Asia

China:

* Power shortages and a cold winter could send China's annual coal imports to the second-highest level on record in 2021, despite efforts to fight climate change and achieve self-reliance in energy, analysts said. Analysts expect the world's largest coal consumer to buy 310 million to 320 million tonnes of the fossil fuel in 2021, while Wood Mackenzie analysts expect 325 million tonnes.

India:

* India's green bond issuance is set to reach a new record in 2022 following an exceptionally strong 2021. Corporate and bank issuers in India are likely to tap the climate-related debt market more actively as the world's third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide will need as much as $10 trillion to be carbon-neutral by 2070, experts said. More issuers will also turn to the offshore market where there is a deeper and wider pool of climate-conscious investors.

Europe

United Kingdom:

* Britain is quietly amassing a pipeline of some of Europe's largest solar projects — developments of up to several hundred megawatts each that would rapidly grow the country's renewables fleet and assist in its pursuit of net-zero. Eleven projects, the majority at least 350 MW in size, have so far been made public by the U.K. Planning Inspectorate, the government agency responsible for approving nationally significant infrastructure. Notably, most plan to make use of connections on the transmission grid left vacant by long-retired coal plants.

North America

Canada:

* TransAlta Corp. completed the coal-to-gas conversion process at the Keephills 3 plant, marking the full transition of its coal-fired facilities in Alberta to natural gas operation.