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China and India are pursuing low-carbon growth models while maintaining robust economic growth. Key areas of focus include the transition to inclusive sustainable growth, managing unprecedented urbanization through technologies like electric vehicles, and implementing carbon mitigation tools such as China's power sector carbon trading market and India's 'Perform, Achieve, Trade' energy efficiency scheme.

Tesco has committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60% by 2025 and scope 3 emissions by 17% by 2030, both using a 2015 base-year. To achieve these goals, the company is implementing a costed renewable electricity roadmap and investing in energy and refrigeration efficiency, having already spent over £700 million since 2006. Tesco aims for 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and a net-zero carbon status by 2050, while managing specific challenges related to agricultural emissions, which constitute approximately 70% of its supply chain emissions.

The Ulaanbaatar Green Affordable Housing and Resilient Urban Renewal Project (AHURP) is a $544 million initiative designed to provide 10,000 energy-efficient, affordable housing units and redevelop 100 hectares of ger areas into eco-districts. The project addresses the vulnerability of rural-urban migrants who have settled in unplanned peri-urban areas due to climate-induced livestock losses (dzuds). By combining GCF grants and concessional loans with ADB financing and private investment, AHURP aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through solar PV and improved building insulation, while increasing urban resilience through climate-proofed infrastructure. The project employs a sector loan modality to drive policy reforms in green banking, building standards, and urban planning.

The roadmap urges brands to drive a transition to closed-loop viscose and modal manufacturing by 2023-25 to mitigate air and water pollution. It outlines a framework for responsible sourcing, including supply chain mapping, third-party monitoring, and the adoption of EU Best Available Technique (BAT) standards for chemical recovery and emission limits. The document emphasizes the need for brands to set hard deadlines for suppliers, ensure worker safety, and remediate historical environmental damage, particularly in high-volume production areas like China.

The 2017 Chinese green bond market reached 248.6 billion RMB (37.1 billion USD), with 38% of issuances not meeting international green definitions. While commercial banks remain the largest issuers, there is a growing trend of issuances from local government financing platforms and policy banks. The report highlights the introduction of the 'Bond Connect' mechanism and the 'Green Belt and Road' initiative as key drivers for future growth and international capital flow.

This fact sheet by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) challenges four primary myths regarding net-zero energy (NZE) leased buildings, asserting that they can be more profitable for developers and more beneficial for employees than traditional buildings. Using the Boulder Commons project as a case study, RMI demonstrates that NZE buildings can achieve higher occupancy rates, rental premiums, and increased employee productivity. The document also outlines a four-step process for transitioning existing buildings to NZE operation and promotes the NZE Leasing Best Practice Guide to scale adoption in the commercial sector.

oekom research verified that Landesbank Baden-Württemberg's (LBBW) Green Bond Programme conforms to the Climate Bond Standard Version 2.1. The programme focuses on financing green commercial buildings and renewable energy projects, specifically on- and offshore wind and solar energy. LBBW employs a methodology developed by Drees & Sommer Advanced Building Technologies GmbH to identify commercial buildings in the top 15% of the German market for low carbon performance, using building age and energy performance certificates as primary criteria. The verification confirmed LBBW's processes for project selection, tracking of proceeds, and reporting commitments.

The report lists the funding pipeline for the Green Climate Fund as of January 12, 2018, divided into public and private sectors. It details various projects across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and Eastern Europe, covering sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, and water management. The total pipeline value is reported as 15,088.5M, comprising 4,009.0M in GCF funding and 11,079.5M in co-financing.

The document advocates for 'green urban industrialisation' in Ethiopia, specifically through a corridor approach that connects urban clusters. Using the Kombolcha–Mek’ele corridor as a case study, it suggests that integrating transport, infrastructure, and resource management across administrative boundaries can prevent carbon-intensive development and maximise economic productivity. Key recommendations include identifying catalytic projects in green housing, waste, and water management, improving institutional coordination between federal and regional levels, and aligning local urban plans with national climate strategies.

In 2017, global green bond issuance reached USD 155.5 billion, a 78% increase over 2016. The market was led by the US, China, and France, with a notable rise in sovereign issuance and the emergence of new issuers from 37 countries. While renewable energy remains the primary use of proceeds, there was significant growth in allocations for low carbon buildings and transport. The report highlights a push toward harmonized international standards and forecasts a need for the market to reach USD 1 trillion by 2020 to impact climate targets.

The document outlines a methodology for identifying high-impact clean energy markets in developing economies based on private sector attractiveness, energy access, and climate relevance. It identifies Tier 1 countries—including India, South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda—and analyzes their specific investment barriers, such as off-taker risk in India and currency volatility in South Africa. Additionally, it provides case studies on blended finance structures, ranging from project-level interventions like the Lake Turkana Wind Farm to fund-of-funds like GEEREF, illustrating how concessional capital and guarantees are used to leverage private investment.

