Search Climate Insights Directory

This report by RMI outlines strategies to bridge the gap between India's green hydrogen production targets and actual adoption, proposing five demand-side interventions to unlock between 2.1 and 5 million metric tons (MMT) of demand by 2030.

This guide by the Climate Bonds Initiative provides a strategic framework for corporates, investors, and policymakers in Vietnam to implement transition finance in hard-to-abate sectors, specifically steel, cement, and basic chemicals. It outlines a methodology for developing science-based transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement, featuring a 'Five Hallmarks' approach to ensure targets are credible, actionable, and transparent. The document also provides sector-specific decarbonisation levers, emissions intensity thresholds, and a five-tier maturity scale for financial institutions to assess corporate transition progress.

The "Sổ tay hướng dẫn tài chính chuyển đổi cho các lĩnh vực khó giảm phát thải khí nhà kính tại Việt Nam" is a strategic guide published by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) in April 2025. It provides a comprehensive framework for businesses, investors, and policymakers in Vietnam to implement credible, science-based transition plans for high-emission sectors, specifically steel, cement, and basic chemicals. The guide details a five-step 'hallmark' process for transition planning, establishes sector-specific decarbonization criteria aligned with the Paris Agreement, and offers a classification system for financial institutions to assess the maturity and ambition of corporate transition efforts.

The report argues that the European Union's 2020 hydrogen strategy was overly ambitious and requires recalibration to align with market realities. It advocates for a pragmatic, implementation-focused approach that prioritizes 'hard-to-electrify' sectors—such as steel, maritime, and fertilizers—while utilizing a combination of mandates ('sticks') and targeted funding ('carrots') to bridge the cost gap between renewable hydrogen and fossil-based alternatives.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the role of transition finance in decarbonising high-emitting sectors, with a particular focus on Asia. It discusses the challenges emerging and developing economies face in accessing climate finance, the various transition taxonomies being developed in Asian markets, and the risks of 'transition-washing'. The document advocates for more robust guardrails, such as science-based targets and independent verification of corporate transition plans, to ensure financial flows align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.

This white paper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) proposes a Carbon Rating Framework designed to help the financial sector incorporate emissions intensity into investment and lending evaluations, specifically to enable transition finance for hard-to-abate sectors in India.

An open letter released by RMI and 10 other NGOs during COP28 calling for the urgent mobilization of transition finance to decarbonize high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors. The document defines the characteristics of credible transition finance and provides specific calls to action for the financial sector, governments, and corporate issuers to overcome barriers such as greenwashing fears and high capital costs.

This briefing by the Climate Bonds Initiative outlines 12 critical policy interventions designed to accelerate the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors—such as steel, cement, chemicals, shipping, trucking, and aviation—by overcoming market failures and reducing investment risks.

This policy brief outlines how G20 countries can utilize Green Public Procurement (GPP), particularly in the construction sector and hard-to-abate industries like steel and cement, to support decarbonization and meet climate commitments through coordinated reform and strategic implementation.

The Financing Steel Decarbonization (FSD) instrument is a proposed mechanism designed to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies (LCTs) in the steel sector, specifically targeting India. It combines a blended debt fund (SDF) to provide patient capital with a service company (SDI) that offers technical assistance and implementation support to de-risk projects.

A report by NITI Aayog and RMI analyzing the role of green hydrogen in India's energy transition, focusing on its potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, enhance energy security, and contribute to net-zero goals.

This briefing by RMI outlines five key trends expected to shape climate-aligned finance in 2022, focusing on the transition from high-level net-zero pledges to substantiated targets, credible transition plans, and real-world emissions reductions.

This research paper by the NewClimate Institute evaluates the techno-economic potential of green hydrogen production in Mongolia and its application across three hard-to-abate sectors: mining transport, public transportation in Ulaanbaatar, and decentralized heating and cooking.

This briefing by RMI outlines a framework for 'climate intelligence' to accelerate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, particularly in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. The strategy focuses on four pillars: emissions visibility, standardized accounting and attribution, digitized infrastructure using distributed ledger technology, and the scaling of these standards in markets.

This policy brief, produced by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, serves as a "how-to" guide for designing Green Public Procurement (GPP) policies and target-setting methodologies to accelerate decarbonization in hard-to-abate industrial sectors.

This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute discusses the role of public-private partnerships and international collaboration in decarbonizing heavy industry, highlighting the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) and various policy mechanisms to address hard-to-abate sectors.

This briefing by RMI argues that hydrogen is a critical complement to electrification in the energy transition, particularly for hard-to-abate industrial sectors and heavy transport. It outlines the different production methods—distinguishing between grey, blue, and green hydrogen—and highlights the potential for green hydrogen to drive renewable energy demand and decarbonize industrial value chains.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative analyzes how sustainable finance taxonomies incorporate transition mechanisms to support the shift to net-zero emissions by 2050. It identifies six key 'Taxonomy Transition Mechanisms'—including forward criteria, sunset dates, and transition plan requirements—and examines their application across traffic-light, binary, and mixed taxonomy archetypes. Through case studies of jurisdictions like Singapore, the EU, Australia, China, and Rwanda, the report demonstrates how these mechanisms can be used to provide granular, science-based criteria for hard-to-abate sectors, distinguishing between point-in-time 'transition labels' for financial instruments and the long-term 'transition process' of entities and sectors.