Welcome to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Branded as an electric vehicle (EV) boom, Indonesia’s nickel production has risen exponentially — approximately 67% of global production. This nickel boom is attributed to an increased EV battery production. However, a closer look reveals that most Indonesian nickel is still used in the production of stainless steel.

In CREA’s latest report, ‘Indonesia’s nickel: Aimed at EVs, but still parked in stainless steel’, analysts highlight the following salient points:

➡️ 83% of Indonesia’s 2025 nickel production was absorbed by the stainless steel sector, according to publicly available data

🚨Only 17% now goes into the EV battery supply chain, revealing a significant mismatch between the country’s ‘green nickel’ marketing and actual market demand

🔋 Indonesia’s nickel downstreaming strategy also faces a major threat as nickel-free batteries gain traction globally, especially in China

🏭 And the market faces a ‘dirty nickel’ paradox due to massive reliance on off-grid captive coal power

To read the full report, tap on the link in bio

#Indonesia #Nickel #EV #CleanEnergy #CleanAir

In March 2026, several provincial capitals in China failed to meet the new annual PM2.5 standard, which was changed from 35 µg/m³ to 30 µg/m³ also in March of this year.

CREA’s new monthly air quality snapshot for China shows that:

⚠️ Air quality worsened in 15 of China’s provincial capitals in March 2026, with 18 cities failing the tightened annual PM2.5 standard, up from 6 the previous month

💨 Monthly PM2.5 and ozone levels rose year-on-year (YoY) in more than half of all provincial capitals

📈Jinan, Changchun, & Wuhan saw the largest YoY rises in PM2.5 concentrations attributable to emissions

🌦️ Harbin’s sharp increase was driven mostly by unfavourable weather conditions, not higher emissions

🔴 Worst PM2.5: Harbin in Heilongjiang, followed by Changchun in Jilin, and Shenyang in Liaoning

🔴 Worst ozone: Kunming in Yunnan; Lhasa in Tibet; & Jinan in Shandong

🔴 Worst NO2: Shenyang; Tianjin, & Harbin

Tap on the link in bio to read the full snapshot.

#China #AirPollution #PM2.5 #CleanEnergy #ChinaMonthlySnapshot

🇨🇳NEW Report | Reclaiming credibility in China’s steel industry: Climate ambition, financial resilience, and market trust

China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of Steel; the sector plays a central role in both China’s domestic decarbonisation pathway and the evolution of global steel markets.

CREA’s new research raises a broader question: whether China’s steel sector can simultaneously meet its climate ambitions, maintain financial stability, and sustain constructive engagement with global markets. Restoring credibility will require structural adjustments that align climate commitments with financial discipline and evolving global trade dynamics.

To find out more, tap the link in bio.

#china #steel #carbonemissions #airpollution greensteel

🇹🇼⚕️NEW REPORT | Clean chips, clear air: Public health impacts from electronics industry electricity consumption in Taiwan

CREA’s latest analysis with @greenpeace_tw reveals that, in Taiwan, significant health and economic impacts of air pollution could be mitigated if Taiwan’s electronics manufacturing industry were to transition to renewable energy. The report analyses the air-quality impacts across three scenarios: no transition, achieving 2030 RE commitments, and transitioning to 100% RE. The following are the key findings of the report:

💨 Under a ‘current-mix’ scenario, if RE procurement by Taiwan electronics manufacturing (EM) companies persists at the 2023 level, air pollution attributable to this industry in 2030 would be linked to an estimated:

☠️ 90 premature deaths
😷 277 children suffering from asthma
🛏️ Nearly 19,000 work absences
❗ Almost USD 500M in health-related economic damages

📉 If leading semiconductor companies TSMC, Micron, and UMC in Taiwan can further speed up RE targets, the impacts would be substantially reduced, saving around 41 lives and USD 229M per year

🪙 TSMC, which has the highest RE target for 2030 (60%), would account for almost USD 169M in avoided health damages

As Taiwan’s electricity demand rises with the expansion of the AI industry, replacing fossil fuels with RE delivers substantial public health benefits.

To learn more, find the link to the full report in the bio.

