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The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis finds a significant disparity in how automakers deploy electric vehicles (EVs) across the United States. While BMW, General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla are identified as leaders, others like Honda, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler are labeled laggards due to limited model availability or a lack of plug-in offerings. The report highlights a stark geographic divide, noting that California's Zero Emission Vehicle policy has made it the only state where all available US EV models are offered, while consumers in other regions face severe shortages of EVs at dealerships.

The report analyzes the US electric vehicle (EV) market as of 2016, finding that while cumulative sales were nearing 500,000, progress among automakers is uneven. BMW, General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla are identified as leaders, while Honda, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler are characterized as laggards. A significant disparity in vehicle availability exists between California and the rest of the US, largely attributed to California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program. The authors argue that limited model availability and poor dealership inventory outside California hinder the national transition to electric transportation.

California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires utilities to source 50 percent of retail electricity from renewables by 2030. As of 2015, the program has led to over 500 projects generating nearly 50,000 gigawatt-hours annually, accounting for roughly 25 percent of the state's electricity. The policy has driven significant investments in solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and biogas, while supporting over 79,000 jobs in the wind and solar sectors. The document highlights that the RPS has helped reduce electricity sector emissions by 14 percent between 2003 and 2013 and argues for the establishment of new policy signals to guide investments beyond 2030.

The report argues that electric vehicles (EVs) represent a significant demand-side opportunity for the electricity grid. By treating EV charging as a distributed energy resource (DER), utilities can use smart charging—even without vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities—to avoid infrastructure investment, integrate more variable renewables, and reduce system costs. The authors emphasize that charging behavior is most effectively influenced in the first few months of ownership, necessitating early action on rate design and infrastructure planning. Through modeling in five U.S. states and analysis of California pilots, the report demonstrates that optimized charging can substantially flatten load profiles and prevent peak demand increases. It outlines various roles for utilities (facilitator, manager, provider) and recommends the use of time-of-use (TOU) and dynamic pricing to shift loads to off-peak hours.

The document examines the impact of the 2012 EPA and NHTSA fuel economy and emissions standards for light-duty vehicles (2017–2025). It highlights a market shift toward sport utility vehicles (SUVs), which use approximately 14 percent more fuel than similarly sized cars. The author argues that the current 'footprint-based' standards are effective because they set targets based on vehicle size, encouraging efficiency across all vehicle types rather than just a few models. While these standards are projected to reduce emissions by over 600 million metric tons by 2040, the document suggests that updating them to reflect recent technological advances is necessary to meet original projections due to the rising popularity of larger vehicles.

This fact sheet advocates for the permanent withdrawal of the U.S. Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from oil and gas leasing. It argues that such a move is necessary to meet Paris Agreement commitments, avoid 'carbon lock-in' from massive infrastructure investments, and prevent severe ecological and economic risks from oil spills. The document highlights that proven fossil fuel reserves already exceed the carbon budget for limiting warming to 2°C and that clean energy alternatives are growing rapidly enough to replace the need for these unproven reserves.

The policy brief asserts that global climate success depends on the 20 largest emitting nations adopting a small set of high-impact policies across four sectors: electricity, buildings, industry, and transportation. It emphasizes that policy design is critical to avoid inefficiencies and suggests the use of 'Best Practice Networks' (BPNs) to provide technical expertise to governments to ensure these policies are effectively implemented.

The document argues that China requires 2 trillion to 4 trillion RMB annually for its green transition, with the private sector expected to contribute 85% to 90% of this funding. It identifies two primary barriers to scaling green bonds: the small size of individual green projects, which fails to meet the minimum issuance requirements of institutional investors (typically 100 million to 200 million USD), and the low credit ratings of non-state enterprises and green assets. To address these, the report proposes using green asset-backed securitisation (ABS) to aggregate small projects and decouple asset risk from the issuer's balance sheet. It further recommends standardising green loan contracts, establishing financial warehousing systems, implementing tax incentives to lower financing costs, and utilizing public credit enhancements such as guarantees and insurance to attract institutional capital.

The report argues that carbon pricing is a critical tool for meeting the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global temperatures well below 2°C. It introduces 'Carbon Pricing Bands' to categorize price levels by their economic impact—ranging from 'Introductory' (up to $20) to 'Targeted' (above $80)—and presents four potential future trajectories: a 'Success Trajectory' leading to a low-carbon world, and three failure scenarios ('Sailing into the Cliff', 'Stormy Waters', and 'Running Aground') where temperatures rise by 3°C to 4°C due to inadequate or chaotic pricing policies. The update highlights post-COP21 developments, including the commitment of 90 nations to use market mechanisms and specific national actions in China, India, and Canada.

