from Indigenous Tribes and legal challenges from Earthjustice. The project involves a massive open-pit mine and a 316-mile gas pipeline, which opponents argue threatens critical subsistence resources, including salmon and rainbow smelt, and risks tailings dam failure. Legal actions are currently targeting state permits and a federal environmental impact statement to potentially vacate authorizations and force a project redesign.

The U.S. aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. While the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provide significant reductions, a gap of approximately 810 million tonnes CO2e remains. The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) proposes a 'high impact' scenario leveraging Clean Air Act regulatory authority and agriculture/forestry spending to close this gap.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) presents a critical overview of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), asserting that the technology overpromises on emission reductions while introducing significant safety risks and high costs. The document highlights the 'energy penalty'—the extra energy required to power capture equipment—and notes that most existing projects are used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which can increase overall emissions. It warns that a large-scale CCS buildout in the United States would require an unrealistic and dangerous expansion of pipeline infrastructure. Furthermore, the text argues that CCS is unnecessary for 'hard to abate' industrial sectors, where electrification and demand reduction are more viable, and critiques 'blue hydrogen' as a means to prolong fossil fuel dependence. The document concludes that global capture capacity is negligible compared to total emissions and that public subsidies, such as the US 45Q tax credit, inappropriately support the fossil fuel economy.

In 2022, wind and solar reached a record 12% share of global electricity, driving carbon intensity to a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh. However, absolute power sector emissions reached an all-time high of 12,431 mtCO2 because clean power growth did not fully meet rising global demand, which grew by 2.5% (+694 TWh). While coal generation rose by 1.1% to a record 10,186 TWh, the report forecasts that 2023 could be the first year of structural decline in fossil generation and the peak for power sector emissions. The analysis highlights a significant gap between current growth and the IEA NZE pathway, which requires wind and solar to reach 41% of global generation by 2030.

The report indicates that while global coal power is trending toward an end, the pace of phase-out is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement targets. China is a major outlier, with a surge in new plant approvals and construction that contrasts with a general decline in new projects outside its borders. In Japan, while new project scales are shrinking, operational capacity increased in 2022, and very few plants have confirmed closure dates.

The report indicates that while global coal capacity is nearing an end with one-third of the 580 GW fleet having set closure dates, the pace of exit is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals. China is a major outlier, with its development-stage capacity increasing by 32% to 366 GW in 2022, while the rest of the world saw a 22% decrease. In the EU and UK, the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine slowed retirements and led to the temporary restart of some units, though coal's share of electricity production only rose by 1%. Turkey ranks third globally in developing coal capacity with approximately 11 GW of announced projects, though many face financing and legal hurdles, and the government plans only 3.2 GW of new coal capacity by 2035.

The report finds that while the world outside China is nearing a 'no new coal' milestone, a massive surge in coal permitting and construction in China is offsetting global progress. In 2022, the global coal fleet grew by 19.5 GW, driven by China, which now accounts for 68% of global capacity under development. While the U.S. and EU continue to retire capacity, the pace of global retirements remains far below the levels required to meet a 1.5C pathway, which would necessitate an average of 117 GW of retirements per year. The report also highlights the role of private finance, noting that most financial institutions' coal policies remain insufficient to align with climate science.

The report argues that financial institutions are hindering Europe's energy transition by providing hundreds of billions of dollars in support to fossil gas power producers and developers. It highlights a significant gap between the need to phase out gas by 2035 to align with a 1.5°C trajectory and the current trend of developing over 60 GW of new gas capacity. The document identifies a lack of robust sectoral policies among top banks and investors, which allows for continued corporate-level financing of gas-intensive utilities and the development of new base load plants, often as replacements for coal.

The briefing argues that ExxonMobil's climate strategy lacks the transparency and ambition required to align with a 1.5°C pathway. It finds that the company's projected 2030 oil and gas production levels significantly exceed IEA NZE requirements, while its financial allocations remain heavily skewed toward fossil fuels with no reported investments in renewable power generation.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) views Canada's 2023 federal budget as a significant step toward a net-zero economy, noting billions for clean energy and CAD 800 million for freshwater protection. However, the IISD warns that the budget maintains loopholes for fossil fuels, specifically through carbon capture and storage (CCS) funding and the inclusion of abated natural gas in clean electricity tax credits, which may undermine commitments to end inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) proposal introduces a target of 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 injection capacity by 2030 to address storage bottlenecks in Europe. It mandates Member States to map suitable storage areas and requires oil and gas producers to share geological data and contribute to the storage target based on their production shares from 2020-2023. To accelerate deployment, the NZIA allows CO2 storage projects to seek 'Net-Zero Strategic Project' status, potentially reducing permitting times to 18 months. However, the document notes that success depends on overcoming coordination failures between Member States, establishing consistent transport network regulations, and implementing bankable funding mechanisms.

The Canadian Climate Institute identifies two primary priorities for Budget 2023: attracting clean investment to compete with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and expanding the national electricity system. The Institute recommends using carbon contracts for difference to leverage carbon pricing and implementing investment tax credits and 'electric federalism' to modernize electricity infrastructure.

The Canadian Climate Institute identifies two main priorities for the 2023 federal budget: attracting clean investment to compete with the US Inflation Reduction Act and expanding the electrical grid. It recommends using carbon contracts for difference instead of direct subsidies and implementing an 'electro-federalism' approach to coordinate grid improvements with provinces.

The document translates complex IPCC findings into accessible language, emphasizing the urgent need for zero new fossil fuel development, the necessity of carbon dioxide removal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the critical requirement for increased climate finance for developing countries.

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.

Carbon Market Watch (CMW) urges the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body to avoid shortcuts in developing recommendations for removal activities, emphasizing that temporary carbon storage should not be equated with permanent emission reductions. CMW argues that current forestry and land-use credits lack permanence, and that buffer pools are insufficient to manage reversal risks. The organization specifically opposes the inclusion of tonne-year accounting, claiming it creates a false equivalence between temporary storage and permanent removals, and criticizes the proposed definition of removals for including 'products' and 'processes' rather than focusing solely on outcomes.

Natural gas is the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, with methane leakage potentially making its climate impact equivalent to coal. To align with the 1.5°C goal, global gas production and consumption must decrease by 30% by 2030 and 65% by 2050, with developed countries phasing out gas power by 2035. The document rejects the use of gas as a bridge fuel or a solution to the 2022 energy crisis, noting that expanding infrastructure creates stranded asset risks, particularly for non-OECD countries. It further argues that converting gas infrastructure to hydrogen is technically unproven and economically inefficient, and highlights severe public health risks associated with gas extraction, flaring, and domestic use.

Thirty-seven global NGOs are calling on the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) to stop financing fracked gas export projects in South Texas, arguing that the Texas LNG and Rio Grande LNG terminals are incompatible with the 1.5°C climate goal and violate Indigenous and environmental rights.

Recourse criticizes the US nomination of Ajay Banga for World Bank president, highlighting his roles at Exor N.V. and Temasek, which link him to oil, gas, and nuclear investments. The organization argues that Banga's private sector experience promotes a profit-driven development model over genuine climate action and poverty reduction.

The document demands that Japan phase out coal by 2030, end international public finance for fossil fuels, and stop promoting technologies like ammonia co-firing and carbon capture and storage, which the authors claim are ineffective and costly.