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Drax power station is the UK's largest carbon emitter, with 2024 emissions of 13.3 million tonnes of CO2e, a 16% increase over the previous year. Despite the complete phase-out of coal power in September 2024, biomass and gas plants continue to dominate the top emitter rankings. Drax is projected to remain the largest emitter through 2030, even with planned subsidy cuts starting in 2027. Other significant emitters include Port Talbot Steelworks and Pembroke gas power station, while carbon capture deployment across the UK's largest industrial sites has seen limited progress.

This report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) analyzes the potential for repurposing abandoned and soon-to-be-closed surface coal mines into solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants. It argues that these sites are ideal for solar development due to their existing proximity to grid infrastructure and the need for land reclamation, offering a pathway to align clean energy goals with local job creation and environmental restoration.

The document examines how governors in at least 14 US states have addressed rising electricity costs, which have increased by an average of 23% over the last decade. It identifies key cost drivers, such as grid modernization and natural gas volatility, and evaluates specific state-level interventions including regulatory reforms, energy efficiency programs, and the removal of coal plant subsidies.

US utilities face a projected 270 GW power gap due to rising demand from AI and electrification and the retirement of coal plants. While utilities are increasingly relying on gas-fired capacity, major turbine manufacturers (GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, and Mitsubishi Power) report delivery timelines extending to 2028-2030 and record backlogs. This supply crunch, combined with rising procurement costs—exemplified by a $900 million cost increase for Duke Indiana's Cayuga plant—creates reliability risks. The report suggests alternatives such as energy efficiency, virtual power plants, grid-enhancing technologies, and clean repowering to meet near-term load growth.

South Africa faces significant trade risks as its carbon-intensive export model clashes with global net zero targets and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs). Approximately 78% of its exports are sold to countries with net zero targets, and hundreds of thousands of jobs are exposed to CBAMs in the EU and UK. High embodied CO2 emissions in the basic metals and automotive sectors, combined with a carbon-intensive electricity grid, threaten competitiveness. However, the document notes South Africa's potential to pivot using its critical minerals and renewable energy resources, provided that international financial commitments like the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) are fulfilled.

The document analyzes the implementation of just transition policies in European regions, emphasizing the role of subnational authorities in tailoring climate policies to local contexts. It identifies best practices in economic diversification, worker retraining, the application of the Polluter Pays Principle in environmental restoration, and the necessity of multi-level governance and inclusive funding to ensure a climate-neutral economy that leaves no one behind.

In 2024, fossil-powered capacity fell below half of the total electricity mix for the BRICS group, driven by renewable growth in China, India, and Brazil. However, new BRICS members—including Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria—show a stark gap between net-zero pledges and action, currently constructing ten times more fossil fuel capacity (25 GW) than wind and utility-scale solar (2.3 GW). Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are central to this expansion, backing 62% of all power capacity under construction in new member geographies, with particularly high involvement in hydropower (93%) and coal (88%).

Reclaim Finance is calling on ArcelorMittal shareholders to escalate engagement at the 2025 AGM by voting against management-proposed resolutions. The organization argues that the company is backtracking on climate goals, delaying direct reduced iron (DRI) projects, and allocating insufficient capital to decarbonization, with only US$0.3-0.4 billion of planned 2025 capital expenditures dedicated to such projects.

The PELP 2023-2027 report outlines three development scenarios for Chile: Slow Recovery, Carbon Neutrality, and Accelerated Transition. It projects a significant shift toward renewable energy, primarily wind and solar photovoltaic, and identifies critical transmission expansion needs. A key innovation is the introduction of Electric Generation Development Poles (PDGE) in the provinces of Antofagasta and Tocopilla to optimize renewable energy deployment. The report also analyzes the role of green hydrogen, energy storage, and the phased retirement of coal-fired power plants to meet 2050 carbon neutrality goals.

Reclaim Finance criticizes ENGIE's 2025 climate plan for its lack of a fossil gas phase-out date and continued investment in gas infrastructure. While the company increased its 2030 renewable energy target to 95 GW, the analysis finds that ENGIE's decarbonization target of 2045 is incompatible with IEA Net Zero scenarios. The report highlights that CAPEX for fossil fuel technologies remains nearly unchanged and recommends that shareholders vote against the 'Say on Climate' presentation and the reelection of CEO Catherine MacGregor.

