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The RMI framework establishes rules for the issuance, transfer, and retirement of Book-and-Claim Units (BCUs) for low-emissions iron and steel. It introduces a dual functional-unit system (iron and crude steel) with eligibility thresholds anchored to ResponsibleSteel's Decarbonization Progress Level 3 (DPL3). To prevent fossil lock-in, the framework mandates route-specific criteria, including a 2035/2040 phase-out for BF-BOF eligibility and strict 90% capture rates for CCS/CCUS. It defines rigorous accounting methods—direct and enhanced substitution—to prevent over-claiming and double counting, while prohibiting on-product claims to maintain the incentive for physical green steel procurement.

The report analyzes the financial needs and current tools supporting the low-carbon transition of China's coal power sector, which is estimated to require over ten trillion yuan in funding. It evaluates existing domestic transition finance catalogs and debt instruments, compares them with international standards—such as those in Singapore and ASEAN—and examines multilateral mechanisms like JETP and ETM. The document concludes with six action recommendations to improve standard systems, optimize financing mechanisms, and leverage the leadership of central enterprises to ensure a credible and just transition.

The report argues that the UK risks spending billions in public funds on unproven carbon removal technologies, such as power-BECCS and DACCS, which face significant delays and high costs. It highlights that a single project at Drax biomass power station could require £30 billion in subsidies, exceeding the entire national carbon capture and storage budget. The analysis notes that no commercial-scale project has yet begun construction or captured carbon, and warns that power-BECCS may not deliver genuine removals due to feedstock and supply chain emissions. The author recommends prioritising proven decarbonisation methods like renewables and heat pumps over these high-risk technologies.

The document highlights the role of US states in decarbonizing heavy industry, specifically petroleum refining, chemicals, iron and steel, and cement manufacturing. It outlines various technology pathways—such as CCUS, electrification, and hydrogen—and provides a menu of state policy tools including financial support, demand stimulation, and permitting reform to drive investment and deployment.

The report examines the social dimensions of deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Poland, emphasizing that technical feasibility alone is insufficient without a 'social license to operate.' It highlights the risks of public opposition—citing failures in the Netherlands and Australia—and contrasts them with successful engagement in Japan and Norway. The authors identify low public awareness and safety concerns as primary barriers in Poland and recommend a shift from top-down communication to partnership-based engagement, including early stakeholder involvement, transparent data sharing, and tangible local economic benefits.

The global chemicals industry, a $4.7 trillion sector responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, requires urgent innovation to decouple from fossil fuels. RMI and Third Derivative identify three primary innovation pathways: 'Make Less' (circular economy and materials substitution), 'Make Better' (electrification and process efficiency), and 'Make New' (defossilized production using CO2 conversion and biomass). Despite the potential, the sector is undercapitalized, with only 3% of climate tech venture capital directed toward chemicals and plastics over the last five years. Key barriers to scaling include high capital costs, feedstock availability, and a 60% drop in global clean industry investment in 2024. The report emphasizes the role of strategic partnerships with incumbents, non-dilutive funding, and low-carbon certifications in accelerating the commercialization of these technologies.

The report investigates the factors behind the acceleration of coal power approvals in China between 2022 and 2024, including rising power demand and energy security concerns. It details China's strategy to maintain supply continuity through flexibility retrofits and carbon-reduction pilots while proposing a transition toward clean power generation and storage technologies to replace coal's role in system reliability.

China has surpassed its 2030 wind and solar capacity targets six years early, with clean electricity meeting 84.2% of additional demand in 2024. However, the report argues that the 'more renewables, more coal' era is ending and the next phase requires a shift from adding capacity to engineering a 'megasystem' involving smart grids, long-duration storage, and industrial electrification. While the 'new three' sectors (solar, batteries, EVs) have driven GDP, they face saturation and competition, making the development of next-generation technologies essential for sustaining China's 'growing by greening' economic strategy.

The document advocates for transition-specific alignment targets—sector-specific metrics like zero-emission vehicle sales—to overcome the limitations of traditional GHG emission reduction targets, particularly regarding scope 3 emissions. It identifies risks in current GHG reporting, such as creative accounting and inadequate 'spend method' calculations, and recommends that standard setters develop consistent definitions and sectoral pathways to integrate these targets into national regulations and voluntary frameworks.

The document advocates for separating carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from general climate goals to avoid 'mitigation deterrence,' where the hope of future CDR technologies slows current emission reductions. It proposes a three-pronged approach: binding targets for gross emission reductions, biosequestration in natural sinks, and permanent technological removal. While the EU currently uses 'net' targets for 2030 and 2050, the author suggests the upcoming 2040 target proposal is an ideal opportunity to formalize this separation.

