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Hidden in plain sight: Flawed renewable energy projects in the voluntary carbon market
The report highlights a surplus of approximately 829 million carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), with renewable energy (RE) projects accounting for 35% of all project types. It argues that large-scale, grid-connected RE projects are generally non-additional because they are economically feasible without carbon credit revenues. The document traces this issue back to lax methodologies from the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), specifically methodology ACM0002, which has been adopted by VCM standards like Verra and Gold Standard. The report also notes human rights concerns, including forced displacements linked to large hydroelectric dams. Furthermore, it observes a trend of anonymous retirement for 89.9% of RE credits, suggesting buyers are aware of their low quality but purchase them due to low cost. The report warns that the transition of CDM projects to the Paris Agreement's Article 6 mechanism risks flooding new markets with low-quality credits.
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Document type: Report
RD Congo
The report analyzes the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) socio-economic status, highlighting a stark contrast between its vast natural resources—including 50% of global cobalt reserves—and its high levels of extreme poverty. It projects that under a 'base scenario' of current policies, the DRC will remain one of the world's poorest countries by 2043. However, the report simulates an 'Agenda 2063' combined scenario where strategic interventions in agriculture, industrialization, governance, and infrastructure could significantly increase GDP, reduce extreme poverty from 26.1% to 6.6%, and diversify the economy away from raw material exports.
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Document type: Report
Earth Day: Fastest-Warming Cities and Record Clean Investment
Since 1970, 98% of analyzed U.S. cities and all 50 states have warmed, with Reno, Nevada and Alaska experiencing the fastest increases. To combat this, U.S. clean technology investment reached a record $239 billion in 2023, more than tripling since 2018, with South Carolina and Nevada leading in investment as a percentage of GDP, primarily driven by battery manufacturing.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Transmission for the energy transition
The policy brief highlights a disconnect between European transmission system operator (TSO) grid plans and actual energy policy targets or market outlooks. It argues that current regulatory requirements, which force TSOs to rely on outdated national legislation, lead to under-planned capacity and increased grid congestion. The author recommends that the European Commission provide guidance on anticipatory planning and that national regulators expand their oversight to assess the adequacy of grid plans beyond mere cost implications.
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Document type: Policy brief
ASSESSMENT OF TOTALENERGIES’ CLIMATE STRATEGY
The report concludes that TotalEnergies' strategy prioritizes oil and gas expansion and shareholder returns over the energy transition. It finds that the company's 2030 production targets and LNG capacity expansions significantly overshoot NZE limits, while its renewable energy growth relies primarily on acquisitions rather than organic development. Furthermore, the report argues that TotalEnergies' diversification into gas power, blue hydrogen, and bioenergy is unsustainable and that its emissions targets rely heavily on unproven carbon capture and offset technologies.
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Document type: Report
A Sustained Portfolio of Policies Have Transformed Denmark’s Power Sector
Denmark's power sector shifted from 3% renewable generation in 1990 to over 80% by 2020, driven by a 24-fold increase in wind capacity and a 76% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. This transformation resulted from sustained R&D investment, feed-in tariffs, streamlined institutional planning via the Danish Energy Agency, strong international grid interconnection, and community ownership models. The government has set ambitious 2030 targets, including 100% renewable electricity generation, supported by a social safety net and dialogues with unions to ensure a fair transition for fossil fuel workers.
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Document type: Case study
Electrical Utilities Background Paper
The report establishes a framework for certifying electrical utilities and their debt instruments based on their alignment with a 1.5-degree warming scenario. It defines a global emission intensity transition pathway based on IEA Net Zero (NZE) 2023 data, requiring utilities to reduce carbon intensity from 460 gCO2/kWh in 2025 to 0 by 2050. The criteria distinguish between existing capacity, which may be retrofitted with carbon capture or low-carbon co-firing, and new capacity, for which no new fossil fuel investments are eligible. It also sets specific non-combustion emission thresholds for hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy, and incorporates EU Taxonomy standards for CO2 transport and methane leakages.
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Document type: Report
Diez mitos desmentidos sobre el cambio climático
The document outlines ten prevalent climate myths, attributing their spread to fossil fuel companies and political allies to confuse the public and press. It counters these myths with scientific consensus, noting that over 99% of climate scientists agree human activity is overheating the planet. The guide emphasizes that while the climate has changed naturally in the past, the current rate of change is unprecedented in 66 million years due to 250 years of fossil fuel combustion. It asserts that the tools to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius exist and that renewable energy is increasingly cost-competitive with oil. Geographically, it highlights the United States as the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, followed by China, and notes that current warming of approximately 1.2 degrees Celsius is already intensifying extreme weather globally.
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Document type: Guide
fact-sheet-climate-jobs-2024
In 2022, the United States had over 4.2 million climate jobs, with clean energy job creation outpacing overall job growth. Energy efficiency was the largest sector with 2.2 million jobs, followed by public transportation (821,220) and electricity transmission and distribution (over 703,000). Significant growth was observed in clean vehicles, which grew by 14.7%, and grid modernization, which saw an 11.6% increase in electricity transmission and distribution. Federal laws like the Inflation Reduction Act are expected to create over 303,500 annual construction jobs and 100,000 permanent jobs. Adaptation and resilience jobs are emerging across all 50 states, though exact total figures are unavailable.
