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Ember's analysis indicates that Whitehaven Coal Limited could release over 1.2 million tonnes of methane by 2050, with emissions potentially doubling by 2030 due to planned expansions. The report highlights severe discrepancies in reporting, noting that the Narrabri mine's actual emissions have been nearly five times higher than final EIS estimates. Ember argues that Whitehaven's use of internal emission factors for open-cut mines—which are often significantly lower than Australian averages—leads to underreporting. The report recommends third-party verification, improved transparency, and a 75% reduction in portfolio-wide methane emissions by 2030 to align with 1.5 degree pathways.

Global power sector emissions plateaued in the first half of 2023 at 5,795 million tonnes of CO2, a slight increase of 0.2% over the previous year. While emissions fell significantly in high-income economies like the EU (-17%) and US (-8.6%), they rose in China (+7.9%) and India (+3.7%). A historic 8.5% decline in global hydro generation, largely driven by droughts in China, prevented a larger drop in emissions by forcing a reliance on fossil fuels. Wind and solar increased their global electricity share to 14.3%, though their growth rates (10% for wind and 16% for solar) remained below the IEA's net zero scenario requirements. Global electricity demand grew by only 0.4%, hampered by demand falls in the EU, Japan, the US, and South Korea.

In the first half of 2023, global power sector emissions plateaued (+0.2%) as emissions declines in the US and EU offset a 7.9% jump in China. China led global renewable growth, accounting for 67% of wind and solar increases, but severe droughts caused a 22% drop in hydropower, forcing a record high in coal generation. In the US, power sector emissions fell 8.6% due to a 27% drop in coal generation driven by coal-to-gas switching and a 3.4% decline in electricity demand. The EU also saw a 17% drop in power sector emissions resulting from falling demand and increasing renewables.

India's solar energy is entering an "accelerating growth" phase, with solar and wind projected to meet 66% of power generation growth by FY 2032. While daytime peak demand is increasingly aligned with solar generation, significant challenges remain in managing non-solar hour demand. The report emphasizes that achieving NEP14 targets requires a 36% annual increase in solar capacity additions and a substantial build-out of battery and pumped hydro storage to ensure grid stability and avoid reliance on new coal capacity.

China's solar panel exports grew by 34% in the first half of 2023, reaching 114 GW. While manufacturing capacity is sufficient to meet 1.5C pathway goals, bottlenecks in installation and grid integration are leading to increased stockpiles, particularly in Europe.

Analysis of G20 coal power emissions reveals that while 12 of 20 economies saw per capita declines since 2015, Australia and South Korea remain the top polluters, each emitting more than triple the global average. In contrast, emerging economies like Indonesia, Türkiye, China, and India experienced increases in per capita emissions as electricity demand outpaced renewable growth. The G20's combined per capita emissions rose slightly from 1.5 to 1.6 tonnes of CO2 between 2015 and 2022, underscoring a slow overall transition despite individual national progress.

Global power sector emissions plateaued in the first half of 2023, increasing by only 0.2%. While wind and solar generation grew and increased their share of the global power mix, a historic decline in hydropower due to droughts—particularly in China—prevented a more significant emissions drop. Low electricity demand in high-income economies further suppressed emissions growth.

Ember critiques the TYNDP 2024 storylines for having low electrification levels and unrealistic fossil fuel price projections. The organization argues that the 'Green Ambition' (GA) and 'Distributed Energy' (DE) scenarios are not fully self-consistent and fail to align with 1.5C pathways. Ember recommends introducing a higher-ambition scenario with at least 90% emissions reduction by 2040 and urges the removal of fossil methane from heating and transport by 2050.

Ember argues that new coal facilities entering the Safeguard Mechanism should be held to a net zero emissions intensity baseline to align with 1.5 degree climate pathways. While supporting the proposed production variable of 0.0653 CO2-e per tonne of run-of-mine coal for driving reductions in high-intensity underground mines, Ember warns that open-cut mines may receive windfall Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs) without performing genuine abatement due to outdated emissions reporting factors.

Ember urges the Australian government to overhaul its outdated coal mine methane reporting framework, advocating for the adoption of direct, site-specific measurement standards and the establishment of a fossil methane indicator to track progress toward net zero by 2050.

