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Australia's coal industry reports a record low in fugitive emissions despite a 170% increase in production from 1990 to 2022. This paradox is attributed to the closure of gassier underground mines and a shift toward non-verified, site-specific estimation methods for open-cut mining, which may mask the true scale of emissions.

In 2024, wind and solar combined to generate 17% of US electricity, surpassing coal (15%) for the first time. While solar generation grew by a record 27% and battery storage expanded rapidly, overall power sector CO2 emissions rose slightly by 0.7% because a 3% increase in electricity demand drove higher gas generation. Despite this, carbon intensity reached a record low of 384 gCO2/kWh.

In 2024, wind and solar produced 17% of US electricity, overtaking coal for the first time as coal fell to 15%. This transition is evident in 24 states, driven by market dynamics, cost-effectiveness, and policy mandates like the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in Illinois.

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.

The report examines the implementation of the EU Methane Regulation, specifically focusing on the need for a 'trace-and-claim' system to track the origin and emissions intensity of imported oil, gas, and coal. It argues that traditional 'book-and-claim' systems are insufficient because they decouple environmental attributes from actual fuel volumes, which would undermine the regulation's goal of incentivizing emissions reductions at the source. The proposed trace-and-claim approach uses unique digital IDs and standardized sale and purchase agreements to 'follow the money' rather than the molecules. The document also proposes a future 'Emissions Reduction Trading' component to help producers meet the 0.2% emissions performance standard mandated for 2030.

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.

The Clean Air Task Force asserts that assigning negative emissions rates to biomethane, such as those used in the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard, would allow hydrogen producers to meet 45V tax credit thresholds by blending small amounts of biomethane with fossil natural gas instead of investing in carbon capture. The author contends this would reward environmentally harmful practices, create market distortions, and promote 'dirty' hydrogen production through steam methane reforming (SMR) without carbon capture.

The briefing examines the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) proposed amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), specifically a new limit on credits for crop-seed oil-based biofuels. While acknowledging the limit as a positive step, the authors argue that exemptions for alternative jet fuel and existing pathways, along with the use of the annual carbon intensity benchmark for surplus fuels, undermine the policy's effectiveness. The document recommends assigning fossil diesel carbon intensity to surplus fuels and implementing a comprehensive framework to monitor and limit global impacts on food markets and ecosystems.

The BRICS group is approaching a critical transition point where non-fossil power capacity is expected to eclipse fossil fuels by the end of 2024. While the bloc possesses a vast pipeline of wind and solar projects—enough to potentially triple renewable capacity by 2030—nearly all members continue to develop new coal, oil, or gas plants. China dominates the group's transition, leading in both renewable additions and the construction of new coal capacity. Other members show divergent paths: Brazil and Ethiopia are heavily hydropower-reliant, while the UAE, Iran, and Russia remain deeply dependent on oil and gas, though the UAE is rapidly diversifying via nuclear and solar power.

Canada's total emissions in 2023 were estimated at 702 megatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (Mt), a 0.8 per cent decrease from 2022 and 7.8 per cent below 2005 levels. While the electricity sector has seen a 62 per cent reduction since 2005, oil and gas emissions have risen by 12.1 per cent in the same period, now accounting for 31 per cent of the national total. Despite economic growth and a population increase of 1.16 million people in 2023, emissions fell due to climate policy and market drivers, though a 7 per cent annual reduction in emissions per unit of GDP is required to meet the 2030 target of a 40–45 per cent reduction below 2005 levels.

The OCI+ tool provides data on the methane intensity of global oil and gas resources, highlighting that the sector is responsible for an estimated one-third of global methane emissions. The tool aims to help policymakers, investors, and civil society prioritize the highest-emitting assets for mitigation. The document emphasizes that over half of industry methane emissions can be profitably reduced and notes the role of satellite monitoring in identifying super-emitters. Additionally, the OCI+ includes an environmental justice feature to map the risks posed by gas flaring to nearby communities, specifically utilizing 2022 US flaring data.