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Document type: Fact sheet
2023: Earth’s Hottest Year on Record
2023 was the hottest year on record, reaching 1.4°C above the 1881-1910 baseline. This warming is driven by unprecedented levels of carbon pollution from fossil fuels, leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather events globally.
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Document type: Fact sheet
2023: 5th-Hottest U.S. Year with Record Billion-Dollar Disasters
In 2023, the contiguous U.S. experienced its 5th-hottest year on record, with an annual average temperature 2.4°F above the 20th century average. The year saw a record 28 billion-dollar disasters, resulting in an estimated 492 lives lost and over $93 billion in damages. Severe storms were the primary driver, accounting for 68% of these events. The frequency of such disasters has increased significantly, with the average time between events dropping to 12 days in 2023, compared to 82 days in the 1980s.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Enabling factors of social acceptance of wind energy projects in La Guajira
The report argues that social conflict surrounding wind energy in La Guajira is driven not by opposition to the technology, but by the processes of implementation and consultation. It identifies eight enabling factors for social acceptance: improving information access, regulating community advisers, recognizing the duality of Wayuu leadership, establishing benefit-sharing standards, ensuring equitable internal distribution of benefits, monitoring 'electric transfers', strengthening regional institutional capacity, and aligning industry development with territorial planning. The authors propose actionable solutions including a regional information observatory, a certification program for advisers, and peer-to-peer learning networks for communities.
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Document type: Report
Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy
The report finds that while a majority of registered U.S. voters support various clean energy policies and prefer candidates who take action on global warming, there is a sharp political divide regarding the issue's importance as a voting priority. Most voters support specific measures like soil restoration for farmers and clean energy job training, but few believe the U.S. government is responding well to the crisis. Support for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is high after respondents read a description of the law, despite low general awareness.
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Document type: Report
ENERGIZING FINANCE REPORT 2024
The report reveals a decline in international public finance for energy access, with electricity commitments peaking in 2018 and clean cooking funding showing extreme volatility. Significant regional and developmental disparities exist, with a heavy concentration of funds in a few countries like India, China, and Bangladesh, and a predominance of debt-based financing over grants. Case studies of Bangladesh and Kenya highlight that while both achieved significant access gains through concerted policy and financial efforts, they face ongoing challenges with system inefficiency and affordability.
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Document type: Report
Five Things to Know About Earth’s Hottest Year
The document highlights that 2023 is virtually certain to be the hottest year on record, driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. It details the resulting increase in extreme weather events, the long-term trend of rapid warming since the industrial revolution, and the necessity of transitioning to clean energy to meet global climate targets.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Record Global Temperatures and U.S. Billion-Dollar Disasters
The document reports that 2023 is virtually certain to be the hottest year on record, with global surface temperatures from January to November 2023 ranking highest in the 144-year record at 1.4°C above the 1881-1910 baseline. In the U.S., 25 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters occurred between January and November 2023, surpassing the previous annual record of 22 in 2020. These events caused an estimated 482 deaths and $81 billion in damages, with severe storms accounting for 76% of these disasters. The average time between such disasters in 2023 dropped to 10 days, compared to 82 days in the 1980s.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Kenya: Leveraging Youth for Inclusive Development and Resilience
The document outlines four strategic priorities for Kenya to engage its youth population, where over 70% are under 35 but unemployment exceeds 40%. It recommends modernising agriculture through climate-smart technology, aligning technical and vocational training with market needs (including green and digital jobs), bridging the rural-urban digital divide to foster AI innovation, and expanding social safety nets for vulnerable groups. These recommendations stem from a participatory research project using foresight methodologies to identify future skills and social justice pathways.
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Document type: Policy brief
Electrical Utilities Criteria
The Electrical Utilities Criteria provide a framework for certifying entities and debt instruments based on their emissions intensity and transition pathways toward net-zero by 2040. The criteria distinguish between existing and new capacity, setting specific GHG thresholds for low-carbon technologies and phase-out dates for unabated fossil fuel plants. It also defines requirements for mitigation measures like CCS/CCUS and cofiring, as well as a comprehensive adaptation and resilience checklist to ensure infrastructure is robust against physical climate hazards.
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Document type: Guide
Electrical Utilities Background Paper Development of Eligibility Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard & Certification Scheme
The report outlines the development of certification criteria for electrical utilities to ensure their financing aligns with the Paris Agreement. It establishes a global emissions intensity transition pathway based on the IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 scenario, targeting near-zero emissions for the power sector by 2040. The criteria distinguish between existing capacity, which must follow phase-out or retrofitting benchmarks, and new capacity, which must be low-carbon as no new fossil fuel plants are eligible. It also details specific thresholds for non-combustion emissions in hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy, and sets requirements for decarbonization measures like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and hydrogen co-firing.
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Document type: Report
Национальный доклад о состоянии окружающей среды: Узбекистан
The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uzbekistan's environmental status using the DPSIR framework. It highlights critical challenges including severe water scarcity, land degradation, and the ongoing Aral Sea crisis, while noting progress in expanding protected areas and transitioning toward renewable energy. The document emphasizes the high vulnerability of the region to climate change, which manifests in rising temperatures and glacier loss, and outlines national strategies for adaptation and sustainable resource management.
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Document type: Report