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Climate Central developed an Urban Heat Intensity Index for 159 U.S. cities, finding that New Orleans, Newark, New York City, Houston, and San Francisco have the highest intensity scores. The report identifies albedo, lack of greenery, population density, and building height as primary drivers of the UHI effect. These conditions exacerbate heat waves, worsen air quality through ground-level ozone formation, and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, particularly those in formerly redlined neighborhoods. Proposed solutions include short-term emergency cooling measures and long-term infrastructure changes such as planting trees, installing green and cool roofs, and deploying solar energy.

The document outlines a discussion on transitioning the U.S. energy system, focusing on repurposing existing infrastructure, ensuring the affordability and reliability of renewables, and addressing the impacts of energy modernization on marginalized communities and the workforce.

The document outlines the current state and future potential of onshore and offshore wind energy in the U.S. It details the economic benefits, including job growth and rural revenue, while addressing environmental impacts on wildlife. It specifically highlights the 'high electrification' scenario from Net-Zero America, projecting significant capacity increases and employment growth by 2050, particularly in states like Texas and the Midwest.

The Electrical Grids and Storage Criteria provide a framework for certifying bonds that finance the construction, upgrade, and operation of electricity transmission, distribution, and storage infrastructure. To be certified, assets must meet specific mitigation benchmarks—such as supporting renewable energy integration or operating within a decarbonising system—and satisfy a comprehensive adaptation and resilience checklist. The criteria cover a wide range of assets, from high-voltage transmission lines to battery storage facilities, and include detailed methodological notes for determining system eligibility based on grid emission factors or added generation capacity.

The document outlines the development of eligibility criteria for electrical grids and storage to align bond investments with a 1.5°C warming scenario. It details the decision to adopt EU taxonomy criteria for transmission and distribution, the rationale for applying similar constraints to energy storage, and the requirements for climate resilience and adaptation.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the Department of Energy (DOE) under the Trump administration suppressed, delayed, or sidelined at least 46 clean energy studies from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and seven national labs. This was achieved through a two-tiered review system implemented in May 2018 by Daniel Simmons and Alex Fitzsimmons, which required political sign-off for 'Tier 1' research on politically sensitive topics, such as comparisons between fossil fuels and renewables. The report notes that this system led to at least 25 reports being delayed by over six months, a significant increase compared to the previous 16 years under the Bush and Obama administrations. The document asserts these actions violated the DOE's scientific integrity policy, which prohibits the suppression or alteration of scientific findings.

The We Mean Business coalition asserts that ending coal dependence is critical for limiting global warming and achieving 2030 and 2050 climate targets. It advocates for a full phase-out of coal power in advanced economies by 2030 and globally by 2040, noting that renewables now outcompete new coal virtually everywhere. The text highlights a shift in the private sector, with major insurers and mining companies divesting from coal, and emphasizes that a transition to clean power would improve public health and create more jobs than traditional economic stimulus measures.

The briefing outlines the challenges and solutions for electrifying the US federal fleet, which includes 225,000 postal, 173,000 military, and 245,000 civilian vehicles. It recommends creating a national EV roadmap, resolving grid constraints through microgrids and storage, leveraging bidirectional charging for grid co-benefits, and permanently retiring old vehicles to prevent emissions leakage via exports. The author emphasizes that the federal government's procurement power can reduce supply chain costs and provide a model for other fleets globally.

The document defines the technical and environmental requirements for bonds financing electrical grids and storage to be certified, emphasizing decarbonisation pathways and climate resilience.

The South African small scale embedded generation (SSEG) market, dominated by rooftop solar PV, has grown to over 100,000 systems (over 1GW) as of 2020. However, market growth is hindered by an indistinct regulatory landscape and stakeholder uncertainty regarding licensing and registration. The document outlines a tiered regulatory framework based on capacity: systems under 100kW generally do not require NERSA registration (provided local utility conditions are met), those between 100kW and 1MW require NERSA registration, those between 1MW and 10MW require licensing, and those over 10MW require both licensing and ministerial determination. It emphasizes that all grid-connected generation must be registered with the relevant transmission or distribution grid operator, and for systems between 100kW and 1MW, a connection application to the distributor must precede the NERSA registration application.

The report finds that inland flooding represents the highest annual cost of climate change for Canadian infrastructure, with mid-range estimates between $5 billion and $8 billion per year. Proactive adaptation can significantly reduce costs for roads, rail, and the electrical grid, though it is less effective for permafrost thaw and inland flooding. The analysis highlights that while total costs are often concentrated in high-population areas like Ontario, specific geographic risks such as permafrost thaw disproportionately affect the three territories.

The briefing describes a 'new abnormal' characterized by continuous climate escalation, citing extreme wildfires in Colorado and the US West, as well as hurricanes on the East and Gulf Coasts. It identifies five primary challenges: mass migration, health threats from air pollution and 'threat multipliers', financial instability due to asset loss and insurance costs, the need for resilient urban rebuilding, and the requirement to update the electric grid with localized resources and microgrids. The author calls for a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050 to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The report uses E3ME modelling to demonstrate that a Green Recovery Plan—incorporating investments in energy efficiency, grid upgrades, renewables, and electric vehicles—outperforms traditional stimulus packages by boosting GDP and employment while significantly reducing CO2 emissions.

The document supports Governor Gavin Newsom's September 23, 2020, executive order to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in California by 2035. It contends that this move signals a market shift toward electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring the US remains competitive with China and the EU. The author asserts that EVs, acting as mobile batteries, can enhance grid reliability and resilience through a "transactive grid" enabled by digital technologies and FERC order 2222, provided that grid capacity is expanded to accommodate new loads.

The document argues that the current US electricity grid is inherently fragile due to its linear dependencies and one-way flow of services, meaning disruptions in any single component can lead to customer outages.

In 2019, wind and solar generated 8.2% of global electricity, with the EU leading at 18%. The report highlights that wind and solar are now the cheapest new generation sources for two-thirds of the global population and that electricity grids remained stable during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns even as renewable shares reached record highs in countries like Denmark (65%), Germany (45%), and Greece (41%). To limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees, the report notes that coal's market share must drop from 35% to 8% by 2030, requiring wind and solar's share to increase to approximately 29%.

The author calls on energy ministers attending the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit to allocate global stimulus funds toward a sustainable recovery. The text advocates for the IEA's Sustainable Recovery Plan and specific policy targets, such as phasing out coal by 2040 and ending fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, while highlighting the potential for significant job creation and the growing corporate and public support for a green transition.

The policy brief examines how the shift toward variable renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DERs) challenges traditional grid planning paradigms. It argues that the historical reliance on the Planning Reserve Margin (PRM) heuristic is increasingly inadequate for ensuring reliability in a high-renewables system. Furthermore, it warns that fossil fuel incumbents are exploiting these planning uncertainties to protect their market share by framing technical challenges as insurmountable barriers to decarbonization.

RMI's statement emphasizes that LGBTQ+ communities are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change due to systemic marginalization, including higher rates of homelessness and unemployment. The document highlights the work of four LGBTQ+ leaders in the United States—Rachel Kyte, Joseph Toolan, Christine Hallquist, and Paul Gestos—and identifies organizations working at the intersection of queer identity and ecological justice.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) finds that the average EV in the US produces global warming emissions equivalent to a gasoline vehicle achieving 88 mpg, making it cleaner than any new gasoline car available. This advantage is driven by the decreasing share of coal in the US electricity grid and improvements in EV efficiency, notably from the Tesla Model 3. The report highlights that 94% of the US population now lives in regions where an EV is cleaner than a 50 mpg gasoline car, compared to less than 50% in 2012.