Search Climate Insights Directory

The Canadian Climate Institute outlines five key areas of concern regarding the federal Clean Electricity Regulations (CER), including the treatment of gas-powered facilities built after 2025, the 'prescribed' lifespan of existing gas plants, rules for using gas to balance renewables, the management of post-2035 residual emissions, and the potential shift from output-based to full carbon pricing for the electricity sector.

The report analyzes South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) using a 'two-level game' framework to examine the interaction between international diplomacy and domestic politics. While the JETP provided a country-led platform to articulate financial needs and accelerated conversations on NDC implementation, it has faced significant hurdles. These include a lack of transparency from the International Partners Group (IPG), a contested domestic political landscape characterized by ministerial 'turf wars', and a financial package heavily weighted toward loans rather than grants. The study highlights that the JETP's success depends on South Africa's ability to build institutional capacity and deliver on implementation to maintain international credibility, while the IPG must provide more transparent and justice-oriented funding.

The report argues that the U.S. must implement ambitious long-term capacity targets, holistic transmission planning, and strategic infrastructure investments to achieve a net-zero future. It emphasizes the need for coordinated site identification, streamlined permitting, and the development of a domestic supply chain and workforce to support a potential build-out of 250 to 750 GW of offshore wind by 2050.

The 2022 French nuclear outages were caused by a confluence of pipe corrosion, workforce shortages, and heat-related river curtailments, rather than inherent flaws in nuclear technology. The author argues that these issues can be mitigated through standardized reactor designs, consistent government policy to maintain a skilled workforce, and technical cooling upgrades. Despite the 2022 dip in availability, the document asserts that nuclear energy provides essential 'clean firm' power necessary for the cost-effective decarbonization of the European electricity grid.

The briefing argues that insufficient transmission capacity is a major bottleneck for US decarbonization, with new capacity seeking interconnection consisting of 95 percent zero-carbon resources in 2022. It identifies grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) as cost-effective, rapid-deployment solutions that optimize existing transmission, but notes that utility adoption is hindered by risk aversion and regulatory incentives that reward capital expenditures over operational efficiencies. To overcome this, the document outlines four strategies for Public Utility Commissions (PUCs): building knowledge through investigative proceedings, mandating the consideration of GETs in planning processes, implementing performance incentive mechanisms or totex ratemaking, and engaging in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proceedings.

The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) finds that while the EU is generally moving in the right direction toward its 2050 climate neutrality goal, the pace of change is too slow across most sectors. Governance is the only building block currently assessed as 'on track', while finance and carbon dioxide removals are moving in the 'wrong direction'. Significant gaps exist in the agricultural sector, where policies have supported intensive animal agriculture, and in external action, where the EU's 'climate bank' continues to finance fossil fuels abroad.

The policy brief highlights a gap between current European electricity interconnection expansion plans and the actual needs of the power system. It asserts that doubling interconnection capacity is essential to integrate renewables cost-effectively and reduce reliance on fossil gas. The author identifies critical border corridors requiring urgent attention and proposes three pathways forward: accelerating the 22 GW of projects already in the pipeline, investing in non-wire solutions like storage and demand response, or increasing domestic renewable capacities at a higher cost.

Japan possesses vast offshore wind resources, with a technical potential exceeding 9,000 TWh/year, far surpassing its projected 2050 electricity demand. While current deployment is low, the government has set targets of 10 GW by 2030 and 45 GW by 2040. The document highlights that floating offshore wind is critical for Japan due to its deep coastal waters and could position the country as a global industry leader. Economic benefits include reduced dependency on imported fossil fuels, with a 30 GW target by 2030 potentially avoiding USD 27.8 billion in gas costs at 2022 prices. However, achieving these targets is hindered by lengthy environmental permitting processes and a fragmented electricity grid divided by different technical standards (50 Hz and 60 Hz).

The document outlines 12 key policy interventions to accelerate the transition of hard-to-abate sectors, categorised into simplifying pathways, steering risk and opportunity, derisking green investments, and facilitating essential resource flows.

Reclaim Finance argues that major French banks are failing to support the energy transition, continuing to provide significant funding to fossil fuels while lacking transparent perimeters and sufficient targets for sustainable energy investment. The analysis highlights a gap between the banks' public references to the IEA's Net-Zero Emission scenario and their actual financial commitments, which do not meet the required 5:1 ratio of clean energy to fossil fuel investment by 2030.

