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The document translates the ICJ's 2025 advisory opinion into practical tools for climate litigation, focusing on government framework cases, adaptation, remedies, the right to a healthy environment, corporate conduct, climate finance, speculative interventions, and regulatory rollbacks.

The study finds that while solar PV is the backbone of Nigeria's net-zero electricity system, the lowest-cost and most reliable pathways require a technology-neutral approach that includes nuclear power and natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Restricting these firm low-carbon technologies increases total installed capacity by approximately 50% and annual investment requirements by about 7%. Under baseline demand, net-zero timelines require average annual investments of US$7–10 billion, but a high-demand scenario aligned with Nigeria Agenda 2050 would increase average annual investment to US$35.8 billion and nearly triple total system costs.

The Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment of the SUNCASA project in Kigali finds that nature-based solutions—including afforestation, reforestation, agroforestry, riparian restoration, and urban tree planting—are highly cost-effective for climate adaptation. Over a 25-year period, these interventions yield a benefit-cost ratio of 2.09, with a payback period of 7 years. The primary benefits derive from reduced flood damage to urban infrastructure, alongside significant public health savings and a projected 30% increase in carbon storage (approximately 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide). The project targets 2,500 hectares across six micro-catchments and includes the planting of 85,000 urban trees to mitigate risks from extreme rainfall, heat, and soil erosion.

The report assesses the use of the Energy Supply Financing Ratio (ESFR) by global banks to measure sustainable power financing relative to fossil fuels. While six banks have now published or committed to this indicator, the analysis reveals a regional divide: European banks (BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Groupe BPCE) often use narrow fossil fuel definitions and omit underwriting, while North American banks (Citi, JPMorgan Chase, RBC) include broader financing instruments but inflate sustainable ratios by including fossil-related technologies like carbon capture and fossil-based hydrogen.

The report examines the Energy Supply Financing Ratio (ESFR), a metric used to compare bank financing of sustainable energy versus fossil fuels. While adoption is increasing due to shareholder pressure, the author argues that current methodologies are often flawed. European banks like BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole set ambitious targets but use narrow definitions of fossil fuel activities and omit bond/equity financing. Conversely, North American banks like Citi and JPMorgan Chase provide more comprehensive coverage of the fossil fuel value chain but artificially inflate their 'low carbon' figures by including fossil-based hydrogen, carbon capture, and non-energy sectors.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) criticizes a $100 million DOE funding opportunity, "Improving Efficiency, Reliability, and Flexibility of Coal-Based Power Plants," for diverting funds from carbon capture innovation to refurbish aging coal plants. CATF asserts this violates the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which mandates the development of transformational carbon capture technologies. Instead, CATF proposes that the DOE leverage the Office of Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Energy (HGEO) and the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) to prioritize enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the build-out of CO2 pipelines. The document highlights that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 has increased the 45Q tax credit for EOR to $85 per ton, creating a timely opportunity for deployment, particularly in Wyoming and North Dakota. CATF recommends using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and FAST-41 permitting to accelerate infrastructure development and hosting industry convenings in Q1 2026 to better align funding notices with industry needs.

Climate Strategies' 2026-2029 strategy focuses on accelerating the science-policy nexus to deliver inclusive and effective climate action. The organisation operates as a neutral knowledge broker, connecting a network of over 120 members with policymakers to address systemic gaps in climate finance, adaptation, and fossil fuel phase-out. Its strategic framework is built around five impact areas: Prosperity Post Fossil Fuels, Nature and Resilient Food Systems, Global Majority-Powered Change, Equitable Carbon & Climate Innovation, and Building Evidence-Based Climate Narratives. The strategy emphasises the need for Just Transitions, the inclusion of Global Majority perspectives in policy recommendations, and the use of evidence-based narratives to counter climate obstruction and misinformation.

The report examines the challenges of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), noting their tendency to prioritize donor agendas and techno-economic frameworks over local social needs. It proposes South-South cooperation (SSC) as a vital complement to address these gaps through peer learning and context-specific solutions. Using South Africa and Colombia as case studies, the document identifies specific areas for collaboration, including mine closure, green industrialization, and the integration of peace-building experiences into transition planning.

The document details the use of a modified Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model to project US electricity demand from data centers and the resulting effects on the energy transition. It outlines five demand scenarios, including 'high data center demand growth', and evaluates them against various policy frameworks such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The analysis incorporates specific state-level emissions caps for Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and adjusts technology costs for nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reflect conservative estimates. It also details the calculation of health damages from criteria pollutants and the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis finds that Michigan's electricity demand could nearly double by 2050, driven significantly by AI-related data centers. While current policies may lead to increased fossil gas capacity and emissions due to an energy export loophole, a proposed CO2 reduction policy could enable Michigan to meet 95% of its 2050 demand with renewables and low-carbon sources, avoiding $3.5 billion in local health costs and $408 billion in global climate damages.

The report argues that the United States can meet surging electricity demand from AI data centers using clean energy while phasing out fossil fuels, provided that stronger state and federal policies are implemented. It warns that under current policies, data center growth will increase reliance on gas and coal, leading to higher emissions and significant costs for ratepayers. Conversely, adopting clean energy policies—such as restoring federal tax credits and implementing carbon-free electricity standards—could save trillions of dollars in climate and health damages, far outweighing the costs of the energy transition.