The GCHA submission argues that Chile's climate action should be framed through a public health lens to maximize health co-benefits, increase public support, and reduce the disease burden on the healthcare sector. The document recommends aligning emissions targets with a 1.5°C limit, accelerating health-related climate risk assessments, and implementing specific mitigation actions within the healthcare sector, which currently accounts for 6.7% of national emissions. It further suggests phasing out diesel subsidies, accelerating the coal phase-out date to 2030, and deprivatizing water to protect public health. The GCHA emphasizes the need for disaggregated epidemiological data to protect vulnerable groups and suggests using WHO tools to quantify the economic returns of health-promoting climate actions.

In 2024, global coal power saw a contradiction: while new completions reached a 20-year low of 44 GW and the EU increased retirements fourfold, China and India saw record-breaking activity. China's new coal starts reached a ten-year high of 94 GW, driven by approval surges in 2022-2023 and supportive policies like capacity electricity tariffs and long-term power purchase agreements. Conversely, OECD nations have significantly reduced planned projects, though their retirement pace remains too slow to meet Paris Agreement goals.

Between July 2024 and March 2025, the European Central Bank (ECB) added assets from nine fossil fuel companies, totaling 12.96 billion euros, to its list of eligible collateral. This action is presented as a reversal of the ECB's 2021 climate roadmap and a failure to implement measures to limit assets from major polluters. The document calls for the ECB to exclude assets from companies involved in oil and gas exploration or those without credible coal exit plans during its strategic review ending in July 2025.

Reclaim Finance criticizes ArcelorMittal for contradictions between its public decarbonization claims and its actual financial and operational actions. The organization highlights delayed hydrogen-based steel projects in Europe, insufficient capital expenditure for decarbonization, and misleading emissions reporting. It calls on investors to pressure the company to publish an updated Climate Action Report (CAR3) with a clear timeline to phase out coal globally.

Reclaim Finance argues that ArcelorMittal is failing to implement sincere decarbonization actions despite its public commitments. The organization calls on investors to demand a solid climate strategy, specifically requesting the long-awaited third climate action report (CAR3) to include a commitment and timeline for exiting coal across all global operations.

The document provides examples of global climate progress to counter pessimism, citing significant emissions drops in the EU and UK, China's rapid expansion of renewables and electric vehicles, and the resilience of subnational climate policies in the United States.

The document provides examples of climate progress to counter pessimism, noting that European Union emissions fell 8% in 2023 and the UK has reduced emissions by over half since 1990. It highlights China's rapid adoption of electric vehicles and its achievement of 2030 renewable targets six years early. In the United States, the text notes that carbon-pricing programs and renewable energy mandates persist at the state level despite federal policy shifts.

The document outlines strategies for public development banks (PDBs) to enhance climate finance, focusing on Paris alignment, public-public collaborations, and private capital mobilization. It emphasizes the need for a bottom-up approach to ensure national ownership and the use of de-risking tools like guarantees to close investment gaps in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). Key recommendations include improving transparency in alignment assessments, expanding concessional funding for national development banks (NDBs), and supporting just energy transitions through the early retirement of coal plants.

The document analyzes the economic, political, and governance challenges of phasing out coal in Indonesia, emphasizing the need for multi-level coordination, economic diversification for affected workers, and the removal of coal subsidies to enable a just energy transition.

Since the launch of the European Green Deal in 2019, the EU has seen a significant transformation of its power sector, with renewables increasing from 34% to 47% of the electricity mix by 2024. This shift was primarily driven by wind and solar, which together increased their share from 17% to 29%. This transition reduced the emissions intensity of EU electricity generation by 26% and avoided €59 billion in fossil fuel import costs. While coal use has dropped from 16% to under 10% of the mix, and gas power has declined from 20% to 16%, the EU still faces challenges with Russian gas imports, which accounted for 14% of total gas consumption in 2024.