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Europe’s great coal collapse of 2019
In the first half of 2019, EU coal generation fell by 19%, driven by the growth of wind and solar power, a shift toward fossil gas due to rising carbon prices, and specific plant closures. Germany experienced the largest absolute decline, while eastern European countries saw smaller reductions due to slower renewable energy deployment. The report argues that while carbon pricing has made coal less profitable, further declines require accelerated plant closures and increased investment in clean energy and grid infrastructure to ensure a full transition.
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Document type: Report
Killer Heat in the United States
The report analyzes future extreme heat in the US, finding that a 'no action' emissions scenario would lead to a staggering increase in dangerously hot days, particularly in the Sunbelt and Midwest, while rapid action could significantly limit these risks.
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Document type: Report
Businesses, Investors, Cities, States and Regions come together to call on National Governments to Deliver New Ambitious Climate Action at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019
The statement urges national governments to align their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with the IPCC 1.5°C report, specifically calling for peaking emissions by 2020 and reaching net zero by 2050. It highlights the existing commitments of non-state actors—including over 900 companies, 9,000 cities, and hundreds of investors—as evidence that a zero-carbon transition is possible. The signatories demand specific policy interventions, including carbon pricing between US$40-100/tCO2-e by 2030, the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, and the implementation of TCFD financial reporting recommendations by 2020.
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Document type: Statement
WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MARKET DESIGN FOR RAPID DECARBONIZATION: A DECENTRALIZED MARKETS APPROACH
The authors propose a market design featuring a regional spot market operated by an independent Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) using locational marginal pricing and security-constrained economic dispatch. To ensure long-term investment in clean resources and manage price risk, the model relies on decentralized bilateral contracts, such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), rather than centralized capacity procurement. The authors contend that this approach facilitates the retirement of fossil fuel generation, promotes innovation in distributed energy resources, and minimizes political interference. They emphasize that public policy instruments, such as carbon pricing or portfolio standards, should complement this market structure by internalizing greenhouse gas externalities to accelerate the transition.
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Document type: Research paper
Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform
This research paper assesses the impact of removing consumer fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 across 26 countries, finding a simple average GHG emission reduction of 6% by 2030 compared to business as usual. The study argues that while FFSR alone is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals, combining it with a 10% energy tax and reallocating 30% of savings into renewable energy and energy efficiency could increase average reductions to 13.2% by 2030. It highlights that FFSR is a cost-effective tool, saving governments an average of USD 93 per tonne of CO2e removed. The paper also reviews the regressive nature of fuel subsidies and advocates for 'subsidy swaps' toward sustainable energy and social safety nets, noting that only 8% of current NDCs explicitly include FFSR.
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Document type: Research paper
Who Bears the Burden?
The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that Asian American, Latino, and African American residents in New York State are exposed to significantly higher levels of vehicle-derived PM2.5 pollution than white residents. The highest concentrations are found in New York City, particularly in the West Bronx, where pollution is linked to severe health risks including cardiovascular disease and asthma. The document argues that these inequities result from historical land-use and transportation decisions and recommends prioritizing electric vehicle infrastructure, cleaner fuels, and expanded public transit in the most burdened communities.
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Document type: Fact sheet
SCALING UP AMBITION: LEVERAGING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE PARIS AGREEMENT GOALS
The document outlines a framework for G20 nations to align their near-term climate pledges (NDCs) with mid-century visions (LTSs) to achieve Paris Agreement goals. It emphasizes that such alignment avoids carbon lock-in, supports just transitions, and unlocks economic benefits, including a potential US$26 trillion in global benefits by 2030. The paper provides guidance on NDC implementation, the process for updating pledges by 2020, and the necessity of G20 support for developing countries to overcome capacity and financing gaps.
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Document type: Research paper
4 Ways to Deliver Bold Action on Climate and Justice This Year at Back-to-Back UN Summits
The briefing outlines four strategic priorities for the upcoming UN Climate Action and SDG Summits: ramping up ambition for systemic economic change, ensuring a just transition that protects vulnerable populations, scaling high-impact solutions across six key sectors, and establishing inclusive long-term goals for carbon neutrality and equity.
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Document type: Briefing
Business urges Japan to chart a clear path to net-zero emissions by 2050
The We Mean Business coalition, representing nearly 900 global companies, calls on Japan to establish a clear path to net-zero domestic emissions by 2050. The coalition argues that clear, long-term government policies are necessary to provide businesses with the confidence to invest in zero-carbon technologies and avoid stranded assets. To achieve this, they recommend that Japan implement quantitative decarbonization targets across all sectors, prioritize renewable energy deployment, phase out coal, introduce carbon pricing, and support green finance.
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Document type: Statement
Shell's salad years are over
Carbon Market Watch criticizes Shell's $300 million investment in tree planting and forestry offsets, arguing that such measures do not reduce emissions and are undermined by the company's continued lobbying against climate action and massive investment in oil and gas infrastructure over low-carbon alternatives.
