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The document highlights the continued financial support from Japan for coal power projects and references findings that new renewable energy will be cheaper to build than operating existing coal plants in Southeast Asia within a decade.

The report criticizes Sumitomo Corporation for its continued investment in coal-fired power plants and its role as a leading importer of wood pellets for biomass energy. It argues that these activities drive deforestation in the US, Canada, and Vietnam, and cause severe air pollution and human rights violations in Southeast Asia. The document calls for Sumitomo to commit to a full exit from coal by 2030 and adopt a 'zero deforestation' policy for its biomass supply chain.

The document details the first climate change court case in South Africa, where the High Court in Pretoria ruled that the decision to authorise the 1200MW Thabametsi coal-fired power station was irrational and unreasonable because it lacked a prior climate impact assessment. The court affirmed that climate change poses a substantial risk to sustainable development and intergenerational justice. Despite the court's order for the Minister to reconsider the appeal based on a climate change impact assessment, the Minister upheld the authorisation, leading to further legal challenges and the withdrawal of funding by three commercial banks in January 2019.

The Clean Air Task Force opposes the GAIN Act (S. 2662), asserting that it would create loopholes in the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) program. The organization claims the bill would allow coal-fired power plants and other major pollution sources to undergo life-extension projects without installing best available controls, leading to increased emissions and premature deaths.

The report documents the risks faced by 'Defenders of Territories' in the Asia Pacific, linking violence and impunity to resource extraction, infrastructure projects, and weak rule of law. Through case studies in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palestine, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, it illustrates how corporate and state actors displace communities and suppress dissent. The document advocates for a systemic shift away from neoliberalism toward agroecology and renewable energy, while calling for a binding UN Treaty on transnational corporations to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

The report documents the systemic persecution of environmental and land defenders in the Asia-Pacific region, linking this violence to a neoliberal economic model that prioritizes corporate profit and resource extraction over human rights. It provides case studies from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palestine, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines to illustrate how large-scale infrastructure, energy, and agribusiness projects lead to land grabbing, environmental degradation, and the criminalization of activists. The document calls for a transition to community-led renewable energy, agroecology, and a legally binding UN treaty on transnational corporations to ensure corporate accountability and the protection of defenders.

The report finds that China is the primary driver of global coal power expansion, adding 42.9 GW of capacity between January 2018 and June 2019 while the rest of the world saw a decrease of 8.1 GW. This growth was largely fueled by a surge in provincial-level approvals between 2014 and 2016. Despite some central government restrictions, nearly half of the projects ordered to be suspended in 2017 have continued development. The report argues that to meet the IPCC's 2°C warming limit, China would need to reduce its coal capacity to 600 GW or less by 2030, contradicting industry proposals to increase the capacity ceiling to 1,400 GW by 2035.

The policy brief examines the political landscape of President Joko Widodo's second-term cabinet, noting that the inclusion of opposition figures may grant him control over 74 per cent of the People's Representative Council. While the new Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources is tasked with meeting renewable energy targets and reducing oil and gas imports, the document notes that Widodo's first term saw renewable energy overshadowed by coal power expansion and palm oil biodiesel projects. The brief highlights the 2019 Low Carbon Development Initiative (LCDI) as a framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 while maintaining 6 per cent GDP growth.

The report analyzes the intersection of China's climate policies and public health, arguing that achieving NDC targets—primarily through reducing coal dependence and expanding renewables—would significantly reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. It highlights a budgetary contradiction where China continues to provide substantial fossil fuel subsidies despite the high health and environmental externalities associated with them. Quantitative models cited in the report suggest that the economic value of avoided premature deaths would far outweigh the costs of implementing climate policies by 2050.

The report argues that the PAEL for the Thabametsi power plant is based on flawed Atmospheric Impact Reports and permits outdated sub-critical CFB technology that is less efficient and more polluting than super-critical alternatives. It highlights that the license fails to require continuous emissions monitoring and underestimates NOx, SO2, and particulate matter emissions. Furthermore, the author asserts that adding a new coal plant to the Waterberg Bojanala Priority Area is unjustified given existing violations of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the region.

