Energy Transition, Renewables, Emissions, Carbon
September 23, 2026
ET Highlights: Data center impact on energy transition, progress in UK hydrogen pipeline project, Japan Airlines’ CO2 removal purchase deal
Energy Transition Highlights: Our editors and analysts bring together the biggest stories in the industry this week, from renewables to storage to carbon prices.
Top story
Global AI data center, air conditioning power demand stalling energy transition: ETC
Surging electricity demand from AI data centers and air conditioning is slowing progress on the global energy transition, even as clean-energy technologies are being deployed faster and more cheaply than expected, according to Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission. Much of the new demand continue to be met by coal- and gas-fired power generation, limiting emissions reductions.
Turner said rapid growth in renewables is largely meeting previously unforeseen increases in demand rather than meaningfully displacing coal use. As a result, clean-energy expansion has not yet translated into the emissions declines needed to meet global climate goals.
He noted that falling costs for solar photovoltaics, batteries and electric vehicles, together with strong deployment rates, provide reasons for optimism. Clean electricity supply grew at 2.3 times the rate of overall energy supply in 2025, underscoring the pace of technology adoption.
Despite those gains, global emissions have only plateaued rather than fallen. Turner said the world is not making progress at anything close to the pace required to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to well below 2°C, let alone 1.5°C.
The warning comes as the UN Environment Programme reported earlier this month that the world is on track to overshoot the 1.5°C warming threshold, highlighting the urgent need for stronger action to reduce emissions and accelerate decarbonization.
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Platts-assessed Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) current-month strip on Sept. 16.
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Groups sue US EPA over repeal of power plant greenhouse gas standards
Multiple health and climate organizations filed a petition for review of the US Environmental Protection Agency's finalized rule repealing carbon dioxide limits imposed on power plants. The Sept. 17 petition from the American Health Association, American Lung Association, Clean Air Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and Clean Wisconsin asks the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to determine whether the EPA's actions violate the Clean Air Act.
National Gas advances UK hydrogen pipeline project with engineering design
National Gas has moved into the advanced engineering design phase for a 350-mile hydrogen pipeline linking St Fergus in northeast Scotland to Teesside on England's east coast, the gas transmission system operator said. The pipeline is the second phase of Project Union, and National Gas plans to develop a 1,500-mile national hydrogen network connecting major industrial clusters and hydrogen production centers, it added. The engineering design will define technical requirements, estimate costs and assess risks before detailed construction work begins. -
Hong Kong plan sets 1%-3% SAF target for departing flights by 2030
Hong Kong has set a target for 1%-3% of the jet fuel used on departing flights from Hong Kong International Airport to come from sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, as part of its 2026-30 development plan, which anchors a broader push to build a regionally competitive supply chain across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The policy is gaining commercial weight as Hong Kong-based EcoCeres advances plans for a 450,000 metric ton/year production hub in Dongguan that could affect jet fuel trade flows across southern China.
Latest RGGI auction drives bearish pricing on secondary market
The third-quarter 2026 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction cleared at a record high, RGGI data shows, with prices and volumes surging as Virginia resumed participation in the multi-state carbon trading program. Auction 73 cleared at $37.65 per emissions allowance, up 8% from Q2 2026 and up 21% from the previous record set in Q4 2025. Some market participants paid close attention to the results for signs indicating the supply-and-demand dynamic. All 28.5 million allowances offered were sold at the auction, including 5.74 million allowances from Virginia, marking a 56% increase in auction volumes quarter over quarter, and an expansion in the program’s size.
Japan Airlines, Climeworks forge first CORSIA-eligible carbon removal deal
Japan Airlines and Climeworks Solutions have signed what the companies describe as the world's first purchase agreement for carbon dioxide removal credits designed to meet the requirements of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, they said. This deal marks a potential turning point for the broader integration of carbon removal into compliance markets and comes as the aviation sector faces mounting pressure to find credible decarbonization pathways beyond sustainable aviation fuel, particularly for long-haul routes where abatement options remain limited.
EU Council raises the bar on free carbon allowances for energy-intensive industries
The EU Council has moved to substantially expand free carbon allowances for energy-intensive industries from 2026 to 2030, agreeing a more generous allocation package than the European Commission had proposed in July in a bid to protect sectors most exposed to carbon leakage. EU ambassadors agreed to release around 88 million additional allowances under the bloc's Emissions Trading System for sectors covered by heat and fuel benchmarks, equivalent to roughly €6 billion in cost savings according to European Commission estimates.