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The industrial sector accounts for nearly a quarter of US greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, characterized by process-based and high-temperature emissions. Using an analysis of Washington state, RMI demonstrates that emissions-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) sectors—particularly refineries, which produce 68 percent of EITE emissions—could reduce emissions by 39 percent by 2035 and 91 percent by 2050. This transition would require an additional 13,975 GWh of annual electricity by 2050 in Washington, representing a 65 percent increase in industrial demand. To enable this, states must leverage tools such as grid access, permitting reform, and financial supports like green banks to complement federal incentives.

India requires significant expansion of its EV charging network to reach 30 percent penetration by 2030, necessitating a strategic role for distribution companies (DISCOMs). DISCOMs can act as either enablers of private investment or as charge point operators (CPOs), depending on their financial and technical capacity. Key recommended actions include long-term load planning, streamlining CPO entry processes, and piloting load mitigation strategies.

The document argues that the current NECP process suffers from incomplete Member State reporting, outdated reporting categories, and poor data accessibility. It recommends that the European Commission enforce full reporting through 2050, expand the reporting template to include electrification rates, energy storage, demand-side flexibility, and grid planning, and mandate digital submissions to create a single, publicly available data source.

Analysis of EU National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) indicates a structural shift toward a cleaner, electrified economy, with gas demand projected to fall by 7% by 2030. The EU is targeting a 30% electrification rate and a 66% share of renewables in electricity generation by 2030. While solar targets are achievable and potentially conservative compared to market outlooks, wind targets face significant implementation challenges due to grid and permitting bottlenecks. The report recommends that the European Commission enforce more comprehensive and digitally accessible reporting for future NECP cycles.

Global Energy Monitor identifies a significant opportunity to install nearly 300 GW of solar capacity on surface coal mines closed since 2020 or expected to close by 2030. These sites are highly suitable due to their proximity to existing grid infrastructure and the fact that they are already cleared of vegetation. While China leads in operational conversions, substantial potential exists in Australia, Indonesia, India, and the United States. The transition could create over 570,000 total jobs (permanent and temporary), potentially offsetting global coal mining job losses by 2035. However, challenges include complex land ownership, higher capital costs for remediation compared to greenfield sites, and the need for regulatory frameworks to ensure a just transition for local communities.

The document examines the critical role of African IFIs in bridging the continent's infrastructure gap to enable the AfCFTA. It highlights a significant annual financing need of $130–$170 billion, with transport being the most deficient sector. While IFIs like the AfDB, AFC, and Afreximbank have invested billions, the author argues that financing still relies too heavily on governments with limited fiscal space. The brief recommends establishing a results-oriented coordination model and a dedicated agency to improve project bankability to better attract private institutional investors.

RMI's GridUp tool analyzes EV load growth in New York State, specifically within the service territories of Consolidated Edison and National Grid. The analysis indicates that unmanaged EV charging could overload several substation banks by 2035, but managed charging could reduce the EV contribution to system peak load by approximately 33 percent, potentially deferring costly infrastructure investments.

The report analyzes the emergence of 'hydrogen readiness'—the declared ability of infrastructure to use hydrogen in the future—within EU law, private finance, and national policies. It argues that the concept is often used as a 'Trojan horse' to justify the continued construction and subsidization of fossil gas assets. The author identifies significant risks, including carbon lock-in, price volatility, and external energy dependencies, and concludes that the term should be abandoned unless assets can use 100% hydrogen from the outset.

The report finds that EU imports of Russian gas increased by 18% in 2024, despite a goal to phase them out by 2027. It highlights a significant misalignment between gas infrastructure expansion and stagnating demand, predicting that supply capacity will exceed demand by 131 bcm by 2030. The document argues that the EU is replacing one fossil fuel dependency with another via LNG, which exposes the region to price volatility and high emissions. It recommends legally binding phase-out targets, reduced gas demand across all sectors, and more efficient use of existing infrastructure to ensure energy security and climate alignment.

In 2024, the EU's electricity transition continued with solar power overtaking coal for the first time and gas generation declining for the fifth consecutive year. Renewables reached a 47% share of the power sector in 2024, up from 34% in 2019, while fossil fuels dropped to a historic low of 29%. This shift reduced power sector emissions to less than half of their 2007 peak and avoided €59 billion in fossil fuel imports since the start of the European Green Deal. Despite this momentum, the report argues that wind power deployment and grid infrastructure must accelerate to meet 2030 targets.

