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The document outlines a strategy for companies to drive global climate action by engaging with governments. It recommends that CEOs use high-profile events to advocate for the Paris Agreement, align corporate emissions-cutting efforts with national 'nationally determined contributions' (NDCs), and meet with government ministers to break down policy silos. The text highlights a gap in NDCs, noting that while 114 NDCs highlight renewable energy, far fewer address energy storage (31) or water conservation and reuse (33).

The document argues that emerging energy technologies—including solar PV, wind, battery storage, and microgrids—are now cost-competitive and more resilient than traditional fossil-fuel-based systems. It highlights that while the 2017 hurricanes caused the longest sustained outage in U.S. history, the resulting damage provides an opportunity to rebuild the grid using distributed resources that can be deployed quickly and reduce reliance on expensive imported fuels.

RMI's Sunshine for Mines program proposes a systematic approach to repurposing legacy mine sites, which are often liabilities due to contamination and maintenance costs, into productive energy assets. The methodology involves a multi-stage screening process covering environmental and regulatory constraints, technical feasibility (resource screening and reserve quantification), and financial viability via Net Present Value (NPV) calculations. The brief highlights that while mining companies often face high hurdle rates, the economic case is strengthened when compared to the 'business-as-usual' cost of maintaining closed sites. A practical application of this model with BHP in North America identified a subset of sites with a collective potential exceeding 0.5 GW, primarily for solar PV.

The document argues that the traditional cost-of-service regulation (COSR) model creates a capital bias that hinders the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs). To transition utilities into distribution system optimizers (DSOs), the author proposes integrated distribution planning (IDP) to reveal the locational value of DERs. Two regulatory pathways are examined: an information-intensive approach that separates the DSO function from asset ownership to create competitive markets, and an outcome-focused approach using performance-based regulation (PBR) to align utility profits with system optimization and public policy goals.

The document examines the challenges RTOs face as the U.S. grid shifts from large central generators to variable renewables and distributed energy resources (DERs). It argues that 'flexibility'—the ability to respond to changes in supply and demand across various timeframes—is essential for reliability and cost minimization. The authors recommend eliminating self-scheduling for all generators and imports, preserving negative pricing, and improving the coordination between natural gas and electricity markets. It also suggests creating technology-neutral products that value specific capabilities, such as ramping and frequency response, and highlights successful examples like MISO's Dispatchable Intermittent Resource category and CAISO's Flexi-Ramp product.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that New Mexico should strengthen its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 80 percent by 2040 to ensure a cost-effective transition from coal to clean energy. Modeling shows that renewables are the most economically favorable choice, offering significant capital investment, job growth, and public health benefits without substantially increasing consumer electricity costs. The report warns against utility plans to overinvest in natural gas, which could lead to stranded assets and higher climate risks.

The document analyzes the challenges that high levels of variable renewable energy (VRE) pose to current restructured wholesale electricity markets, specifically regarding the erosion of the price-duration curve's central gradient used for long-term cost recovery. It proposes two future market paths: one continuing to rely on spot markets enhanced by demand elasticity and storage, and another 'bifurcated' model that separates a long-term 'firm market' for capital-heavy assets from a residual spot market for real-time balancing.

The document analyzes how the rise of variable renewable energy (VRE) undermines current electricity market designs, which rely on short-term marginal costs often set by natural gas. It highlights risks such as zero or negative pricing and increased financing costs due to investor uncertainty. To resolve this, the authors propose splitting the system into an 'energy market' for long-term, low-risk contracts for capital-intensive resources and a 'delivery market' that uses locational marginal pricing to incentivize flexibility from batteries, demand response, and dispatchable plants.

The report examines the role of microgrids in the global energy transition, highlighting how falling costs of solar and wind energy enable these small networks to provide reliable, low-carbon power. It compares connected microgrids, which can operate independently during outages, with isolated microgrids, such as those in the Caribbean, which must be self-sufficient. The text emphasizes that both types face similar challenges in balancing variable renewables with firm energy sources and suggests that knowledge sharing, particularly from island nations leading in renewable integration, can accelerate the global transition.

The mining industry is a major global energy consumer, with 2014 consumption reaching almost 1,400 TWh, representing between 1.25% and 11% of total world energy use. Much of this energy is provided by carbon-intensive diesel generation, particularly at remote off-grid sites. However, falling costs for solar PV and wind energy—with global LCOE dropping by 85% and 66% respectively since 2009—now make renewables cost-competitive with diesel and grid power. The document suggests that most mining functions, excluding trucking, can be electrified, and that U.S. mines could convert an additional 30% of their energy load to electricity. Beyond carbon reduction, transitioning to renewables can provide mining companies with a 'social license to operate' by creating local jobs, improving community relations through microgrids or community solar, and helping national governments meet Paris Agreement NDCs. The 'Sunshine for Mines' program aims to catalyze the installation of 8 GW of renewable capacity in the mining sector by 2025.

