Search Climate Insights Directory

The complaint argues that the Papua LNG project, a joint venture led by TotalEnergies, lacks necessary climate and human rights assessments, fails to obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from Indigenous Peoples, and threatens critical biodiversity. It specifically targets MUFG bank, claiming it may be misleading other financial institutions about the project's compliance with the Equator Principles.

The document outlines a granular, asset-level process for financial institutions (FIs) to map a company's transition footprint. This process involves five key steps: assessing double materiality to prioritize business lines, gathering detailed asset-level data, identifying retrofit and retirement timelines, selecting appropriate transition benchmarks (such as NDCs or peer data), and evaluating the resulting transition exposure. The guide emphasizes that moving beyond high-level emissions disclosures to asset-specific analysis allows FIs to identify carbon lock-in, policy misalignment, and opportunities for early retirement of high-emissions assets.

The Canadian Climate Institute argues that Canada is currently off track to meet its 2026 and 2030 emissions targets. To make the upcoming federal progress report useful, the Institute recommends providing detailed policy implementation updates, using rigorous and recent emissions projections based on actual policy rather than backcasting, offering a substantive assessment of additional measures to close the emissions gap, and introducing new progress indicators beyond simple emissions reductions.

Reclaim Finance criticizes AXA for insuring the Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana, arguing that this contradicts AXA's stated commitments to reduce support for shale gas. The document highlights the terminal's significant local pollution, its role in global methane emissions, and the contradiction in AXA's policy of refusing to insure shale gas production while insuring the export terminals that process it.

The Canadian Climate Institute evaluates the federal government's new climate competitiveness strategy, highlighting the strengthening of industrial carbon pricing and methane regulations as promising steps. While the strategy includes investments in the electrical grid and critical minerals, the Institute notes a lack of detail on electric vehicle standards and a significant omission regarding climate adaptation infrastructure.

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, solar energy has transitioned from a marginal source to the fastest-growing electricity source globally, with leadership shifting from advanced economies to emerging markets. Brazil, China, and India have been central to this shift, collectively accounting for 60% of new solar capacity since 2015. The report highlights how national commitments (NDCs), international financing, and industrial policies—such as Brazil's renewable energy auctions and China's manufacturing scale—have drastically reduced costs and increased global deployment. By 2025, the world reached 2.2 TW of solar capacity, with the focus now shifting toward energy storage and grid reliability to ensure 24/7 availability.

The briefing argues that for a transition away from fossil fuels to be equitable, advanced economies must lead with more aggressive emission reductions. Using the IEA's Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario, it highlights that advanced economies need to reduce oil emissions by 40% and gas emissions by 33% by 2030, compared to significantly lower targets for emerging and developing economies. The document warns that recent failures to reduce emissions have led to a decline in the ambition of these targets in updated IEA models.

The document identifies a significant divergence between climate and development policy in Africa, noting that NDCs focus on sectoral mitigation while NDPs prioritize economic growth and poverty alleviation. It warns that aggressive energy transitions to reach net-zero by 2050 could reduce cropland availability by 31%, potentially undermining the agricultural sector which employs 60% of the continent's workforce. Financially, the brief highlights a massive gap, with climate finance requirements for Africa projected at $2.7 trillion by 2030, nearly equaling the continental GDP.

The report analyzes energy subsidies and revenues in Chhattisgarh between FY 2020 and 2024, finding that fossil fuel subsidies have doubled since 2020 and that 78% of energy-related revenues depend on fossil fuels. While the state government provides 98% of electricity subsidies, clean energy subsidies account for only 8% of total quantified subsidies. The document recommends establishing state-level net-zero targets, better targeting electricity subsidies, diversifying revenue beyond coal, oil, and gas, and creating social support mechanisms for coal-dependent workers.

India has introduced the 2024 Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing and Misleading Environmental Claims to protect consumers from deceptive environmental marketing. These guidelines, enforced by the Central Consumer Protection Agency, require businesses to substantiate claims with independent evidence and provide transparent disclosures. Complementing this is the updated Eco Mark certification, which labels products based on both environmental and quality standards. While large businesses welcome the move toward greater accountability, implementation challenges remain for SMEs and require increased public awareness and capacity building.

The IISD response asserts that Equinor's application for the Rosebank field development ignores critical Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) guidance regarding downstream Scope 3 emissions. The document argues that the project is incompatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target, as no new oil and gas fields are needed or permissible in such scenarios. Furthermore, the IISD claims the project offers minimal economic benefit, potentially resulting in a net loss to the UK Treasury and providing negligible contributions to energy security.

