Energy Transition, Renewables, Emissions, Carbon
July 1, 2026
ET Highlights: SBTi’s new net zero standard, China’s renewable hydrogen consumption targets, UN chief’s environmental plea to AI firms
Energy Transition Highlights: Our editors and analysts bring together the biggest stories in the industry this week, from renewables to storage to carbon prices.
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INTERVIEW: SBTi's Net Zero 2.0 standard aims to push companies to take action
The Science Based Targets Initiative's most recent update to its Net Zero standard aimed to push companies toward implementing decarbonization goals, moving beyond simple target-setting and environmental ambition, SBTi's Chief Technical Officer Alberto Carrillo Pineda told Platts in a recent interview.
The group published its long-awaited 2.0 version of the standard on June 11, following one year of surveys with 323 companies and pilot tests with 50 selected companies. The idea of the revision is to provide companies with a framework that allows them to act, Carrillo Pineda said in the interview.
The 1.0 Net Zero was launched on October 2021 and quickly became the gold standard of environmental certifications. While including a path for target implementation, the focus of version 1.0 was primarily goal setting and decarbonization ambitions.
SBTi is now focusing on how companies will implement targets and the challenges they face when doing so, according to Carrillo Pineda.
Benchmark of the Week
$14.2/mtCO2e
Platts-assessed cost of Natural Carbon Capture Year One on June 26, in the global spot market.
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China issues renewable energy consumption rules for industry that include green hydrogen
China issued rules for the minimum consumption of renewable energy by industries on that include renewable hydrogen and its derivatives to count toward renewable energy consumption. The "Minimum Proportion Target for Renewable Energy Consumption and the Responsibility Weight System for Renewable Energy Power Consumption" -- Notice No. 42-- will take effect from Aug. 1, the National Development and Reform Commission said.
UN chief urges AI firms to disclose environmental impact, calls for faster methane action
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on artificial intelligence companies to publicly disclose the environmental footprint of their data centers and power them entirely with renewable energy by 2030, linking surging electricity demand from AI to the broader climate crisis driven by fossil fuel dependence. The appeal, delivered during a keynote address at London Climate Action Week on June 23, forms part of a six-point plan to accelerate the clean energy transition as the conflict in the Middle East underscores the vulnerability of oil-dependent economies.
EU extends third hydrogen bank auction funding to four more projects
The European Commission has invited a further four renewable hydrogen projects to sign grant agreements under its third hydrogen bank auction, after remaining funds were reallocated, an EC official told Platts. The four projects, in Germany, Portugal and Spain, total 77 megawatts in capacity, and secured fixed premiums of Eur1.09-1.48/kg ($1.24-$1.68/kg), compared with the 439-MW of projects under the original "Renewable Fuel of Non-Biological Origin" hydrogen category at 57-98 euro cent/kg.
INTERVIEW: India's V.O. Chidambaranar Port to conduct methanol bunkering trial in August
India's V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is to conduct methanol bunkering trial on Aug. 15 as it seeks to transform into a renewable fuels export and bunkering hub, Chairperson Susanta Kumar Purohit, told Platts. The government-owned port in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, aims to facilitate 1 million metric tons of renewable methanol for bunkering and about 2 million mt of renewable ammonia, primarily for export, by 2030, eyeing the shipping route from the west to east that is heavily navigated near the port, according to Purohit.
South Korea launches carbon capture project with LG Chem, POSCO
South Korea's Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology launched a large-scale carbon capture and utilization project in partnership with LG Chem and POSCO Holdings, to convert industrial CO2 emissions into sustainable aviation and marine fuels, the ministry said. The CCU mega project will receive Won 238 billion ($153.66 million) in government funding through 2030 to demonstrate technologies that capture carbon dioxide from power plants and steel mills and convert it into high-value products, including e-sustainable aviation fuel and methanol, the ministry said.