The report finds that data centers are the primary driver of near-term electricity demand growth in Wisconsin, which risks increasing reliance on fossil fuels under current policies. By implementing a Clean Electricity Standard and CO2 reduction policies, Wisconsin could generate 83% of its electricity from clean energy by 2050 and reach net-zero CO2 emissions. Such policies would avoid significant health-related costs and mortalities compared to current trajectories. The report recommends reintroducing Integrated Resource Planning and establishing a clean electricity standard to protect ratepayers and the climate.

In 2025, global coal capacity grew by 3.5% while generation fell by 0.6%, a divergence driven primarily by China and India. While new commissioning reached near-record levels of 97.4 GW, coal is increasingly used as 'system insurance' rather than a primary energy source. The global pipeline is narrowing geographically, with only 32 countries proposing or building new plants in 2025, and 95% of all construction concentrated in China and India. Meanwhile, the U.S. and EU saw significant delays in planned retirements, though for different reasons: federal emergency orders in the U.S. and energy security concerns in the EU. Latin America reached 'No New Coal' status in 2025, while South Korea committed to a phaseout by 2040.

The EPA has proposed a significant rollback of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), which would remove reporting requirements for 46 of 47 source categories and suspend subpart W reporting until 2034. This proposal threatens the viability of over 270 carbon capture projects and $77.5 billion in capital investment because the 45Q tax credit relies on GHGRP for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV). Specifically, the loss of subparts PP, RR, and VV would prevent carbon capture and storage (CCS) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects from claiming 45Q credits. For hydrogen projects, the delay of subpart W would reduce the reliability of upstream methane leak rate measurements used in the 45VH2-GREET tool for 45V tax credits, potentially forcing taxpayers to rely on an inaccurate 0.9% national average and increasing legal risks for high performers. Internationally, the rollback could disadvantage U.S. exporters in markets requiring verified data, such as those under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Domestically, at least ten states, including California and Colorado, have embedded GHGRP into their legal frameworks; removing it would force these states to create costly patchwork substitutes to maintain emissions inventories.

The UK's hydrogen strategy requires a course correction to prioritize hard-to-electrify sectors and resolve policy misalignments across government departments. While the UK has established production targets and funding streams like the Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HAR), inconsistent frameworks between the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Transport (DfT) create investment barriers. The document warns that slow policy delivery and high energy costs risk turning decarbonisation into deindustrialisation, as seen in the shutdown of the UK ammonia industry. It recommends integrating hydrogen strategy with broader industrial decarbonisation, aligning low-carbon fuel standards, and increasing stakeholder representation in decision-making bodies like the Hydrogen Delivery Council.

The document analyzes polling data from Project Tempo's EuroPulse Dashboard, revealing that while 62% of voters in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) acknowledge human-driven climate change, they prioritize the economy and security over climate action, which ranks 16th out of 18 issues. CEE voters show strong support for wind (62%), solar (65%), and carbon dioxide removal (62%), with higher-than-average support for nuclear power (44%) as a means to ensure self-sufficiency and industrial competitiveness. The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) recommends a diversified approach incorporating 'clean firm power'—including nuclear (SMRs), advanced geothermal, and gas with carbon capture—to maintain 24/7 reliability and reduce dependence on external suppliers, particularly in light of Russia's war in Ukraine. Key barriers identified include a lack of funding consensus, as only 55% of voters support any specific payment option for the transition, and insufficient regional coordination on cross-border infrastructure.

The author contends that Alberta's TIER carbon market is currently broken, with credit prices hovering below $20 a tonne despite a headline price of $95. To align with the Alberta-Canada Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) goal of a $130 per tonne minimum price by 2030, the document proposes reducing the 48 million surplus credits through a revenue-recycling procurement fund and tightening performance standards to limit the supply of new credits and offsets.

The document analyzes the failure of Alberta's TIER system, where carbon prices remain below $20 per tonne despite a $95 reference price, due to an excess of 48 million credits. It proposes a memorandum of understanding between Canada and Alberta to target a $130 per tonne price by 2030, suggesting the creation of a procurement fund to retire at least 10 million tonnes of excess credits by 2030 and the tightening of performance standards to reduce future credit supply.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) contends that the Department of Energy's (DOE) "Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning And Modernization" funding opportunity redirects up to $350 million from carbon capture pilot programs to maintain aging coal plants without requiring carbon capture installation. CATF argues that targeting plants scheduled for retirement before 2032 makes carbon capture infeasible due to the 3-7 year construction timeline and the 12-20 year operational period needed to recover capital costs. Furthermore, the document states that allocating $350 million across up to five plants is too diluted, as a single large-scale retrofit often exceeds $500 million. CATF recommends that the DOE limit eligibility to plants expected to operate beyond 2040 and mandate explicit capture performance requirements to meet the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) mandate for two coal-based carbon capture demonstrations.

The U.S. pulp and paper industry, which accounts for 9% of industrial energy consumption, offers significant potential for net-negative emissions through CCS due to its reliance on waste biomass. A new mapping tool evaluates facilities based on capture costs, capture potential, storage costs, infrastructure clustering, and co-benefits. The analysis identifies the Gulf Coast—specifically Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—as having the highest opportunity scores. While private sector interest is growing, the document argues that the 45Q tax credit requires enhancement and regulatory certainty for transport infrastructure is needed to scale these technologies.