#taiwan #fossilfuels #renewableenergy♻️ #ai #airpollution

🇷🇺 Russian fossil fuel exports & sanctions

📉 In February 2026, Russia’s monthly fossil fuel export revenues saw a 7% month-on-month increase to EUR 492 mn per day. This was despite only a 1% month-on-month increase in volumes.

In February, the top importers of RU fossil fuels were:
🇨🇳 China
🇹🇷 Turkiye
🇮🇳 India
🇪🇺 EU
🇧🇷Brazil

CREA’s analysis shows that the current energy crisis in #straitofhormuz could be EU’s opportunity to invest more in renewable energy sources, especially solar energy, which has already reduced the bloc’s reliance on gas, resulting in savings of an estimated 20.2 million on an average, per month.

In February, the top EU importers were:
🇫🇷 France
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇪🇸 Spain
🇳🇱 Netherlands

🇷🇺 Click on the link in bio to read the full monthly analysis on fossil fuel exports from Russia.

#Russia #europe #Renewableenergy #FossilFuels

India’s ambient air quality winter 2025-26 snapshot shows that winter air pollution worsens compared to last year: 204 cities breach air quality standards, up from 173, from 1 October 2025 to 28 February 2026. Key highlights from the snapshot are:

⚠️ ZERO cities complied with the World Health Organization safe guideline of
PM2.5 < 5µg/m³

⚠️ Ghaziabad ranked most polluted city in India in winter 2025-26, w/average PM2.5 concentration of 172 µg/m³, followed by Noida and Delhi

💡🌿 In the state of Karnataka, Chamarajanagar was the cleanest city in India during winter 2025-26, w/average PM2.5 of 19 µg/m³

For more detailed insights, find the full snapshot in the link in bio.

#india #CPCB #AirPollution #Ghaziabad #centralpollutioncontrolboard

New health impact assessment report – Air quality, health, and economic impact of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Bokaro plant in Jharkhand, India. Key takeaways from the report include:

🚨 Air pollutant emissions from India’s Bokaro plant lead to an estimated 270 low birthweight births, 280 preterm births, and 25 new cases of child asthma in each year of operation

💨 The plant uses highly polluting reactor fuels including coal and coke and lacks adequate air pollution control measures in several of its stacks

☠️ In adults, the emissions are linked to an estimated 170 deaths due to exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 and 290 asthma-related emergency room visits per year

🚨 The plant’s emissions can also be linked to approximately 123,000 days of work absences due to air pollution-related health issues

🚨 These absences represent lost productivity, disrupted workflows, and reduced economic output across multiple sectors, the costs of which are estimated at approximately USD 79 mn in 2023

⚠️ There are no national standards for SO2 emissions from sinter plants, mill zones and refractory material plants in India, despite them being recognised as sources of SO2 emissions

Read the full report 👉 link in bio.

#india #airpollution #steel #health #crea

Anubha Aggarwal, analyst at CREA, shares insights in the latest CREA report, “Air quality, health, and economic impacts of SAIL Bokaro steel plant in India.”

The key findings of the report are:
• 170 premature deaths annually due to PM2.5 and NO₂ exposure
• 290 asthma-related emergency room visits each year
• 25 new childhood asthma cases annually
• Nearly USD 80 million in economic losses per year

In this report, Anubha also highlights a regulatory blind spot: India currently lacks process-specific SO₂ emission standards for key intermediary operations such as sintering, refractory units, and mill zones — even though sintering is a major source of sulphur dioxide emissions in integrated steel production.

#India #AirPollution #Steel #Indiansteel #crea

4 YEARS OF WAR: Russian fossil fuel revenues tank to 27% below pre-full-scale invasion levels

📉 In 4th year of invasion, Russia’s fossil fuel export revenues totalled EUR 193 bn: 19% year-on-year (YoY) drop & 27% below pre-invasion

🇪🇺 EU’s imports ➡️ EUR 14.5 bn, down 36% YoY

🚢 Yet, Russia’s crude export volumes remain 6% above pre-invasion levels — highlighting reliance on ‘shadow’ vessels

💡 By 4th quarter of 2025, sanctioned tankers carried over 60% of Russia’s seaborne crude exports — showing how Russia remains dependent on sanctioned tankers