The document explains the calculation mechanism of the Section 45Z tax credit, which awards credits based on a fuel's carbon intensity, and lists several policy recommendations to prevent market distortions and ensure environmental integrity.

The Clean Air Task Force warns that allowing negative emissions rates for fuels like compressed biomethane under section 45Z could lead to 'runaway credit values' and 'irresponsible expenditure of taxpayer dollars'. The organization argues that such credits would subsidize established technologies, distort markets, and potentially incentivize the addition of non-waste materials to digesters to increase methane production. Furthermore, it asserts that allowing the blending of small amounts of biomethane with fossil natural gas would over-subsidize fuels with lifecycle emissions exceeding congressional intent under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Clean Air Task Force asserts that diverting vegetable oils to the energy sector can create supply gaps filled by carbon-intensive palm oil, effectively bypassing the intent of section 45Z. It highlights that while palm oil is excluded from 45Z credits due to high lifecycle assessments—with CORSIA citing 76.5 to 99.1 g CO2e/MJ—its role as the cheapest global backfill for oils like soy oil can drive overall palm oil consumption. The document notes that Congress already banned palm fatty acid distillates (PFADs) for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to address these substitution impacts and urges the Treasury to apply similar rigor to all vegetable oil-based fuel carbon intensity calculations.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) advises the US Treasury to distinguish between different Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices when calculating carbon intensity (CI) scores under section 45Z. CATF argues that no-till farming and planting cover crops should not be credited because their effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) are difficult to measure empirically, take years to occur, and are reversible. In contrast, the use of enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizer may remain creditable as its emissions reductions occur within a single growing season and are more easily quantified. Additionally, CATF asserts that section 45Z does not permit SOC offsets because the required methodology, such as CORSIA, does not credit SOC improvements due to permanence concerns. The document suggests that harvesting cover crops for permanent underground sequestration should be treated as a separate, potentially creditable practice if robust verification is in place.

The document argues that Section 45Z should prioritize low-carbon aviation fuels and avoid over-subsidizing biofuels with high indirect emissions. It recommends modifying the GREET model to align with CORSIA standards for indirect land use change (ILUC) and cautions against using negative emissions values or fugitive methane from oil and gas as feedstocks. Additionally, it advocates for the eligibility of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the independent application of tax credits across the fuel value chain.

The report argues that current credit ratings and ESG frameworks fail to adequately measure a company's environmental impact, creating a gap that hinders transition finance for hard-to-abate sectors like steel and cement. To address this, the Climate Policy Initiative proposes a Carbon Rating Framework that evaluates a company's carbon emission intensity over a three-to-five-year horizon. The framework suggests a weighted approach combining past emission intensity (indicatively 70%) and projected future intensity (indicatively 30%), the latter being a function of projected emissions and revenue. The authors propose a 10-point rating scale based on the distribution of carbon intensity among companies reporting under SEBI's Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report (BRSR). The framework focuses on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions at the company level and suggests a composite rating system to account for sector-specific challenges in hard-to-abate industries.

The document assesses the use of 'book and claim' as a chain of custody model to decarbonize supply chains for steel and concrete. This system decouples environmental attributes from physical products, allowing companies to invest in lower-carbon materials without direct physical access or contracts with producers. The report highlights the need for this model to provide the demand signals required for producers to finance lower-carbon infrastructure aligned with 1.5°C targets, while noting the complexity of implementing such systems within the steel and concrete sectors due to long supply chains and existing EPD/PCR systems.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) argue that the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit must use accurate, granular, and verified methane emission data rather than a national average to ensure the incentive drives truly clean hydrogen production and incentivizes upstream methane reductions.

The report analyzes the financial support provided by 354 banks to the top 100 steelmakers, finding that $429 billion was provided between 2016 and June 2023. It highlights a critical gap between banks' climate commitments and their continued funding of coal-dependent blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) projects. The document argues that continuing to fund these assets creates significant stranded asset risks, estimated at $554 billion, and urges a shift toward green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) technologies.