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491 results
The immediate end of coal is key to achieving net-zero
The We Mean Business coalition asserts that ending coal dependence is critical for limiting global warming and achieving 2030 and 2050 climate targets. It advocates for a full phase-out of coal power in advanced economies by 2030 and globally by 2040, noting that renewables now outcompete new coal virtually everywhere. The text highlights a shift in the private sector, with major insurers and mining companies divesting from coal, and emphasizes that a transition to clean power would improve public health and create more jobs than traditional economic stimulus measures.
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Document type: Statement
UBS Asset Management misses the boat on coal
Reclaim Finance assesses the March 2021 coal exclusion policy of UBS Asset Management, finding it insufficient due to the omission of the coal power sector and the exclusion of passively managed assets. The analysis highlights that UBS AM continues to support coal developers and companies below a 30% revenue threshold, such as Glencore and Adani, and lacks a defined global coal phase-out strategy aligned with IPCC-based deadlines.
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Document type: Statement
Special resolution on climate – HSBC Holdings PLC’s 2021 Annual General Meeting
ClientEarth argues that HSBC faces significant financial, reputational, and legal risks by continuing to finance fossil fuels. The organization supports a shareholder resolution calling for a Paris-aligned strategy with short, medium, and long-term targets, specifically starting with coal. ClientEarth contends that HSBC's current net zero ambitions and transition financing pledges are insufficient without a concrete plan to reduce fossil fuel exposure, noting that the bank is Europe's second largest financier of fossil fuels.
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Document type: Statement
CLIMATE SECURITY AND THE STRATEGIC ENERGY PATHWAY IN SOUTH ASIA
The document analyzes climate change as a 'threat multiplier' in South Asia, where it exacerbates socio-economic tensions, fuels violent extremism, and intensifies nuclear-armed rivalries over shared water resources. It highlights the vulnerability of the region to heatwaves, sea level rise, and flooding, which drive mass migration and compromise military readiness. The report specifically examines the hydro-rivalry between China and India over the Brahmaputra and between India and Pakistan over the Indus River Basin. To address these challenges, it recommends integrating climate projections into military planning, establishing comprehensive transboundary water treaties, and accelerating the transition from coal and natural gas to renewable energy through international financing.
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Document type: Briefing
Utilities beyond fossil fuels CASE STUDY: ENGIE
The report argues that ENGIE's transition strategy is not aligned with the Paris Agreement due to the lack of confirmed shutdown dates for 70% of its remaining coal fleet and a reliance on converting coal plants to fossil gas and biomass. While ENGIE aims for renewables to provide 58% of its power by 2030, the document identifies significant financial and regulatory risks associated with its gas and biomass assets, including the potential for stranded assets and high methane emissions from shale gas procurement.
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Document type: Case study
A 1.5 CELSIUS PATHWAY TO CLIMATE LEADERSHIP FOR THE UNITED STATES
The report proposes a comprehensive policy pathway for the United States to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, aligning with IPCC 1.5 C targets. Central to this strategy is a Clean Electricity Standard (CES) requiring 100% clean electricity by 2035 and the total elimination of coal power by 2030. The pathway includes transitioning to 100% zero-emission vehicle sales for light-duty vehicles by 2035 and all-electric building equipment by 2030. The analysis indicates that this transition would increase U.S. GDP by $997 billion per year by 2050, create 5.5 million new job-years, and avoid over 65,000 premature deaths by 2050.
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Document type: Report
The European Power Sector in 2020
In 2020, renewables became the EU's primary electricity source for the first time, generating 38% of electricity. While wind and solar growth remained robust despite the pandemic, the report argues that deployment must nearly triple to meet 2030 Green Deal targets. Coal generation fell by 20% in 2020, though this decline was partially offset by increased gas generation and a record 10% drop in nuclear output. Consequently, Europe's electricity carbon intensity fell to 226 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour in 2020, a 29% reduction since 2015.
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Document type: Report
The Net-Zero Energy Transition Policy Case Studies
The report provides a comprehensive overview of energy transition progress in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam. It highlights the role of independent think tanks in driving policy breakthroughs, such as coal phase-outs and renewable energy targets, while identifying systemic barriers including political resistance, grid limitations, and financing gaps. The document argues that while technology strategies (renewables and electrification) are converging, national implementation is shaped by distinct local political and social factors.
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Document type: Report
Questions écrites à BNP Paribas Assemblée générale 2021
The document outlines eight key demands from Reclaim Finance and Les Amis de la Terre France addressed to BNP Paribas. It calls for the bank to strictly apply its coal exit policy, cease all support for hydrocarbon development, exit high-risk sectors like the Arctic and unconventional oil and gas by 2030, and vote against Total's climate strategy. Additionally, it urges the bank to withdraw from gas projects in Mozambique, strengthen exclusions on soy-related deforestation in the Cerrado, and formalize a policy to end support for oil drilling in the Amazon.
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Document type: Statement
Questions écrites à Crédit Agricole Assemblée générale 2021
The document outlines eight key demands for Crédit Agricole to align its financial activities with the 1.5°C climate goal. These include ending support for coal projects and companies like Glencore and PGE, divesting from Fortum due to pro-coal lobbying, and ceasing all financing for hydrocarbon development, specifically unconventional oil and gas and projects in the Arctic and Mozambique. It also calls for the bank to vote against Total's climate strategy and adopt a zero-deforestation policy for imported soy, particularly concerning the Cerrado region.
