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The Carbon Rating Framework, developed by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), aims to integrate emissions performance into financial decision-making by assigning companies a rating from CR1 (lowest emissions) to CR10 (highest emissions). Phase 2 involved testing this framework on a sample of 50 companies, using a weighted average of current emission intensity (70%) and projected intensity (30%) normalized by revenue. The testing demonstrated the framework's ability to differentiate emissions across diverse sectors, though it highlighted limitations regarding the availability of projected emissions data and the volatility of revenue as a normalization metric. Future directions include integrating Scope 3 emissions, aligning with India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and utilizing sector-specific intensity metrics.

The report examines the paradox of Indonesia's nickel sector, where a critical mineral for the clean energy transition is processed using carbon-intensive captive coal. It identifies a significant expansion of captive coal capacity, projected to exceed 32 GW by 2031, driven by resource nationalism and the need for stable power in remote regions. The document contrasts 'Green Opportunism' (short-term gains via coal) with 'Green Developmentalism' (long-term competitiveness via decarbonisation) and proposes specific roles for Chinese stakeholders to support a sustainable transition through technical assistance, green finance, and market-shaping rules.

H.R. 1 expands the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit through 2029 but reduces the maximum credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from $1.75 to $1.00 per gallon. By excluding indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions from carbon intensity (CI) scores, the bill increases subsidies for conventional corn ethanol and soy biodiesel. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates these changes will cost taxpayers $25.7 billion from FY25-34, a significant increase from previous estimates, without providing proportional greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The Canadian Climate Institute asserts that Canada must modernize its ports by embedding clean energy and zero-emission fuels to avoid economic penalties and compete with nations like China and India. It highlights the role of ports as hubs for offshore wind and sustainable fuels, noting that the International Maritime Organization aims for net-zero shipping by 2050. The author warns that without federal support for renewable energy access, major Canadian ports risk becoming destinations for the world's most polluting ships.

The analysis identifies five critical design choices in Canadian industrial carbon markets that undermine their effectiveness: overly generous performance standards, uneven playing fields for facilities, strict limits on credit use, allowing 'opt-in' facilities to exit markets, and using revenues to offset price signals. These flaws have led to credit price crashes in provinces like Alberta and reduced the overall incentive for industries to decarbonize.

In July 2025, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a 'climate factor' to be added to its collateral framework, which will discount the value of assets used as guarantees by banks based on climate-related risks. The factor employs a three-tier analysis covering asset-level vulnerability (based on residual maturity), company-level transition risk (using carbon intensity and decarbonization targets), and sector-level stress (based on Eurosystem climate stress test data). While the measure aims to disincentivize the use of carbon-intensive assets, the author warns of methodological flaws in the company-level analysis—such as the use of carbon intensity over absolute emissions and a 'best-in-class' approach—that may shield some polluting companies. Currently, the factor applies only to marketable assets from non-financial corporations and affiliated entities, representing less than 5% of pledged collateral, though it may signal a broader shift in how European banks price climate risk ahead of its mid-2026 implementation.

The document outlines the phased compliance milestones for importers under the European Methane Regulation (MER), specifically regarding the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of imported oil and gas. It highlights the difficulty importers face in gathering production segment data not routinely shared in supply chains and proposes a hybrid approach to manage these requirements while minimizing market disruption.

The report finds that methane from Australian coking coal adds an average of 10-17% to the short-term climate impact of blast furnace-based steelmaking, with some 'super-emitting' mines potentially doubling this impact. It highlights significant underreporting of methane emissions in Australia, specifically citing the Hail Creek mine, and notes that leading steelmakers like ArcelorMittal, Nippon Steel, and POSCO fail to disclose the methane footprint of their coal supplies. The document argues that cutting coal mine methane is a cost-effective near-term decarbonisation step, as over half of these emissions are avoidable using existing technology.

The document examines geologic hydrogen—molecular hydrogen formed naturally underground—as a potential low-cost, low-emissions energy source. It details three extraction pathways: natural accumulation, stimulated accumulation, and stimulated generation. While offering theoretical costs as low as $0.50 to $1.00 per kilogram and vast global reserves estimated at 5-6.2 trillion tons, the resource faces significant hurdles, including extreme resource uncertainty, a lack of commercial-scale extraction methods, and potential methane leakage during production.

