Search Climate Insights Directory

This report by Ember analyzes the economic and environmental consequences of Indonesia's coal over-expansion. It finds that while production hit record highs in 2024, shrinking demand from major importers like China and India, coupled with rising production costs, is eroding company profits and state revenues. Additionally, the report highlights a significant underreporting of coal mine methane (CMM) emissions, which are projected to increase by 25% by 2030 due to the expansion of underground mining.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development maps energy support and revenues in Chhattisgarh, India, from fiscal years (FY) 2020 to 2024. It analyzes the distribution of subsidies and public sector investments across fossil fuels and clean energy, highlighting a significant imbalance where fossil fuel subsidies are four times higher than those for clean energy.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that the commitment made at COP 28 to transition away from fossil fuels is currently failing, with production plans exceeding 1.5°C limits. It identifies COP 30 in Belém as a critical juncture for governments to align financial flows, increase the ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and operationalize the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP).

The IDFC Green Finance Mapping Report 2025 analyzes the 2024 green finance commitments of 23 member national and regional development banks. While total green finance decreased by 13% to $173 billion, the majority of members increased their individual commitments. The report highlights a continued dominance of mitigation finance, a rebound in adaptation finance, and a growing but still limited focus on biodiversity and other environmental objectives.

This report provides a comparative analysis of global electricity tariff-setting methodologies, focusing on the process of determining revenue requirements and conducting Cost of Supply (CoS) studies. It examines various regulatory models—including rate-of-return, incentive-based, performance-based, and market-based pricing—and evaluates their effectiveness in balancing financial sustainability for utilities with affordability for consumers. The document concludes with specific recommendations for South Africa to modernize its tariff structures and revenue determination processes as it transitions toward a wholesale electricity market.

This report by Ember, developed for the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), provides a comprehensive analysis of global offshore wind targets across national, subnational, and regional levels. It examines current ambitions, deployment projections for 2030, and the potential for expansion in countries without existing targets, while highlighting the gap between political ambitions and projected delivery.

This research paper analyzes the evolution of Nigeria's climate policy and governance, highlighting a persistent struggle with institutional fragmentation and the misalignment of petroleum policies with climate goals. It examines the transition through four 'policy moments,' the impact of International Oil Company (IOC) divestments, and the recent centralization of climate authority under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the creation of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate (OSPEC) and the Presidential Climate Action Committee (PCAC).

This research paper analyzes Nigeria's climate policy and diplomacy, arguing that while the country has established a comprehensive policy architecture, its effectiveness is severely hampered by institutional fragmentation, inter-ministerial competition, and a lack of elite consensus. The author examines the shift toward centralized governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the challenges of aligning domestic petroleum interests with global energy transition goals.

This fact sheet describes green bonds as fixed-income instruments earmarked for environmental projects, highlighting that energy and buildings receive the largest share of recent allocations (~30% each). It details the roles of institutional investors and MDBs—such as the World Bank and EIB—and outlines the technical requirements, costs (including a typical greenium of 2–5 bps), and timelines for issuing these instruments.

The report examines how the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is incentivising exporting countries to establish domestic carbon pricing systems to retain revenues and reduce trade costs.

In the first half of 2025, global solar and wind generation grew sufficiently to exceed total electricity demand growth, resulting in renewables overtaking coal in the global electricity mix for the first time. While global power sector CO2 emissions fell marginally by 0.2%, results varied by region, with emissions decreasing in China and India but increasing in the US and EU.

The report 'Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025' by Ember analyzes global electricity generation from January to June 2025. It finds that solar and wind growth exceeded global demand growth, leading to renewables overtaking coal's share in the global electricity mix for the first time on record and causing power sector CO2 emissions to plateau.

The executive summary of the 2025 Stocktake report by the Net Zero Tracker analyzes the prevalence and integrity of net-zero targets across national, subnational, and corporate entities as of September 2025, noting a rise in total targets despite political headwinds and significant gaps in target robustness.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics debunks common myths about renewable energy, demonstrating that solar and wind are now the cheapest and most efficient power sources. It provides evidence that renewables are reliable when integrated with storage, have lower wildlife and environmental impacts than fossil fuels, and occupy minimal land. The document specifically clarifies that a 2025 blackout in the Iberian Peninsula was caused by grid failures rather than renewable energy usage.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines how Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—comprising digital identity, payments, and data-sharing systems—can be used to reduce the shadow economy and improve domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) in Africa. It argues that while digital payments increase transaction visibility, they must be paired with structural reforms and strategic targeting of high-value tax evaders rather than vulnerable micro-vendors. The document highlights lessons from South Korea and India and suggests that South Africa use its 2025 G20 presidency to advocate for an 'Africa stack' and peer learning on DPI best practices.

This fact sheet by the World Resources Institute outlines the current state of the global circular economy, emphasizing the urgent need to reduce resource consumption to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. It highlights the disparity in material footprints between high- and low-income populations, the leadership and challenges of the European Union, and the stagnation of global resource productivity since 2000.

This report by Ember examines how major global steelmakers—specifically ArcelorMittal, Nippon Steel, and POSCO—often omit fugitive methane emissions from coal mining in their Scope 3 emissions reporting. The analysis highlights that reliance on blast furnace technology and the sourcing of coal from high-methane mines in Australia significantly increase the actual climate impact of these companies' value chains, often by percentages that would materially alter their reported greenhouse gas footprints.

This briefing, prepared for the 11th session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG), advocates for the explicit inclusion of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment (RtHE) within a proposed international legally binding instrument (LBI) to regulate transnational corporations and business enterprises.

This briefing paper argues for the adoption of a United Nations legally binding instrument (LBI) to regulate transnational corporations as a structural lever for environmental justice. It highlights the failure of voluntary frameworks to ensure corporate accountability for ecological destruction and human rights abuses, proposing that a binding treaty would operationalize the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment through mandatory due diligence, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and effective remediation.

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.