Ember argues that Australia's coal mine methane emissions are significantly under-reported and that the current Safeguard Mechanism is insufficient to drive necessary reductions. The report recommends a 78% reduction in coal mine methane by 2030-2035, achieved through a combination of onsite mitigation and a phaseout of thermal coal mining. To support this, Ember urges the Climate Change Authority to implement a national methane action plan, establish a standalone methane reduction target in the next Nationally Determined Contribution, and overhaul the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) framework to replace generic emission factors with direct, site-specific measurements.

The policy brief highlights a gap between current European electricity interconnection expansion plans and the actual needs of the power system. It asserts that doubling interconnection capacity is essential to integrate renewables cost-effectively and reduce reliance on fossil gas. The author identifies critical border corridors requiring urgent attention and proposes three pathways forward: accelerating the 22 GW of projects already in the pipeline, investing in non-wire solutions like storage and demand response, or increasing domestic renewable capacities at a higher cost.

Ember's analysis suggests that the Lake Vermont mine extension may underestimate its methane emissions by 2.2 to 2.5 times, potentially releasing up to 100 million tonnes of CO2-e by 2055. The report argues that the project lacks a credible emissions reduction pathway and poses a risk to Australia's Safeguard Mechanism and national climate targets.

Analysis of 2022 EU-ETS data shows that the ten largest emitters in the system are all coal power plants, which together account for 13% of total EU-ETS emissions and 25% of power sector emissions. Germany and Poland are the primary contributors, together responsible for two-thirds of coal power emissions. Three utilities—RWE, PGE, and EPH—dominate the sector, collectively accounting for 30% of power sector emissions. While coal emissions rose 6% in 2022 due to the energy crisis, the long-term trend remains a decline, with 2022 levels 40% lower than a decade ago.

The report identifies that the ten largest emitters in the EU-ETS are all coal power plants, which together account for 25% of the power sector's emissions. While 2022 saw a 6% increase in coal emissions due to the energy crisis, the long-term trend remains a decline. Germany and Poland dominate the emissions landscape, and three utilities—RWE, PGE, and EPH—have remained the top emitters for six consecutive years.

Japan has the lowest share of clean electricity among G7 nations, with wind generating less than 1% of its power in 2022. While the 6th Strategic Energy Plan targets 59% clean power by 2030, it only allocates 5.7 GW to offshore wind, representing just 4% of the collective G7 target of 150 GW. Alternative pathways from Berkeley Lab and the Renewable Energy Institute suggest that leveraging Japan's theoretical offshore wind potential of 392 GW could enable the country to reach 80% to 90% decarbonised electricity by 2035.

The report argues that Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries can significantly lower wholesale power prices and enhance energy security by accelerating the deployment of wind and solar energy. By targeting 200 GW of capacity by 2030, the region could reach a 63% share of renewables in electricity generation. The analysis emphasizes that cross-country collaboration is essential to unlock over 100 GW of offshore wind potential and that aligning national strategies with EU policy could unlock approximately €137 billion in public funding.

The assessment finds that data transparency in Asia is generally insufficient, with 24 out of 39 economies scoring poorly. While high-income nations and a few lower-middle income economies like India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka show better transparency, the region overall struggles with publishing lags, geographical granularity, and time granularity. Only seven economies provide hourly data, and 75% of economies fail to make data available in a timely manner, hindering the analysis required for a renewable energy transition.

The report identifies New Zealand, Australia, and India as leaders in power data transparency, evaluating them across six criteria: time granularity, publishing lag, geographical granularity, fuel breakdown, ease of access, and additional data. It specifically examines the partnership between India's NITI Aayog and the Vasudha Foundation to create a centralized, open-access data platform for the country's energy transition. The document concludes with recommendations for improving data transparency across Asia, emphasizing machine-readable formats, unique identifiers, and the removal of access restrictions.

The document argues that high-quality, open power sector data is essential for the coal-to-clean electricity transition in Asia, a region containing 80% of global coal generation. It details a research methodology used to evaluate data transparency in 39 economies across East, Southeast, South, Central, and West Asia, as well as Oceania, by assessing 74 data sources against criteria such as time and geographical granularity, publishing lag, and ease of access.