Global Climate News

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that distributed solar generating capacity is the fastest-growing power source in Brazil, reaching **40 GW** installed through **June 30, 2025**, and accounting for **43% of all electricity capacity additions since 2019**. - **Main finding & figures:** Distributed solar grew from <1 GW in 2018 to **40 GW** by June 30, 2025; utility-scale solar was **17.9 GW** at the same date; total solar represented **23%** of Brazil’s total electric generating capacity. The EIA cites ANEEL data showing **>3.7 million** renewable distributed generation systems installed as of June 30, 2025 and **99%** of distributed capacity is solar. - **Policy and project context:** Brazil’s **net metering** framework (ANEEL rules from **2012**, updated **2015**, and a **2022–2023** law/regulation) shaped eligibility and capacity limits (initially up to **1 MW**, raised to **5 MW** for solar in 2015; limits for systems with storage set at **3 MW** in 2022/2023). ANEEL lists **122 GW** of planned utility-scale solar projects in its data as of June 30, 2025, with **6 GW** currently under construction; the largest state distributed capacities are **São Paulo (5.8 GW)**, **Minas Gerais (4.9 GW)**, **Paraná (3.7 GW)**, **Rio Grande do Sul (3.4 GW)**, and **Mato Grosso (2.6 GW)**.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change in federal policy-making. - **Main announcement/action:** EESI convened a briefing that provided a **foundational understanding of AI’s role in the climate and energy arena**, highlighting trade-offs where **AI can boost climate resilience and economic competitiveness** while also increasing **energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage**; speakers included **Ahmed Aziz Ezzat** and **Fatima Ahmad**, and speaker slides are available for download. - **Background and details:** Panelists discussed the **massive energy and water needs of data centers** running AI algorithms and concrete AI applications such as **precision agriculture**, **resilient grid infrastructure**, and **improved weather forecasting**; the briefing noted the federal role in R&D at the **Department of Energy’s National Laboratories** and examined **Congress’s role** in aligning AI development and use with global emissions reduction and adaptation goals.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Research have launched a second international funding call to back renewable hydrogen and derivative projects in non-European countries. - **Main announcement:** The ministries announced a **second international funding call** (building on **2021 funding guidelines**) to support projects **outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland**; **Module 1** (run by the economics ministry) will fund **construction of renewable hydrogen and derivative production facilities** and preparatory scientific studies, while **dedicated support for storage and transport infrastructure has been dropped** (but can be included within generation projects). - **Additional details:** **Module 2** (overseen by the research ministry) will fund **research, industrial trials, and training programmes** that **must link directly to a Module 1 initiative abroad**; the scheme is framed to expand opportunities for **German firms** to lead global hydrogen supply chains.

MIT researchers have developed CRESt (Copilot for Real-world Experimental Scientists), a multimodal platform that integrates literature, imaging, large language models, active learning, and robotic high-throughput experimentation to optimize materials recipes and accelerate discovery. - **Main announcement/action:** CRESt was used to explore **more than 900 chemistries over three months** and conduct **3,500 electrochemical tests**, discovering an **eight-element catalyst** that achieved a **9.3-fold improvement in power density per dollar** over pure palladium and delivered a **record power density** in a direct formate fuel cell while using **one-fourth the precious metals** of prior devices; the platform combines a **liquid-handling robot**, **carbothermal shock system**, **automated electrochemical workstation**, **automated electron/optical microscopy**, and a **natural-language user interface** that can include up to **20 precursor molecules and substrates**. - **Background and implementation details:** The approach blends **literature-derived knowledge embeddings** with experimental data using **principal component analysis** to reduce search space and **Bayesian optimization** for experiment selection; CRESt monitors experiments with cameras and vision-language models to detect and suggest fixes, and the work is reported in a paper published in **Nature** with lead authors including Ju Li, Zhen Zhang, Zhichu Ren, Chia-Wei Hsu, and Weibin Chen; human researchers remain responsible for most debugging and decision-making.