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Document type: Statement
Questions écrites à Natixis Assemblée générale 2021
The document consists of formal inquiries directed at Natixis regarding its climate and environmental policies. The authors challenge the bank's delayed implementation of coal exclusions, its continued support for fossil fuel expansion, and its involvement in high-risk sectors such as Arctic drilling, shale gas, and Amazonian oil extraction. It specifically calls for the bank to oppose Total's climate strategy and cease financing for projects like EACOP and Tilenga, as well as gas developments in Mozambique. Additionally, it demands a 'zero deforestation' policy for imported soy and a detailed plan to end support for oil drilling in the Amazon.
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Document type: Statement
El papel del sector financiero en un escenario de eliminación gradual del carbón
The document examines the Colombian financial sector's integration of climate change into decision-making, highlighting that while some green finance initiatives exist, most private flows remain inconsistent with a low-carbon economy. It identifies significant risks of 'stranded assets' in Colombia's coal mining and power sectors, citing the cases of Prodeco and Cerrejón. The brief argues that financial institutions must move beyond symbolic commitments to tangible phase-out plans and provides examples of international banking policies that restrict coal financing to guide the Colombian sector toward a just transition.
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Document type: Policy brief
Offener Brief von Unternehmen an die G20
The document serves as an FAQ for an open letter initiative by the We Mean Business Coalition, targeting G20 nations. It outlines the necessity for G20 countries to increase their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. The letter calls for specific policy shifts, including an immediate end to new coal projects, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, and mandatory climate-related financial disclosures. It emphasizes the G20's unique responsibility given they represent approximately 90% of global GDP and nearly 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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Document type: Fact sheet
LETTRE OUVERTE DE LA PART D’ENTREPRISES A L’ATTENTION DES DIRIGEANTES ET DIRIGEANTS DU G20
The document is a FAQ for businesses on an open letter to G20 leaders, calling for strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. It outlines key policy demands, including ending coal financing, removing fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, and implementing climate-related financial reporting.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Accord de Paris et sortie du charbon des financiers français : de la parole aux actes
The statement argues that French financial actors are failing to translate their Paris Agreement commitments into concrete action. It highlights that since COP21, financial actors have provided $1,600 billion in funding to fossil fuel companies, with French banks and investors contributing $126 billion in financing and $22 billion in investments. The text specifically calls out the Banque de France for not having adopted a coal exit policy or restrictions on other fossil fuels, despite the governor's public calls for climate action. It also notes that ten other French actors, including Covéa and SCOR, have insufficient policies, and contrasts the French government's plan to fund fossil fuel projects until 2035 with the UK's goal to end such funding by COP26 in November 2021.
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Document type: Statement
BlackRock fails to adopt a robust engagement policy
Reclaim Finance criticizes BlackRock's 2021 Stewardship Expectations, arguing that the asset manager's commitment to support more climate-related shareholder votes is undermined by a lack of robust engagement strategies. The document highlights that BlackRock supported only 11% of climate resolutions in 2020 and continues to invest in companies expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, including 240 companies planning new coal projects. Reclaim Finance asserts that effective engagement requires public, time-bound demands for 1.5ºC alignment and absolute emission reductions by 2030, alongside the use of divestment for non-transitioning companies.
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Document type: Statement
German State Awards €317 Million To Loss-Making Coal Plants
Ember's analysis of Germany's first hard coal phase-out auction reveals that the state awarded €317 million to 11 plants, many of which were already economically unviable. The report finds that 93% of the German hard coal fleet has been running at a loss since late 2018, collectively losing over €1 billion. Ember argues that the current phase-out model is inefficient, as it may lead to the closure of newer, more efficient plants while compensating older units that would have closed due to market forces regardless of subsidies.
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Document type: Research paper
Coal-free Czechia 2030
The report argues that a coal-free Czechia by 2030 is feasible through a least-cost pathway focused on rapid expansion of wind and solar power, supplemented by flexible gas generation and large-scale heat pumps. It estimates that this transition would reduce power sector emissions by 85% and create approximately 45,000 direct jobs, while requiring €11bn in power sector capital investment.
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Document type: Report
Funding for CHP in Germany’s Coal Phase-out Law
The document critiques the Coal Replacement Bonus and the South Bonus introduced in Germany's Coal Phase-out Law, arguing that they overcompensate gas-based CHP plants, risk creating a carbon lock-in effect, and may delay the phase-out of hard coal by offering more attractive financial incentives than closure auctions.
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Document type: Briefing
Just transition and the geopolitics of decarbonization in the EU
The document analyzes the EU's Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) as a political tool to overcome national resistance to decarbonization, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. By 'rescaling' support to subnational NUTS 3 regions, the EU aims to empower local actors and generate bottom-up support for climate goals. However, the author warns that national governments may act as gatekeepers to funding, and that a regional focus may fail to protect the most vulnerable groups if not paired with broader social policies. The brief also argues for integrating just transition into EU foreign policy to support fossil-fuel-producing countries outside the bloc.
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Document type: Policy brief