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Open letter to the Energy Union cluster of Commissioners about Energy Market Design
The document argues that the Energy Market Design Initiative is essential for the success of the Energy Union and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It outlines how market design can reduce energy poverty, boost security, and avoid fossil fuel lock-in by facilitating clean technology deployment. The authors call for specific actions, including the phase-out of coal by 2030, the promotion of energy efficiency and demand response, and the regulation of distribution system operators to support a decentralised energy system.
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Document type: Statement
Breathing in the benefits
The report argues that an accelerated phase-out of coal power in Alberta would significantly reduce premature deaths, emergency room visits, and asthma episodes, while providing billions in socio-economic value. By extrapolating data from Environment Canada's Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS), the authors demonstrate that a stepwise transition proposed by the Pembina Institute would more than double the health benefits of the 2012 federal regulations between 2015 and 2035.
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Document type: Report
Stories of Coal Phase-Out: Lessons learned for China
The report utilizes the "window of opportunity" framework—examining context, champions, concerns, and complementary policies—to analyze coal phase-outs in California, Denmark, France, and Beijing. It highlights how resource endowment, international climate commitments, and public health concerns drive reform. For Beijing, the report details the closure of coal mines and power plants, the role of central and local government coordination, and the impact of high-profile events like the Olympics and APEC summit in accelerating the transition. It concludes that successful nationwide phase-out in China requires viable energy alternatives, social protection for workers, and high-level political leadership supported by grassroots demand.
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Document type: Report
Meeting Canada's Subsidy Phase-Out Goal: What it means in Ontario
The document outlines the need for Ontario to remove environmentally harmful fossil fuel subsidies to align with Canada's G-7 commitment to end such subsidies by 2025. It references a national estimate of CAD 2.9 billion in production subsidies and notes that while Ontario has phased out coal and implemented carbon pricing, further action is required regarding preferential tax treatments for fossil fuels.
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Document type: Briefing
What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany
The document argues that for Germany to be compatible with the Paris Agreement's goals of limiting temperature increase to well below 2°C and aiming for 1.5°C, it must achieve zero CO2 emissions before 2035. This would require a 100% renewable energy mix across all sectors by 2035, a complete phase-out of coal by approximately 2025, and the renovation of 5% of existing buildings annually to nearly zero energy standards.
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Document type: Briefing
Smart-Sourced Fuel Products
The brochure describes 'Smart-Sourced Fuel Products' as eco-friendly biomass blends created from agricultural residues, wetland plants, grassland plants, and forestry residues. These materials can be processed into pellets, briquettes, cubes, biochar, biogas, and fuel logs for residential, industrial, and commercial heating. The document highlights environmental benefits, such as the capture of phosphorus and nitrogen from cattails to protect Lake Winnipeg, and economic advantages for landowners and municipalities. It notes that Manitoba has an estimated 3 to 5 million tonnes of available biomass annually, plus 3 million tonnes of cattail. Replacing all coal use in Manitoba with biomass is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 200,000 tonnes.
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Document type: Fact sheet
ENERGY POLICY SOLUTIONS
Energy Innovation presents a set of 15 targeted policies across economy-wide, industrial, transportation, power, building, and land-use sectors. These policies, modeled via the Energy Policy Simulator, aim to reduce emissions and save the U.S. approximately $840 billion between 2016 and 2030 while positioning the country as a leader in clean energy technology.
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Document type: Report
The End of Coal: Ontario’s coal phase-out
Ontario eliminated coal-fired electricity generation by the end of 2014, a process described as the "single largest GHG reduction measure in North America." The transition was primarily driven by public health concerns and the influence of a coalition including the Ontario Medical Association and the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Key enabling factors included the public ownership of coal plants, which allowed the government to absorb shutdown costs, and the lack of local coal reserves, which minimized economic resistance from producers. While the phase-out significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 34 megatonnes since 2007, the report notes that coal was largely replaced by natural gas rather than renewables. The experience highlights the importance of credible messengers, realistic timelines, and multi-party political consensus in achieving large-scale energy transitions.
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Document type: Report
Canada’s Emissions Trends 2014 Report: Updates, outcomes and reflections
The briefing analyzes Canada's 2014 emissions trends, highlighting a projected 116 Mt gap between 2020 emissions (727 Mt) and the Copenhagen Accord target (611 Mt). While policies in the electricity and transportation sectors provide mitigation, growth in the oil sands and general economic expansion drive emissions upward. The report notes that the oil and gas sector became Canada's largest emission source in 2012 and that significant reductions are concentrated in Ontario due to its coal phase-out, while Alberta sees the most growth.
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Document type: Briefing
Cattail (Typha spp.) Harvesting in Manitoba: A legislative and market analysis for operationalization and carbon emission offsets
The report analyzes the potential for scaling up cattail harvesting in Manitoba, identifying it as a viable biomass source for bioenergy and a tool for reducing nutrient loading in Lake Winnipeg. It finds a current lack of explicit legislation for cattail harvesting and proposes two management scenarios: one emphasizing private benefits (modeled on wild rice harvesting) and another emphasizing public benefits (funded through contracts and incentives). The analysis also explores carbon offset opportunities, suggesting that while national and provincial markets are fragmented, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Alberta's protocols offer viable models for generating credits from methane avoidance and fossil fuel displacement.