The document examines the challenges of energy integration in the Plata Basin, noting that while interconnection infrastructure developed in the 1990s increased energy exchanges, these gains were not sustained due to disputes over volumes and regulations. It specifically highlights conflicts between Argentina and Chile, and Bolivia and Brasil, which hindered regional energy complementarity and integration processes.

The guide outlines the landscape of renewable energy in South Africa, emphasizing the shift toward private procurement and the dominance of solar PV. It details two primary implementation models—embedded generation and wheeling—and provides a comprehensive breakdown of financing options, including bank-specific instruments and power purchase agreements. The document also highlights the strategic role of backup storage for peak shaving and load shifting, lists available South African tax incentives for energy efficiency and renewable assets, and identifies critical grid and regulatory hurdles businesses may encounter.

The paper provides a comparative analysis of green industrial policies in Brazil and South Africa, focusing on solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind energy. It argues that while market-based mechanisms like auctions attract investment, state-led industrial policies—including localisation requirements and concessional finance—are essential for domestic technological upgrading and job creation. Brazil is highlighted for its relative success in building a domestic wind turbine supply chain through the BNDES and PROINFA, whereas South Africa's progress via the REIPPPP has been hindered by institutional resistance from the state utility Eskom and grid infrastructure bottlenecks. The author concludes that a just transition requires aligning energy procurement with long-term industrial strategies, investing in grid modernization, and leveraging multilateral platforms like BRICS and the G20 to facilitate technology transfer.

The report finds that human-induced climate change significantly increased the frequency and intensity of extreme heat globally from May 2024 to May 2025, affecting billions of people and making all 67 identified significant heat events more likely. It highlights the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations and the systemic failure to accurately document heat-related mortality, while advocating for a combination of urban heat action plans and aggressive fossil fuel mitigation.

National renewable energy targets for 2030 currently aim for a collective doubling of capacity rather than the tripling agreed upon at COP28, despite market forecasts suggesting such a goal is achievable, particularly for solar and battery storage.

The document highlights a significant gap in clean energy investment for emerging and developing economies (EMDEs), noting that only 15% of global investment reaches these regions (excluding China). It identifies the primary barrier as an elevated cost of capital—often two to three times higher than in OECD countries—driven by risks such as currency exchange, regulatory uncertainty, and asset expropriation. In Africa, the weighted average cost of capital for power sector projects is 15.6%, making decarbonization prohibitively expensive. The authors argue that COP29 must move beyond pledges toward granular, data-driven plans and bottom-up actions that improve local infrastructure and market performance to make EMDEs more attractive to risk-averse private capital.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis indicates that reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through increased transportation choices could save the U.S. up to $201 billion in energy infrastructure and $5.9 trillion in vehicle ownership costs by 2050. The report contends that current car dependence is driven by industry lobbying from the auto, fossil fuel, and road-building sectors, which receive over 75 percent of transportation spending. UCS recommends investing in diverse transportation networks, applying equity and climate lenses to project prioritization, and making planning processes more democratic to benefit the 30 percent of Americans who do not drive.

The document outlines the transformation of China's power sector through the lens of its second round of power market reforms initiated in 2015. It highlights the development of a market-oriented system involving pricing reforms and new mechanisms for transmission, distribution, and spot markets to support clean energy goals.

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project argues that BlackRock's acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) would shift the firm from a passive investment manager to an active owner of energy infrastructure, potentially violating the Clayton Antitrust Act. The letter highlights specific conflicts of interest, such as BlackRock's simultaneous ownership of Allete (via GIP) and its major industrial customers, Cleveland Cliffs and US Steel. It further lists extensive holdings in various US public utilities to demonstrate the scale of BlackRock's influence over power market assets and requests federal intervention to protect competition and consumers.

Spain is a European leader in commercial-scale solar energy, with the highest operational capacity (29.5 GW) and a massive pipeline of projects. However, to meet its 2030 targets of 81 GW of solar and 62 GW of wind, the country must overcome permitting bottlenecks, low adoption of small-scale rooftop solar, and infrastructure limitations. While solar targets are achievable given the current pipeline, wind energy requires a significant acceleration in deployment rates.