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The report 'Boom & Bust Coal 2026' analyzes the global state of coal-fired power plants in 2025, highlighting a paradox where global capacity is increasing while actual electricity production from coal is declining. It focuses heavily on the roles of China and India as the primary drivers of new capacity, the shift of coal to a 'system insurance' role, and a detailed critique of Indonesia's regulatory contradictions and the rise of captive coal plants for mineral processing.

This report by Global Energy Monitor analyzes global coal power trends in 2025, highlighting a growing divergence between increasing installed capacity and decreasing actual generation. While coal expansion remains concentrated in China and India, the total number of countries proposing or constructing new coal plants has declined. The document specifically contrasts the coal policies of South Korea, which has committed to a 2040 phase-out, and Japan, which continues to emphasize technical abatement and gradual adjustments without a binding national phase-out date.

The report 'Boom and Bust Coal 2026' analyzes global coal power trends in 2025, highlighting a growing divergence between increasing installed capacity and decreasing actual generation. While China and India continue to expand capacity for energy security, global coal development is concentrating in fewer countries, and several nations, including South Korea, have committed to phase-outs.

The May 2026 report by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the global state of coal power, highlighting a growing divergence where coal capacity increases while actual generation declines. While the number of countries pursuing new coal development is shrinking, significant expansions continue in China and India, often framed as system security measures. The report provides detailed regional analyses, noting that Latin America has reached a status of no new coal plants, although some countries in the region face setbacks in decommissioning existing facilities.

This report by Global Energy Monitor and various partners analyzes the state of global coal-fired power generation in 2025 and early 2026. It highlights a growing divergence where global coal capacity continues to increase—driven primarily by China and India—while actual generation decreases as renewables displace coal. The document details regional trends, noting that while Latin America has reached a 'No New Coal' status, several countries in the region are experiencing delays in planned plant retirements due to political pressure or energy security concerns.

The report 'Boom & Bust Coal 2026' by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the global coal power portfolio in 2025, highlighting a divergence where coal capacity continued to grow despite a decrease in actual coal-fired electricity generation. The document details regional trends, noting that new coal development is increasingly concentrated in China and India, while other regions like Latin America have ceased new coal projects. It also examines the specific challenges facing Ukraine's energy infrastructure due to Russian attacks and the debate over whether to restore old coal plants or transition to decentralized renewable energy.

The report 'Boom & Bust Coal 2026' bySS analyzes global coal power trends in 2025, highlighting a growing gap where coal capacity is increasing while actual electricity production isS is declining. This trend is most prominent in China and India, where coal plants are increasingly used as 'system insurance' to support the integration of renewables. While the number of countries pursuing new coal projects is decreasing, Indonesia remains a significant outlier, expanding coal capacity primarily through 'captive' power plants for mineral processing (nickel and aluminum) and facing regulatory contradictions between its climate commitments and energy planning documents.

This report by Ember examines the effectiveness of satellite monitoring in detecting methane emissions from global hard coal mines, noting a significant gap between theoretical detectability and actual observations.

The Global Coal Mine Methane Review 2026 reports that coal mine methane (CMM) emissions have remained steady at approximately 35 million tonnes despite rising coal production since the 2021 Global Methane Pledge. The report highlights a critical lack of transparency, estimating that 89% of emissions were unreported to the UNFCCC in 2023, and that 87% of global coal production relies on generic emission factors rather than direct measurements. While satellite monitoring is increasing, it currently captures emissions from only 10% of global hard coal production. The report concludes that existing technologies could reduce CMM emissions by 54-63% by 2030, with some measures available at no net cost, and that such reductions are affordable relative to industry profits.

This report analyzes 23 regulatory instruments across 12 countries to evaluate how governments are regulating greenwashing, focusing on policy instruments, scope, stringency, and the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs).

The report argues that betting on long-term growth for metallurgical coal (met coal) is a losing strategy as demand plateaus due to China's economic shift and the rise of low-carbon steel production. It highlights the risk of stranded assets given the volume of planned mine expansions and recommends that governments accelerate the transition to green steel through subsidy reform and public procurement.

The report recommends that Zambia diversify its economy by expanding copper smelting and refining, prioritizing affordable electricity, and improving trade corridors to capture more value from the global copper supply chain.

This report by Ember analyzes global electricity demand and supply trends in 2025 and over the preceding two decades. It details the growth of low-carbon sources, specifically solar and wind, and the relative decline of fossil fuels, while noting the impact of weather and policy on national energy mixes.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics explains the mechanisms of El Niño, its interaction with climate change, and its global socio-economic and environmental impacts. It highlights a 61% chance of an El Niño event emerging between May and July 2026, noting that human-caused warming is likely increasing the frequency and severity of such events, while simultaneously making them harder to predict.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute examines the capacity of various forest types to withstand and recover from wildfires, noting that while some ecosystems are fire-adapted, increasing fire frequency and intensity driven by climate change are undermining this resilience. The document details the drivers of vulnerability, the environmental and economic impacts of recent record-breaking fires, and strategies for strengthening forest resilience through protection, restoration, and the support of Indigenous land rights.

The research paper argues for a binding international agreement on fossil fuel subsidies within the WTO framework to address global negative externalities and climate change. It proposes using the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) as a model, specifically highlighting the Standardized Carbon Rate Measurement (SCRM) as a way to move beyond definitional debates. The authors suggest that successful subsidy reduction must be linked to a state's capacity to transition to green energy and may require WTO waivers on local content requirements to support renewable energy transitions.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the impact of various global carbon tax scenarios on Africa's energy transition and economic future, specifically highlighting the 'Sustainable Africa' scenario.

An open letter from the Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development (C4D) to the Prime Minister of Canada urging the government to establish a new international climate finance commitment following the expiration of a $5.3 billion envelope on March 31, 2026.

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development analyzes a global database of fossil fuel production restrictions, identifying 58 active measures across 25 countries and 27 subnational jurisdictions. It examines the trajectories of these policies, noting that while restrictions have grown exponentially over the last decade, they remain politically fragile and susceptible to rollbacks during periods of high energy prices or government changes.

This technical explainer by RMI analyzes the use of voluntary carbon markets (VCM) to finance the plugging of orphaned oil and gas wells in the United States and Canada. It evaluates the methodologies used to generate carbon credits, the associated quality risks—particularly regarding emissions quantification and permanence—and the systemic regulatory failures that lead to the proliferation of orphaned wells.