Search Climate Insights Directory

The document details how the 115th Congress integrated resilience into various sectors through legislation like the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, the Water Resources Development Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act. It highlights the rising economic costs of inaction, noting that 2017 alone saw $312.7 billion in disaster damages. The text emphasizes the shift toward pre-disaster mitigation, nature-based infrastructure, and the need for the 116th Congress to address energy grid resilience and National Flood Insurance Program reform.

The document argues that electric utilities are critical partners in the transition to electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. It recommends three primary investment models—make-ready, end-to-end ownership, and rebate incentives—and suggests restructuring commercial rates to eliminate or reduce demand charges. The guide emphasizes prioritizing disadvantaged communities burdened by air pollution and implementing 'managed charging' to optimize grid stability and integrate renewable energy.

The Union of Concerned Scientists asserts that the United States has the lowest electoral integrity among advanced industrial democracies, which undermines the ability to create science-based policies. The report links voter suppression and gerrymandering to poor public health and environmental outcomes, citing examples in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Texas. It advocates for reforms such as automatic voter registration, nonpartisan redistricting, and public campaign financing to reduce the influence of 'dark money' and corporate interests on government decision-making.

The document highlights that EVs in Colorado produce significantly lower emissions than gasoline cars, with an average of 2.71 metric tons of CO2e per year compared to 4.9 metric tons. It notes substantial fuel savings for drivers, particularly in rural areas where savings can reach $602, and cites a 71 percent increase in Colorado EV sales between 2017 and 2018. The text advocates for the extension of federal tax credits and the expansion of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) programs to lower upfront costs and increase vehicle variety.

The document highlights that EVs in Minnesota produce significantly lower global warming emissions than gasoline cars, with an average of 2.5 metric tons of CO2e per year compared to 4.9 metric tons. It notes that rural Minnesota drivers can save an average of $750 on fuel, while home charging in Minneapolis is equivalent to paying $0.67 per gallon of gasoline. EV sales in the state grew by 103 percent between 2017 and 2018. The report advocates for extending federal tax credits, implementing purchase incentives, and expanding the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program to further support the market.

ClientEarth argues that Lloyd's of London's current risk management is inadequate regarding coal assets, noting that its Coal Exclusion Policy only covers 2.5% of assets. The letter highlights the Carmichael coalmine as a high-risk project due to potential stranded asset risks and a lack of a 'social licence to operate', which could lead to significant insurance claims. ClientEarth asserts that continuing to enable coal undermines the insurance business model by fueling climate-driven natural catastrophes, and calls for public disclosure of risk management criteria.

The document provides an overview of energy storage solutions, highlighting the transition from traditional pumped-storage hydropower to advanced battery technologies like lithium-ion. It details the technical trade-offs between different storage methods, the economic trends driving adoption, and the regulatory environment in the U.S. aimed at increasing grid flexibility and resilience.

The report examines the challenges facing sustainable investing due to substandard ESG data, highlighting issues such as lack of standardization, poor coverage, and a specific inability to quantify physical climate risks. Based on interviews with investment practitioners managing $5.2 trillion in assets, it argues that while disclosure frameworks like TCFD and SASB are improving the landscape, investors still lack the granular asset-level data and standardized methodologies required to translate sustainability metrics into financial materiality. The document proposes several solutions, including the development of a Physical Resilience Protocol and the use of geospatial data to fill context gaps in corporate reporting.

The report finds that the 45Q tax credit could lead to the annual capture and storage of approximately 49 million metric tonnes of CO2 by 2030 in the U.S. power sector, primarily through retrofits on coal and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plants. This deployment is found to be complementary to renewable energy growth and could meet two-thirds of the 2030 U.S. power sector goal set by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. The analysis emphasizes that the economics of the 45Q credit make enhanced oil recovery (EOR) more favorable than saline storage, necessitating rapid infrastructure development to realize the credit's full potential.

A February 2019 survey of 16,798 registered US voters indicates broad, bipartisan support for holding oil and gas companies responsible for climate change damages and adaptation costs. The data shows that support for lawsuits against polluters increases significantly after respondents are informed about the fossil fuel industry's history of disinformation campaigns.

The document examines various energy storage solutions, including pumped-storage hydropower, batteries, and compressed air, highlighting their capacity to mitigate the intermittency of solar and wind power. It details the dominance of pumped-storage hydropower in the U.S. utility-scale market and the rapid growth of lithium-ion batteries. The text also outlines specific state-level storage targets in the U.S. and global projections for storage capacity needed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

The report details how private equity firms are targeting manufactured home communities in the US as a stable, high-return investment, often leveraging the limited mobility of residents to increase rents and maximize profits. It highlights the role of government-sponsored financing through Fannie Mae and calls for policy interventions to protect vulnerable residents from homelessness and exploitation.

The report argues that traditional quasi-judicial regulatory processes are inadequate for the scale of current electricity system transformations and proposes a four-stage framework—initiation, vision communication, conduction, and delivery of outcomes—to achieve more successful reforms.

The document argues that the United States, as a top fossil fuel producer with a resilient economy, must phase out extraction faster than the global average to meet Paris Agreement goals. It introduces three principles: reducing production at a pace consistent with climate protection, accelerating phase-outs in economically resilient communities, and safeguarding human rights and the environment. The authors apply these principles to U.S. coal and onshore oil, identifying the Appalachian Basin and California's San Joaquin basin as high-priority areas for rapid wind-down due to high carbon intensity, lower relative economic dependence, and significant environmental or social harms.

The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that PM2.5 pollution from cars, trucks, and buses in California is inequitably distributed, with African American, Latino, and Asian residents, as well as low-income households, facing significantly higher exposure than white and wealthier residents. The analysis identifies Southern California, particularly Los Angeles County, as having the highest average exposure, and estimates that on-road transportation leads to approximately 3,100 premature deaths annually in the state.

The Union of Concerned Scientists utilized the InMAP (Intervention Model for Air Pollution) to estimate average annual concentrations of PM2.5 in California at a resolution of one square kilometer. By mapping these concentrations to census block groups and integrating data from the 2012–2016 American Community Survey, the study aimed to determine population-weighted exposure by demographic group. The authors justify the use of the reduced-complexity InMAP model over conventional chemical transport models (CTMs) by noting its superior performance on population-weighted metrics and its ability to provide the fine spatial resolution necessary to analyze exposure equity in racially or economically segregated urban areas.

The report finds that Black, Latino, and low-income communities in California are exposed to significantly higher levels of PM2.5 air pollution from vehicles compared to white and high-income populations.

The document examines the global green bond market for low-carbon buildings, highlighting the role of securitisations, covered bonds, and public infrastructure financing. It identifies Japan as a key player with significant potential to leverage these instruments for energy efficiency and climate adaptation.

The report documents a systemic effort by the Trump administration to marginalize scientific expertise in federal policymaking. Key tactics identified include the disbanding of science advisory committees, the suppression of research on climate change and public health, and the creation of a 'culture of fear' that encourages scientist self-censorship. The authors highlight specific failures in the EPA, DOI, and HHS, while providing a roadmap for the 116th Congress to restore scientific integrity through oversight and legislative reform.

The document critiques carbon markets, specifically cap-and-trade and offsetting, asserting they fail to reduce global emissions and instead facilitate corporate power and human rights abuses. It highlights the failures of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and REDD, and warns that the negotiation of Article 6 at COP25 could lock in these flawed mechanisms, further delaying urgent emissions cuts at the source.