Ferrovia Capital led the completion of a deep retrofit at Tennyson Apartments in Edmonton, financed through CMHC's MLI Select program and third-party financing from Efficiency Capital, achieving substantial energy and emissions reductions. - **Project outcomes & financing:** The retrofit is **estimated to deliver a 32% reduction in energy consumption**, **44% savings on annual utility costs**, and a **33% cut in GHG emissions**. Financing combined **CMHC MLI Select** support and **third-party financing via Efficiency Capital**, with deferred maintenance **amortized over 20 years**. The team used a rapid initial audit due to a **short CMHC application window**, then completed a second detailed audit to meet and exceed targets. - **Systemic barriers & implementation details:** The article highlights **pre-construction bottlenecks** (tight timelines, duplicative audits) and limited delivery pathways; it notes the CMHC MLI Select program **unlocked financing** but could be more effective if timelines allowed more comprehensive audits or if incentives rewarded emissions reductions beyond minimums. The account is an announcement/report-style case study led by Pembina Institute staff documenting a completed retrofit and recommending practices for owners, lenders, and policymakers.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) published a newsletter highlighting recent climate solutions, policy movement on Capitol Hill, and a series of upcoming briefings and events. - **Main announcement/action:** EESI's newsletter spotlights program and policy updates including **Vermont’s WRAP** (Weatherization Repayment Assistance Program) which **allows households to install energy-efficient upgrades** with **no-money-down financing** and **no credit score requirement**; coverage also features **tide gauge expansion** to track coastal sea level rise and the Season 10 premiere of the podcast with **Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove** on circular economy policy. - **Background, details, and events:** - **Policy movement:** The **Senate** passed the **HABHRCA Act of 2025 (S.93)** to reauthorize harmful algal bloom response; the **Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025 (S.306)** also passed the Senate; the **House** passed the **Water Resources Technical Assistance Review Act (H.R.3427)**; the **Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act (H.R.528)** advanced in committee. - **Events (dates, times, locations, agendas):** - **Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Energy and the Environment** — Thursday, September 25, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (Room 2168) and online; **agenda:** energy/water needs of data centers, AI applications in precision agriculture, resilient grid infrastructure, weather forecasting, DOE National Laboratories R&D, Congress' role in AI+climate alignment. - **Powering Up: Improving Energy Grid Reliability and Resilience** — Thursday, October 9, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room and online; **agenda:** grid modernization, permitting reform, reliability and resilience to lower energy bills. - **How Can We Cut Industrial Emissions?** — Wednesday, October 22, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.; Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room and online; **agenda:** industrial decarbonization pathways and federal/private sector roles. - **Briefing Series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP30** — November 4-6, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m., online only; **agenda:** COP30 negotiations, Global Cooling Pledge, climate and global trade intersection.

Siemens Energy has delivered the first nine of 12 PEM electrolysers to Air Liquide’s 200MW Normand’Hy hydrogen production project in Port-Jérôme, France. - **Delivery & project details:** Siemens Energy delivered the **first 9 of 12 PEM electrolysers** to Air Liquide’s **200MW Normand’Hy** project in **Port-Jérôme, France**; the project is **expected to begin operations in 2026** and target **up to 28,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year**. - **Manufacturing & capacity background:** The electrolysers were built at the **Siemens Energy & Air Liquide joint venture gigafactory in Berlin**, described as one of Europe’s largest PEM stack production facilities with **annual capacity up to 1GW**, planned to **expand to 3GW by 2025** (information reported via LinkedIn and H2-view).

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is asking supporters to give through workplace payroll-based donations to advance implementation of recent U.S. climate laws and to support EESI's climate policy work. - **Main action:** EESI requests payroll-based workplace giving (including the Combined Federal Campaign, **CFC #10627**) so donors can support **implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act** and the **Bipartisan Infrastructure Law**; donors are encouraged to check with their **Human Resources Department** or use workplace giving platforms offered by employers (examples listed include **World Bank, Dell, Accenture, American Express, Amazon**). - **Details and specifics:** EESI highlights that **$8 per paycheck** will provide **every Congressional office** with an informational packet about EESI Congressional briefings, and **$29 per paycheck** will fund recording and livestreaming a Congressional briefing (video uploaded to EESI's **YouTube** channel); EESI notes its **nearly 40 years** of activity and membership in the **EarthShare** workplace giving federation.