🚩 False flagging has become circumvention strategy in 4th year of full-scale invasion

❗️’Shadow’ vessels operating with false flags grew from 12 in Jan. 2025 to peak of 109 in Oct.—over 9-fold increase—then dropped as ships registered directly under Russian flag began to rise

🇦🇺 Australia was single largest oil product importer among sanctioning countries, purchasing estimated EUR 1.6 bn of imports refined from Russian crude

🇺🇸 USA was 2nd at EUR 799 mn

🏛️ CREA recommends:

✔️ Tackle loopholes & gaps in sanctions
✔️ Tackle ‘shadow’ fleet – Russian fossil fuel revenues
✔️ Establish ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ standards for EU tanker sales
✔️ Cut off all G7+ services that facilitate transport of Russian hydrocarbons globally

#Russia #Ukraine #CREA #FossilFuels #Europe

🇷🇺 Monthly analysis of Russian fossil fuel exports & sanctions

📉 In January 2026, Russia’s monthly fossil fuel export revenues saw a marginal 3% month-on-month decline to EUR 464 mn per day — the lowest figures since full-scale invasion of Ukraine

In January 2026, the top importers of RU fossil fuels were:

🇨🇳 China
🇮🇳 India
🇹🇷 Turkiye
🇪🇺 EU
🇧🇷 Brazil

🇮🇳 📉 India’s Russian crude imports continued to decrease, dropping further to 12% in January

🛢️This drop reflects no imports to Jamnagar refinery, likely as a result of OFAC sanctions on Rosneft

In January, the top EU importers were:

🇫🇷 France
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇸🇰 Slovakia
🇪🇸 Spain

🏛️ CREA highlights the need for stronger enforcement of sanctions, detention of tankers flying a false flag and a ban on maritime services used to transport all Russian fossil fuels.
The full monthly analysis on fossil fuel exports from Russia is available on the CREA website.

#Russia #FossilFuels #CREA #Energy #ukraine

PM2.5 fell in most provincial capitals of China, in January 2026, except in northern cities due to weather. Read on for more insights into how China’s air quality fared last month.

🔴 In January 2026: Urumqi in Xinjiang had highest monthly average PM2.5 among Chinaʼs provincial capitals, followed by Shijiazhuang in Hebei; Zhengzhou in Henan; Taiyuan in Shanxi

🔴 Worst ozone: Haikou in Hainan; Guangzhou in Guangdong; & Fuzhou in Fujian

🔴 Worst NO2: Urumqi; Guangzhou & Tianjin

🥇 PM2.5: Urumqi
🥇 Ozone: Haikou
🥇 NO₂: Urumqi

💡 This month only covers air pollution; energy & industrial data is not available for January

For the full snapshot, comment ‘China’. #AirPollution #CleanEnergy #china #crea #data

🇮🇳 NEW | India ambient air quality monthly snapshot is out now!

💡 In January 2026, nearly half (123 out of 248) of cities w/air quality data available for more than 80% of the days recorded PM2.5 above India’s national standards

⚠️ ZERO cities complied with the World Health Organization

💡 The monthly average PM2.5 levels in 46 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) cities (out of 99 cities with more than 80% of days with data) again surpassed India’s daily NAAQS for PM2.5, while all 97 cities exceeded the WHO’s daily guideline

🏅💨 Ghaziabad again ranked as most polluted city in India in January 2026, recording a monthly average PM2.5 concentration of 184 µg/m³

⚠️ Delhi was the 2nd most polluted city in India during January 2026, with monthly average PM2.5 of 169 µg/m³

⚠️ Uttar Pradesh and Haryana each accounted for 3 of the 10 most polluted cities in January 2026, followed by one city each in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Sikkim

🏅🌿 Damoh, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, was the cleanest city in India in January 2026, with a monthly average PM2.5 of 17 µg/m³

⚠️ A total of 53 cities were featured in the daily top 10 most polluted cities list in January 2026

💡 Megacities Delhi & Kolkata again exceeded NAAQS in January 2026, while Mumbai, Chennai & Bengaluru recorded monthly average PM2.5 levels below the standard

Comment ‘India’ to learn more. 

#India #CREA #CleanAir #AirPollution #Delhi