Chart of the Week

Record renewables investment in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years.

Renewable investments grew 10% in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, totaling $386 billion. TSignificant contributions to this growth came from major offshore wind investments in Poland and Taiwan and increasing solar spend in China. [Zero Carbon Analytics]

Energy Transition

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet announced a $7.5 billion investment in renewable energy infrastructure in developing countries within the next five years. Founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and IKEA Foundation, the fund will use the investment to continue to build renewables-ready energy grids across Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. [Reuters]

The European Union committed €1.3 billion in loans and grants towards Namibia’s first large-scale solar powered green hydrogen facility. The investment aims to drive renewable energy deployment and job creation through unlocking up to €20 billion in private investment towards Namibia’s green industrialization.[The Brief]

South Korea broke ground on the world’s largest hydrogen fuel cell power plant, which will power 270,000 households annually from 2028. The 108 megawatt facility is backed by $580 million in investment from South Korea’s Regional Revitalization Investment Fund. [Fuel CellsWorks]

Green Mobility and Sustainable Fuels 

The OneWorld Airline Alliance invests in a new $150 million sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) fund aiming to support innovative technologies and lower the cost of SAF. The fund supports the alliance’s net zero goals, with members including Alaska and American Airlines targeting net zero by 2040 and 2050, respectively. [Wall Street Journal]

The LA 2028 Olympics committed to repurpose 500 EV school buses for decarbonized transport during the games. The games are partnering with Highland Electric Fleets to use buses from local school districts, highlighting the games ongoing commitment to sustainability. [LADowntown News]

DHL and Hapag-Lloyd signed a three-year partnership to deploy sustainable marine fuels to decarbonize their supply chains. The partnership began in July with an initial 25,000 tons of CO2e emission reduction using second-generation biofuels produced from waste and residue feedstock. [DHL]

Sustainable Materials & Products

Singapore introduced the world’s first government-supported plastic passport system, hoping to unlock a $4.2 billion annual plastics circular economy across the ASEAN region. The passports embed traceability at a molecular level across all polymer classes, allowing for plastics and their corresponding data to be tracked and aggregated, and facilitating a verifiable circular economic model. [ESG News]

Tata Steel and the Dutch Government intend to invest $2 billion into decarbonizing Tata’s IJmuiden plant, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 5.4 million tons annually. The investment cuts emissions through replacing blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace, and long-term decarbonization plans including carbon capture and low-carbon hydrogen production. [Outlook Business]

Mercedez-Benz reduces EV production emissions by 40% using lowcarbon aluminum. Through a new partnership with supplier Norsk Hydro, the aluminum production process willuse renewable energy and recycled scrap metal, emitting less than 25% of the average carbon dioxide emissions associated with the product, thus improving the emissions profile of company’s EVs. [CBT News]

Notable Corporate Commitments

McDonald’s committed to a $200 million investment in regenerative agriculture over seven years, launching the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative. The program covers four million acres of agricultural land across 38 states, and aims to restore habitats, improve soil health, support regenerative grazing practices, and conserve water. [Yahoo Finance]

Mars partnered with Enel Energy to launch a Renewable Accelerator phasing out fossil fuels across the company’s full value-chain and reducing its total carbon footprint by 10%. The first three contracts account for 1.8 terawatt hours of energy, with Mars being the sole off taker for three solar fields in Texas. [PR Newswire]

Global Climate Commitments and Progress

Brazilian President Lula de Silva announced a $1 billion investment into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a new multilateral fund aimed at preserving tropical forest ecosystems globally. Ahead of COP30, Brazil is targeting $25 billion in public funding to unlock a further $100 billion in private investment, with the fund paying stipends to countries based on their national forest preservation performance. [Climate Change News]

Australia sets a new national climate target for between 62-70% emissions reductions by 2035 relative to 2005 levels. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled the targets ahead of the UN General Assembly, highlighting that the new target was science-backed and provides a necessary ramp up towards Australia’s 2050 net zero goal. [AP News]

Multimedia Insights

This video essay from the Financial Time’s Climate Capitalseries discusses Taiwan’s ambitious energy transition goals and immense wind energy potential, with some of the fastest global wind speeds. While regulatory obstacles have inhibited the industry’s growth thus far, the video discusses future avenues for success towards Taiwan’s 2030 target for 13 GW of offshore wind.

This episode of Energy Gangis live from Climate Week, recapping the week’s discussions with Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group. They discuss shifting international dynamics ahead of COP30, the intersection of AI and Energy, and drivers of investment in renewables.

Climate Events 

IUCN World Conservation Congress Dates: October 9-15 October 2025

Preview: The IUCN World Conservation Congress convenes once every four years to set global conservation and sustainable development agendas, share knowledge on conservation science, and showcase research. This year’s edition meets in Abu Dhabi, and will focus on scaling up resilient conservation initiatives, delivering on equity, and reducing climate risk.

The 6thWorld Congress on Agroforestry

Dates: October 20-24 2025 

Preview: This event will bring together global agroforestry stakeholders in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme of “Agroforestry for People, Planet, and Profit”. The discussions will highlight building climate resilience into agroforestry systems, advancing scientific research, and mitigating future climate risk.

This material is solely for informational purposes and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy securities. The views expressed herein are those of the third-party sources and not necessarily those of TPG.