Analysis of the Lloyd's insurance market reveals that while its sustainable energy business grew by 18% annually from 2020 to 2024, its fossil fuel business grew by 2.4% per year, contrasting with a 2.8% decline in the wider global insurance market. Lloyd's remains the world's largest center for fossil fuel insurance, capturing an estimated 9% of the global market and one dollar in every eight of global oil and gas premiums. The report identifies Hiscox Syndicates as a significant outlier among managing agents for its high reliance on fossil fuel premiums. Furthermore, it highlights a growing talent crisis, noting that two-thirds of students who would consider the insurance sector would only apply to companies that do not insure fossil fuel projects or have commitments to reduce such underwriting.

The petitioners argue that the 'ease and acceleration' of National Strategic Projects (PSN) under the Job Creation Law creates vague norms that allow for arbitrary government power, the marginalization of public participation, and the violation of constitutional rights. They claim these provisions facilitate land grabbing, the conversion of sustainable agricultural land, and the removal of legislative oversight over forest area changes, primarily benefiting private capital over public welfare. The document details specific impacts in regions such as Rempang, Merauke, and North Kalimantan, citing losses of indigenous lands, food insecurity, and environmental degradation.

The document defines essential carbon market terminology, including the distinction between cap-and-trade and compliance markets, the mechanics of carbon credits and budgets, and specific regulatory frameworks like the EU's CBAM and the ICAO's CORSIA.

Ember argues that the NSW EPA's proposed requirements for large emitters are a positive step but lack the ambition needed to meet net zero goals. The report highlights significant underreporting of coal mine methane (CMM) in New South Wales, suggesting satellite data shows emissions could be double official figures. Ember recommends extending reporting requirements to all coal mines, mandating pre-mine drainage for open-cut mines, and requiring 70-year post-closure monitoring for abandoned mine methane. It also emphasizes the need for alignment with the EU Methane Regulation to protect the export viability of metallurgical coal.

Between 2019 and 2023, Indonesia's power sector saw total reported investments of USD 38.02 billion, with fossil fuels (FF) dominating at 62% of the share. The report highlights a significant gap in 'unreported' investment in captive coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), estimated at USD 10.63 billion. While renewable energy (RE) investment reached USD 8.85 billion, it remains concentrated in baseload sources like hydropower and geothermal. Private international financial institutions are the primary drivers of fossil fuel investment, whereas RE is increasingly supported by domestic private sources. Analysis of PLN reveals that coal plants account for 46% of annual operating costs, and PLN-owned solar plants suffer from severe inefficiency with a capacity factor of only 4% compared to a 16% benchmark.

The report finds that Chhattisgarh remains deeply dependent on fossil fuels, with government subsidies for coal and oil and gas being four times higher than those for clean energy in FY 2024. While the state has a vision to reach 66% renewable energy by 2047, current public investment is dominated by thermal power expansion and electricity price supports. Energy revenues, which make up 22% of the state's total receipts, are primarily driven by oil and gas VAT and coal royalties, leaving the state vulnerable to the national energy transition.

The document advocates for South Korea to set a 2035 emissions reduction target of at least 61% relative to 2018 levels to ensure alignment with its 2050 carbon neutrality goal. It emphasizes that a credible NDC must be supported by sectoral pathways in power, industry, and transport to provide the policy certainty required to unlock private sector investment. Key recommendations include phasing out coal power by 2035, reforming the Korea Emissions Trading System (K-ETS) to increase carbon price signals, and accelerating the deployment of breakthrough technologies like hydrogen steelmaking and electrified steam crackers. The briefing also stresses the importance of structured collaboration between the government, businesses of all sizes, and subnational authorities to ensure the NDC is investible and implementable.

Thailand's economic strategy to become a regional hub for electric vehicles (EVs) and data centres requires a rapid transition to clean energy to attract foreign investment and meet international low-carbon standards. The energy sector, which accounted for 69% of total emissions in 2019, is central to Thailand's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30-40% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Projections indicate that EVs could account for 20% of total electricity demand by 2037, while data centre demand is expected to grow at an 8% CAGR from 2025 to 2027, potentially adding 10 TWh by 2037. To support this, the Thai government has introduced a direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) pilot project specifically for data centres of at least 50 MW, allowing them to bypass the single-buyer system and purchase renewable energy directly.

The report proposes a cost-optimal energy pathway for Thailand through 2037, suggesting that increasing solar capacity by 89% and battery storage by 60% relative to the draft revised power development plan (RPDP) 2024 can save $1.8 billion in power generation costs. This pathway aims to meet rising electricity demand from data centres (projected 10 TWh increase) and electric vehicles (projected 3.3 GW peak load increase) while reducing natural gas imports by 1,815 billion cubic feet. The analysis finds that wind energy is not financially viable without a 10% annual CAPEX reduction, suggesting imported hydropower from Lao PDR as a more cost-effective alternative.