The report argues that while the EU aims to triple data centre capacity within five to seven years, grid congestion in traditional hubs like Dublin, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam is creating a primary barrier to growth. This is shifting investment toward markets with better grid preparedness, such as the Nordics and Belgium. Data centres are identified as unique grid challenges due to their large, localised, and continuous loads. Despite their economic benefits—including GDP growth and job creation—forecasts suggest the EU will likely only double its capacity by 2030, falling short of its target.

The report argues that Brazil's plan to increase oil and gas production by 20% by 2030, largely driven by Petrobras, carries significant economic and climate risks. It finds that a majority of Petrobras' new projects would be economically unviable in a 1.5°C warming scenario and recommends that the government curb expansion, redefine Petrobras' mandate toward a transition plan, and redirect investment to avoid potential stranded asset losses of USD 13 to 36 billion.

The report argues that six major European oil and gas companies are backtracking on climate goals by reducing investments in low-carbon activities and increasing oil and gas production targets. It highlights a significant gap between these companies' strategies and the International Energy Agency's Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario, noting that fossil fuels still capture over 60% of planned investments. The document specifically details reductions in renewable energy targets for BP, Eni, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor, while noting that none of the six companies plan to reduce fossil fuel production.

The report finds that while electric arc furnace (EAF) capacity is growing, the global steel industry is not on track for 2030 net-zero goals due to continued investment in coal-based blast furnaces, particularly in India and China. India has emerged as the largest developer of steel capacity, though most of its plans remain in the announcement stage and are heavily carbon-intensive. The report also highlights the strategic importance of iron ore producers like Australia and Brazil in enabling the transition to direct reduced iron (DRI) production.

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 report examines the 2024 power sectors of China, the US, EU, India, Russia, Japan, and Brazil. Key trends include China's massive solar growth despite record coal generation, the US's first-time transition to wind and solar overtaking coal, the EU's record decline in coal, and Brazil's high renewable share. While India and China continue to see demand growth met partly by coal, the EU and US show a stronger shift toward clean energy, though the US remains reliant on gas.

In 2024, global electricity demand rose by 4% to 30,856 TWh, driven largely by China and extreme heatwaves. Low-carbon sources reached a historic high of 40.9% of global generation, with solar and wind combined surpassing hydropower. Despite this, global power sector emissions hit a record high, increasing by 1.6% due to a rise in fossil generation linked to cooling demand during heatwaves.

In 2024, clean power surpassed 40% of global electricity generation for the first time since the 1940s, driven by record solar growth. Despite this, global power sector emissions reached an all-time high of 14.6 billion tonnes of CO2 because heatwaves drove a 1.4% increase in fossil generation to meet cooling demand. Solar generation doubled over the last three years, reaching 2,131 TWh, while emerging drivers like AI data centres, EVs, and heat pumps structurally increased demand growth. China and India are increasingly decoupling their electricity demand growth from fossil fuel expansion, with China's clean generation meeting 81% of its demand increase in 2024.

The report finds that Equinor is prioritizing oil and gas expansion and shareholder returns over renewable energy investments, backtracking on previous low-carbon capital expenditure and production targets. Its projected 2030 production levels and planned LNG and gas power capacities are identified as inconsistent with the IEA's Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.

The report finds that Shell's investment strategy prioritizes oil and gas expansion and shareholder returns over renewable energy, with 2030 production targets and LNG capacities significantly overshooting IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) levels. Shell's diversification into sustainable energy remains marginal, and the company has recently reduced its decarbonization targets for product carbon intensity.

Australia's coal industry has seen a rapid expansion of open-cut mining, which grew by 224% between 1990 and 2022 and now accounts for over 85% of total production. This shift has led to a decrease in reported emissions intensity because open-cut mines rely on gas models from 1991 for estimates rather than direct measurement. Consequently, reported fugitive emissions from surface mines have grown at a significantly slower rate than production; for example, since 2005, production increased by 45% while fugitive emissions only rose by 13%.