Search Climate Insights Directory
333 results
RENEWABLE ENERGY OPTIONS FOR LARGE UTILITY CUSTOMERS
The report explores how large utility customers, including cities and corporations, can achieve high renewable energy goals through various procurement models. It details options such as green tariffs, sleeved PPAs, and community solar, while addressing the critical role of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in accounting and disclosure. The document emphasizes the need for collaboration between utilities, customers, and regulators to ensure that the transition to carbon-free energy is cost-effective, avoids cross-subsidization of non-participants, and maintains grid reliability.
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Document type: Report
Step Up
The We Mean Business Coalition urges companies and policymakers to transition to zero-carbon economies, highlighting the economic opportunities of a low-carbon shift and the necessity of science-based targets. It calls for businesses to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050, join initiatives like RE100, EV100, and EP100, and advocate for ambitious government policies to create 'ambition loops' for climate action.
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Document type: Statement
FAITH AND FLOODING: How Sea Level Rise Threatens America’s Houses of Worship
The report finds that hundreds of American houses of worship face chronic flooding by 2050, with thousands more at risk by 2100 if emissions remain unchecked. It highlights the particular vulnerability of Gulf and Southeast coast states, specifically Louisiana, Florida, and North Carolina, while suggesting that deep emissions cuts and local adaptive measures could significantly reduce these risks. Additionally, it discusses the energy footprint of religious buildings and provides recommendations for improving energy efficiency and adopting renewable energy to mitigate climate change.
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Document type: Report
Successfully Shaping the Clean Energy Transition
The briefing outlines the transformational shifts in the US energy landscape as of 2018, highlighting the move toward 100 percent clean energy goals by states and utilities. It identifies six critical areas requiring urgent attention: the revision of grid and resource planning to accommodate new technologies, the reform of utility business models, the integration of beneficial electrification for heating and cooling, the proper valuation of distributed energy resources (DERs), the assurance of equity for low- and moderate-income customers, and the financial management of uneconomic fossil fuel assets, particularly coal.
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Document type: Briefing
Konsumtionsbaserade utsläpp i Umeå kommun
The report analyzes the consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions of Umeå residents, finding an average footprint of 9.77 tonnes CO2e per person for survey participants (aged 20-84), which scales to 7.6 tonnes CO2e per person for the total population. Travel, particularly aviation and car use, is identified as the primary emission source, followed by food. The report identifies 'hotspots' including meat consumption, aviation, and housing energy, and recommends administrative, economic, and informative policy tools to reduce these impacts.
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Document type: Report
Achieving 100 Percent Clean Electricity
California has established a target of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045 and increased its renewable energy requirement to 60 percent by 2030. To reach these goals, the Union of Concerned Scientists proposes ten strategies: improving energy efficiency (especially during evening hours), diversifying renewable sources (wind, solar, geothermal, and low-carbon bioenergy), phasing out natural gas equitably, using renewables for grid reliability services, investing in multi-timescale energy storage, integrating western electricity markets, leveraging distributed energy resources, electrifying buildings and transport, shifting demand to match production, and developing a skilled workforce.
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Document type: Policy brief
Union of Concerned Scientists Report on Climate Benefits of Existing Nuclear Fleet
The Clean Air Task Force supports a Union of Concerned Scientists report highlighting that existing nuclear plants provide approximately 60 percent of the United States' carbon-free electricity and serve as a foundation for future nuclear expansion using modern technology.
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Document type: Statement
How the State Benefits from Expanding Its Use of Locally Produced, Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels
The document highlights that transportation accounts for 43 percent of Washington's global warming pollution. It advocates for a clean fuel standard to transition from imported petroleum to locally produced low-carbon alternatives, including electric vehicles (EVs), biomethane, and various biofuels. The report emphasizes the economic benefits of keeping fuel spending within the state and the potential for Washington to lead in sustainable aviation fuels.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Hydrogen steelmaking for a low-carbon economy
The report analyzes the HYBRIT process, which replaces coal with hydrogen for the direct reduction of iron ore combined with an electric arc furnace to create fossil-free steel. While technically feasible and potentially cost-competitive depending on electricity and carbon prices, the transition faces systemic barriers including high investment risks, the need for large-scale electrolysis infrastructure, and the risk of carbon leakage in a globally competitive market.
