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The document addresses the funding gap for state Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) following the oversubscription of the EPA's CPRG Implementation Grants. It outlines a framework for building 'capital stacks'—combining federal grants, tax incentives, and low-interest loans—to finance ten common climate measures across the transportation, electricity, industry, buildings, and waste sectors. The guide emphasizes leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to maintain momentum in decarbonization efforts.

The report compares a pathway aligned with U.S. climate commitments against the energy and climate provisions of Project 2025. It finds that Continued Climate Leadership would lead to significant emissions reductions, job growth, and public health improvements, while Project 2025 would increase emissions, reduce GDP, and cause additional premature deaths.

The author contends that recent US Supreme Court decisions, specifically those regarding the Chevron doctrine and the 'major questions doctrine', have crippled the government's ability to enforce environmental protections. To counter this regulatory paralysis, the author advocates for 'campaigns to change the private sector' by leveraging the needs of companies for customers, financing, and a social license to operate. The text cites the phase-out of CFCs by the Dupont Corporation and industry support for the EU Deforestation Regulation as examples of how private sector action can lead to broader environmental successes and a level playing field for competitors.

The document argues that recent Supreme Court rulings have shifted power from subject matter experts in federal agencies to the judiciary, creating regulatory instability and making it harder to defend environmental protections. It specifically analyzes the blocking of the Good Neighbor Rule, the elimination of Chevron deference, the expansion of statutes of limitations for challenging regulations, and the restriction of agency-led civil penalty enforcement. The author contends that these changes will lead to a 'tsunami of lawsuits' and a patchwork of conflicting legal interpretations, necessitating more rigorous technical and legal justifications for new agency rules.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) argue that the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit must use accurate, granular, and verified methane emission data rather than a national average to ensure the incentive drives truly clean hydrogen production and incentivizes upstream methane reductions.

China currently leads the global race in cleantech innovation, manufacturing, and electrification, though the United States and Europe are increasing investments to catch up.

The report identifies a strategy of 'agricultural exceptionalism' employed by the meat and dairy industry to avoid environmental regulation. It details three primary tactics: distracting the public via greenwashing and targeting youth on social media; delaying action by promoting voluntary technical solutions over systemic dietary changes; and derailing legislation through extensive political lobbying and funding in the US and EU. The document highlights the industry's use of specific scientific narratives, such as the GWP* metric and 'regenerative agriculture', to minimize the perceived impact of methane emissions.

The U.S. Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) version 4.0 incorporates the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), projecting that the U.S. is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 37 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This trajectory is primarily driven by the electricity sector, where the clean electricity share is expected to rise to 70 percent by 2030, and the transportation sector through increased zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption. The updated model features a redesigned electricity module with hourly dispatch, new power plant types including carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and hydrogen plants, and improved tracking of ZEV and industrial costs.

The research note advocates for "strong 45V rules" based on three pillars: incremental, deliverable, and hourly-matched clean electricity. The author contends that weakening these rules would allow dirty hydrogen production to qualify for subsidies, potentially increasing net CO2 emissions by 100-200 MMT per year and raising wholesale electricity prices by 10%. Conversely, strong rules are presented as a way to drive domestic manufacturing of flexible electrolyzers, align U.S. standards with the European Union, and ensure the long-term viability of the hydrogen industry beyond the tax credit's expiration.

The document argues that traditional cost-of-service regulation (COSR) creates perverse incentives—such as 'gold plating' and 'capex bias'—that hinder the affordable deployment of clean energy and demand-side management. It proposes a transition toward Performance-Based Regulation (PBR), which compensates utilities based on target outcomes rather than costs. The guide details a 'Four Pillars Model' for comprehensive PBR: incentivizing cost-efficiency, removing the throughput incentive, equalizing capex and opex incentives, and incentivizing targeted outcomes. Key tools discussed include revenue decoupling, multi-year rate plans (MYRPs), and performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs). The text contrasts incremental PBR, which layers tools onto COSR, with comprehensive PBR, which fundamentally restructures the regulatory framework, citing Hawaii's 2020 framework as a comprehensive example.

