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Reclaim Finance criticizes the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA) for failing to align its Target Setting Protocol Version 4 (TSPV4) with UN High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) recommendations. The organization argues that the AOA allows members to use relative intensity metrics that can disguise absolute emission increases and fails to mandate Scope 3 targets for high-emitting sectors like oil and gas. Reclaim Finance calls for mandatory absolute targets, robust transition plans for asset owners, and a strict prohibition on investing in companies expanding coal, oil, and gas infrastructure. Additionally, it urges the AOA to define concrete escalation procedures for investor engagement and to adopt the updated September 2023 IEA Net Zero Roadmap.

The report argues that the coal sector is not aligned with 1.5°C targets and poses significant financial risks, including over US$1.4 trillion in potential stranded assets. It recommends that banks immediately cease financing new coal projects and implement a timed escalation strategy to exit coal exposure by 2030 in OECD and European countries, and by 2040 worldwide. Key requirements for coal companies include the adoption of public, asset-by-asset phase-out plans and just transition strategies for workers and the environment.

The document argues that current climate stewardship is failing to align corporate strategies with the 1.5°C goal, citing the limited impact of initiatives like Climate Action 100+. It provides a detailed framework for credible engagement and voting policies, emphasizing the need for time-bound demands, systematic escalation strategies including divestment, and comprehensive reporting of both activity and outcome indicators. The guide also offers specific sectoral demands for high-emitting industries and guidance for corporate bondholders and asset owners.

Reclaim Finance criticizes the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for becoming the top global financier of fossil fuels, providing US$40.6 billion in financing last year. The organization highlights significant loopholes in RBC's October 2020 coal policy, which excludes only new clients and uses high revenue thresholds (60%) that fail to capture the majority of coal mining and power companies. The document details RBC's continued support for coal developers like Glencore and RWE, as well as utilities in the US and Canada that lack credible coal phase-out plans, urging the bank to adopt a mandatory coal exit by 2030 in the OECD and 2040 globally.

Reclaim Finance argues that French savers struggle to align their investments with ESG preferences due to a lack of transparency. To resolve this, the brief proposes a mandatory three-color indicator for all retail savings products, categorizing funds based on their exposure to controversial activities such as fossil fuels, deforestation, weaponry, human rights violations, and tobacco. The proposal includes specific thresholds for these ratings and suggests legal amendments to the French Consumer Code to mandate this disclosure.

The global electricity sector is the largest CO2 emitter and must reach net zero by 2040 to facilitate the decarbonisation of other sectors. Following the IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario, wind and solar are identified as the primary drivers of this transition. By 2030, wind and solar must increase to 41% of global electricity generation, while coal and gas generation must decrease by 54% and 24% respectively. By 2040, unabated coal must be phased out globally, and unabated gas should provide only 0.3% of electricity. This transition is essential to support rising electricity demand in developing regions and the electrification of transport, heating, and industry.

The checklist specifies the requirements for legal entities to obtain and maintain Sustainability-Linked Debt (SLD) certification. It outlines eligibility criteria, the 90% certification threshold for economic activities, and the necessity of a comprehensive Transition Plan including a vision, strategic narrative, and finance plan. It also mandates governance structures, parent group commitments to net zero and the cessation of fossil fuel expansion, and strict public disclosure requirements.

The Checklist for Entity Certification outlines the requirements for non-financial entities to be certified under the Climate Bonds Standard v4.0. It details eligibility, the 90% certification threshold for economic activities, the components of a Transition Plan (including climate performance targets, delivery strategy, and finance plans), and governance requirements. It also specifies mandatory commitments for Parent Groups, such as no expansion of fossil fuel activities and net zero commitments, and explains the process for maintaining or losing certification.

Reclaim Finance proposes a framework for credible corporate climate transition plans, arguing that access to green financing should be contingent on plans that cover all emission scopes, set absolute targets aligned with 1.5°C scenarios, and include sector-specific 'red lines'. The framework emphasizes the exclusion of carbon offsets from targets, the integration of climate performance into executive remuneration, and the requirement for lobbying activities to be transparent and consistent with climate goals.

