Search Climate Insights Directory

This EESI fact sheet examines the role of landfills as a major source of anthropogenic methane in the United States and discusses strategies for mitigating these emissions. It highlights the EPA's regulatory role and the Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), which helps convert landfill gas (LFG) into energy. The document provides economic comparisons between electricity-generation and direct-use LFG projects, noting that while existing capture systems make projects more profitable, new installations may require additional revenue streams like tax credits to be viable.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) describes the technology, benefits, and potential of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems in the United States. It highlights how CHP increases energy efficiency, reduces emissions, and provides resilient power during grid failures, while identifying regulatory barriers and the specific advantages of biomass-fueled systems.

This fact sheet describes the environmental and health impacts of landfill methane in the United States, the regulatory frameworks governing its capture, and the economic viability of converting landfill gas (LFG) into energy.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative compares energy efficiency policies for buildings in China, Germany, and the United States. It analyzes four primary policy intervention points—new construction, building retrofit, equipment, and operations—and examines how different national building stocks, climatic conditions, and economic environments shape the priorities and effectiveness of these policies.

This research paper evaluates the impact of climate change and adaptive management on irrigation water supply within the Cache Creek watershed in Yolo County, California, using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system calibrated with 1971–2000 historical data.

This research paper argues for the implementation of systematic approaches to understand the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus across various scales and sectors to achieve sustainable development goals. It presents a continuum of assessment tools, ranging from qualitative methods like index building to quantitative data-driven modelling, to support cooperative governance and resource management.

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute explores extraction-based emissions accounting as a method to track greenhouse gas emissions associated with the supply of fossil fuels, contrasting it with traditional territorial and consumption-based frameworks to better assess economic risks and producer responsibility.

This briefing by Energy Innovation describes two distinct applications of demand-response (DR) programs: as a capacity resource to mitigate peak demand and as a balancing tool to integrate variable renewable energy. The document argues that DR is a cost-effective alternative to building new power generation or investing in expensive grid-scale battery storage.

This statement from the Climate Policy Initiative discusses the role of industrial audits and data transparency in maximizing the public health and environmental benefits of California's cap and trade system.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the status and strategies for deploying plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the United States as of October 2012. It details federal, state, and local initiatives to build charging infrastructure, the role of 'model communities' in scaling adoption, and the integration of PEVs into government and commercial fleets to reduce petroleum dependence and greenhouse gas emissions.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) evaluates the impact of British Columbia's carbon tax and provides recommendations for its future. The document argues that the tax has successfully reduced emissions without hindering economic growth and suggests maintaining the current policy structure while addressing emerging challenges such as natural gas expansion and price misalignment with the United States.

A statement from the Californians for Toxic-Free Fire Safety coalition responding to Governor Jerry Brown's directive to revise California's flammability standards and reduce the use of toxic fire retardants.

This research paper evaluates various cost-limiting tools used in U.S. state renewable energy policies—including alternative compliance payments, contract price caps, and retail rate impact caps—to provide recommendations for California's RPS cost limitation. The analysis finds that while cost limits can insure against extreme costs, they often create market uncertainty, may be set based on political rather than economic data, and can inadvertently act as price floors, potentially hindering the achievement of renewable energy targets.

This book chapter analyzes the California Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and its influence on the innovation and deployment of low-emission, hybrid, and zero-emission vehicle technologies in the United States using the Technology Innovation System (TIS) framework.

This report, produced by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) for PG&E, examines the impact of distributed energy resources (DERs) and Zero Net Energy (ZNE) buildings on California's electricity system. It identifies misalignments between current utility business models and the shift toward decentralized generation, proposing a transition toward new pricing structures and regulatory frameworks to ensure grid stability and cost equity.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the impact of low natural gas prices, driven by hydraulic fracturing, on the growth of renewable energy in the United States. While low wholesale gas prices create near-term financing challenges for utility-scale projects, the document argues that distributed solar PV and long-term cost declines in wind and solar will ensure continued renewable energy expansion.

This policy brief describes the integration of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) and Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) systems to analyze the water-energy-climate nexus. Using a case study in California, the document demonstrates how integrated modeling can quantify the tradeoffs between reducing water imports through desalination and the resulting increases in electricity demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

This research paper uses the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system to assess climate change impacts and adaptation strategies for the Sacramento River basin and the San Joaquin Valley's Delta export region, concluding that fundamental operational changes to water management are necessary to address increasing agricultural demand and decreasing supply reliability.

The GSA Net Zero Renovation Challenge is an initiative by the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Federal High Performance Green Buildings (OFHPGB), and the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to achieve deep energy savings in 30-35 federal buildings using Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs). A workshop held in October 2011 by RMI and GSA identified structural, contractual, and technical barriers to achieving net zero energy, proposing a shift toward integrative design, streamlined procurement, and shared risk to move beyond conventional shallow retrofits.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the competitiveness challenges and carbon leakage risks facing the mining and metals industry due to diverse global carbon pricing policies. It discusses policy mechanisms to mitigate these risks, such as free allowances and border carbon adjustments, while emphasizing the industry's strategic role in providing materials necessary for low-carbon infrastructure.