Scientists for Global Responsibility urges UK political leaders to prioritize climate action through home energy conservation, renewable energy, and energy storage, while ending subsidies for fossil fuels and new nuclear power commitments.

The document analyzes the proposed EU DSO entity, identifying risks such as conflicts of interest in drafting Network Codes (NCs) and potential discrimination against smaller market players. It evaluates four options: scrapping the proposal, creating an independent Consultation Forum, embedding strong regulatory safeguards, or limiting the EU DSO's mandate while transferring rule-setting tasks to ACER. The author concludes that a combination of strong safeguards and a limited consultative mandate is the most desirable approach to ensure non-discrimination and alignment with EU climate and energy goals.

The document argues that conventional infrastructure design standards must be strengthened to account for climate change, specifically noting that a warming climate increases cooling demands and exposes electricity grids to shocks like ice storms and droughts. It identifies modular and distributed renewable energy generation and storage as key to resilience. For ICT, the brief suggests increasing resilience through redundant landlines, ISP diversity, emergency roaming, and cell phone micro-charging backup systems. The work was developed for the cities of Edmonton and Calgary, focusing on the principles of robustness, redundancy, and resourcefulness.

This report analyzes the economic viability and technical requirements for the 100% decarbonization of Indian Railways' (IR) traction electricity demand, focusing on a case study in Madhya Pradesh. It concludes that a mixed wind and solar energy strategy is the most cost-effective approach, projecting that decarbonization will be 26-28% cheaper than business-as-usual by 2030.

The document outlines twelve key signs of climate change, including rising global, ocean, and soil temperatures, increasing ocean acidity, and rising sea levels. It attributes these phenomena to the buildup of heat-trapping gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of tropical forests. The text highlights specific regional impacts, such as the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine and the thawing of permafrost in the Arctic, and notes the resulting increase in extreme weather events and shifts in species ranges.

The CSIR's analysis of South Africa's Draft IRP 2016 concludes that a 'Least Cost' scenario—prioritising solar PV, wind, and flexible power—is significantly cheaper, creates more jobs, and emits less CO2 than the government's Base Case and Carbon Budget scenarios. The report argues that the Draft IRP 2016 imposes annual new-build constraints on solar and wind without techno-economic justification, which artificially inflates costs and pushes the system toward new coal or nuclear investment. By 2050, the CSIR finds that a renewable energy share of over 70% is cost-optimal. Technical assessments on system inertia and transmission infrastructure indicate that the costs of maintaining stability in a high-renewable system are low, representing less than 1% of total power generation costs.

The report argues that electricity systems can transition to near-total renewable energy at a cost competitive with gas-based systems, provided a portfolio of flexibility resources is deployed. It identifies six types of flexibility needs—ranging from instantaneous reserves to seasonal balancing—and evaluates technologies such as batteries, demand-side management, and hydroelectric power. Regional analysis shows that while most areas are well-positioned for the next decade, long-term needs for intraday and interday balancing will require significant investment and market redesign to avoid costly lock-in of fossil fuel assets.

The report finds that 100% decarbonization of Indian Railways' traction electricity demand in Madhya Pradesh would be 26-28% cheaper than the business-as-usual pathway by 2030. This cost-effectiveness is driven by falling renewable energy and battery storage costs, contrasted with rising fossil fuel costs. The study emphasizes that an optimal mix of wind and solar power is essential to minimize balancing costs, which are expected to account for 5-8% of total costs by 2030. However, the report warns of significant policy and regulatory risks, particularly the lack of recognition of Indian Railways' deemed transmission and distribution licensee status by state governments and the difficulty in securing power banking arrangements.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is requesting USD 265 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF)—USD 250 million for an investment vehicle and USD 15 million for a technical assistance facility—to launch GEEREF NeXt. Structured as a fund-of-funds, the programme aims for a total size of USD 750 million, blending GCF public seed capital with USD 500 million in private sector finance. The programme targets the development, construction, and operation of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects in emerging markets, expecting to finance over 200 projects and add up to 18 GW of clean energy capacity. By using a two-tier capital structure with a 'first-loss' mechanism for public capital, GEEREF NeXt intends to mitigate risk for private investors and achieve a projected 50x multiplier, potentially mobilising USD 30 billion in total project financing. The programme will be managed by the EIB Group, leveraging the experience of its predecessor, the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF).

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) created the Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking to evaluate how US states are advancing renewable energy, energy efficiency, and vehicle electrification. California, Vermont, and Massachusetts are identified as top overall leaders. The report emphasizes that state-level policy is a critical driver of progress, particularly in the absence of consistent federal leadership, and that clean energy momentum creates jobs and improves public health by reducing power plant emissions.