The document describes the Paris Agreement's 'ambition cycle' as a four-stage iterative process: formulation of long-term strategies (LTS) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), implementation, monitoring via Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), and collective evaluation through the Global Stocktake (GST). It emphasizes the need for alignment between short-term NDCs and long-term net-zero goals, while warning against over-reliance on carbon markets and carbon capture technologies. The guide provides a national implementation roadmap and case studies from Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and Panama to illustrate best practices in climate governance and transparency.

The steel industry accounts for 11% of global CO2 emissions, but decarbonization is hindered by financial institutions' reliance on outdated myths. The briefing argues that the next six years are critical for transformation and urges financial institutions to restrict funding for metallurgical coal and coal-based steel projects while increasing investment in fossil-free technologies.

The document argues that the steel sector, which accounts for 11% of global CO2 emissions, can be decarbonized rapidly through technological progress, but is hindered by outdated beliefs among financial actors. It lists ten misconceptions—including the idea that the sector is inherently 'hard-to-abate' or that non-fossil steel is too expensive—and urges financial institutions to stop funding coal-based steel projects in favor of fossil-free alternatives.

The report documents the negative impacts and risks associated with various geoengineering 'false solutions,' including carbon capture and storage (CCS), bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture (DAC), solar radiation management (SRM), and marine geoengineering. It provides specific examples of project failures, environmental hazards, and social injustices across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America, asserting that these technologies often perpetuate the fossil fuel economy rather than solving the climate crisis.

The document provides a comprehensive critique of geoengineering, categorizing it into carbon removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM). It details specific failures and risks of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS/CCUS), Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), Direct Air Capture (DAC), and marine geoengineering across various global regions, emphasizing that these 'false solutions' often facilitate continued fossil fuel extraction through Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and pose significant ecological and social threats.

The report evaluates the transition plans of Enel, ENGIE, EPH, Iberdrola, and Statkraft, finding that none have committed to phasing out fossil gas power in Europe or the OECD by 2035. While Iberdrola and Statkraft are highlighted as following better practices by focusing on sustainable power solutions, EPH is identified as an industry laggard with a strategy heavily reliant on coal and gas. Enel and ENGIE are described as having conflicting strategies that combine renewable growth with continued fossil gas development and reliance on immature technologies like hydrogen and CCUS. The analysis emphasizes that current CAPEX allocations for several utilities remain too high for fossil fuels to meet the IEA's Net-zero Emissions by 2050 scenario.

Reclaim Finance argues that ENGIE's continued investment in fossil gas is incompatible with a 1.5°C warming limit and its own 2045 carbon neutrality goal. The organization calls on shareholders to vote against key strategic resolutions to sanction the board for failing to align capital expenditure with decarbonization goals.

Reclaim Finance argues that ArcelorMittal is hindering the transition from coal by investing in new and existing blast furnaces, including a joint venture in India with Nippon Steel. The organization highlights that less than half of the company's decarbonization projects can produce steel without fossil fuels and notes that the company's Head of European Operations has described green hydrogen as too expensive despite receiving subsidies. Reclaim Finance calls on shareholders to hold the board and management accountable by integrating climate considerations into strategic routine votes, such as director re-election and remuneration, to oppose metallurgical coal-based activities.

The report establishes a framework for certifying electrical utilities and their debt instruments based on their alignment with a 1.5-degree warming scenario. It defines a global emission intensity transition pathway based on IEA Net Zero (NZE) 2023 data, requiring utilities to reduce carbon intensity from 460 gCO2/kWh in 2025 to 0 by 2050. The criteria distinguish between existing capacity, which may be retrofitted with carbon capture or low-carbon co-firing, and new capacity, for which no new fossil fuel investments are eligible. It also sets specific non-combustion emission thresholds for hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy, and incorporates EU Taxonomy standards for CO2 transport and methane leakages.

The document analyzes the implementation of CCfDs in Europe, specifically comparing the Dutch SDE++, the UK's Industrial Carbon Capture (ICC) contract, and the Danish CCUS Fund. It details how these mechanisms bridge the cost gap between the EU ETS carbon price and the actual cost of carbon abatement for hard-to-abate sectors like cement, steel, and chemicals. The analysis covers critical design elements including fund sizes, technology eligibility, reference and bid pricing, payment symmetry, and the management of cross-chain risks related to transport and storage (T&S) infrastructure.