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Drax power station is the UK's largest carbon emitter, with 2024 emissions of 13.3 million tonnes of CO2e, a 16% increase over the previous year. Despite the complete phase-out of coal power in September 2024, biomass and gas plants continue to dominate the top emitter rankings. Drax is projected to remain the largest emitter through 2030, even with planned subsidy cuts starting in 2027. Other significant emitters include Port Talbot Steelworks and Pembroke gas power station, while carbon capture deployment across the UK's largest industrial sites has seen limited progress.

The report finds that while a majority of respondents in Spain and the UK acknowledge human-caused climate change, a significant portion (70% in Spain and 60% in the UK) believed at least one false narrative regarding the causes of the April 2025 Iberian blackout. The most prevalent disinformation was that the blackout resulted from an 'over-reliance on renewable energy', a belief particularly strong among far-right voters. General attitudes toward energy sources are divided, with about half of respondents wrongly believing that net zero policies increase energy dependence or that abandoning oil and gas would cause extreme hardship for the poor. Despite this, over 70% of respondents in both countries believe preventing climate disinformation is necessary to protect freedom of speech. There is broad support for measures such as legally obligating social media companies to stop spreading misleading climate information, banning fossil fuel advertising, and increasing support for fact-checking organizations.

The United States faces significant vulnerabilities in its critical mineral supply chain, relying on imports for 100% of 12 critical minerals and 50% or more for another 28 as of 2024. While the U.S. possesses deposits of many essential minerals, domestic production is hindered by permitting processes that average 16 years and the higher cost of domestic operations compared to overseas production. The document highlights the environmental risks of open-pit mining—including greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater contamination—and the specific impact on Native American reservations, where a high percentage of nickel, lithium, and cobalt resources are located. It explores secondary recovery from waste like coal ash and desalination brine as a sustainable alternative, though these methods currently face economic and technical barriers. Recent U.S. policy efforts include the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and 2025 executive orders aimed at expediting permitting and exploring deep-sea mining.

Carbon Market Watch (CMW) opposes the UK government's proposed reliance on market-based mechanisms and the VCMI Scope 3 Action Code of Practice, arguing that allowing carbon credits to 'close scope 3 emissions gaps' effectively legitimises offsetting and risks rewarding 'climate laggards'. CMW advocates for a 'contribution' or 'beyond value chain mitigation' (BVCM) model over offsetting and insetting, and suggests that the UK's Environmental Reporting Guidelines (ERG) should mandate, rather than encourage, the disclosure of carbon credit information. The document also recommends 'temperature-alignment claims' (specifically referencing 1.5°C) as a more precise alternative to 'Paris alignment' claims.

The report contends that Canadian LNG projects are high-risk investments due to capital intensity, market volatility, and declining global demand. It highlights that importers in Europe and Asia are shifting toward renewables to avoid the price spikes and supply shocks associated with LNG. The authors argue that new LNG infrastructure threatens to become stranded assets, potentially requiring further taxpayer subsidies, while simultaneously increasing global greenhouse gas emissions and delaying the energy transition.

The document examines the limitations of global frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in reflecting the values of Indigenous Peoples, using lithium mining in Argentina's High Andean Plateau as a case study to advocate for more equitable, context-sensitive energy transition programs.

Morocco possesses significant reserves of green transition minerals (GTMs), including approximately 72% of global phosphate, positioning it as a strategic partner for the EU and China. While the EU emphasizes regulatory compliance and sustainability standards, China provides rapid industrial scale and technical expertise in refining. The authors argue that Morocco's current bilateral engagements are fragmented and propose a five-step trilateral framework—including a joint task force, dedicated industrial zones, and a sustainability charter—to transform geopolitical competition into coordinated investment and technology transfer.

The report examines the role of state-owned power companies (SPCs) in driving clean energy transitions within emerging markets. It highlights that while SPCs can advance energy security and socio-economic development, they often face significant debt and capital mobilization challenges. The document argues for a combination of visionary leadership, legal frameworks, shifted public finance from fossil fuels to clean energy, and innovative international financing tied to decarbonization progress. Through case studies of Eskom, NTPC, Vietnam Electricity (EVN), and Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), the report analyzes specific transition elements including just energy transition, renewable energy deployment, grid integration, and coal plant retirement.

The briefing identifies the "Pennsylvania Plus" (Penn+) region—covering the Marcellus and Utica basins—as a prime location for a differentiated gas market due to its high supply of low-methane gas and strong infrastructure. It notes that while supply is ample, buyer demand is hindered by lack of awareness, reporting uncertainties, and perceived costs. The author urges corporate buyers to commit to low-leakage gas by 2030 and pilot transactions to catalyze supply-chain mitigation.

