Search Climate Insights Directory

This policy brief examines the rolling blackouts in California during a historic heat wave in August 2020, arguing that the outages were caused by a combination of extreme weather and insufficient resource capacity rather than the state's clean energy goals. The author contends that a diverse portfolio of flexible, clean resources—including battery storage and green hydrogen—is essential for 21st-century grid resilience against climate-driven extreme weather.

This briefing by RMI, authored by WattTime co-founder Gavin McCormick, argues that managing climate change requires shifting from average to marginal carbon emissions measurements for electricity. The author explains that because the grid's marginal resource changes every 5 to 15 minutes, timing and locating energy use and generation based on real-time marginal data can significantly reduce CO2 emissions without requiring new infrastructure investments.

This October 2012 submission from the Natref refinery to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) argues that the proposed Minimum Emission Standards (MES) are technically and socio-economically unsustainable for existing inland refineries. Natref advocates for a "bubble" approach to emissions management rather than a point-source approach and requests separate, less stringent limits for existing facilities compared to new plants.

The South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) submitted a set of comments and proposals to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on December 23, 2012, regarding the regulation of atmospheric emissions. The submission focuses on refining definitions, reporting requirements, compliance timeframes, and specific emission standards for combustion installations and petroleum product storage.