The briefing identifies a recurring pattern in energy transitions where demand for an incumbent energy source peaks, plateaus, and then declines rapidly once price parity with a new source is reached. It provides historical examples from the US and UK, such as the transition from horses to cars and gas to electric lighting, and notes that OECD demand for coal electricity peaked in 2003 and has fallen by 43% since 2008.

Analysis of OECD countries between 2007 and 2018 indicates that right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) in power have a significant negative effect on climate policy, though this effect is moderated by European Union membership and the proportionality of the electoral system. No overall significant relationship was found between RWPP representation and renewable energy policy.

Fortum/Uniper is criticized for having an inadequate coal exit strategy and increasing its dependence on gas, while continuing to receive significant financial support from major banks and investors, including French institutions like BNP Paribas and Société Générale.

The briefing argues that financial institutions must move beyond vague requests and implement strict, time-bound criteria to ensure coal companies genuinely phase out thermal coal. It establishes immediate thresholds for stopping financing to coal majors and outlines ten requirements for credible phase-out plans, including specific closure dates, prohibitions on selling plants or converting them to other fossil fuels, and the requirement for just transition plans.

The United States possesses the largest operating coal fleet in the OECD at 233 GW, with most plants over 30 years old. To meet the goal of a full coal phase-out by 2030, the US must increase its average annual retirement rate from 15 GW to 25 GW, a 66% increase. Current legislation, such as the Build Back Better Framework, is deemed insufficient to achieve this timeline, particularly after the removal of the Clean Energy Performance Program. The document suggests that the Biden administration should instead leverage Environmental Protection Agency regulations on air, water, and waste, and support local state-level policies and advocacy to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free power sector by 2035.

The Framework for Sustainable Finance Integrity provides a technical set of 'Necessary Action' metrics across three categories—targets and objectives, implementation, and metrics and transparency—to align the financial sector with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. It identifies significant gaps between current leading practices of major financial coalitions and the scientific requirements for a viable net zero pathway, particularly regarding short-term emissions targets, the phase-out of all fossil fuel finance, and the integration of social justice and biodiversity into financial mandates.

The document argues that to meet the 1.5°C climate goal, new coal infrastructure must stop immediately and most existing plants must be retired by 2030. It provides a framework for financial institutions to assess corporate coal exit plans, emphasizing that credible plans must include facility-by-facility closure dates, a prohibition on selling assets to new owners, and a ban on converting plants to other fossil fuels or biomass. The briefing also highlights the necessity of funded just transition plans and the cessation of anti-climate lobbying and legal challenges via investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms.

The document argues that to meet the 1.5°C climate goal, the global coal industry must be phased out rapidly, with 80% of the global fleet and all facilities in the OECD, Eastern Europe, and the Former Soviet Union closed by 2030. It provides financial institutions with a ten-point framework to assess corporate phase-out plans, emphasizing that plans must include facility-by-facility closure dates, prohibit the sale of assets to new owners, and forbid conversion to fossil gas, biomass, or fossil-based hydrogen. The briefing also warns against using carbon capture and storage (CCS) or Science-Based Targets (SBTi) as substitutes for concrete closure plans and insists on funded just transition roadmaps and the cessation of anti-climate lobbying and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims.

The document argues that to limit global warming to 1.5°C, all coal assets must be closed by 2030 in OECD and European countries and by 2040 globally. It outlines a comprehensive framework for financial institutions to phase out coal support, combining immediate exclusion criteria for new projects and high-exposure companies with a structured engagement process for remaining portfolio companies to ensure the actual closure, rather than the sale, of coal assets.

The global pipeline of proposed coal power plants has collapsed by 76% since the 2015 Paris Agreement, with 1,175GW of projects cancelled. While China remains the largest pursuer of coal, hosting 55% of the remaining pre-construction pipeline, many OECD and non-OECD countries have already committed to or are positioned for 'no new coal'. The report highlights that action by six countries—China, India, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Turkey, and Bangladesh—could remove 82% of the remaining global pre-construction pipeline.

Reclaim Finance calls on the Paris financial center to lead a global transition by ending support for fossil fuel expansion. The letter argues that to limit warming to 1.5°C, oil and gas production must decrease annually, and financial actors should exit non-conventional sectors by 2030 and all oil and gas by 2040 in the OECD and 2050 globally.