In 2017, renewables generated 30% of Europe's electricity for the first time, with wind, solar, and biomass overtaking coal generation. However, overall EU greenhouse gas emissions rose by approximately 1% due to increasing electricity consumption and a significant drop in hydro generation, which was the lowest this century. While Western European nations like the Netherlands, Italy, and Portugal announced coal phase-outs, Eastern European countries continued to rely on coal. The report also highlights the impact of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) reforms and the ongoing negotiations of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package.

The paper analyzes various infrastructure banks, such as the European Investment Bank and the UK's Green Investment Bank, to identify effective financial instruments and operational models. It argues that infrastructure banks should prioritize financially viable, sustainable projects that offer high socioeconomic multipliers while avoiding the crowding out of private capital. Key recommendations include tapping capital markets, providing technical assistance for project preparation, and utilizing risk-sharing instruments to leverage limited public resources.

Boulder Commons is a 100,000 square foot multitenant project in Boulder, Colorado, that demonstrates the feasibility of net-zero energy (NZE) commercial real estate. The project achieved NZE through a combination of high-efficiency building systems and 575 kW of solar PV, including an innovative vertical installation on the southeast façade. The developer, Morgan Creek Ventures, implemented a specific NZE lease structure that includes plug load budgets for tenants and annual recommissioning to ensure performance. Financially, the project saw a 12% hard cost premium (excluding solar) but expects higher net cash flow due to increased tenant retention and a lower capitalization rate at the point of sale.

Greenpeace Africa argues that the draft IRP 2018 Update is inadequate for achieving a just transition to renewable energy and fails to meet South Africa's international climate commitments. The submission calls for the total removal of new coal and nuclear capacity, the elimination of artificial caps on wind and solar energy, and an accelerated decommissioning of coal-fired power stations. It highlights severe air pollution in Mpumalanga and the critical need to prioritize water security in energy planning. The document emphasizes that the plan must be based on the latest IPCC science to limit global warming to 1.5°C and should incorporate transparent data on costs and demand-side management.

The report analyzes two pathways for China's coal transition: a PEAK-2030 scenario aligned with its INDC and a more ambitious PEAK-2025 scenario. It argues that an early peak is possible through stringent policies in the power, industry, and building sectors, while emphasizing the need to manage socio-economic risks such as stranded assets in the electricity sector and job losses in coal-producing regions. The analysis highlights significant co-benefits for air quality and public health, as well as the potential for reducing methane emissions from coal mining.

The report examines India's coal dependency and the challenges of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Using the AIM/Enduse model, it compares the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) scenario with two 2°C pathways: a 'conventional' one relying on Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and a 'sustainable' one shifting toward renewables, gas, and nuclear power. Key findings highlight the risk of significant stranded assets—including approximately 220 billion tonnes of unutilized coal reserves valued at USD 6.7 trillion—and the increasing vulnerability of coal power plants to water shortages, which already cause substantial generation losses. The report argues that while coal remains a mainstay until 2030, a managed phase-out is necessary to meet global climate targets, requiring synchronized actions in energy efficiency, renewable scaling, and the retirement of inefficient sub-critical plants.

The report analyzes the necessity of transitioning Poland's coal-dependent energy system to meet global climate goals. It compares a 'baseline' business-as-usual scenario with a '<2°C-consistent' scenario, the latter requiring a 67% reduction in per capita CO2 emissions by 2050. The analysis highlights that while the power sector must shift toward renewables and nuclear energy, the transition's social viability depends on managing the decline of the mining sector—particularly in the Śląskie region—through natural attrition, retraining, and conditional financial support to avoid the social exclusion seen in previous regional closures.

The document argues that current NDCs are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C and calls for transformative systemic change across all sectors. It provides a framework for governments to conduct national gap analyses, align their short-term plans with long-term global requirements, and implement disruptive innovations and governance reforms. Key recommendations include the urgent withdrawal of financial support for fossil fuels and the integration of climate-resilient planning into mainstream development and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) strategies.

The USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) opened a one-year application window on August 6, 2018, offering approximately $100 million in zero-interest loan capital via the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP). These loans allow rural cooperatives to implement energy efficiency measures or transition to renewable energy systems for their members without upfront costs, with the installation costs paid back through monthly electricity bills. Eligible projects include lighting, building envelope upgrades, water and waste efficiency, energy storage devices, and on- and off-grid renewable energy systems, provided the utility can justify the cost-effectiveness for the end-user. The application process involves submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the RUS, which are reviewed on a first-come, first-serve basis, with the window remaining open through September 2019.