Search Climate Insights Directory

The 2026 Energy Progress Report reveals that the world is off track for all SDG7 targets by 2030. While Asia has made significant strides in electricity and clean cooking access, Africa's progress is stagnating or regressing due to a 'population trap' where demographic growth outpaces new connections. Renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements are slowing, with global progress heavily dependent on a small number of high-consuming economies. The report calls for a massive scale-up in finance and targeted infrastructure investments to prevent millions from remaining without basic energy services.

The report finds that while progress continues, momentum is fading across all SDG7 indicators. Electricity and clean cooking deficits are increasingly concentrated in Africa, where population growth often offsets gains in access. Renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements are too slow to meet 2030 targets, with global progress heavily dependent on a small number of high-consuming economies and significant investment gaps in developing nations.

Viet Nam, Indonesia, and the Philippines collectively drive nearly 60% of ASEAN’s power demand and emissions, with a heavy historical reliance on coal. While coal still dominates their energy mixes, all three nations are pivoting toward clean energy, attracting $4.6 billion in investment in 2024. Each country aims for renewables to exceed 50% of their installed capacity mix by 2030–2034. Viet Nam has led the region in new wind and solar generation, the Philippines operates a fully liberalised electricity market to attract FDI, and Indonesia is leveraging its mineral industrialisation to build an electric vehicle ecosystem while planning significant solar expansions.

The briefing outlines three primary policy areas to scale demand flexibility in Europe: accelerating smart meter rollout, implementing time-of-use tariffs, and removing barriers to automation and aggregation. It highlights the need for updated technical standards by 2026 and national objectives by 2027 to overcome slow implementation of EU rules.

Smart grid investments in ASEAN could create between 243,000 and 649,000 jobs and attract industrial investment by providing reliable, low-carbon electricity. While member states have piloted battery storage and smart meters, scaling is hindered by investment gaps and fragmented standards. The document proposes a dual-track approach: ASEAN-level harmonisation of grid codes and standards to enable power trade, and national-level focus on financial viability and cost recovery. Such deployment would reduce reliance on polluting diesel backup generators in countries like the Philippines and Myanmar, improving urban air quality and public health.

ASEAN requires between $4 billion and $10.7 billion in smart grid investments to support its energy transition, depending on the chosen ambition level. The report outlines three investment pathways based on international benchmarks: a low-level distribution-focused approach ($4 billion), a medium-level renewable growth approach ($6.7 billion), and a high-level regional integration approach ($10.7 billion). While Singapore serves as a governance and technical model with its Grid 2.0 strategy and Digital Twin, most ASEAN nations will require a mix of blended finance, green bonds, and regulatory reforms to fund these upgrades, with the largest investment needs concentrated in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The report highlights the critical role of grid reliability and 'smart grids' in sustaining ASEAN's economic growth and clean energy transition. While the region has seen improvements in outage duration and frequency, challenges remain regarding transmission capacity and the integration of solar and wind power. The document warns that failure to invest in digital intelligence and infrastructure could lead to nearly $2.3 billion in annual economic losses by 2040.

The report argues that smart grids are essential for ASEAN to integrate rapidly growing solar and wind capacity while supporting industrial growth. It estimates that an investment of $4 billion to $10.7 billion is needed to modernize power systems, which could potentially unlock $2.3 billion in annual economic value by 2040 and create between 243,000 and 649,000 jobs. The document highlights the need for regional cooperation to harmonize grid codes and mobilize green finance to overcome current fragmented standards and financing gaps.

The Clean Economy Fund (CEF) is a USD 75 million structured-equity fund targeting a financing gap for Indian climate tech companies seeking USD 1-10 million. It employs a two-stage investment approach using convertible notes for early commercialization and direct equity for early growth, supported by a 20% junior tranche to absorb downside risks from non-converting notes. The fund focuses on three verticals: industrial solutions, energy systems, and the built environment. It aims for a first close of USD 35-40 million by mid-to-late 2026, targeting a mitigation impact of 15 megatons of CO2e over ten years.

The document argues that common myths about renewable energy are outdated and unsupported by evidence. It provides data showing that solar and wind are now the cheapest sources of new power generation, with costs falling up to 90% since 2010. It asserts that modern grids can manage intermittency through storage and diversification, and that renewables have significantly lower impacts on wildlife, public health, and waste compared to fossil fuels. Specific case studies, such as the April 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout, are used to demonstrate that grid instability is often caused by technical planning issues rather than the presence of renewables.

