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This report by RMI argues that battery energy storage systems (BESS) can enhance grid reliability and affordability by providing resource adequacy, stability, and resilience. Using California and Texas as successful models, the document highlights how well-defined ancillary service markets and clear interconnection rules allow batteries to compete with fossil fuel generators, reducing costs and improving grid stability. It specifically contrasts these successes with the PJM region, where high uplift costs and interconnection hurdles hinder battery deployment.

The China Energy Transition Review 2025 by Ember analyzes China's rapid shift toward clean energy and electrification, detailing how its domestic policies and manufacturing scale are driving down global costs and pushing global fossil fuel demand toward a structural decline.

This report by Energy Innovation analyzes the projected impacts of a proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding and repeal greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for new vehicles. Using the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), the analysis finds that such a repeal would lead to significant economic losses, increased household energy costs, and higher rates of premature death due to increased air pollution between 2026 and 2050.

This briefing note by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) examines the need for international cooperation on trade-related climate measures (trade-climate measures) within the World Trade Organization (WTO). It identifies a fragmented landscape of national and regional policies that create trade barriers and disadvantage developing countries. The document proposes a framework for cooperation across four levels: general principles of international law, regulatory processes and practices, specific design features, and technical aspects such as carbon accounting interoperability.

This research paper examines the intersection of the evolving international trading system and the urgent need to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable development. It argues that while trade has historically contributed to environmental harm, it can be repurposed as a strategic tool for sustainability through new narratives, inclusive international cooperation, and coherent policy frameworks. The author identifies a shift from traditional trade liberalization toward 'multipurpose' approaches that balance security, resilience, and sustainability, and proposes a policy agenda to reorient trade rules, scale up sustainable technologies, and ensure equitable economic transformation for developing countries.

This RMI fact sheet examines the practice of gas line extension allowances—subsidies where existing customers fund the cost of connecting new buildings to the natural gas system—and the movement among US states to phase them out to lower utility bills and support electrification.

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) arguing that the US government is dismantling critical disaster protections and weather forecasting capabilities while the petrochemical industry continues to expand in hurricane-prone regions, leaving vulnerable communities exposed to escalating climate risks and financial instability.

This statement argues that current global trade frameworks often hinder the ability of developing nations, particularly in Africa, to pursue low-carbon transitions and climate justice. It highlights the negative impacts of protectionist policies and the breakdown of multilateralism, while proposing that regional initiatives like the AfCFTA and strategic leadership during South Africa's G20 Presidency can create a new trade agenda focused on green industrialization, adaptation, and economic diversification.

This research paper examines South Africa's G20 presidency, marking the end of the first cycle of summits since 2008. It analyzes the challenges facing the G20's consensus-based model amidst rising populism and the US's shift toward unilateralism, while detailing South Africa's specific priorities for the Global South, including climate finance, debt sustainability, and critical minerals.

This briefing by RMI argues for the creation of regional financing ecosystems to bridge the gap between available clean energy capital and local project implementation. It posits that localized strategies, which coordinate regional banks, community lenders, and economic development organizations, can overcome systemic barriers such as misaligned risk appetites and deal fragmentation to ensure an inclusive energy transition.

This RMI briefing argues that aging coal-fired power plants are an unreliable and inflexible solution for meeting the rising electricity demand driven by the data center boom in the United States. The document asserts that clean, scalable resources such as battery storage and demand flexibility are better suited to the real-time operational needs of data centers and can meet over 95 percent of future demand.

The chemicals industry, a $4.7 trillion sector responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is at a critical juncture for decarbonization. RMI and Third Derivative identify three primary innovation pathways: 'Make Less' (circularity), 'Make Better' (process efficiency), and 'Make New' (defossilized production). Despite the potential for near-zero emissions, the sector is undercapitalized, with only 3% of climate tech VC investment going to chemicals and plastics. Startups are navigating high capital costs and a 60% drop in clean industry investment in 2024 by leveraging non-dilutive funding, strategic partnerships with incumbents, and targeted certifications to access premium markets.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the concentration of global plastic polymer production among a small number of countries and companies, highlighting the tension between a majority of nations seeking production reductions and a minority of oil and gas-producing states opposing such measures.

Energy Innovation reports that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will cost U.S. households $170 billion in energy bills and reduce GDP by $980 billion by 2035. To mitigate these impacts, the report urges U.S. states to accelerate wind and solar projects, streamline deployment, support electric transportation, increase building electrification, and stimulate clean industrial investment.

A policy brief by Dr Basani Baloyi analyzing the impact of Donald Trump's second administration's tariff regime on Africa and proposing a strategic response focused on regional integration, industrialization, and collective bargaining.

This policy brief by RMI outlines six strategic priorities for U.S. states to optimize federal funding and accelerate clean energy deployment following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The document emphasizes the urgency of acting before federal incentives phase out, focusing on fleet electrification, permitting and interconnection reform, financial gap filling, energy affordability, home energy rebates, and cleantech manufacturing innovation.

This fact sheet from the Institute for Economic Justice examines the structural causes of the African debt crisis, the impact of high interest rates on public services, and the limitations of G20 initiatives. It argues that the crisis is rooted in a 'rigged global system' and calls for systemic reform and debt cancellation through movements like Jubilee 2025.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), commissioned by the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC), provides an independent assessment of the South African government's progress in implementing 60 presidential commitments made in response to the State Capture Commission (SCC) recommendations. The assessment evaluates progress across individual accountability and systemic institutional and policy reforms, highlighting significant delays in legislative updates and a persistent lack of accountability for members of the Executive.

This report by Ember analyzes national 2030 renewable capacity targets across 96 countries and the EU. It finds that despite the COP28 pledge to triple global renewable capacity by 2030, national targets have remained largely stagnant, collectively amounting to a doubling rather than a tripling of 2022 capacity levels.

This technical guide by RMI analyzes the voluntary carbon market (VCM) for improved rice cultivation, focusing on the transition from invalidated CDM-based credits to more rigorous new methodologies. It details the primary and secondary practices used to reduce methane emissions, evaluates quality risks such as additionality and MRV, and provides guidance for stakeholders to identify high-integrity projects.