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The Not-Zero Asset Owners Alliance: Pushing offsetting only undermines climate action
The statement criticizes the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA) for its 'The Net in Net Zero' paper, which encourages asset owners to scale investment in offsets and negative emissions technologies. The author contends that this focus shifts attention away from the necessary deep decarbonization and the phase-down of fossil fuel production. The text highlights the failure of previous offsetting schemes, such as the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and argues that current efforts by the AOA and the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) will replicate these flaws. It concludes that asset owners should follow the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 'Net Zero by 2050' report by stopping investments in new oil and gas projects.
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Document type: Statement
The Toxic Truth
The report documents the dangerous environmental conditions at the Homestead detention camp in Florida, which was used to detain thousands of migrant children between 2016 and 2019. It highlights the camp's location adjacent to a Superfund site contaminated with arsenic, lead, mercury, and other toxins, as well as its exposure to chronic noise from the Homestead Air Reserve Base. The authors argue that these conditions constitute environmental racism and demand the permanent closure of the facility and comprehensive environmental testing.
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Document type: Report
Climate Jobs
The document reports that there were over 4.1 million climate jobs in the United States in 2020, despite an 8% overall decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It breaks down employment by sector, noting that energy efficiency supported the most jobs (2.1 million), followed by energy transmission, distribution, and storage (763,000), and renewable energy (504,600). The report highlights growth in specific areas like electric vehicles and wind energy, and emphasizes the emerging field of climate adaptation and resilience. It concludes that significant further job creation is possible through federal investment and policies targeting renewable energy targets and the plugging of orphaned oil and gas wells.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Making adaptation a global ambition
The author contends that the extreme weather events of 2021 demonstrate that climate risk is transboundary and that current adaptation efforts are insufficient. The text argues for a shift from domestic to transboundary perspectives on risk, noting that adaptation goals under the Paris Agreement remain 'fuzzy' and lack operational mechanisms. It concludes that adaptation has limits and must be pursued in tandem with aggressive mitigation to avoid catastrophic costs and loss of life.
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Document type: Statement
Hot tickets and hollow promises
The report evaluates three primary responses to the plastics crisis: chemical recycling, separate collection, and reuse/refill. It concludes that chemical recycling is technically and financially unviable, often serving as a 'smokescreen' for the petrochemical industry. In contrast, it identifies high growth potential in separate collection infrastructure, specifically reverse vending machines (RVMs), and long-term equity opportunities in refillable packaging systems, both of which are being driven by increasing global regulation and consumer pressure.
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Document type: Briefing
Building Climate Resilience in Cities Through Insurance
The report argues that insurance is an underutilized tool for urban climate resilience, providing not only financial recovery but also risk awareness and incentives for mitigation. It details various insurance mechanisms—micro, meso, and macro—and the roles municipal governments can play as consumers, stewards, and conveners. The document highlights a significant 'protection gap,' noting that 76% of natural catastrophe losses were uninsured in 2020. Key barriers to scaling include a lack of technical capacity in city governments, behavioral biases among urban dwellers, and the difficulty of incorporating long-term climate projections into short-term insurance products. It recommends increased investment in risk assessment, the development of integrated resilience plans with the insurance sector, and the use of concessional finance from development finance institutions to support vulnerable cities.
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Document type: Report
Climate Jobs
In 2020, the United States had over 4.1 million climate jobs, though the total number fell by eight percent that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy efficiency was the largest sector with 2.1 million jobs, followed by energy transmission, distribution, and storage with 763,000 jobs. Renewable energy supported 504,600 jobs, and clean transportation (vehicles and fuels) supported 364,300 jobs. The document also notes the emergence of adaptation and resilience jobs, with the American Society of Adaptation Professionals representing members employing over 100,000 people. Future growth potential is significant, with estimates that achieving 50 to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 could create 500,000–600,000 jobs in solar, wind, and battery storage.
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Document type: Fact sheet
HOW-TO GUIDE Legislative Language for Equitable Energy Storage
The Union of Concerned Scientists outlines how state legislation can leverage energy storage to advance equity, focusing on replacing fossil fuel peaker plants, increasing community resiliency, and expanding access to distributed energy resources for low-income and overburdened communities.
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Document type: Guide
Climate change is here. Pass the California Climate Crisis Act
The Clean Air Task Force advocates for the passage of the California Climate Crisis Act (AB-1395), which would codify California's goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2045 and maintaining negative emissions thereafter. The Act would require the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to update its Scoping Plan to include nature-based and technology-based solutions, specifically carbon capture, removal, and storage. The authors argue that such policy action is essential to address the immediate impacts of drought and wildfire in California and to maintain the state's position as a global climate leader.
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Document type: Statement
FIRE WEATHER
Climate Central's analysis of weather station data from 225 locations across 17 U.S. states reveals a significant increase in fire weather days since the 1970s, driven primarily by warming and decreasing relative humidity. The report highlights that interior regions have seen higher increases than coastal areas, with some parts of New Mexico experiencing two additional months of fire weather compared to nearly 50 years ago. Beyond increasing wildfire risk, these conditions have led utilities like PG&E to implement public safety power shutoffs (PSPSs) to prevent equipment-related ignitions, resulting in significant economic impacts and health risks. The document argues that while land management and localized grids can mitigate risk, long-term stabilization requires reducing carbon pollution to net zero by 2050.