Reclaim Finance argues that major French banks—BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, and BPCE/Natixis—are failing to support the energy transition. Despite referencing the IEA's Net-Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario, these banks continue to provide significant funding to fossil fuels (over US$ 47 billion in 2022 for the top 100 fossil fuel companies) and lack transparent definitions of what constitutes 'sustainable' or 'clean' energy. The report highlights that none of these banks have committed to the IEA-recommended 5:1 ratio of clean energy investment versus fossil fuel investment by 2030, nor have they established transparent perimeters that exclude non-sustainable solutions like biomass or waste-to-energy.

The paper argues that the MOD is on track to meet its 2025 GGC targets primarily because they are 'weak and undemanding' and benefit from the general decarbonisation of the UK national electricity grid. It highlights that GGCs only cover estate emissions, excluding two-thirds of the MOD's total emissions from military 'capability' such as warships and aircraft. The author recommends significantly higher targets for 2030, including a 90% reduction in overall estate emissions and the inclusion of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in future targets.

GreenLatinos supports President Biden's goals for clean energy transition and pollution reduction, emphasizing the need for the Inflation Reduction Act and Justice40 Initiative to benefit Latine and other communities of color.

The US power grid is described as highly fragmented, consisting of three isolated interconnections (Eastern, Western, and ERCOT) and 12 transmission planning regions, lacking a national-scale development plan unlike the EU or China. This fragmentation hinders the coordinated response needed for extreme weather events, such as Winter Storm Uri and Winter Storm Elliott. The author advocates for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to mandate both a minimum amount of inter-regional transfer capability based on a simple metric and a robust, scenario-based inter-regional planning process to ensure resource sharing and cost-effective resilience.

The Canadian Climate Institute argues that the 2023 federal budget must prioritise clean growth to mitigate economic risks and compete with the United States' Inflation Reduction Act. The Institute identifies four priority areas for evaluation: the Canada Growth Fund, carbon contracts for difference, investment tax credits for electricity, and 'electro-federalism' to improve the electrical grid. The document highlights that climate change could cost the Canadian economy 25 billion in lost growth by 2025, while transitioning from fossil fuels to clean electricity could reduce average household energy bills by 12% by 2050.

The document analyzes the Mediterranean's electricity grid infrastructure, identifying four main interconnection zones and various proposed projects like the EuroAsia and EuroAfrica Interconnectors. It highlights how geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean, hinder integration while suggesting that the energy transition and EU demand for renewables could drive cooperation. The author proposes guidelines for enhancing interconnectivity, emphasizing the need for political alignment and regulatory cooperation.

Earthjustice criticizes the continued reliance on a centralized fossil-fuel energy grid in Puerto Rico, citing the failure of LNG and coal plants and the resulting energy-related deaths following Hurricane Fiona. The organization advocates for the use of unspent FEMA funds to implement distributed rooftop solar and storage systems, as supported by US Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and local communities like Adjuntas.

The report argues that BEVs are generally not the optimal short-term decarbonization strategy for most Indian vehicle segments due to high costs, a coal-dependent electric grid, and poor cost-effectiveness per ton of CO2 reduced, with the notable exceptions of commercial three-wheelers and low-speed vehicles. It suggests that improving conventional engine efficiency, adopting mild hybrid technology, and increasing ethanol blending offer more viable near-term emissions reductions.

The document argues that power grids must become the backbone of the energy system to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, transporting 50% or more of Europe's energy. It identifies critical barriers including underinvestment, lack of data transparency, inefficient connection queues, and fragmented system planning. Ember recommends shifting to a "first ready, first served" approach for grid connections, introducing clear investment incentives, and establishing an integrated, system-level planning framework coordinated by an independent body to ensure grid development anticipates rather than lags behind clean energy growth.

The paper highlights how information disparities—specifically regarding distribution networks and emission rates—hinder the effective policymaking and economic efficiency of distributed energy resource (DER) compensation schemes. It suggests that regulators must implement tailored disclosure mandates and incentives for utilities to overcome these asymmetries.