Earthjustice criticizes EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler's attempt to dismantle the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) using a flawed cost-benefit analysis. The report claims that MATS saves up to 11,000 lives annually and prevents $90 billion in health-related costs, primarily through the reduction of fine particulate matter (soot). It highlights the influence of coal industry lobbyists, specifically Bob Murray, and provides personal testimonies from residents in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and North Carolina who suffer from health issues linked to power plant emissions.

The report examines the EPA's proposal to withdraw the finding that regulating hazardous emissions from power plants is "appropriate and necessary," which would effectively gut the Mercury & Air Toxics Standards (MATS). It argues that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is using a "rigged" cost-benefit analysis that ignores the health benefits of reducing fine particulate matter (soot) to favor coal industry profits. The document highlights that MATS prevents between 4,000 and 11,000 premature deaths annually and provides personal accounts from affected residents in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and North Carolina.

ClientEarth identifies systemic failures in the implementation of the IED's 'Aarhus rights' across the EU. It argues that the IED's wording is too narrow to comply with the Aarhus Convention, particularly regarding public participation during permit updates. National implementation is further hindered by limited online information, high litigation costs in the UK, and a tendency for judges in Bulgaria and the UK to defer to regulators due to the technical complexity of the IED. Case studies from Bulgaria, Spain, and the UK illustrate these deficits, including the withholding of baseline reports in Spain and the lack of electronic access to permit applications in Bulgaria.

The document estimates that installing SOx, NOx, and PM pollution-control technology in India's coal power plants will cost up to INR 86,135 crore (USD 12 billion), potentially increasing electricity tariffs by 9–21 per cent. It argues that the Ministry of Power must enforce strict compliance to ensure air pollution externalities are reflected in power prices and to prevent non-compliant plants from continuing operations without a phase-out plan.

The document estimates that installing pollution-control technology for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM) in India's coal fleet requires between INR 73,176 crore and INR 86,135 crore. This investment is expected to increase electricity tariffs by 9% to 21%, with the highest impact on 500 MW units. The report highlights significant barriers to meeting the December 2022 compliance deadline, including high upfront costs, financial stress among distribution companies, and a lack of technical experience. It recommends that costs be passed to consumers to reflect externalities, that the poorest be protected via targeted subsidies, and that continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) data be made public to ensure transparency.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) asserts that South Africa's Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) are already weak compared to other developing nations and should be strictly enforced. The CER disputes claims by Eskom and Sasol that compliance is too expensive, citing expert analysis that suggests Eskom's capital cost estimates for flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) and low NOx burners are significantly inflated. The document highlights that failure to comply with the MES could lead to approximately 16,000 avoidable premature deaths, while doubling the SO2 limit to 1000mg/Nm3 would cause an additional 3,300 premature deaths. It recommends the use of FGD as the best available technology for long-term operation and dry sorbent injection (DSI) only for plants nearing decommissioning.

The National Environment Tribunal (NET) in Kenya cancelled the license for a 1050MW coal power plant in Lamu County due to inadequate public participation and the omission of a climate change assessment in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) is urging the South African government to penalize Eskom for chronic air pollution at the Kendal power station. Evidence from 2016-2019 shows frequent exceedances of particulate matter (PM) limits, with some units emitting 12 to 13 times the allowable limit. The CER argues that previous enforcement notices have been ineffective and that Eskom is violating both its AEL and the National Environmental Management Act's duty of care, impacting the health of communities in the Highveld Priority Area.

A coalition of 77 public interest groups is urging the EPA to extend the public comment period for the Phase 2 Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) proposal to 120 days and to hold a public hearing in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The groups argue that the complexity of the rules and the severe local impacts of coal ash waste piles and fill projects in Puerto Rico necessitate greater public accessibility and time for expert review. They highlight that 91 percent of coal plants reporting groundwater data under the 2015 CCR Rule have contaminated groundwater exceeding federal health standards.

The report finds that 91% of analyzed coal plants have unsafe levels of coal ash constituents in their groundwater. It highlights systemic failures in the 2015 Coal Ash Rule, such as the exemption of older dumps and inadequate monitoring of 'upgradient' wells. The analysis identifies the ten most contaminated sites in the U.S., noting that many impact low-income communities and communities of color. The authors argue that current regulations are insufficient and recommend regulating all ash dumps, requiring 'high and dry' storage, and increasing transparency and drinking water testing.