The report identifies that 37% of registered U.S. voters are 'pro-climate voters'—those who view global warming as a very important voting issue and prefer candidates who support climate action. This group, estimated at nearly 60 million people, shows higher levels of social engagement regarding climate change and stronger support for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) than other voters, although awareness of the IRA remains relatively low even among them.

The report identifies that 37% of registered U.S. voters are "pro-climate voters"—those who view global warming as a very important voting issue and prefer candidates who support climate action. While this group is more likely to discuss climate change and support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) than other voters, only 47% of them are familiar with the IRA. The analysis suggests that these voters, numbering nearly 60 million, could be decisive in the 2024 election, particularly as they show a higher likelihood of voting than other registered voters.

The document serves as a '101' guide for journalists to report on climate change, explaining the difference between weather and climate, the primary causes of global warming, and the impacts of extreme weather. It offers specific phrasing to help reporters connect current events to climate change and distinguishes between mitigation and adaptation strategies. Additionally, it provides professional guidance on avoiding greenwashing, handling climate deniers, and centering climate justice in reporting, while emphasizing that climate coverage is based on scientific consensus rather than activism.

In May 2024, the USDA and HUD updated minimum energy standards for new construction, requiring buildings under four stories to meet the 2021 IECC and taller buildings to meet ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 90.1-2019. The report argues that these standards, combined with 45L tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, make high-performance certifications like ENERGY STAR and Zero-Energy Ready Home (ZERH) financially attractive, particularly for all-electric construction in specific climate zones.

The transition to electric vehicles in the U.S. is expected to significantly disrupt auto manufacturing jobs, particularly those tied to internal combustion engine components. While battery manufacturing and software-related roles are poised for growth, the shift requires a transition from mechanical to electrochemical production processes, necessitating new digital and chemical skills. The document also highlights risks to job quality, noting a trend of EV investment in non-union Southern states and the impact of AI and vertical integration on the supply chain.

A survey of 896 registered U.S. voters conducted in Spring 2024 reveals that while 62% prefer candidates who support action on global warming, it remains a lower-ranked priority for the 2024 election, with only 39% considering it 'very important'. There is broad cross-partisan support for climate justice initiatives, such as green spaces in low-income communities (86%), and corporate climate disclosure (79%). However, significant political polarization persists regarding the economic impact of clean energy and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, with strong support from Democrats and substantial opposition or skepticism from conservative Republicans. Despite these views, actual political engagement remains low, though a minority of voters express willingness to participate in campaigns or non-violent civil disobedience.

Governors from four states request close coordination with PJM Interconnection to implement FERC Order No. 1920, aiming to align regional transmission planning with state public policy goals, support low-and-zero emission energy resources, and utilize federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

The document argues that the U.S. coal fleet is already in a sustained economic decline, making the EPA's emissions rules a catalyst for prudent utility planning rather than a source of economic or reliability risk. It asserts that the 2032 compliance timeline is sufficient for utilities to procure replacement resources, citing hundreds of gigawatts of 'shovel-ready' projects in interconnection queues. The authors maintain that 'baseload' coal is no longer necessary for grid stability, as portfolios of wind, solar, battery storage, and low-utilization gas can meet peak loads and growing demand without compromising reliability.

The document serves as an introductory resource for journalists to understand the causes and impacts of climate change and how to report on them accurately. It defines key terms, explains the role of greenhouse gases and fossil fuels, and details the effects of warming on weather patterns. The guide offers specific phrasing to help reporters connect extreme weather events to human-caused climate change and distinguishes between mitigation and adaptation strategies. It also outlines international and national policy frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement and the US Inflation Reduction Act, while advising journalists on how to avoid pitfalls like greenwashing and the platforming of climate deniers.

The briefing proposes "clean repowering" as a strategy to overcome the US grid interconnection backlog, which currently sees over 2 TW of clean energy projects delayed. By utilizing existing interconnection points through surplus interconnection or generator replacement processes, the time to reach commercial operation can be reduced from an average of five years to less than one year. RMI analysis suggests this could deploy 250 GW of new clean energy, saving regulated utilities $46 billion over 30 years and reducing US carbon emissions by 25 percent relative to business as usual through 2035. The document highlights Xcel Energy's Sherco project in Minnesota as a model for this transition, combining solar, storage, and workforce retention.