More than 50% of countries worldwide have a total renewable energy pipeline that exceeds their existing fossil fuel capacity, a new study by the TPI Global Climate Transition Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has found.
The findings were published in the State of the Sovereign Transition 2025 report, which evaluated the climate change performance of 85 high-, middle- and low-income countries, against the Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Opportunities and Risks (ASCOR) framework.
The report found that China and Brazil boast the largest pipelines of renewable energy capacity.
However, at the same time, almost all (97%) countries remain off-track to meet 1.5°C-aligned emissions benchmarks by 2035, with Nigeria and the UK the only countries with a viable target in place.
Elsewhere, while the report noted progress in many countries in terms of the implementation of climate policies and associated finance, policy reversals in the United States have ‘dragged down’ the global average.
‘Strong policy signal’
“As climate action faces political and economic challenges, maintaining a strong policy signal for investors through national transition plans is more important than ever,” commented Setenay Hizliok, sovereign project lead, TPI Centre.
“Despite the withdrawal of climate targets and policies in the US, we observe new policies and disclosures especially in emerging markets.”
Core pillars
The report assesses the performance of countries across three pillars: climate ambition, policy implementation and the leveraging of finance.
As Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer at the Church of England Pensions Board noted, this year’s report indicates growing leadership from emerging markets, and a “disappointing pullback” from developed markets.
“Countries should take advantage of the unbiased and academically rigorous data and analysis to have meaningful conversations with investors and focus on the most critical and relevant factors for themselves,” he commented.
The findings of the report will be presented at a webinar taking place to coincide with COP30, entitled Investing in Sovereign Climate Action: Outlook from COP30, on 14 November. Read more here.