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Document type: Research paper
Electric Trucks and Buses
Heavy-duty vehicles, while comprising only 5% of US road vehicles, contribute over 25% of vehicle-based global warming emissions and significant air pollution. The document advocates for the adoption of battery- and fuel cell-electric trucks and buses to eliminate tailpipe emissions and improve public health, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. It highlights that battery-electric buses are currently the lowest-carbon option across the US and calls for government policies, including adoption targets and manufacturer standards, to accelerate this transition.
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Document type: Fact sheet
The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Industry
The document outlines five specific actions to decarbonize regional industry: methane containment, transitioning to clean industrial processes, implementing shared industrial flows (such as eco-industrial parks), decarbonizing ports and airports, and transitioning to clean industrial vehicles. It provides a framework for regional authorities to eliminate waste, electrify processes, and implement regulatory penalties for emissions, supported by references to policies from jurisdictions such as California, Brazil, and Hong Kong.
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Document type: Guide
Business Leadership Transition Renewable Electricity
The document outlines a framework for corporate leadership in the transition to 100% renewable electricity, drawing on best practices from RE100 members. It provides case studies and specific recommendations from the RE100 Technical Advisory Group to help corporate buyers maximize their impact on market shifts, while clarifying that it does not define the eligibility criteria for joining the RE100 initiative.
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Document type: Guide
Tesco: Science-based target case study
Tesco has committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60% by 2025 and scope 3 emissions by 17% by 2030, both using a 2015 base-year. To achieve these goals, the company is implementing a costed renewable electricity roadmap and investing in energy and refrigeration efficiency, having already spent over £700 million since 2006. Tesco aims for 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and a net-zero carbon status by 2050, while managing specific challenges related to agricultural emissions, which constitute approximately 70% of its supply chain emissions.
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Document type: Case study
Itore time for business to back the Powering Past Coal Alliance
The We Mean Business coalition calls for corporate support of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, highlighting the health and economic costs of coal and the financial benefits of transitioning to 100% renewable electricity.
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Document type: Statement
Going Pump-Plug
The Union of Concerned Scientists found that EV owners in each of the 50 largest US cities can save money on fuel, with median annual savings exceeding $770. The report highlights the stability of electricity prices compared to gasoline and the role of off-peak, time-of-use rate plans in reducing costs. It recommends expanding public charging infrastructure, maintaining purchase incentives, and implementing policies to make EVs accessible to lower-income households and residents of multi-unit dwellings.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Deep Dive: What do current policy developments in China, India and the US mean
The document argues that renewable energy investments in China, India, and the US must increase significantly—doubling in China and the US and tripling in India—to meet Paris Agreement warming limits. While China and India are rapidly expanding renewable capacity and moving away from coal, the US faces worsening federal policy ambition despite strong state-level support for renewables.
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Document type: Briefing
The Business End of Climate Change
The report assesses the impact of corporate commitments—specifically RE100, Science-Based Targets, EP100, Zero-Deforestation, and the LCTPi—on global emission reductions and evaluates how supportive policy environments could enhance these contributions.
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Document type: Report
2015 EU ETS Emissions analysis from EC data
The 2015 EU ETS emissions fell by 0.6% to 1802mt, driven by a 0.6% decrease in power and heat emissions and a 0.3% decrease in industrial emissions. Notable national trends include a 23% drop in UK coal power emissions and an 11% increase in Netherlands power emissions due to new coal plants. The report highlights a long-term trend of renewables displacing fossil fuels in the European power sector.
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Document type: Report
THE BUSINESS END OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The report estimates that if five analyzed business initiatives achieve their most ambitious plans, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.2-4.2 billion tonnes per year by 2030. If all relevant companies joined these initiatives, reductions could reach approximately 10 billion tonnes. The document emphasizes that achieving this systemic impact requires governments to remove regulatory barriers and provide incentives, such as carbon pricing and R&D support, to create a virtuous circle of ambition between the public and private sectors.
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Document type: Report
THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY POLICY STORY
California has successfully decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions through a policy blend of performance standards and a broad cap-and-trade program. Since 2006, the state has seen a 7 percent decline in emissions while experiencing robust job growth, particularly in the green technology sector. Key achievements include significant adoption of plug-in electric vehicles, a growing renewable energy portfolio, and the influence of its building and appliance codes on other U.S. states and federal policy. The state is now shifting focus toward 2030 targets, including a 50 percent renewable portfolio standard and a goal to reduce economy-wide emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels.
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Document type: Report