A coalition of 63 European entities calls on the European Commission to retain horizontal spending targets for climate and environment in the post-2027 EU budget to ensure a clean industrial transition and economic competitiveness.

The report examines the role of state-owned power companies (SPCs) in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), noting they control approximately 50% of global power station capacity. Through four case studies, it explores specific transition elements: Eskom (South Africa) on just energy transition (JET), NTPC (India) on renewable energy deployment, EVN (Viet Nam) on grid integration, and PLN (Indonesia) on early coal retirement. Key findings highlight that while SPCs can lead low-carbon action due to declining technology costs, they are often hindered by high debt, fossil fuel subsidies, and a lack of comprehensive legal frameworks. The report recommends that governments mandate specific emission targets for SPCs, shift public finance from fossil fuels to clean energy, and that SPCs establish dedicated JET offices and improve data transparency to build stakeholder trust.

The report outlines the necessity for ASEAN countries to shift from reactive grid expansion to proactive system transformation to support variable renewable energy. It proposes a six-pillar framework for future-ready grid planning—covering smart modernisation, strategic expansion, flexibility, regional integration, regulatory reform, and sustainable finance—and draws comparative lessons from the integrated power systems of Europe and Southern Africa to advocate for a more connected and resilient regional market.

China has surpassed its 2030 wind and solar capacity targets six years early, with clean electricity meeting 84.2% of additional demand in 2024. However, the report argues that the 'more renewables, more coal' era is ending and the next phase requires a shift from adding capacity to engineering a 'megasystem' involving smart grids, long-duration storage, and industrial electrification. While the 'new three' sectors (solar, batteries, EVs) have driven GDP, they face saturation and competition, making the development of next-generation technologies essential for sustaining China's 'growing by greening' economic strategy.

The document identifies smart grids as a 'safe bet' for Canada's energy transition, noting that while technologies like smart meters and virtual power plants are proven, their widespread adoption is hindered by regulatory barriers and consumer hesitation. It highlights existing provincial initiatives in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia as models for scaling digital grid infrastructure to manage increasing electricity demand and integrate variable renewable energy.

The document identifies smart grids as 'safe bets' for Canada's energy transition, capable of increasing efficiency and reducing costs by managing peak demand through supply-side solutions like battery storage and demand-side tools like virtual power plants. While provinces such as British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario have implemented various smart grid applications, widespread adoption is hindered by regulatory barriers, outdated utility incentives, and consumer hesitancy. The author argues that provincial policymakers and regulators must update legislation and incentives to accelerate the deployment of digital grid infrastructure to meet growing electricity demand.

The report details a comprehensive methodology for mapping green finance in India, defining the scope of 'green finance' to include climate finance and environmental objectives like biodiversity and resource conservation. It establishes a framework for categorizing financial flows by source (domestic/international, public/private), instrument (grants, debt, equity), and sector (clean energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, and climate adaptation). The methodology employs a variety of data sources, including government budgets, OECD CRS, and project-level databases, while applying specific assumptions such as a 70:30 debt-to-equity gearing ratio and the use of Rio Markers for international public finance. A significant portion of the document is dedicated to the granular classification of on-farm agricultural adaptation activities, categorizing government schemes into 'absolute', 'lower bound', and 'upper bound' based on their adaptation relevance.

The United States saw a 60% increase in major weather-related power outages during the heat season between 2014-2023 compared to 2000-2009. The South region experienced the highest number of these events, with Texas and Michigan recording the most outages at the state level. These outages compound health risks for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and children, particularly when overlapping with extreme heat waves. Proposed solutions for grid resilience include the implementation of microgrids, smart grid technologies, and physical hardening of infrastructure.

Indonesia's electricity sector remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, with coal contributing 62% of generation in 2023. The report highlights a risk of stranded assets if new coal plants are built, as improving existing plant efficiency could lead to a 42 TWh surplus by 2030. It advocates for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) targets, which aim for a 44% renewable share by 2030. Specifically, the report argues for shifting renewable investments toward coal-producing provinces like East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and South Sumatra to mitigate job losses and economic decline, estimating that expanding solar projects in these areas could create 96,000 high-skilled jobs and attract $9.4 billion USD in investment.

The report examines Indonesia's energy transition, highlighting the risk of stranded assets due to coal overcapacity and the potential for renewable energy to revitalize coal-dependent provinces. It compares the RUPTL 2021-2030 and JETP frameworks, suggesting that replacing planned coal capacity with solar power in regions like East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and South Sumatra could create 96,000 high-skilled jobs and attract $9.4 billion in investment.