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Document type: Statement
Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals
The report details Canada's greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2016, highlighting that while overall emissions grew nearly 17%, the oil and gas and transportation sectors were the primary drivers. It examines the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and provides a detailed breakdown of emissions by province and territory, noting significant per capita disparities between jurisdictions like Alberta and Quebec.
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Document type: Report
Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals
The Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals, published by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), is a comprehensive guide designed to empower healthcare workers to act as educators and advocates. It details the science of anthropogenic climate change, the disproportionate health risks faced by vulnerable populations, and the specific regional vulnerabilities across Canada. The document emphasizes 'health co-benefits'—the immediate health improvements resulting from climate mitigation, such as reduced air pollution from phasing out coal and improved cardiovascular health through active transportation. It provides a framework for health care facilities to assess their own climate resiliency and reduce their carbon footprints, while offering strategies for health professionals to engage patients, peers, and policymakers in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Document type: Guide
Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals
The report argues that transitioning away from fossil fuels through carbon pricing, energy efficiency, active transportation, and plant-based diets can simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health outcomes. It highlights that in Canada, air pollution from fossil fuels causes 14,400 premature deaths annually, and that shifting to low-carbon energy and urban design can significantly reduce chronic diseases and healthcare costs.
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Document type: Report
Boîte à outils sur les changements climatiques pour les professionnels de la santé
The document is a comprehensive guide for healthcare professionals to address climate change. It covers the science of climate change, its global and Canadian health impacts, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends in Canada, and practical solutions. It emphasizes 'co-benefits'—where climate actions like promoting plant-based diets or active transport immediately improve public health. The guide provides specific strategies for making healthcare facilities more resilient and sustainable, such as reducing the carbon footprint of anesthesia and supply chains, and offers a framework for community-level adaptation and professional advocacy.
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Document type: Guide
India’s Energy Transition: Stranded coal power assets, workers and energy subsidies
The document examines the crisis of 'stressed' coal power assets in India, where approximately 21% of operational capacity was identified as non-performing in 2018. It identifies current drivers of stranding, such as the financial distress of distribution companies (DISCOMs) and coal shortages, alongside future risks including water scarcity, air pollution regulations, and the increasing cost-competitiveness of renewable energy. The authors argue that government subsidies and preferential financing have artificially dampened market signals, prolonging the life of unviable assets. Finally, the brief advocates for a 'just transition' framework to prevent the burden of asset stranding from falling on the millions of workers in the coal value chain, particularly in states like Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
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Document type: Briefing
Industry should stop clinging on to pollution-freebies and start focusing on climate solutions
The document criticizes the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) for granting excessive free pollution permits to heavy industry, citing court cases involving ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg and ExxonMobil in Germany as evidence of systemic abuse. It argues that lax 'carbon leakage' rules allow companies to profit from selling surplus permits while emissions remain stagnant, and advocates for a transition to a carbon-free industrial framework based on meaningful carbon pricing and innovation.
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Document type: Statement
Carbon pricing options for international maritime emissions
The research assesses offsetting schemes, emissions trading schemes (ETS), and climate levies against four criteria: effectiveness, non-discrimination (NMFT), common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR-RC), and administrative burden. The authors conclude that a climate levy is the most suitable instrument because it provides the highest investment certainty for ship owners, has lower transaction costs than trading schemes, and allows for revenue redistribution to support impacted states. The paper urges the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a robust carbon price quickly due to the long lifespan of ships currently being built.
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Document type: Research paper
treatment-of-electricity-in-the-obps-march-6-2019-3831d4c78a6f8744.pdf
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and other partners urge the Canadian government to tighten electricity standards within the Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS). They argue that the proposed standards for coal and natural gas are too lenient, effectively subsidizing the coal industry and undermining Canada's commitment to the Powering Past Coal Alliance. The authors propose a standard of 370 t of CO2e/GWh for existing facilities and 0 for new ones, suggesting that the Climate Action Incentive be increased to protect consumers from potential price increases resulting from more stringent standards.
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Document type: Statement
Deutschland: Annullierung von Emissionslizenzen und Kohleausstieg müssen Hand in Hand gehen
The document assesses the German Coal Commission's plan to be coal-free by 2038, noting that while it avoids up to 1.8 GtCO2e of emissions, it is insufficient to meet the 2°C target. It emphasizes that the EU-ETS is a vital but insufficient tool on its own, and warns of a "waterbed effect" where allowances from closed German plants are used by other EU entities unless they are explicitly cancelled. The author advocates for a "just transition" where public funds support affected workers and communities rather than compensating private shareholders of utility companies like RWE.
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Document type: Statement
Call to Action on Climate Change and Health
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and other health professionals argue that climate change is the greatest health threat of the 21st century, citing immediate impacts in Canada such as wildfires, heat-related deaths, and food insecurity in the Arctic. They urge federal parties to adopt targets to keep warming below 1.5°C, phase out coal by 2030, and reduce emissions from the oil, gas, and transport sectors, noting that such policies would yield significant health co-benefits and reduce healthcare costs.
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Document type: Statement