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Document type: Briefing
To make good on its climate goals, California needs carbon capture, removal, and storage technologies
California is projected to fall 125 million metric tons of CO2 short of its 2045 targets, necessitating the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to address hard-to-abate industrial emissions and achieve net-negative emissions. The state possesses vast geologic storage potential, particularly in Central Valley saline aquifers, estimated at 30-417 gigatonnes of CO2. Beyond emissions, these technologies are presented as means to improve air quality by reducing sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, and to support workforce stability during the clean energy transition.
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Document type: Statement
The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US
As of August 2021, fewer than 1% of U.S. school buses are electric, with adoption heavily concentrated in California and suburban areas. While 33 states have committed to electric buses, the report emphasizes that targeted public funding is essential to ensure these benefits reach vulnerable communities and rural areas, which currently lag in deployment despite the health risks posed by diesel emissions to students.
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Document type: Report
The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US
As of March 2022, 12,275 electric school buses have been committed across 38 US states, with California leading in adoption. While a large portion of these commitments stem from a single 10,000-bus contract between Midwest Transit Equipment and SEA Electric, the report finds that adoption is trending toward historically underserved communities, particularly those with high PM2.5 pollution and high populations of non-white and/or Hispanic people.
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Document type: Report
The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US
As of December 2021, 1,828 electric school buses were committed across 36 US states, representing a 57% increase since June 2021. California is the primary leader in adoption, holding nearly half of all commitments. While adoption correlates with high median household income, it is more evenly distributed across different poverty levels. The report notes that the vast majority of the US school bus fleet (95%) still relies on diesel, and that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has allocated $5 billion over five years to accelerate the transition to lower-emission buses.
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Document type: Report
Phosmet
Phosmet is a U.S. registered pesticide used in 40 states, primarily on orchards and grapes, and is currently under registration review. It is associated with serious health effects, including cancer, neurodevelopmental harm, and reproductive toxicity, with exposure occurring via food, drinking water, and occupational contact. The pesticide is applied to a significant percentage of several common crops, including peaches (55%) and nectarines (50%).
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Document type: Fact sheet
DISTINGUISHING OIL & GAS INDUSTRY SPIN FROM ZERO-EMISSION SOLUTIONS
The report analyzes the role of hydrogen in the energy transition, contrasting 'green hydrogen' (produced via renewable-powered electrolysis) with the current industry standard of steam methane reformation (SMR) from fossil fuels. It warns that the oil and gas industry uses hydrogen rhetoric to justify continued fossil fuel infrastructure and delay electrification. The authors argue that green hydrogen should be reserved for 'hard-to-electrify' sectors like maritime shipping and high-heat industrial processes, while being rejected for use in passenger vehicles, home appliances, and gas-fired power plants due to energy inefficiency, high costs, and pollution risks.
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Document type: Report
Bridging the Gap: How Nuclear-Derived Zero-Carbon Fuels Can Help Decarbonize Marine Shipping
The report examines the role of nuclear energy in producing zero-carbon fuels (ZCFs) to decarbonize the marine shipping industry, which accounted for 2.6% of global CO2 emissions in 2018. It identifies ammonia as a particularly promising fuel due to its energy density and compatibility with existing engine technology. The authors argue that nuclear energy is well-suited for ZCF production because of its high capacity factor, low land-use requirements, and ability to provide high-temperature steam for electrolysis. The document proposes using the U.S. Jones Act and other federal programs to incentivize the construction of ZCF-powered vessels and the development of regional production hubs, specifically suggesting the Houston region as a potential case study.
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Document type: Report
Too Hot to Work
The report finds that without action to reduce emissions, outdoor workers in the US will face a three- to fourfold increase in exposure to dangerous heat (heat index above 100°F) by midcentury, putting up to $55.4 billion in annual earnings at risk. It highlights that Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino workers are disproportionately represented in outdoor occupations and will bear a heavier burden of these losses. The authors argue that current voluntary heat guidelines are insufficient and call for the enactment of the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Prevention Act of 2021 to establish mandatory, enforceable federal heat safety standards.
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Document type: Report
Reporters must center climate justice. Here’s how.
The author argues that climate reporting must include climate justice to accurately reflect how the climate emergency is tied to existing social and racial inequities. The guide advises reporters to move beyond portraying marginalized communities as victims, to diversify expert sources, and to invest significant time in building trust with sources to avoid misrepresentation. It emphasizes that the systems driving climate change—such as extractive industries and discriminatory housing—are the same systems that create race and class divides.
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Document type: Guide
Carbon capture is not a climate solution
The document argues that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is not a viable climate solution and urges the Canadian government to reject its funding and integration into national energy strategies.
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Document type: Statement