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Document type: Report
Cattail Harvesting for Carbon Offsets and Nutrient Capture: A “LAKE FRIENDLY” GREENHOUSE GAS PROJECT
The document details a project to harvest cattails in Manitoba to reduce phosphorus loading in Lake Winnipeg and replace coal with biomass for heating. It explores various bioenergy pathways, including solid fuel, biocarbon, and advanced biofuels, while analyzing the potential for carbon offsets through the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and provincial regimes.
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Document type: Research paper
TAKING THE JETP PATH: PUSHING FOR CHANGE
The report examines the operationalisation of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), highlighting the necessity of country-led frameworks that integrate climate goals with socio-economic development. Using South Africa as a primary case study, it discusses the gap between international funding pledges and actual transition costs, the need for reduced capital costs, and the critical role of high-level political coordination and philanthropic support in building institutional capacity.
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Document type: Report
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: How environmental policies lower health costs
The report estimates that the Coal Phase-Out Regulations, Clean Electricity Regulations (CER), Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Regulations, and Methane Regulations will provide between $18 billion and $21 billion in direct health benefits by 2050. These savings, primarily derived from respiratory benefits of reduced emissions, are equivalent to the cost of 2,200 to 2,500 doctors over a 36-year period. The regulations target pollutants including particulate matter, benzene, mercury, lead, NOX, SOX, PM2.5, and VOCs.
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Document type: Executive summary
Climate Change Solutions with Immediate Health Benefits
The document outlines how climate mitigation strategies in Canada—such as phasing out coal, reducing building energy use, transitioning transportation, and shifting to plant-based diets—can simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health outcomes by reducing air pollution and obesity.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: How environmental policies lower health costs
The report estimates that four Canadian environmental regulations—the Coal Phase-Out, Clean Electricity, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), and Methane Regulations—will generate between $18 billion and $21 billion in direct health benefits by 2050. These savings, primarily from reduced respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses caused by pollutants like NOx, SOx, and particulate matter, are equivalent to the cost of 2,200 to 2,500 doctors over 36 years. The authors argue that these figures are conservative as they exclude broader climate-related health gains and that policymakers should maintain these commitments despite current economic pressures.
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Document type: Report
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
The report analyzes four Canadian environmental regulations—Coal Phase-Out, Clean Electricity, VOC, and Methane—finding they provide between $18 billion and $21 billion in direct health benefits by 2050. It argues that these savings could be used to address healthcare shortages, such as hiring 2,200 to 2,500 doctors, and cautions against the use of discount rates that undervalue the health of future generations.
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Document type: Report
Decarbonising Poland’s Power System: A Scenario-Based Evaluation
The study evaluates 19 scenarios for decarbonising Poland's power system by 2050, concluding that a technology-inclusive strategy is essential for reliability and cost-effectiveness. It identifies wind and solar as cornerstones but emphasizes the need for 'clean firm power' to replace coal, which currently provides 70% of dispatchable generation. The report warns that excluding options like nuclear power or carbon capture could triple the required energy infrastructure and significantly increase costs. Key recommendations include expanding onshore wind to approximately 70 GW, establishing a nuclear fleet exceeding 8 GW, and implementing natural gas plants with carbon capture.
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Document type: Executive summary
Decarbonising Poland’s Power System: A Scenario-Based Evaluation
The report argues that Poland must adopt a technology-inclusive strategy to decarbonise its power system, as relying on a narrow set of technologies increases costs and infrastructure requirements. Modelling indicates that while wind and solar are cornerstones, 'clean firm power' from nuclear and gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is essential for reliability. The study warns that excluding nuclear or CCS could triple necessary transmission infrastructure and increase system costs. To meet 2050 targets, Poland needs to accelerate onshore wind deployment to a peak of 7 GW/year and establish a nuclear fleet exceeding 8 GW.
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Document type: Report
Life After Coal Toolkit: Integrated Resource Plan 2023
The toolkit critiques the draft IRP 2023, arguing that it deviates from 'least cost' energy pathways by favoring fossil fuels over renewables and failing to adequately address air quality, health impacts, and climate commitments. It provides a framework for the public to challenge the DMRE's modelling assumptions, the premature timing of the plan relative to the Integrated Energy Plan and Sectoral Emission Targets, and the lack of transparency in public participation.
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Document type: Guide
10 Essentials for a ‘Truly Green’ Green Equity Approach
The report critiques the IFC's Green Equity Approach (GEA), noting that while it aims to phase out coal by 2030, loopholes allow continued fossil fuel financing. It proposes ten essential reforms, including extending the ban to oil and gas, closing underwriting loopholes, ensuring gender equality, and implementing full public disclosure of sub-projects to achieve true Paris alignment.
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Document type: Report