UNEP Report: Climate Tech Progress and Gaps

“Durable carbon removal is moving from pilot to procurement.” According to the Climate Technology Progress Report 2025, institutional buyers like Frontier and NextGen are shifting focus to permanent removals with 100+ year durability — with biochar and BECCS leading as scalable, near-term solutions. The report also calls this movement part of the “Decentralized Energy Transition” — modular, site-integrated technologies that reduce permitting risk and CAPEX. That’s exactly where we operate — locating at the waste stream to turn waste into clean power and durable carbon storage. UN Environment Programme -

Our paper on the mechanisms and contexts of carbon pricing is now published! 📈 Thousands of climate policies have been implemented to date, with some achieving significant emission reductions. However, global greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing and there are still debates around the effectiveness of some popular policy options. 🧩 This article presents the first realist synthesis on the effectiveness of carbon pricing policies, shedding light on under what conditions and why they can be effective. We found evidence that in the short-term, the emissions are reduced through ⛽ fuel switching, 💻 efficiency improvements, 🏭 downscaling of emission-intensive activities, and 🌐 leakage. We also identified emission reduction mechanisms that are less well-studied, such as  🌱 low-carbon technology scaling, 💶 investment, and 👩🔬 research and development activities. These need further primary work to confirm their impacts. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/eNQ5ugrv

🚀 Launched today: The 2025 Climate Technology Progress Report (#CTPR) — spotlighting how bio-based technologies are powering the global bioeconomy and climate action. Developed by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, in collaboration with the United Nations Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) and the UN Climate Change Technology Executive Committee, the report highlights how innovation and policy are converging to accelerate sustainable growth. During the launch, Dr Stephen Minas, the Chair of the CTCN Advisory Board, emphasized that “the global South is leading in bioeconomy innovation and integration.” Martin Stefan Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at UN Environment Programme, noted that 2025’s next-generation NDCs offer “a strategic opportunity to leverage the bioeconomy to achieve both climate and development goals.” 📘 Explore how bio-based technologies - from waste-to-energy to advanced biomaterials - are reshaping industries and driving a low-carbon future: https://lnkd.in/d2qmPSng #ClimateTech

Honoured to contribute the foreword to the 2025 Climate Technology Progress Report along with my co-chairs from the United Nations Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) and the Technology Executive Committee. This years report examines the role of nature in climate technologies. As the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere increases #NatureBasedSolutions give us innovative ways to remove and store it. When building housing a single cubic meter of laminated timber can sequester nearly a tonne of carbon. In coastal zones mangroves can hold up to 4 times more carbon than tropical rainforests while simultaneously protecting coastlines from storm damage and sea level rise. The creation of new materials like hemp based concrete and implementation of nature based cooling can reduce the climate impact of #DataCenters. Nature based technologies like these underpin the creation of a #bioeconomy that simultaneously creates value and provides critical environmental services. The CTPR provides essential guidance for governments and implementation partners on how to launch the bioeconomy by integrating nature based technologies with finance, carbon markets and policy. Dr Stephen Minas Thibyan Ibrahim Dietram Oppelt Ariesta Ningrum #NatureBasedSolutions #ClimateTechnology #COP30 #SIDS #CarbonStorage #BioChar #Hempcrete UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre

Bio-based technologies can power a cleaner future. Innovations like turning food waste into fuel could drastically cut our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. A new report by United Nations Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) and the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre finds that breakthroughs in bio-based tech are making these solutions more practical than ever and more countries are adopting policies to use them across sectors from construction to energy generation. Find out more from The Climate Technology Progress Report 2025: https://lnkd.in/d2qmPSng