The We Mean Business Coalition supports the European Commission's proposed Climate Law amendment, which sets a 90% emissions reduction target for 2040. The Coalition argues that this target provides necessary predictability for businesses and enhances competitiveness, while urging that the Clean Industrial Deal be linked to this goal. It further advocates for the 2040 target to inform a 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of at least 72.5% and suggests that high-quality international carbon credits used after 2036 could provide essential finance for developing countries.

BRICS nations now generate over half of the world's solar power, driven primarily by China, India, and Brazil. In 2024, these countries accounted for 51% of global solar electricity generation, with China alone contributing 39%. Solar power met 37% of the total increase in electricity generation across BRICS members in 2024, contributing to a total clean energy share of 70% for new generation growth. While China, India, and Brazil show strong continued growth in 2025, other members like Russia, Indonesia, and Egypt lag in solar deployment or remain dependent on fossil fuels.

The report details the expansion of 'Big Oil' companies like Shell and BP into the solar energy sector in Southern Europe. It highlights a pattern of using intermediary shell companies to acquire agricultural land and bypass environmental scrutiny and community participation. The authors argue that this 'extractive' model of the energy transition prioritizes corporate profit over food sovereignty and democratic engagement, while noting that Italy could meet its solar targets using rooftops and degraded land rather than fertile fields.

The document outlines the need to replace aging diesel-based energy models in the Caribbean with resilient, affordable renewable systems to combat climate impacts and foster economic growth. It provides a toolkit for transition planning, focusing on policy frameworks, investment needs, and specific technology pathways to reach 100% renewable energy.

The author contends that the climate crisis is driven by unchecked corporate power and a global legal system that protects polluters. Using the case of Chevron in Ecuador—where the company is accused of dumping 60 billion liters of toxic waste and avoiding a $9.5 billion court-ordered cleanup—the text criticizes Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms for prioritizing corporate profits over human rights and environmental protection. The author calls for a systemic change and international regulatory frameworks to hold corporations accountable, urging the global climate movement to center the justice of affected communities ahead of COP30.

The paper proposes the minerals-energy-food (MEF) complex to address failures in existing natural resource governance frameworks, specifically the inability to differentiate between physical resources and traded commodities. It highlights how current resource flows create power asymmetries where extraction occurs in low-income countries while benefits concentrate in wealthy nations, citing the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt mining as an example. The authors argue that fragmented governance silos and complex supply chains transmit risks across borders, necessitating an integrated approach to avoid conflict and inequality while supporting climate action.

The BRICS bloc generated over half of the world's electricity in 2024, with China dominating renewable energy production. While solar and wind capacity have grown exponentially in China, India, and Brazil since 2015, progress has stalled in Russia and South Africa. Hydropower's share of BRICS renewable generation fell from 82% in 2015 to 45% in 2023 as solar and wind expanded. China leads the bloc in total renewable energy jobs, though Brazil has the highest proportion of such jobs relative to its population.

The EU agriculture sector is a primary source of methane emissions, yet progress in reduction has stalled, with only a 4% decline between 2005 and 2022. The report identifies a critical 'definition gap' where the lack of clear net-zero aligned agricultural practices and transition pathways prevents banks and investors from identifying green activities. This is compounded by the exclusion of agriculture from the EU Taxonomy and the Green Asset Ratio (GAR). The report argues for repurposing the EUR 57.5bn annual Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget, introducing livestock emissions taxes, and implementing demand-side policies to reduce herd sizes. It emphasizes a 'just transition' to protect small farms and high-emission regions, particularly in France, Germany, and Ireland.

As of May 2025, China's operational solar and wind capacity reached 1.4 billion kW, surpassing fossil fuel capacity for the first time in Q1 2025. The country leads globally in planned and under-construction projects, with over 1.3 billion kW in the pipeline. While offshore wind represents only 9% of total wind capacity, China accounts for 49% of global cumulative offshore installations as of March 2025. The document highlights the role of coastal provinces like Jiangsu and Guangdong in driving this growth and suggests transitioning from local to national-level policies and adopting international bidding models to ensure long-term stability and technical innovation.

The document proposes a functional shift in how investment treaties are viewed, categorizing them as a form of 'unpriced public insurance' that transfers political and regulatory risks from private investors to host states. It argues that unlike other de-risking tools, treaties often lack performance conditions or sustainability safeguards, creating asymmetric financial burdens for states, particularly in the Global South. The brief recommends that policymakers evaluate treaties alongside other risk-mitigation tools to avoid redundancies and ensure that investment governance supports climate transitions and public accountability.

The document proposes a functional shift in how investment treaties are viewed, moving from legal instruments of the rule of law to economic tools of public risk absorption. It argues that these treaties often act as unpriced public insurance, transferring political and regulatory risks from private investors to host states without the conditions, pricing, or performance guarantees found in other de-risking tools. The authors recommend that policymakers evaluate treaties alongside other risk-reduction mechanisms, revise or terminate redundant agreements, and coordinate between financial institutions to avoid double indemnification and ensure equitable risk sharing.