Ensuring a Just Transition to Net-Zero Emissions

The world is at a crucial juncture where decisive action is urgently needed to tackle climate change. However, without consideration for distributional concerns, the costs associated with climate mitigation policies risk falling disproportionately on certain workers, sectors, and socioeconomic groups, exacerbating existing inequalities and undermining popular support for climate action. Embedding the principle of a just transition into climate strategies is crucial to address these issues and accelerate climate action. Drawing on recent OECD work, this paper examines the development of, and different approaches to, the concept of just transition, including how it is put into practice by public and …

Energy Transition Outlook: CCS to 2050

The surge in installation reflects a widening appreciation of the decarbonization role of CCS. So far, the heavy lifting on carbon capture development has been done within oil and gas production — for natural gas processing and enhanced oil recovery. But after 2030, the market for CCS will increasingly address hard-to-decarbonize emission sources. With this shift, we forecast that North America will be joined by Europe as a leading region for CCS deployment…

The Scale of Significance: Power Plants

The Trump Administration is openly questioning the significance of U.S. contributions to climate change, playing down U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as contributing only “some mysterious amount above zero to climate change.”

According to a leaked draft of a proposed regulatory repeal, Trump’s EPA will compare the U.S. power sector’s greenhouse gas emissions to worldwide totals and find, judged on that relative scale, the sector’s contribution to climate change is neither “significant” nor “meaningful.” That kind of skewed appraisal would produce the reductio ad absurdum under which no U.S. sector, sliced thinly enough, is ever a significant source of greenhouse gases—a …

Decentralised Renewable Energy for Agriculture in Nepal

This report assesses the market for the integration of decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions for powering agriculture in Nepal. The study takes into consideration four agri-food value chains – for apples, maize, fisheries and millet – identifies suitable DRE solutions and entry points for each, and estimates investment potential.

The findings of the study indicate that the greatest opportunities for DRE solutions are to power non-mobile equipment such water pumps for irrigation, and processing equipment such as shellers, mills, dryers and aerators. There is also significant potential for the application of DRE to power cold storage chains, which could further …

Delivering Affordability

This report summarizes research finding that battery electric heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) are on track to become the most cost-effective option for freight transport. Across all major vehicle segments, battery electric HDVs are projected to be cheaper on a per- mile basis than diesel models by 2030 in most states, provided policymakers address the factors currently driving new battery electric HDV prices in the United States above international norms. The growing affordability of battery electric HDVs is driven by the faster-than-expected convergence of heavy-duty battery costs with industry-wide average battery prices.1 This shift has the potential to reduce freight costs—delivering economy-wide …

State Funding and Financing Strategies for Advancing Energy Projects

Governors can effectively advance their energy policy goals — such as system modernization, reliability, cost reductions or addressing resource adequacy — by leveraging innovative state funding and financing mechanisms alongside federal programs and funding opportunities and private-sector investment. By creating tailored financing mechanisms that reduce barriers for investments, establishing state-level green banks and state energy financing institutions (SEFIs), and incentivizing private-sector investment, Governors can expertly leverage private and household investments to address the energy needs of their states and territories.…

Projected Effects of the Foreign Pollution Fee Act of 2025

This issue brief studies the economic effects of the 2025 Foreign Pollution Fee Act using Resources for the Future’s Global Economic Model.

Carbon–intensity-based border measures, in which a country imposes tariffs on imported goods according to their carbon emissions from each unit of production, have emerged as a key element of the trade and climate policy conversation in the United States and abroad. Proponents of such measures in the US Congress have cited multiple potential benefits, including supporting domestic competitiveness, reducing emissions in US-consumed goods, and reducing the emissions intensity of domestic manufacturing.…

Critical Mineral Recycling & Innovation

“Critical Mineral Recycling & Innovation” is the fourth and final white paper of the Terranaut Minologues, a series by OurEnergyPolicy with generous underwriting from The Earthshot Foundation aimed at addressing opportunities in securing access to critical minerals for the energy transition. This paper addresses the opportunities that can be found in waste reprocessing, critical material recycling, and battery chemistry innovations.…

The Colors of Hydrogen Production: Emissions, Costs, and Concerns

Hydrogen is a colorless gas that can be produced through a wide range of methods using a variety of raw materials or “feedstocks,” such as coal, natural gas, and water. Different production processes for hydrogen gas result in distinct byproducts like carbon dioxide, solid carbon, and oxygen. These differing processes are often assigned a color, which aids in quick identification but can obscure details about the emissions and impacts of each process. Understanding the full environmental, economic, and social implications of each type of hydrogen production is crucial in determining its role in the energy landscape.

This 4-page fact sheet …

Improved Lyrebird Optimization for Multi Microgrid Sectionalizing and Cost Efficient Scheduling of Distributed Generation

The rising energy demand, substantial transmission and distribution losses, and inconsistent power quality in remote regions highlight the urgent need for innovative solutions to ensure a stable electricity supply. Microgrids (MGs), integrated with distributed generation (DG), offer a promising approach to address these challenges by enabling localized power generation, improved grid flexibility, and enhanced reliability. This paper introduces the Improved Lyrebird Optimization Algorithm (ILOA) for optimal sectionalizing and scheduling of multi-microgrid systems, aiming to minimize generation costs and active power losses while ensuring system reliability. To enhance search efficiency, ILOA incorporates the Levy Flight technique for local search, which introduces …