EPC Value in the Bioeconomy Transition: Insights from the UNEP 2025 Climate Technology Report Ahead of COP30 in Brazil, the UNEP Climate Technology Progress Report: Advancing Biobased Technologies in the Bioeconomy offers insights for EPC contractors in oil, gas, and petrochemicals. The global bioeconomy is projected to reach $30 trillion by 2050 (UNEP-CCC, 2025), with biobased technologies reshaping the industrial landscape. Key Opportunities for EPC Contractors Mature biobased technologies—such as anaerobic digestion, transesterification, and advanced gasification—enable the conversion of waste and residues into renewable fuels, chemicals, and power. The conversion of the former ENI refinery in Venice (Porto Marghera) into a world’s class, commercial-scale biorefinery is a concrete example of how legacy assets can be transformed to deliver advanced biofuels and sustainable chemicals, leveraging existing infrastructure and EPC know-how. This demonstrates how EPCs can lead in repurposing traditional assets for sustainable production, reducing lifecycle GHG emissions by up to 80–90% compared to fossil-based processes (UNEP-CCC, IEA). Biogenic carbon capture, utilization, and storage (Bio-CCUS) is a net-zero pathway, yet current global deployment is only 2 Mt CO₂/year versus the 185 Mt/year needed by 2030 (IEA). EPCs are uniquely positioned to deliver the complex infrastructure required for scale-up—biomass logistics, carbon transport, and storage—while integrating circular design and robust certification systems. Key markets such as the GCC (notably the UAE) are investing heavily in CCS, as highlighted at COP28 in Dubai and demonstrated by Project already underway, like Hail and Ghasha. Finance & Risk Management can also create a divide. Upfront costs and market uncertainty are major barriers. EPCs with strong project finance and risk-sharing capabilities can unlock financing, public-private partnerships, and carbon market access (e.g., Article 6.4, VCS), accelerating project bankability and de-risking investment. My Perspective Visibility on regulatory scenarios for the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies and harmonized standards are critical enablers. Climate policy are volatile - but Export Credit Agency (ECA) rules are already here shaping the rules of the game. EPCs that anticipate and align with these frameworks will be best positioned to capture market shares and deliver resilient, future-proof projects. Latin America stands out for policy support, but less obvious regions like the GCC—with its strong focus on CCS and innovation—also offer significant opportunities. The industry’s ability to attract and retain talent with a broad, sustainability-driven perspective will be key. Experienced professionals will be required to drive the integration of sustainable technologies and circular models in complex industrial environments and allow organizations to take the lead in the bioeconomy transition #EPC #Sustainability #Innovation

Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology continues to receive significantly less investment than carbon capture and storage (CCS), despite its potential to generate commercial revenue and support decarbonisation across a range of industries. This observation follows Wood Mackenzie’s white paper on CCU, released in collaboration with the World Economic Forum during Climate Week in New York. See the story here: https://lnkd.in/efVZxeUe

🌍 Launched today: the 2025 Climate Technology Progress Report (CTPR) The new UN Environment Programme Climate Technology Progress Report 2025 explores how biobased technologies and the bioeconomy can bridge climate and nature goals – advancing both mitigation and adaptation in the lead-up to COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The report highlights how innovations in biogenic carbon solutions, sustainable land use, and advanced biobased materials can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future — with a global bioeconomy valued at USD 4–5 trillion and projected to reach 30 trillion by 2050. SEI Senior Research Fellow Francis Xavier Johnson contributed as lead author of Chapter 5: policies, institutions, governance and international cooperation, which explores how effective governance and international collaboration can unlock sustainable bioeconomy potential worldwide. 👉 Explore the report: https://buff.ly/J9FaTlE #CTPR #ClimateTech #Bioeconomy #ClimateAction #COP30 #ClimateInnovation

🗞️ Climate Tech | Europe Carbon Unbound Europe recently hosted discussions on scaling Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies amidst a dynamic global market. The focus was on overcoming challenges and leveraging opportunities in CDR to address climate change. Key insights from the event include: - The CDR market is projected to grow significantly, with investments expected to surpass $10 billion by 2030. - Emerging techniques like Direct Air Capture (DAC) and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) are advancing rapidly. - Experts highlight the necessity for large-scale deployment of CDR to achieve net-zero emissions. - Challenges such as high costs and energy requirements need ongoing research and development. This development signals a pivotal shift towards integrating CDR into global climate strategies, emphasizing the importance of technological innovation and policy support. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dPd-eehE #ClimateTech #CCUS #CarbonMarkets #Decarbonized — The Decarbonized team.

Climate tech... or energy security/resilience tech? At a time where climate is slipping down the list of priority topics in many geographies (https://lnkd.in/eZSQVq_5.), it is important to make sure that politicians and policy makers understand one fundamental fact: the energy transition brings a lot of benefits besides climate. The McKinsey & Company sustainability team just published an interesting note on this point. The authors show that climate technologies can help on energy security, energy access, emission reduction and industrial competitiveness. An economy based on fossil fuels, besides being inefficient, is one based on continuous imports of large quantities of oil, gas and coal (to a lesser extent) which are burnt and lost (to the atmosphere). An electrotech-based economy (to use the language developed in that excellent report: https://lnkd.in/eHQYCgDZ) offers the prospects of a more resilient and efficient energy system. Of course, that new system needs to be built (it is, although not fast enough) while the other needs to sunset. But the main point remains that even if not for climate, decarbonising and electrifying is the way to go... Link to the note (and source of the image): https://lnkd.in/eG8-f53D #energyresilience #energysecurity #transition