The FY 2017 budget proposal seeks to increase clean energy R&D funding to $12.8 billion by 2021, featuring a $10.25-per-barrel crude oil tax to fund sustainable transportation and significant increases for the Department of Energy's renewable energy and efficiency programs. It also includes $1.3 billion for the Global Climate Change Initiative and $291 million for Power Africa, while targeting a 83 percent reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The document highlights a growing problem where U.S. transportation fuels are becoming 'dirtier' as oil companies shift toward unconventional sources like tar sands and use high-emission extraction methods such as fracking. It argues that while vehicle efficiency has improved by 20 percent, these gains are undermined by the increasing emissions associated with extracting and refining oil, which can vary from less than 50 to 250 kilograms of CO2e per barrel. To counter this, the report advocates for eliminating wasteful practices like flaring, requiring better emissions disclosure, and shifting toward advanced biofuels made from wastes and perennial grasses. It also emphasizes the role of electric vehicles, noting that their climate benefit depends on the grid; for example, charging an EV in California produces only 35 percent of the emissions of a conventional vehicle.

The report analyzes pathways for California, Oregon, and Washington to reduce transportation petroleum use by 50% by 2030. It identifies a 'Half the Oil' (HtO) Pathway that distributes reductions across travel demand management, vehicle efficiency, and alternative fuel deployment. While existing policies are projected to reduce consumption by 24% in California and 8% in Oregon and Washington by 2030, achieving the 50% target requires extending and accelerating these measures. The analysis finds that relying on a single category of strategy is insufficient to meet the target, and that Washington faces greater challenges due to a lack of enforceable alternative fuel and zero-emission vehicle policies.

The document outlines a pathway for California to halve its oil use by 2030 by extending and enhancing existing policies on vehicle efficiency, electrification, and land use planning.

The Green Economy Barometer 2016 reports that while the transition to green economies is accelerating—marked by record investments in renewables and a maturing international policy architecture—it remains insufficient in depth and breadth. The report highlights a significant shift in investment toward developing countries and the emergence of ambitious national sectoral targets. However, it argues that structural reform is lacking, as most national plans ignore the informal economy and the needs of the poorest populations. The document concludes that the green economy remains politically fringe and requires a more inclusive narrative to achieve large-scale societal transformation.

The Paris Agreement establishes a global mandate to hold warming well below 2C and reach net zero emissions in the second half of the century. For businesses, this creates a structural shift in energy, land use, and urban systems, offering trillions of dollars in investment opportunities in renewables and energy efficiency. The report emphasizes the importance of internal carbon pricing for risk management and highlights specific vulnerabilities in sectors like textiles in Bangladesh and agriculture in Ethiopia. It argues that the agreement provides long-term policy certainty, making the transition to a clean economy inevitable and irresistible for the private sector.

The We Mean Business Coalition advocates for a 2020 deadline for the first review of global carbon reduction targets, asserting that waiting until 2025 would create excessive uncertainty for business planning and investment. The document highlights the rapid pace of technological change in solar PV, wind power, and electric vehicles as a primary reason for more frequent reviews. It further argues that a 2020 ratchet would signal ambition to investors, helping to leverage $100bn in public climate finance into trillions for climate-smart infrastructure. The text notes that over a hundred global companies have already adopted 'science-based targets' and over fifty influential companies have committed to 100% renewable energy by mid-century or sooner.

The RMI Community Energy Resource Guide offers a structured process for local governments to transition to clean energy. It outlines a 6-to-12-month planning cycle involving stakeholder collaboration, data baselining, and the selection of sector-specific tactics. The guide details strategies across four primary domains: buildings, electricity supply, transportation, and industry, while emphasizing the role of 'broad enablers' like Green Banks and updated utility regulatory models to scale implementation.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of 'green jobs' in the US and internationally, highlighting the growth of sectors like solar, wind, and energy efficiency. It notes that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics ceased its Green Careers program in 2013, leading to a reliance on fragmented data from multiple sources. Globally, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) identifies China as the leader in renewable energy employment, with solar PV being the largest global employer in the sector.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of clean energy employment, highlighting the U.S. and global landscapes. In the U.S., it details job figures across energy efficiency (buildings, appliances, transport) and renewable energy (solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, hydro, and waste-to-energy). Globally, it identifies China as the leader in renewable energy employment, followed by Brazil, the U.S., India, and Germany, with solar PV being the largest employment driver worldwide.

The report details a bottom-up consultation process in Manitoba involving nine group sessions and 67 bilateral meetings between October 2013 and January 2015. It identifies the province's unique emissions profile, dominated by transportation (38.4%) and agriculture (31.3%), and provides a suite of consensus recommendations across governance, regulatory streamlining, and energy efficiency. A significant portion of the document explores carbon pricing options, including a proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model and Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR) such as vehicle registration fee adjustments, to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.